Preston

Sitting back in the chair, I stared at Harmony in disbelief. That is, until her eyes turned dark and she licked her lips. Leaning forward again, I cleared my throat. “I can’t believe you’ve never had the pleasure of eating Nutella. This is a landmark occasion. You’re gonna wanna put this down on your calendar as the day I changed your life.”

Harmony laughed and picked up the brioche and took a bite. Her eyes lit up before she closed them and she let out a moan that moved through my entire body.

Friends. Just friends.

“Holy crap. This is amazing. It’s like…chocolate!”

Laughing, I picked up my brioche and gestured to her. “I told you, it’s the most amazing dessert ever.”

After finishing up our desserts, we headed over to the station. I wasn’t sure why Harmony wanted to see where I worked, but it warmed my heart. Sherry never once asked to see where I worked. She of course did see where I worked, but she couldn’t have cared less. She hated what I did, but I loved it. I was proud of my job. At least I used to be. Now all I had were mixed emotions and I felt like I wasn’t sure about anything anymore.

Stopping in front of the station, I gave Harmony a weak smile. “This is it. Engine 37 and Ladder 26.” Smiling back at me, she asked the one question I was hoping she wouldn’t.

“Can we go inside?”

Tightening my hands into fists, I quickly loosened them. “Um, sure, if you want to.”

The bay doors were open so we walked in. Immediately in front of us was Sharp. Cursing under my breath, I slowly inhaled and let it back out.

Turning, Sharp gave me a smile from ear to ear. “Ward, you don’t know what it means to take a day off.”

Letting out a nervous laugh, I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow. Stopping directly in front of Sharp and a few other guys, I said a silent prayer they wouldn’t put two and two together. Sharp walked away from the other guys, who were all playing a card game.

“Mitchel Sharp, this is Harmony Banks, a friend of mine. She wanted to see where I worked.”

Reaching his hand out for Harmony’s, Sharp gave her a polite smile. “Harmony, huh? That’s a beautiful name.”

Harmony blushed and changed her posture just a bit. “I can’t take the credit on that one. My mother came up with it.”

I watched as Sharp’s eyes moved across Harmony’s body. Glancing back at me, he said, “So you guys are just friends, huh?”

Before I even had a chance to respond, Harmony laughed. “Yes! Very much just friends. Preston is being a gentleman of a guy and spending the day with me to cure my hangover.”

I wasn’t sure why Harmony’s words hurt more than I thought they should. Sharp smiled bigger. “I see. So, Harmony, how about I show you around?”

Smiling, Harmony went to speak but looked at me. Her smile faded briefly before she turned and looked around. That’s when I noticed the pain in my jaw from clenching my teeth together.

“I’ve always wondered what a firehouse looked like on the inside. So this is it, huh?”

“This is it,” I said as I glared at Sharp. The way he was looking at Harmony turned my stomach.

Walking up to her, he placed his hand on her lower back and I looked away, unable to take the sight of it.

Fucking hell. What is the matter with me? I want to pound my best friend’s face in just for touching her.

“How about that tour now, darling?” Sharp said as he stood a little too close to Harmony.

As she cleared her throat, I forced myself to turn and look at them. “Um…actually…Mitchel, was it?”

“Mitchel, Mitch, I’ll answer to anything you call me.”

Rolling my eyes, I glanced over at the other guys as they attempted to hold their laughter back.

Harmony let out a small chuckle and said, “I was kind of wanting Preston to show me where he worked and give me the tour.”

I pressed my lips together to hide my smile as Sharp placed his hand over his chest and said, “Ouch. Shot down before I was even out of the gate.”

Walking over to me, Harmony reached for my hand, shocking me, and asked, “Shall we?”

Glancing back over at Sharp, I gave him a small grin. “Um…yeah, sure.”

After introducing Harmony to the rest of the guys, I showed her where we slept, ate, and hung out between calls. I attempted to avoid Captain Ryan’s office, but he had glanced up and saw me showing Harmony around. I knew it wouldn’t be long before he came out. Sharp had told me that the captain had visited Harmony in the hospital. I was sure he would remember her.

“Wow, Preston. Your family must be pretty proud of you.”

Pulling my head back, I looked at her. “For what?”

Letting out a titter, she looked around as she pointed. “For this. Your job. I mean, you risk your life to save others. I can’t even begin to wonder how your poor mother did it with her husband and now you.”

“My brother Finn is a firefighter as well. So she not only has to worry about me, she has to worry about him as well.”

Harmony’s eyes widened in horror. “And your other brother? What does he do? Nothing dangerous, I hope, for your mother’s sake.”

Scrunching up my face, I said, “Wes is a banker in New York City. Dresses in suits every day, and expensive shoes. I’m positive one of his suits costs more than what I make in a year.”

Laughing, Harmony gave me a gentle push. “What about your sister? You mentioned she was younger. What does she do?”

“Angie’s a senior in high school.”

“Oh wow. Do you mind if I ask how old you are, Preston?” The way Harmony was chewing on her lower lip had my stomach going all kinds of crazy.

“He’s twenty-three. One of the best firefighters I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside. Well, since his daddy, that is.”

