searched for a reply. His hands were still holding her upper arms, making coherent thought difficult. ‘No, no.’ Her gaze met his and again she felt a sense of familiarity. He held her gaze. Was there a flicker of recognition from him too or was that her over-active imagination?
His lips parted, he was about to speak. She knew she hadn’t sounded convincing but she wasn’t hurt, only momentarily stunned. ‘I’m fine. Really,’ she said as she stepped back, forcing him to release her so she could flee to the kitchen where there was safety in numbers. She knew she was being completely absurd, running away from the very person she’d been trying to find all afternoon, but until she could get her ridiculous reaction under control she couldn’t be trusted around him. Not if she didn’t want him to think her a complete idiot.
She headed for the first familiar face she saw. Ned.
‘Hey, Phoebes, how’s it going?’
Phoebe deliberately kept her back to the change rooms so she wouldn’t be tempted to watch for him.
‘Not bad so far, touch wood,’ she replied, tapping her knuckles against the tabletop. ‘Where’ve you been today?’
‘The other side of Mt Lofty. It’s pretty hairy over there.’ As an experienced firefighter, if Ned thought a situation was dangerous, Phoebe knew it must be bad. ‘I’m heading back in a minute.’ He glanced over Phoebe’s right shoulder, then reached out to shake someone’s hand.
‘Max, buddy.’ His grin was broad. ‘I wasn’t expecting you this early.’
The mystery fireman was here. Only he wasn’t a mystery to Ned.
Max and Ned merged together in a bear hug. Phoebe saw a flash of blue followed by tanned arms, bulging biceps and dark hair curling at the nape of a strong neck.
The hug over, there were claps on backs and broad grins, illustrating the reunion was a happy one. ‘I’m not officially on deck till tomorrow but you know how it is with fires like this. The more the merrier.’
‘Phoebe, this is Max. We did our basic training together, he’s our relieving station officer, covering for Dutchy. Max, this is Phoebe. We live together.’
Max held out his hand, accompanying the gesture with a broad smile, flashing his perfect teeth again. ‘Nice to meet you officially, Phoebe.’
Phoebe took his hand. His grip was firm, his palm smooth and cool to the touch.
‘Hello, Max.’ His name suited him and she nearly told him so but fortunately came to her senses just in time. He was looking at her so intently again she couldn’t hold his gaze. She dropped her eyes and focussed on his chest.
He, too, had stripped down to a singlet but she was willing to bet he looked ten times better in his than she did in hers. Broad shoulders protruded from his top and while his neck wasn’t muscle-bound his arms definitely looked as though he spent time lifting weights. She had a weakness for good arms on a man. His singlet top didn’t disguise a well-toned abdomen either. There wasn’t an unnecessary ounce of weight on him.
She glanced down at her own once-white singlet, which was now an unattractive shade of brown, thanks to the fires. Her breasts, which she was convinced were one cup size too large, were doing their best to escape. She raised her eyes again to discover he was watching her, looking amused, as she stood frowning at her grubby top.
An announcement came over the loudspeaker. ‘Attention, attention, 262 and 263 responding to fires west of Lobethal.’
‘That’s me,’ Ned said. ‘I’ll catch you both later.’
Phoebe went up on tiptoe, kissing Ned’s cheek. ‘Be careful.’
Max was watching her again. ‘Have you eaten?’ he asked. Phoebe shook her head. ‘Can I get you a sandwich—ham and cheese?’
She nodded then berated herself as he went to the kitchen. He was upsetting her equilibrium. She never had ham sandwiches. She didn’t even like ham. But she accepted it with thanks when he returned, not wanting to give him any more reasons to think she was a complete fool.
Phoebe sat at a table, pushing a pile of books out of the way to make room for her sandwich. Max pulled out a chair, not waiting for an invitation, not thinking he needed one.
‘How long have you and Ned lived together?’
‘About eighteen months.’
‘So it’s serious, then?’ He and Ned hadn’t caught up much in recent times but it surprised him that Phoebe had never been mentioned, even in passing.
Phoebe frowned at him, her fair eyebrows coming together and creating a little crease in her forehead. ‘Serious?’
‘Living together for that long, it must be, right?’
‘Oh. We don’t “live together”,’ Phoebe said, making quotation marks in the air with her fingers. ‘We share a house. Separate bedrooms.’ She took another bite of the sandwich she seemed not to be enjoying.
‘Jumping to conclusions.’ But even as he spoke, he knew there was no way the thought of sharing a bedroom with Phoebe hadn’t entered Ned’s mind. His reputation as a playboy hadn’t been without basis and Phoebe certainly wasn’t hard on the eye. Tall and blonde, her figure was athletic, with long lean limbs. And she filled out her tank top in all the right places. As if Ned hadn’t noticed!
Maybe she and Ned had had a fling—who was to say otherwise? He tried to get his mind off that topic. It wasn’t any of his business.
Her voice halted his train of thought. ‘You’ve had a hectic introduction to the town.’
‘It was my choice to start early. I like a bit of drama—gets the adrenalin going.’
‘Is there enough drama today to keep you satisfied?’ She was smiling at him but her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. He could tell she wasn’t sure about him, yet he’d swear there had been sparks between them from the moment they’d met. Or was that exactly why she wasn’t sure?
‘I reckon today just about covers everything.’ He eyed the pile of textbooks in front of Phoebe. ‘But it looks as though you’re expecting a few quiet moments.’ He spun the pile of books around, reading the title of the top one. ‘French for Beginners. Are you planning a trip?’
‘No. This is my latest craze, learning French. I’ve got a test tomorrow.’
‘Êtes-vous assez fort en Francais?’
She looked at him with a bewildered expression. ‘I have absolutely no idea what you just said. It was French, right?’
They both laughed then and he said, ‘I asked if you were any good.’
Phoebe buried her face in her hands then reappeared with a smile on her face. ‘I guess you already know the answer, but I’ll see if my vocab stretches so far. Non.’
Her smile reached her eyes, she seemed to relax, and Max had to remind himself to act casual and not stare. She’d be attractive no matter what she did, but when her face was graced with
