The Firefighter's Appeal (Harlequin Superromance) (2 page)

Lily smiled, and her lips parted to give a reassuring reply when something hit Macy in the back of the head. A roar of excited laughter went through the room. Lily’s gaze snapped back to the bar, saw the barrel of a T-shirt cannon pointed her way. All three bartenders had them and, instead of shirts, they were shooting small packages around the room. People started to jump up to catch the prizes, making mad dashes across the floor and over tables to grab handfuls. Lily frowned. What the hell was in those packages?

The hot bartender aimed one her way, a big smile crossing his face as a packet hit her in the side of the head before plopping onto the bingo board. Lily cupped her head in astonishment, her eyes falling to the item that had hit her. Candy.

Macy snorted. “Damn, Lily. That was either a challenge or an invitation. Probably both, you lucky bitch.”

Lily palmed the package, then shrieked when another pinged painlessly off the top of her head. She looked; the bartender was staring at her, the I-dare-you smile too much to resist. The crowd of women by the bar had thinned, giving her an easy path. Could she do it? Even if she made a fool of herself—which was pretty much a given—it wasn’t like she’d be back at this bar. She’d never see him again.

Lily pushed away from the table. Before the fire, she’d just started becoming more social and outgoing. An introvert by nature, she found it terrifying and often exhausting to plop herself in social situations, but she’d been trying. Macy was always a ray of light and energy, everything Lily wasn’t, and Lily had craved some of that for herself.

So she’d been forcing herself go to friends’ houses for dinner parties or to the movies by herself. Instead of rushing through shopping trips as quickly as possible, she’d made herself slow down and browse—take some time to enjoy her surroundings. And it had been working until the fire. Afterward, she’d holed up in her own little world again, blocking out everyone but her father, brother and Macy.

She really missed those little peeks of the extrovert she’d experienced before. Risk or not, she owed it to herself to try to find her backbone again. The bartender turned away from the crowd, giving Lily a boost in the nerves department. He wouldn’t see her walk up to him, making it a little easier to approach—or make a detour and go back to the table if she chickened out. She stood before she could talk herself out of it.

“I’ll play your board while you’re—whatever. Okay,” Macy shouted as Lily walked away. Lily smoothed her hair as she pushed through the crowd. Three steps in, she had to fight the urge to run back to her secluded table in the corner. Lifting her chin, Lily made it to the bar, but a row of people waiting for drinks separated her from the cocky smile she wanted to see up close. She moved down until she found an opening and squeezed up to the bar. The bartenders bustled around. The air cannons had been put away in exchange for bottles of booze.

“Can I help you?” A tall, lean man with glossy dark hair grabbed a glass from the overhead rack. His eyes flashed with good humor and a dimple appeared in his left cheek when he smiled. She glanced around him, latching on to the man she’d come to see.

“Ah,” the bartender said with an amused smile. “Hey, September! You have company.”

September?
Lily mulled that over, observing the decor behind the bar in an attempt to settle her nerves. Old license plates, sports memorabilia and beer signs were artfully arranged in between chalkboards full of menu items and fantasy football scores. A glass display case sitting on a shelf caught her attention. It took her a moment to realize a firefighting helmet sat inside. She cocked her head, noticing how the front of the helmet looked normal but the back was a lump of what looked like melted plastic. Must be a prop of some kind, because fire helmets weren’t supposed to melt, right? The men were covered head to toe in gear that could withstand flame and heat—gear that allowed them inside the chaos to rescue the people trapped inside.

Lily clenched her jaw.
Damn. It.

Suddenly, cold liquid spilled over the curve of her lower back as someone rammed into her. Lily yelped and spun to see a very drunk man stumbling away with an empty plastic cup. Her arms went wide, chills racing down her spine and curving around her hip bones.

“Here,” a deep voice called to her. Lily turned around and glimpsed a fluffy white towel sliding across the mahogany bar top toward her. Her eyes tracked up from a broad chest to the face she’d wanted to see up close. Narrow blue eyes, framed by eyelashes so dark they made the blue brilliant. They were the kind of eyes that would glow seductively in a black-and-white photo, grab you by the ovaries and never let go. Square jaw, round chin...lips full enough to be soft, with a firm outline that promised they could also bruise.

