Bad Boy's Heart: A Firemen in Love Series Novella (2 page)

Oh, man, if only she wasn't tying the knot in a few minutes. I'd find us someplace quiet and tear that dress right off of her. Mm, the things I'd do to that deliciously curvy body of hers.

“You're supposed to be smiling on your wedding day,” I said, trying in vain to compose myself. “What's bugging you?”

“The ceremony starts in fifteen minutes. The chapel's full; hundreds of people have been invited from all over the country. Our parents spent thousands to make the day perfect.” She let out a sob. “And my engagement ring just fell down the drain in the restroom sink!”

“What the hell are you doing out here, then? Shouldn't you be looking for a janitor or something to get it out for you?”

“I can't find anyone to help,” she mumbled. “Everybody's already seated and waiting. I can't even find my dad, and he's supposed to be walking me down the aisle. This day's turning out to be a
disaster.
”

I certainly hoped this Andy guy was worth all the trouble. I stifled my jealousy as best a man could and rested my hand on her back.

Her
bare
back. Oh, God. There was no fabric where I touched her. She was so soft, so warm, I immediately needed more of her.

She gasped and jumped, surprised at my touch. Our eyes locked, then she looked away and pretended to brush something off her clothes.

“I'll help you get the ring back.”

She brightened right away. “Y-you will?”

“Sure. We can't have you walking down the aisle bare handed.” I chuckled. “Besides, if I didn't, I have a feeling your mother would castrate me.”

“You saw my mom?”

“She was ranting in the lobby a moment ago. Didn't take kindly to my truck blocking her limo.”

“Mom's never taken kindly to
anything
about you. She always thought you were a bad influence on me.”

“Allie, I
am
a bad influence.” I winked and headed for the truck to grab some tools. “But I'm also a hell of a lot of fun.”

She seemed to cheer up a little when I said that. Allie was what I used to call her way back in the day. Calling her that now brought up memories I'd long thought forgotten.

Memories of that kiss changed easily into fantasies. What would it be like to have her now?

Why was I so freaking jealous that this Andy bastard got to kiss her at the altar instead of me?

Inside the cathedral, violin music covered the noise of our entrance. Just as she'd said, the place was packed, with not an empty pew in the house.

“In there,” she whispered, pointing at the womens' restroom. “Hurry, please.”

“Yeah, yeah. Keep your pants on.”

Or take that dress off. Wouldn't mind very much if you did that...

Lucky for us that the bathrooms were down the hall a bit, away from the stares of all the guests. Pretty sure they wouldn't be too pleased if they caught me and the bride heading in there together.

“It's that one, on the left.”

She pointed out the sink. I flicked on a flashlight and peered down the drain.

“Shouldn't be much trouble, long as nobody rinsed it down any further. I'll probably be able to fish it out without taking the pipes apart.”

While I dug through my toolkit, she sighed and hugged me from behind. My cock had started to behave, but her innocent touch had me standing at attention all over again.

Even the
smell
of her, lavender or something, made me faint with lust.

It just wasn't fair. I'd never wanted to fuck a woman so badly as I did her – yet minutes from now, I'd lose my chance, maybe forever.

“Thanks, Carter. You're still a good friend. Makes me wish we hadn't lost contact over the years.”

“Uh, yeah. I was thinking the same thing.”

With trembling hands, I managed to shape a piece of wire to fit down the drain. She lingered back there, pacing back and forth, while I worked.

“You can have my number, if you want.” She spoke so softly I could hardly hear. “It would be nice to catch up, don't you think?”

“I don't think your new husband would like that too much.”

I tried very hard to keep my words from sounding bitter. Still, I couldn't hide anything from her. Never could; she just knew me too well.

“I didn't mean it like that, duh. We're old friends. He'll understand.”

The end of my wire bent and caught against something. All right, this had to be –

“There you are! We
thought
we saw you going into the girls' bathroom.”

Alicia shrieked at Jayce, who stood in the doorway grinning like an idiot. He and I had gotten into several fights over the years, but this was the first time I seriously felt like punching him.

“Sorry for interrupting.” He nodded at Alicia, then winked his approval. “Good one, man. Scoring the bride on her wedding day, in a church no less?”

“Shut up. I'm helping her with her ring, and that's it. Go back to stuffing your faces.”

“We can't. Mom of the bride found out we'd dug into the dessert table, and she threatened to call the cops.”

Alicia looked like she was going to punch him, too. She stared me down with narrowed eyes.

“Is this a friend of yours?”

I gazed down the drain and fiddled with the wire some more. “
Was
a friend.”

“So this is the sort of company you keep these days.”

She did not seem impressed. Well, not that it mattered anyway.

I'd lost her ten years ago, damn it, and now here I was about to lose her all over again.

Out in the sanctuary, the music quieted. The ceremony was going to start any minute. Alicia coped with the stress by fiddling with the huge sparkly bow on her dress.

“Did you find it? Is it in there?”

“Calm down. There'll probably be a delay anyway, given that your fiance has yet to arrive.”

She fell silent. I could feel her stare boring holes into my back.

“...What did you say?”

Oh shit. She didn't know, did she? Jayce always said I couldn't keep my big mouth shut. There he was in the corner, laughing to himself as I tried to dig myself out of this hole.

There was a knock on the door. In came the three bridesmaids, looking very worried indeed.

“Oh, Alicia, we were looking everywhere for you and...” The blonde saw me and howled. “What are there boys doing in the ladies' room? With
you?
”

Jayce adjusted his coat and sidled up next to her with a grin. “So maybe this isn't the most romantic of places, but I just can't help myself. What's your name, hmm?”

