LEXI

In the years I’ve worked at Minnie’s, I’ve never run into Cole-the-Fireman before. And today, just a month and a few days after rescuing us from the elevator, he waltzes right in with a grin on his face.

Normally, I’d be excited to have more business, but this is just a little bit awkward, seeing as I turned down his phone number last time. I know I shouldn’t feel bad about it, but it takes guts to ask a girl out. I had to applaud the effort, and yet, I still said no.

“You probably don’t remember me,” I say. “But last month—”

“You’re the woman from the elevator,” Cole says. “The building not far from here.”

“Yes!”

“Lexi, right?”

“Yes! Good memory! What brings you in here today?”

“I’m normally not one for waffles, but these guys have been hounding me for weeks to try this awesome little place, so I figured I’d check it out. I’m glad I did.”

“Me too,” I tell him. I do mean it, too. Not just for the business, either. He seems like a nice human being. “Thanks again for the rescue. I never thanked you properly.”

“Thank God we got there in time, otherwise these guys would’ve killed me.” Cole once again nods toward his firemen friends, then winks at me. “If they learned I hadn’t saved the owner of the best diner in St. Paul, it wouldn’t be pretty.”

“Well, these waffles don’t serve themselves, so can I get you a plate? It’s on me today.”

“No, I insist. You’ve been giving these guys fifty percent off their meals for lunch, I’m paying.”

“I’ll refuse,” I say with a smile. “It’s a token of my thanks. Don’t bother arguing—I’m stubborn. I did survive half an hour trapped in an elevator, after all.”

He laughs. “Can’t argue with that. It’s really great to run into you again, Lexi.”

“Yes, definitely.”

I take the order for the rest of the group, jotting it down on my little notepad. I don’t need to write these things down—orders stick in my memory like glue, but it’s a good way to keep my hands busy and my eyes occupied.

I take a step toward the kitchen, but I’m stopped in my tracks by a hand around my wrist. I freeze, then turn slowly around. “Yes?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” Cole withdraws his hand at once, looking embarrassed. “I just meant to ask if I could get extra syrup.”

“Of course!”

Before I can resume my march to the kitchen, heavy thuds of footsteps sound from across the room. Small tremors shake the table next to me, and I lean a hand out to rest against the chair.

I feel him before I see him.

A hand slides around my waist, and the next thing I know Bradley has me dipped halfway to the floor. He’s got me in a tight embrace, clutched to his chest, and his lips are hovering an inch from mine.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he whispers. “Unless you tell me not to.”

I blink. My lips open and close as I search for the right response, but it never comes to me. All I know is that the correct response is definitely not no. Judging by the butterflies in my stomach.

“Is that a yes?” he murmurs.

I give the slightest of nods, and the motion hasn’t even completed before his lips join mine in a soft, almost tender kiss. My eyes close, a hand comes up, and I sink into it.

He reaches round, pulling my head closer, deepening the kiss for a flash. His other hand fists at my shirt, and the sheer need in his touch has me melting for him.

It’s over almost as quickly as it’s begun. Bradley rights me, dusts me off and pats me on the hips before removing his hands from my waist. I wobble once as I take a step, and this makes him grin like an idiot.

I’m still not quite sure what’s happened as I stride back toward the counter.

Sasha’s watching me with raised eyebrows as if she’s not sure whether I’m going to swoon into a faint or turn around and slap the smirk off Bradley’s face.

To be honest, I’m not even sure what I’m going to do next.

“Get over here.” I grab Bradley by the sleeve and pull him out back next to Theo’s old favorite hiding spot in the alley. “What was that all about?”

“What was what all about?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Bradley Hamilton.”

“Brad.”

“Not right now, it isn’t,” I say, my words hissing on the way out. I’m not exactly pissed at him, but I’m not exactly thrilled with him, either. I’m in a very confusing spot, emotionally. “Explain yourself.”

“What’s there to explain? I wanted a kiss.”

“Right then? Right in the same moment a group of guys walked in wearing uniforms?”

“You mean, Superman?”