Lily took the towel with a shaking hand. He was definitely as good-looking as she’d suspected. Her heart pumped. Smiling was probably a good idea. Lily gave a little grin—at least she hoped that was what it looked like because her cheeks were tight and hot.

“Thanks,” she managed to say, wiping the liquid off her back. Unsure what to say next, Lily dropped her gaze to the bingo board lying on the bar. Talking would probably be good, too. “Four corners—you won...” When was the last time her face had been this hot? Her scalp tingled; her gut tightened. Bingo talk was good, right, when her brain was otherwise at a loss?

The bartender chuckled softly, a deep sound that was somehow soothing. “Yeah.” He nodded to the board. “What do you think we should win?”
We?
His blue eyes were twinkling, and the way he leaned one elbow on the bar, his chest turned toward her, made it clear that he was flirting.

Lily propped her right arm on the bar. “Well, considering I had to wear this getup, a trip somewhere warm and exotic would be nice.” She let out a tiny relieved breath. This talking thing wasn’t so hard.

He set both forearms on the bar and gave her a quirky, self-confident smile that threatened to set her panties on fire. “Considering I was born and raised in Hawaii, I can’t argue with that.” He winked and backed off, leaving her mouth dry and her chest breathless. Before she could think of an appropriate response, he cocked his head.

“Beer?” His mouth opened to let the word out...closed again—the tip of his tongue peeking out to wet the lower lip. Lily’s heart rate jacked up. He leaned closer. The stubble over his jaw and down the sexy column of his throat made her itch to touch it. She swallowed hard, realized he’d spoken.

“No. No, I don’t drink.” She leaned back an extra inch from the bar. “Water, please.” He was already reaching under the bar and then produced a cold water bottle, cracked the top and set the bottle in front of her. Lily hesitated before taking it, pretty sure she was going to have to dump it over her head to cool herself down. Irritated by how flustered she was, Lily took a drink. The water was shocking to her parched throat. The bartender took a swig from a beer bottle and set it down, then extended a hand. Lily hesitated before shaking it.

“Garrett.”

“Lily.”

He gave a brief nod and turned to fill a glass for a waiting patron. A man in a fire department T-shirt slipped behind the bar, looked at Lily and put a finger to his lips as if to silence her. He opened a small refrigerator behind Garrett and took out two beers. Garrett spun around just as the man pulled the beers to his chest like a football and scurried out, dancing through the crowd.

Garrett cupped his hands around his mouth. “That calls for revenge, Mikey!” He turned back to her, his grin scrunching the outside corners of his eyes. His smile wrenched the breath out of her like a cold wind. The tension in her body let go. He was really too good-looking to be out in public.

A waft of perfume rippled by Lily as two blondes with pink-painted smiles shimmied up to the bar, eyes zoned in on Garrett. He gave them a nod, waved another bartender over to assist them as he leaned against the bar in front of Lily again. A flood of warmth pooled in her chest and spread down her arms. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a man’s full attention on her and it was terrifying...and kind of wonderful.

She leaned against the bar. “So why did you hit me in the head?”

His eyebrows raised and his smug expression deepened. “Did I? I’m sorry.”

Her eyes fell to the thick, strong lines of his neck, and she could feel her nipples perk up inside the bra. Lily resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest. Thank goodness the bra was hard, so he couldn’t see how her body was reacting. She huffed with a grin. “No, you’re not.”

Garrett leaned a little closer toward her. “Okay, Lily. Truth?”

One corner of her mouth tugged up. “Yeah, truth.”

Garrett reached out and touched her shoulder. Before she could object, his fingers wrapped around her upper arm and drew her closer over the bar. Shivers of pleasure dotted her skin, followed by hot streaks when his fingers ran down the length of her tattoo.

“I wanted to see your ink. Since I can’t leave here, I figured I’d get you to come to me.”

She shrugged off the lightness that admission gave her. The sensation of his warm fingers trailing along the big white-and-orange flowers on her shoulder and down to her wrist caused a fog machine to open up in her head. Slowly, his index finger outlined the arch and curve of the hunter-green leaves and lighter kelly-green vines that swirled throughout the artwork.

Lily drank in his appreciative expression as she cataloged the handsome lines of his round chin and the firm, masculine outline of his soft, full lips. She found herself leaning into the press of his hand, just as his fingers trailed away. Little wonder she was tingling from head to toe—it was the first time she’d been touched by a man in almost a year.

