Hours later, going on one in the morning, I stripped down at the station and took a hot shower. I was the last one of our crew at the station. After showering, I made sure everything was locked up in the back and was about to leave when I heard a voice from the reception area.

I walked to the front and found Lucy sitting in the waiting room. She’d obviously showered since I’d seen her a few hours ago. Her blonde hair was damp, and she was wearing a t-shirt and a pair of swingy cotton pants. A removable brace was on her forearm.

It was rare to see Lucy in anything other than her construction gear. Lucy might almost look like a fairy, but she was one of the toughest women I knew. I’d had a thing for her ever since I moved to Willow Brook right after high school. She'd ignored me then, and she mostly ignored me now. Those moments today when I helped get her off the roof were probably the longest amount of time I’d spent with her alone.

I pushed through the door into the waiting area. “Hey Lucy, what's up?”

She glanced toward me. “Maisie let me in a little while ago and said I could wait,” she said, referring to our call dispatcher. “I just wanted to thank you. Seriously.”

Maisie didn’t usually work late, but her fiancée, Beck, had been on duty with us at the fire tonight.

I was surprised to see Lucy. She tended to treat men like they were gum on her shoe, myself included. She stood up as I walked toward her. My body tightened—the way it always did when she was around. She was quiet, two red spots appearing on her fair cheeks. She was usually ignoring me, arguing with me, or glaring at me. It was so rare to not have her doing that, I had to soak it in for a minute.

She couldn't be much over five feet tall, if that. She was slender, but curvy. No matter how hard she tried to hide her curves under baggy clothes and her battered construction outfits, it was impossible not to notice. At least for me.

Ever since the first time I met Lucy, I’d been drawn to the bundle of contradictions she was. She was an electrician and a kick ass builder. She could probably hold her own on any construction crew given her skill, yet she’d joined Amelia’s small business and bought into it. They were one of the most sought after construction companies in town due to Amelia’s high-end architectural designs, their solid work and the fact they refused to expand. They took only a few projects every summer and turned down far more than they accepted. Lucy looked at home in her usually worn jeans and t-shirts paired with leather work boots.

With her fair skin, blonde hair and sky blue eyes, her looks belied her personality. At a glance, if you didn't know, you would think she was sweet based on her angelic appearance. Her nose was pert and tipped up at the end. She had fine cheekbones, her brows arched delicately, and she had thick blonde lashes framing her wide blue eyes. To top it all off, she had plump, lush lips. Fuck. Not the best idea for me to stare at her. My cock twitched.

She looked apprehensive as she stared back at me. She swallowed, the sound audible in the quiet room.

“Well, that was all,” she said.

“What was all?”

“That,” she said, circling her hand in the air. “I just came to say thanks.”

She shifted on her feet and adjusted her shoulders, her eyes flicking away from me and back again. A wave of protectiveness rolled through me. What the hell was it about her? She just got to me. It wasn't simply that I wanted her—because holy fuck did I want her. When I saw her like this, I wanted to protect her, although I couldn’t tell you why. It was so rare for her not to be ignoring me or arguing with me, I didn’t quite know what to do with the feelings welling up inside.

“You don't have to thank me, Lucy. It’s my job,” I finally said.

She nodded, fiddling with a ring on her hand. “I know, but still.”

She went quiet, snagging her bottom lip with her teeth and worrying it. My cock did more than twitch now. I took a breath, willing my cock down. It ignored me. As long as Lucy kept chewing on her bottom lip, I was going to have to get a handle on myself.

I nodded again, trying to stay laser focused on the moment. “No problem.” I gestured to her arm in its bright blue brace. “How’s your arm?”

“Oh, it’s good. No break, but the doctor thinks I bruised the bone. They didn’t even put a cast on it. Just this thing. It’ll be a pain in the ass for work, but I’ll make do.”

“Glad you’re okay.”

She started to turn away.

“Don’t go out that way,” I said quickly. “I don't have the key to bolt this door from inside. I've only got the one for the back. Follow me.”

She swung to face me again, and it occurred to me this was one of the rare times I'd seen her with her hair down. It was almost always stuffed up under a baseball hat or pulled back in a ponytail. I’d had no idea how long it was. The damp golden locks tumbled in waves around her shoulders and halfway down her back. She was breathtaking.

She nodded, her cheeks still flushed, and followed me as I led the way into the back area. We reached the main door to the crew parking area, and I held it open for her. As she walked by me, she unintentionally brushed against me. A jolt of electricity hit me at the brief point of contact. I took a breath and shackled my need, quietly letting her pass before closing and locking the door behind her.

I glanced around the parking lot, expecting to see the little blue truck she drove. When I didn’t, I looked to her. “Where’s your truck?”

She shrugged. “In the shop.”

“Need a ride?”

She took a deep breath and let it out before looking to me and away. She shrugged. When she looked back to me, her cheeks were flushed.

“No thanks.” She paused before continuing. “I told off my landlord,” she said bluntly, a little laugh following.

That came out of left field, but I burst out laughing. Leave it to Lucy to tell off her landlord.

“What the hell for?”

She was actually laughing, a rare sight for me. She had a husky, throaty laugh, which didn't help the state of my body. On the heels of her laugh dying down, she shrugged.

“He's a fucking asshole, and he wanted to almost double the rent for next year. It's not that I can't afford it because I probably could, but he just pissed me off. I told him to fuck off. Until I find another place, I was planning to do some serious couch surfing. I'll figure something out.”

I wasn’t sure how we got from her truck to this. “I think you might’ve missed the deadline for couch surfing tonight.”

One of her small shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “I’ll call Amelia.”

I couldn't quite believe the next thing I said.

“You can stay with me.”

I swear, I wasn't offering to get her into my bed. Hell, I knew the odds of that were slim. The words slipped out. It’s what I would offer any friend. As soon as I spoke, the implications became clear in my mind. Any proximity with Lucy was probably not a good idea for me.

I must've startled her because her mouth actually dropped open. She snapped it shut, her eyes narrowing.

“I don't need anywhere to stay,” she said quickly. “I’ll call Amelia and see if I could crash there tonight. She’ll pick me up.”

My mouth almost fell open. Because it was that ridiculous for her to call Amelia now, considering it was past one in the morning.

“You haven’t called her yet?” I asked.

Lucy shook her head. Either she didn't even think about her conundrum until it was too late to ask, or she was being stubborn. No matter what, it was too late to call Amelia. Not to mention Amelia and Cade lived a good twenty minutes outside of town.

“Lucy, at least stay at my place for tonight, okay?”

She eyed me skeptically. After a beat, she nodded.