The girls sounded like a bunch of yowling cats as they tried to shove him out of the restroom, their long, manicured nails tearing at his arms. Alicia was speechless.

“Ah, hey – I got it!”

The wire looped through the ring, and I pulled the gleaming band through the drain. Holy shit, just look at the size of the diamond. Guy had to be loaded to afford a thing like that.

Everyone stared as I dropped the ring into her hand. She didn't thank me. She barely even blinked.

“Is it true?” She looked at her friends sadly. “Andy hasn't gotten here yet?”

They stammered to make excuses for him. Nothing they said would wipe that look off her face.

“What is all the noise in here? Alicia, you're supposed to be waiting outside. Your father is wondering where you were.”

Ellen marched into the restroom and spotted us right away. Boy, I'd never seen her face turn that shade of purple.

“Get out! How
dare
you!” She grabbed for me. “I've known since you were a perverted teenager that you were after my daughter, McGraw. That's all you ever wanted – to get in her pants.”

The bridesmaids and Jayce looked on in horror as she beat me with her purse. Between blows, she managed to turn the faucet on. Water sprayed across the room, drenching Ellen as well as Alicia.

The other girls jumped to their defense, blotting up the mess with paper towels and assuring them their hair still looked great.

Someone shoved us guys out into the hallway and slammed the door shut behind us. Jayce laughed at me.

“Damn. I didn't get that chick's number. Ah, well. Guess it's back to work for us.”

“I'm staying for the ceremony,” I said, grabbing him. “And so are you.”

He complained, but I didn't care. I'd only just walked back into her life, and I refused to leave her again.

Chapter 2 - Alicia

“This is a travesty, that's what it is.” Mom ran her fingers through her wet hair. “The wedding was to begin five minutes ago. This is all that Carter's fault.”

I played with the ring on my finger. Today was the day I'd replace it with the wedding band Andy and I chose together.

But he wasn't here yet, and the pit in my stomach said something was
very
wrong.

“Don't blame him. He was only trying to help.”

She snorted and painted her lips as red as that firetruck.
Carter's
truck. He was a fireman now and boy, did he look it.

In high school, he was a slender yet strong guy from his years swimming and playing for the soccer team. He'd built up some serious muscles over the past decade.

I was ashamed to admit his sexy smile made me melt inside. One look from him sent my heart racing. Andy hadn't done that to me, not ever.

But I was getting married today. How could I think such filthy thoughts about another man? Something was
seriously
the matter with me.

“Besides,” I said quietly, as the girls fussed over my makeup. “What does it matter? Andy hasn't come. Maybe he won't show up at all.”

Heidi, my maid of honor, yelped and smacked my arm. “Don't you say that! Of course he'll be here. He's never let you down before, has he?”

“Could have gotten into an accident,” suggested Lacey, pessimistic as ever. “Rush hour traffic's pretty bad on the highway this time of day. Has anyone bothered to turn on the news?”

“Lacey, shut
up!
”

They argued behind me. Mom continued on her tirade about how horrible Carter was. I tuned it all out and stared at myself in the mirror.

I had to be honest with myself for once. Seeing Carter again, feeling what I did for him, made me realize something serious. I'd been living a lie, so to speak, for a while now.

I honestly thought I loved Andy. We'd been a couple for three years, and he was everything pretty much any girl would want in a partner. He treated me well, had a great job, and was generous with his money. My salary as a kindergarten teacher would never have been enough for all those fancy dinners and vacations, for sure.

But I never really
felt
anything for him. Not like the way I felt when Carter looked into my eyes.

Or when he kissed me our senior year. Even back then, I knew that kiss was freaking magic.

“Don't you worry your pretty head about Andy, dear,” mom added. She powdered her cheeks with blush. “He comes from a good, honorable family. And in just a few minutes, you'll be part of the family too. Aren't you just so excited?”

“Yeah.” My stomach churned. “Excited.”

“C'mon, Samantha.” Heidi tugged at her dress sleeve. “Let's go take our places. And Lacey, for the love of God, remember to smile for the cameras.”

When they were gone, mom came to straighten out my dress. It was somewhat wrinkled after pacing on the steps outside.

“This is a big deal for you, Alicia. For all of us. You know that,” she said softly. “The Landovers are very wealthy. Once you're married to him, you'll never need to worry about money again.”

“I'm not marrying him for his money, mom.”

She frowned. “I know you're not. It's just that, well, your father and I want the best for you. Some of the boys you dated before Andy worried me, but I think you've chosen a wonderful husband.”

Seemed the only men she approved of were the rich ones, but I didn't bother saying that.

“It's more than that, too,” she added. “You know this is the only way to get your inheritance from grandma and grandpa.”

“Jeez, mom. Seriously?”

She noticed how frizzy the humidity had made my hair and set to work coating it with hairspray and gel. I was twenty-seven years old, and she was still treating me like a child. Some things, I assumed, were never going to change.

“You know their rules. If you want to receive your portion of the estate, you must marry – and not just any old schlub, mind. A good man with a solid grip on life. Lucky for you that Andy is both.”

My grandparents lived in Florida, were retired, and not exactly the sanest of elderly people. They were also quite rich, maybe even more so than Andy, thanks to running an array of successful businesses over the past couple of decades.

Our side of the family was admittedly pretty small. My mother was their only child, just like I was the lone kid my parents decided to have. So, they ended up with a massive estate to split up and not very many people to hand it out to.