And her ex had nothing on Garrett.

“Beautiful work.”

She took a drink, immediately missing the feel of his hand on her, but hating how weak her legs were just then. With one touch, he’d thrown her into a fun house with a crooked floor.

“Thank you. Do you have any?”

A shout came from the other end of the bar; Garrett grabbed a bottle from the fridge behind him and tossed it to someone Lily couldn’t see. He turned back to her with a shake of his head. “Nah. I, uh...well, it’s probably a strike to my manhood to admit, but I have a
thing
about needles.”

She snickered despite herself. “You’re what? Six-two—”

“Six one and a half, thank you.” He took a swig from his beer around a chuckle. “I know, I know. Someone like me, scared of needles. It’s sacrilegious.” His voice was deep with a resonance that shivered through every nerve in her body. “Since we’re being truthful here, you should also know that I’m...” He looked around as if to see if anyone would overhear before locking his gaze on hers. “I’m also deathly afraid of spiders.”

She feigned horror. “No!”

He wagged his eyebrows, a move that was equally boyish and sexy, drawing yet another chuckle from her. Lily’s own brows came together with the realization that she was completely at ease. Sounds from the bar rushed in her ears—foreign and sudden, as if she’d blocked out the noise. Before she could ponder that, his fingers traced along her collarbone to the tie around her neck holding the coconut bra in place.

“As a native Hawaiian, it’s my sworn responsibility to tell you that I approve of your coconuts.” The pads of his fingers were rough, as if they’d known countless hours of manual labor and rowdy play. Lily’s skin heated under the gentle scrape of his touch along her neck, her knees threatening to give out altogether. Lily gripped the bar; Garrett’s hand sank beneath the shade of her hair, following the string to where the ends were tied. It would only take one quick pull—just one—and he’d have the strings free.

Her chest squeezed at the intimate, familiar way he touched her. She should have been indignant, not turned on and mesmerized by the hard and soft pressure of his fingers retreating along the path they’d come. Garrett’s hand fell away, but his gaze felt like a caress over her cheek. His voice was low, with a tinge of husky amusement. “So what flavors did you get?”

Her middle quivered as if she were about to perform improv in front of all these strangers. “Flavors?”

Garrett reached under the bar for a large plastic container. “The candy.” He produced a handful of packets, throwing them down on the bar. “Root beer. Orange dreamsicle. Berry.” He flipped one over. “Black licorice.” His smile fell at the same time she made a disgusted face.

She shuddered, a move that seemed to shake off most of the effect of his unexpected—if not welcome—touch. “Throw that away.” She laughed.

“Agreed.” Garrett tossed it in a trash can behind him. “So?” His eyes narrowed a bit, his head cocking slightly as if he was studying her. She reached between the faux grass of her skirt to the pocket of the khaki shorts she wore underneath and grabbed the packet.

“Oh, this? Orange dreamsicle.” Her brain started a little happy dance. It felt good to flirt with him, and, amazingly, her tongue-brain connection was working like a charm at the moment.

Garrett’s eyes tracked her movements. “Hmm, do you like that flavor?”

Lily shrugged, drawn in by the heat of his gaze. His pecs bunched close together as he shifted. She had to look; trying not to look at him was like trying to stop the earth’s rotation. “Yes.”

She’d flirted before, of course. But never with quite this much sexual undertone. Mostly, she had no idea how to respond, though her inner wildcat was trying her damnedest to play this game. It was fun and made her feel feminine and aware, for the first time in too long, that she was young and single.

Garrett slid a hand over to hers, his fingers briefly grazing over her knuckles. “In that case, you know where to come if you want more.”

Lily was halfway to taking a drink and nearly spilled the bottle at the grainy sound of his words. Tongue-brain connection lost.

Garrett moved back to help someone while Lily took a deep breath. The clink of bottles and glasses surrounded her; the low tone of Garrett’s voice washed over her as he spoke to a customer. He was quick to mix up a couple of drinks, flashing just the right amount of smile and charm as he interacted with a woman next to her. Lily did a double take to her left. A line of women had formed next to her, all glancing hopefully—excitedly—at Garrett. He’d ignored one woman in order to talk to Lily, but this line was too long and estrogen fueled to be defeated.