“So, you do recognize him.” I cross my arms, understanding sinking in. “You thought you’d beat on that manly chest of yours and stake ownership over me?”

“I wasn’t staking ownership,” he says, backtracking. A look that resembles nervousness flushes onto his face. “I was—”

“Please explain, then, because I’m not understanding. It seems a lot like—”

“You can’t interrupt me and also tell me to explain!” He runs a hand through his hair, his chest heaving with quick breaths. “I am trying to explain.”

“Sorry.” I raise my hands and take a step back. “I’ll be quiet.”

We stare at each other across a foot of empty space. It feels strained between us, which is nuts considering just seconds ago I’d been drinking him in, thinking there was nothing in the world I needed more than for his hands to be all over me.

“I’m sorry. Maybe I did a little bit of beating on my chest,” he says. “But Sasha was talking to me about—”

“Sasha put you up to this?!” I interrupt again without realizing it. At his firm gaze, I slap a hand over my mouth. “Sorry, continue.”

“Sasha didn’t put me up to anything. We were just having a pleasant conversation where she politely warned me she’d poison my cookies if I did anything to hurt you.”

“God, I love that girl.”

He grimaces. “Your friends are insane.”

“Just the way I like them. Plus, don’t forget, you once considered yourself my friend. My best one, actually, which makes you extra nuts.”

“That’s the problem.”

“The nuts part?”

“No, the friend part.” He steps toward me, his hands coming to rest on my shoulders.

He has big hands, I realize now, and they make me feel all warm inside when they land on my body. He moves his thumbs, and I shiver. “What’s wrong with the friend part?”

“I don’t want to slip into that zone anymore.” His eyes land on me, hooded, darkening as he watches my every movement. “Sasha mentioned something that got me thinking. Have you been wondering what I thought of you these last few years?”

“Yeah, I was a bit curious.”

He frowns. “I hadn’t realized how selfish I’d been. I was too busy wallowing to think about how I made you feel.”

“You had a reason to wallow.”

“Maybe a little, but I didn’t have a reason to hurt you. I never did, never do, and I hate that I ever made you wonder.”

“Brad, it’s—”

He interrupts me this time with a look. A pleading look. “I saw those guys walk in, and I saw the way they look at you. You’re beautiful and fun and outgoing, and nobody in their right mind wouldn’t want to be with you in some way. Friend, boyfriend, drinking buddy, you name it.”

“I just said hi to them.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong! But I just... I couldn’t have you wondering how I felt anymore.” He lets his arms drop from my shoulders and they find a place in his pockets. “Maybe I overstepped my boundaries, and I’m sorry. Maybe I acted too caveman and brash, and I’m sorry. At the same time, I’m not sorry. Because I don’t want you to wonder how I feel. I like you, Lexi. A lot. Not in a friendly sort of way, either.”

My hands come up to hug myself. I can’t seem to reach for him, yet the space on my body he’d touched moments before seems far too empty. My own arms aren’t helping anything, so I look up in frustration. “Can you please hug me?”

Brad doesn’t need asking twice. He covers me in an embrace that begins on the outside, then winds its way through me. Somehow, in the matter of a month, days even, he’s inching his way right back into my heart.

Except this time, instead of keeping him tucked into the safe friend zone, it’s different. We’re different. I love being friends with Bradley; I am good at it. It’s this next phase that is stone-cold terrifying.

When I lost Brad’s friendship the first time, it was hard enough. If I lose him again—with so much more at stake—this time, it’ll destroy me.

“Don’t push me away again,” I mumble against his chest. “Whatever it is, just don’t do that. I can’t stand when you shut me out.”

“I promise.”

Gentle fingers pull through the strands of my hair, lulling me into a peaceful spot against his chest. I never want to leave here. I could stay in his arms forever, and I have no doubt it would be perfection.

“For the record, this is my place of work. I’m the boss, you know, and I can’t have you turning into a gorilla every time male customers walk into my diner.”

“I understand.”

“Good. Well, then...” I raise up to my tiptoes and let my arms circle around his neck. “Let me demonstrate how I feel about you.”