Closing my eyes, I held my breath and turned to see my captain standing in front of me. “Hey there, Cap. This is a friend of mine, Harmony Banks. She wanted to see where I worked.”

Reaching her hand out, Harmony spoke first. “Captain Ryan, it’s a pleasure seeing you again.”

My eyes snapped to Harmony and then to the floor. Harmony and the cap talked for a few minutes while I stood there and tried to calm my beating heart. The cap had warned me to stay away from Harmony and here I was not only with her, but showing her where I worked.

“Harmony, do you mind if I speak with Ward—I mean Preston—for a minute?”

My mouth went dry and I had an overwhelming urge to flee.

“No, not at all. Should I just wait here?”

“Yes!” I said, almost in a panic. If she stayed there, I could keep my eye on her and would know if Sharp tried to talk to her. “Um, just have a seat and I’ll be right back.”

Reaching for the cap’s hand again, Harmony shook it and said, “It was nice seeing you again.”

“It was my pleasure, Harmony.” Cap turned and walked toward his office as I followed. Glancing over my shoulder, I smiled when I saw Harmony watching us walk away.

“Shut the door, Ward, and have a seat.”

Fuck.

Doing as he asked, I sat down and held my breath, waiting for the unexpected.

Cap sat and leaned back in his chair. He rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and tented his fingers under his chin. “Want to tell me what you’re doing, son?”

Sitting up straight, I gave him a confused look. “What do you mean, Cap?”

Glancing over my shoulder at Harmony, he looked back at me and straight into my eyes.

“Preston, you’ll never be able to ease her pain. The loss of her child was not your fault and by becoming her friend you’re not making it easier on either one of you.”

Anger built up in my veins as I gripped the armrests. “I’m not being her friend out of sympathy. I enjoy her company and it has nothing to do with her son. I know, Cap, it wasn’t my fault. I’ve moved on from it.”

Raising his eyebrows, he said, “Have you? Why are you always taking off, Preston? You’re damn near out of vacation time and you never took vacation before that accident. Ever.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I looked into his eyes. “I’m over it, sir. I’m fine.”

Nodding, he looked at his desk and said, “I’m going to ask you one question. And this is not me being your boss asking it. It’s me, a longtime family friend asking. Do you have feelings for her?”

There was one thing I would never do, and that was lie to the man sitting across from me. “Honestly, sir, I’m not sure. I’ve been having some confusing thoughts going through my mind. I keep telling myself we’re just friends. That’s all we are…friends…just friends. I enjoy her company and I think she enjoys mine. I mean, is that so bad?”

Smiling slightly, he shook his head. “No, that’s not bad at all. Just remember what she’s been through, Preston. I don’t want to see you get hurt. What about Sherry?”

Moving nervously in my seat, I looked away as I said, “We broke up.”

“Really? Why?”

Looking back at him, I caught his eyes. “Cap, I’ve told you my feelings for Sherry weren’t what I first thought they were. It was a long time coming.”

Standing up, he pushed his hands through his hair and said, “Preston, I want you to take things slow. Whether this is a friendship or something more…take it slow.” Cap’s eyes moved to the window and he frowned for just a brief second. But it was long enough to cause me to look over my shoulder back at Harmony.

That fucking bastard. Sharp was sitting next to Harmony with his arm draped on the sofa behind her.

Standing up, I looked back at Cap. “Okay, well, I guess we ought to be going.”

When Cap grabbed my arm and stopped me, I closed my eyes and waited for what was coming.

“I see the way you look at her, Preston. And the way you just reacted when you saw Sharp sitting next to her.”

Smiling, I turned around and said, “Cap, it’s nothing. If anything I’m probably just being protective, like a big-brother kind of thing.”

“Uh-huh. I don’t ever remember you looking at Sherry like that once in the two years you dated her, son.”

My smile dropped and I quickly spun around and headed to the door. Opening it up, I stepped outside the office and inhaled deeply to try to compose myself before walking over to Harmony and Sharp.

After leaving the fire station, Harmony asked if we could stop in a few stores. She was still trying to decorate her new place and needed some things to add life to the condo. I’d never had so much fun shopping in my life. The best part was, Harmony couldn’t make a decision to save her life so we only had two bags to carry.

“Are you getting hungry?” I asked as we walked out of one store.

Stopping and looking at me, she laughed. “Yes! I’ve been having so much fun I didn’t even realize it was so late. Dinner sounds amazing. What did you have in mind?”

“How about we go to my uncle’s place? He owns a beer joint with some of the best food in Boston.”

Giggling, Harmony said, “Sounds like we found our place for dinner. I can’t wait to see it.”

Laughing, I remembered Harmony’s comment about Irish guys. “Oh, I can’t wait for them to see you.”

Grabbing her hand, I called for a taxi. Taking a quick look at her Yankees gear, I cursed myself for not being able to get it off her by lunchtime. I’d tried a few times to get her to buy another shirt. I even bet her once or twice on something and if I won, she had to change. Nothing had worked. I silently said a prayer everyone would take it easy on my girl.

Glancing at Harmony, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh. “John’s Place on Broad Street.”