Only Her Smokejumper Firefighter - Cami Checketts Page 0,2

couldn’t have run if she tried.

She was in deep, deep trouble.

“Hey,” he said as he approached. He stepped in close, infusing her senses with an alluring smell of pine needles and man. He personified the outdoors, this guy. Bending low, he brushed his lips across her cheek, startling her and making her want much, much more. “You look incredible, Mavyn.”

Mavyn wavered on her heels and he immediately wrapped his arm around her waist to steady her. She should’ve told him to back off, thinking he was much too forward, but the connection between them zinged and grew stronger. There was no backing off. She was meant to be supported and loved by him.

“I don’t even know your name,” she said in wonder, staring up at him.

He grinned wider. “Ren Chadwick.”

“What are you doing to me, Ren Chadwick?” she asked in a breathy voice she hardly recognized.

“Buying you dinner, getting to know everything about you, and then giving you the best goodnight kiss of your life.”

Mavyn dredged up some of her usual sass, though she desperately wanted that kiss from him. “You’re extremely overconfident and presumptuous, Mr. Chadwick.”

“We’ll see.” The twinkle in his eyes said he wrote the book on confidence and making a woman fall at his feet. Was he simply a player and she was about to get a taste of her own medicine? Or did he feel the sparks weaving and binding them together as well?

He escorted her into the restaurant and Mavyn had no power to resist. She spent the next two hours ignoring her fear and worry as they talked and laughed together. She barely tasted the delicious Indian food. Being around Ren Chadwick was like experiencing the opera for the first time—sensational, astounding, and impossible to replicate. She shared things with him she’d told no one but her best friend Cora. Of course, she didn’t share her darkest secrets. She would never share those again in this lifetime.

They talked about their families and she opened up enough to share the anger she felt toward her father. Ren had similar abandonment issues, but he’d turned to God for peace. She wasn’t even close to doing that as the memories she’d pushed away of her pastor telling her she was unworthy cropped up, but she admired Ren for it. Their bond grew stronger with every word, every shared experience, every glance, and every innocent touch of the hand.

By the time Ren paid the bill, Mavyn felt her world had upended. She had never expected this or seen it coming, but she was certain she’d found the man she was meant to spend eternity with. How had she let her guard down so completely in two hours? Was this smart? No, but she couldn’t stop it now. Cora was going to be ecstatic.

They walked down to the water, their arms brushing, and her heart threatened to burst from her chest. When Ren turned to her and pulled her into his arms, she gasped from the sheer pleasure of it, but this was much deeper than physical attraction. She’d finally found her place in life after years of not only avoiding the search, but ditching any man who might be a prospect.

“Do you believe in heavenly intervention?” Ren asked softly, gazing down at her with his blue, blue eyes.

“No,” she admitted. “I’ve never been able to deny that God exists, but I know He doesn’t care about me or my decisions.”

Ren’s eyebrows lifted. “You’re wrong, Mavyn Vance, and I’m about to prove it to you.”

She half-laughed. She didn’t like being told she was wrong, but she loved the way he phrased everything. “How are you going to do that?”

He was tall, maybe six-two, and she barely cleared five feet. With her heels and the appreciative way he studied her, though, she didn’t feel too small. She didn’t think she could ever feel insignificant with him around.

He shifted her closer and lowered his head. “God is in the details of your life, Mavyn. He loves you. Our meeting this morning, the way we’ve connected tonight, and the way we feel about each other in a matter of hours …” He shook his head and his eyes filled with wonder. “That’s divine intervention.”

Mavyn couldn’t swallow. She could hardly breathe. Cora was a big believer and Mavyn never scoffed at her beliefs, but she couldn’t embrace them either. How could this ultra-tough man she’d been falling so hard and fast for believe without a doubt that God had brought them together? It