were off-limits. There was no way she’d knowingly get involved with one.
He carefully turned her to face him, one hand out, palm up. Lily’s muscles were stiff; her body resisted his touch. “I own the bar with my uncle Brad, and I’m a firefighter on the department, too. What’s going on?”
There wasn’t any way to explain what was going on because she didn’t fully understand it herself. This bitterness, this...disgust and anger had all come on so quickly, bringing memories with it. Memories of flame, heat, screaming and death. She was unprepared for the emotions, and she found herself equally unprepared for the blend of emotions she could see on Garrett’s face—the confusion alone stabbed her with guilt. She was being irrational, but she couldn’t help it.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”
He spread his hands. “Tell you what? That I’m on the fire department?”
She pulled away from him and ran a hand through her bangs. “I never would have... You and I would never have—”
“Whoa—Lily, talk to me.”
She could still feel his body heat on her skin like a brand, but he didn’t make another attempt to touch her.
Her lower lip trembled as the dumbstruck sensation was slow to go away.
“Firemen are off-limits.”
Each second she stared at him was punctuated by the beat of pain inside her heart and the memory of her sister’s face. The firemen were supposed to save Katja that night. But they’d stood by and watched as the building burned to the ground.
On the edge of ugly crying, Lily turned and rushed across the lawn to the street where her car was parked. One quick glance behind was enough to pick at her with guilt under the shock and anger.
Garrett hadn’t moved—he was just standing there, watching her leave.
* * *
WELL, EITHER THAT was karma for some past transgression or he’d seriously misread the entire situation. Despite his confusion over what had just happened, Garrett was concerned at how genuinely upset Lily was. He moved away from the gazebo as she hurried to cross the street in the rain, positioning himself so he had a clear view of her slipping into her SUV.
As she pulled away from the curb and disappeared down the street, Garrett was pretty sure this had been the strangest encounter he’d had with a woman in a long time. Women loved firefighters, at least in his experience. Lily was the first one he’d met who didn’t. Firemen were off-limits? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
He brushed his soaked bangs away from his eyes. Whatever. He’d rushed into thinking their flirtation was going to turn into something more. With all the other responsibilities he had hanging over his head right now, adding a complicated one-night stand was the last thing he needed. Luckily, Lily’s true feelings had come out before they’d gone any further.
The ground squished beneath his feet as he crossed to the sidewalk and hurried back to the bar. If anything, he should be glad he’d avoided potential disaster tonight. But the stab of disappointment in his gut said otherwise, and that was almost as confusing as Lily’s hot-and-cold attitude.
She was as sexy as sin; he couldn’t deny that. Any man would have felt disappointed to lose out on a woman that hot. That was all this hollow sensation was about.
Garrett pushed open the door, immediately relishing the sounds of music and laughter. Nothing like a packed bar to take his mind off, well, everything. His brain was full of so much stuff lately, any little distraction was welcome. He licked his lips, tasting rain and the lingering sweetness of Lily’s kiss.
Oh, well, game over. Back to reality. He pushed through the crowd, trying to ward off the multitude of comments and gibes about his soaked clothes and dripping hair. A couple of women took the liberty of running their fingers over his wet shirt, sending clear reminders that female companionship could be found. If he was still interested, which he wasn’t.
Rejection was a bitter pill to swallow, wasn’t it? Garrett smirked to himself as he slipped behind the bar and moved to the door that led to the back rooms. He had an extra set of clothes in his office, thankfully. He’d just turned the handle when Mikey called his name. Garrett spun to see his best friend sidling up to the bar with a grim expression.
“Where you been? I tried calling you.” Concern was thick in Mikey’s voice, jangling Garrett’s nerves.
“I...walked a lady out. My cell’s in the office. Why?”
Mikey’s face fell into soft sympathy. “Sorry, man, but your uncle Brad’s been rushed to the hospital.”
“NO WAY IN HELL, Doug.” Lily turned sharply, prepared for a stare down with her father. Irritation and lack of caffeine had her every last nerve on fire. The message on her answering machine from her ex, Rob, yesterday still made her edgy. Almost a year with no word and he had the nerve to call to see if he could stop by when he came to town at the end of the month. She preferred that he stay in Mississippi with his new girlfriend, because, frankly, Lily had nothing to say.
More unsettling than the unexpected phone call were the nightmares. Every night since the fund-raiser, she’d had the same unsettling dream. Always about Katja and the fire, and Lily, seeing herself lying on the grass as the building burned, reaching for her sister but not being able to get her.
Sitting just to the side within the dream was a fire engine with glaring, revolving lights. Every night, she turned toward the lights and the truck would disappear, prompting her to wake up with a heavy sense of confusion. It was confounding and unsettling, especially since she had stopped having nightmares about the fire a few months ago.
And now her father wanted her to do this before she’d gotten her feelings under control.
Lily cocked her head and crossed her arms, mirroring her father’s posture. “Can’t someone else go?” Like father, like daughter.
Doug Ashden scowled and stuck his chin out. “Everyone else is busy. I know the appointment time is a little unconventional, but it’s a bar...and you’re young. You like the nightlife, don’t ya?”
Lily enjoyed her job as a general contractor for Ashden Construction and Design. Building and designing were in her blood, and as much as she liked the physical labor of creating a structure, she liked generating ideas more. She didn’t just meet with clients to consult on their projects, she also drafted out plans and brought them to life. Lily had a pile of drafts to work on, but being second-in-command meant that when the other employees were gone, she picked up the slack.
In this case, it wasn’t the meeting that had her stomach in knots—it was the bar.
“Stay and have a drink or dance or something.” Doug waved an impatient hand.
Or something. Right. Because the last time she’d engaged in “or something” at that bar, she’d had her tongue down the throat of a man she would rather not see again. Lily shifted her weight from one foot to the other as her body tingled at the memory.
She clenched her jaw hard
