Hot Shots Men of Fire #2 - Hot as Sin - Bella Andre Page 0,25

adolescence is easy for anyone. It certainly wasn’t for me. I’m sure she’ll find her way eventually.”

He raised an eyebrow as if to say he knew there was far more to the story than she was telling him, but fortunately, he let it go.

“I’m glad it worked out for you. For both of you.”

Despite her warnings to herself, Dianna couldn’t take her eyes off of his beautiful face. She wanted to stare at him for hours just to watch his expression change by degrees and admire the way his muscles flexed beneath his T-shirt.

Her feelings scared her. Really scared her.

All these years, she’d tried to convince herself that she’d fallen in love with a fantasy hero. That they were just kids fooling around. That the miscarriage had been a narrow escape.

She wanted to believe that there had been nothing real between them.

So then, why did it all feel so damn real?

———

Sam couldn’t believe how much he wanted to stay with Dianna. She’d barely touched on April, but he also knew that she was right in keeping the details to herself. They were treading dangerous waters. Instead of keeping to the surface, they were diving down far deeper than they should.

She’d barely had to push him for details about the Desolation Wilderness incident and he’d crumbled. And yet talking to her about it felt unbearably right, as did her touch, when she’d reached out in empathy and placed her hand on his arm.

He couldn’t believe how hard it had been to keep from reaching out and pulling her against him.

Hadn’t he learned a damn thing ten years ago?

During their conversation, his brain had been working overtime to try to get used to her glossy veneer, to her perfectly white teeth and much blonder hair, to her perfectly manicured nails and soft, expensive-looking clothing. Interestingly, what helped most was watching her pop and crack her knuckles. He was thankful that at least one thing about her had stayed the same.

The bad habit stood out in sharp relief against the backdrop of her perfect, shiny beauty.

For the first time since he’d met her, he felt out of place, like the two of them didn’t belong in the same room. Ten years ago, she’d been a poor, embarrassed girl with a drunk mother. She’d needed him to save her.

Hell, she’d needed him, period.

But this woman sitting in front of him wasn’t the kind of person who needed saving.

He’d rushed all the way to Colorado thinking things were going to be similar to that first day they met at the trailer park. Her needing, him saving.

He couldn’t have been more off the mark.

Of course he was happy for her success. What kind of ass**le wouldn’t be? But at the same time, he found himself wondering if this was why she left him; because she wanted to reach for a bigger, brighter life than being a fireman’s wife.

She shifted uncomfortably in the bed and he didn’t know if it was because of her accident—or his being in the room. Either way, he’d overstayed his welcome.

And yet, Sam couldn’t make himself get out of the chair and say good-bye. He just wasn’t ready to leave her. Not yet.

Not when looking at her and talking with her still did funny things to his insides, made him wish things had turned out differently for them.

There was only one solution to his problem, only one way to get his ass moving out the door. He needed to rewind back to that day when he’d walked in the front door of their tiny apartment, into the silence, the emptiness, and realized she was gone. And wasn’t ever coming back.

For ten years, he’d been in the dark about why she’d left him. He could deal with being dumped. People got out of relationships all the time.

What he couldn’t stand was not knowing why.

It was finally time to find out.

“I’m going to head out in a minute,” he told her, more than a little surprised by the answering flicker of disappointment in her eyes. “But before I do, I’ve got a question for you. It’s something I’ve been wondering for a very long time.”

For a split second, her eyes widened with alarm. Remorse for the pile of bones he was about to unearth hit him square in the chest. If she were injured at all, he wouldn’t have gone here, he told himself, as if it was some kind of absolution.

She straightened her spine, moving away slightly from the pillows, and lifted her