She looked down at the gift card for dinner for two at Sea Shells, Santa Rey’s most popular beachside restaurant.
“Have dinner with me,” he said softly.
Her insides threatened to melt into goo and she gritted her teeth against the appalling affect he had on her. She turned the card around so it faced him then pushed both it and the other one back toward him. And stiffened her rapidly weakening spine. “Thanks, but we already had this conversation. I told you I was involved.”
“I know. But I heard that you aren’t.”
“You heard wrong.”
“You have a boyfriend?”
She hesitated, cursing the fact that she wasn’t a better liar. That brief hesitation clanged out like a choir of church bells that she didn’t have a boyfriend. A triumphant gleam entered his eyes. “You don’t.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m looking for one,” she said.
“So I won’t be your boyfriend. I’ll just be the guy you go out to dinner with. What’s the harm in one little date?”
“I’m trying to get my business off the ground. I’m too busy right now to date.”
“Then what’s the harm in one little dinner? Or are you going to tell me you’re too busy to eat?”
Toni tucked a wayward curl behind her ear and drew a deep breath. “Look, I might as well tell you, Brad…you’re just not my type.”
“Because I’m a firefighter.”
It wasn’t a question. So clearly he’d heard something from someone. Well, good. It saved her from making explanations she wasn’t inclined to give. “That’s right.”
“Care to tell me what you have against my occupation?”
“No. And I can’t see how it matters. Listen, you seem like a nice guy-”
“I am. Ask my mom. She’ll tell you.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice, as if imparting a great secret. “Don’t ask my older brother, though. He’ll tell you I’m a pain in the ass.”
She had to force herself not to grin. “I appreciate you buying the gift cards, but I won’t go out to dinner with you.”
“Because I’m a firefighter.”
“Yes.”
“So, if I were say, an accountant, you’d go to dinner with me?”
“You’re not an accountant.”
“But if I were?” he insisted.
She desperately wanted to tell him no, but knew she’d never make it sound convincing given that every hormone in her body was shouting yes! “Fine. Yes, if you were an accountant, or a cowboy, or even a circus clown, I’d go to dinner with you. But you’re not, so I won’t.” She nodded toward the dozen centerpieces. “And now, unless there’s something else you’d like to purchase, I really need to get back to work.”
He studied her for several long seconds and she forced herself to hold his gaze so he could see she meant it and wasn’t being coy. Finally he gave a tight nod. “Can’t blame a guy for trying.” He scooped up the two gift cards and slipped them in his back pocket. “See ya, Toni,” he said softly, then turned and walked toward the door. The bell tinkled as he departed and Toni stared at the now-empty doorway. He was gone. Good. And undoubtedly wouldn’t be back. Even better. She’d probably never see him again. Excellent. She was glad. Really, really glad.
She returned her attention to her centerpieces. And ignored her little inner voice that told her she was a big fat liar.
3
LESS THAN a minute after Brad departed the shop, the door opened again. Toni’s heart jumped, thinking he had returned, but instead Jayne hurried in, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright, toting a shopping bag. Toni told herself that the odd feeling rushing through her was relief. Of course it was. It certainly wasn’t disappointment.
“Sorry I took so long,” Jayne said. “I got tied up at the firehouse. Not literally, of course,” she added with a laugh. “but when I arrived bearing toys, I was an instant hit with the firefighters.”
“Uh-huh. And I’m sure the fact that you’re blond and cute had nothing to do with it.”
“Uh-huh. And I’m also very happily married, and in case you’ve forgotten…” she turned to the side and struck a pose, one that emphasized the gentle swell of her belly “…five months pregnant, which is why I drank nothing but seltzer at Breezes last night. Speaking of firefighters, wasn’t that Brad Griffin I just saw leaving the shop?”
Toni nodded. “He bought two gift cards from our tree.” Have dinner with me.
“That was nice of him.”
I’m a nice guy. Ask my mom. “The Twelve Steamy Nights of Christmas is a big hit. Every card makes a great gift.”
“And speaking of gifts…I have not one, but two for you. And both of them have to do with Brad Griffin.”
Toni’s gaze shifted to the shopping bag Jayne set on the counter. “There’s a voodoo doll of him in that bag that I can stick pins in to make him go away?”
“Nope. Even better.” Jayne reached for her bright green Blooming Pails apron. “I got scoop on him.”
Toni shook her head. “Forget it. I know everything I need to know. Not interested.”
Jayne joined her behind the counter and set to trimming roses for the centerpieces. “Not even in his nickname at the Ocean Harbor Beach firehouse? It’s very…interesting.”
Toni pursed her lips. What the hell. Might as well make conversation. “Fine. You can tell me, but only because you’re clearly dying to. What is it, and how did you find out?”
“The guys were only too pleased to tell me when they gave me those.” She nodded her chin toward the shopping bag she’d placed on the counter.
“Those?”
Jayne set down her clippers and reached into the bag. “One for each of us.”
She handed Toni a calendar. The front showed a muscular firefighter sporting six-pack abs, leaning against a fire truck. Bright crimson letters proclaimed that Firefighters Like It Hot.
“Very nice,” Toni said, setting the calendar aside. “But I hope you didn’t pay too much for it. This calendar is from two years ago.”
“It was free. The calendar was made to raise funds for fire safety and awareness after those tens of thousands of acres burned a few years back. The station had some copies left over and the guys are giving them to folks who donate toys.”
“But who needs a calendar that’s two years old?”
“Eye candy never goes out of date. For instance-check out Mr. December.”
Suppressing a sigh, Toni picked up the glossy calendar and turned to December. And found herself staring at Brad. Brad whose skin gleamed wet from the water trickling out of the fire hose nozzle draped around his broad, muscular shoulders. Brad who wore only a sexy smile and his yellow bunker pants, which hung dangerously low on his lean hips, held up by a single red suspender. Brad, whose gorgeous blue-green eyes seemed to bore into hers, inviting her to join him in a little water fun.
Her gaze skimmed over his defined pecs and ridged abdomen and she barely resisted the urge to fan herself. A small Cross of Saint Florian tattoo, the badge of firefighters, adorned his chest, right above the place where she’d feel his heart beat if she were to touch him.
“Nice hose, huh?”
Jayne’s voice yanked Toni from the stupor into which she’d fallen. To her dismay she was tracing her fingertip over his tattoo. She snatched her hand away as if the paper had burned her. “I didn’t know he’d posed for a calendar.”
“I think there’s a lot you don’t know about him-something he’d clearly like to change since he’s in here every week. And if you think it’s because he likes flowers, you’re nuts.”
Toni somehow managed to pull her gaze away from the photograph. “He asked me out again when he was here this morning.”
“Please tell me you said yes.”