Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Who knew when that would be today?
“Thank you,” I told the barista once we got two cup holders full of coffees to go.
Gabe led me out of the coffee shop so that we could start the walk to the station.
“I’m not sure what to say. I mean, I’m sorry, of course, but do we start with that? Or an explanation?” he asked me.
It was something to think about. It was our first chance to talk to her after quite a few years, so we didn’t want to botch our second chance at some sort of good relationship with her. According to Matty, she was similar in many ways, but she was also different.
I was eager to see that for myself.
“Well, we both need to apologize. I don’t want to speak for you, and you shouldn’t speak for me. We were both dicks to her,” I told him, wanting her to know how sincerely sorry we were for our past behavior.
I never thought that we would get the chance to apologize, and I carried quite a bit of embarrassment and guilt for years that I knew I would have to live with. Even if she accepted my apology, I would probably still feel bad about all the trouble I caused her years ago.
“Oh, boy,” Gabe sighed as we turned the corner and put the fire station in sight. “What if she hates us?”
“She might. Guess we should be prepared for that possibility too,” I said. She might not even want to talk to us, and we would just have to deal with it. At the end of the day, she was here for business. We didn’t need to get in her way like we used to.
But I hoped that things worked out. I hoped that we could all start over because Zoe was the type of woman that you didn’t want to make an enemy out of. Not only was she fearless, but she was a good person.
We had a second chance. Hopefully, we wouldn’t mess it up.
Chapter 9
Garrett
When we arrived at the fire station, Gabe and I walked through the apparatus bay and kitchen, handing off coffees to whoever we passed by. It seemed like with every step that I took, the tenser my abdomen grew. I just wasn’t sure what to expect, and I didn’t like charging into unknown circumstances.
With my job, I at least got a few clues as to what we were dealing with. When it came to Zoe, who knew? I wouldn’t know until I saw her and got a read of her. Wherever she was in here.
“You sure she’s here already? Maybe we beat her here,” I asked Gabe as we ventured out of the apparatus bay and checked the kitchen.
Gabe let out a brief laugh.
“I doubt that. She was always way more punctual than we were,” he reminded me.
A smirk lined my lips as we slipped out of the kitchen and headed for the doorway to the day room. Maybe she was with the guys somewhere else. I parted my lips to voice my thought, but the words died in my throat when I saw a glimpse of familiar auburn hair.
“Hold up,” I said as I came to a sudden stop before I reached the doorway.
“Watch it,” Gabe gritted out as he gripped his cup holder tighter to keep from spilling any of the coffee. He leaned to the side and froze, his eyes landing on Zoe. “Oh, woah.”
Oh, woah was right. My eyes trailed her every movement as she tossed her hair behind her shoulders, letting it stream down her back. Sunlight reached through the nearby window to illuminate her as she flipped through a notebook on her lap. Her lips were slightly pursed in thought, and they looked as full and soft as ever.
“She looks… good,” I murmured, unable to find the right words. It was just so strange seeing her again. How the hell did our paths manage to cross again years later?
“Very good,” Gabe agreed as we lurked outside of the room, too stunned to move.
As nice as it was to ogle at a gorgeous woman, I couldn’t just stand there. I was the oldest brother after all, so I needed to kick things off. After breathing in deeply through my nose, I strode into the day room where the crew usually relaxed after getting all of their duties done, walking past the television and a few other chairs to reach her.
When she heard approaching footsteps, Zoe tore her eyes away from her notebook and looked up at us. A look of shock broke out across her face as she took in the sight of us. Matty already told her that we were firefighters, but each other’s presence was still surprising to all of us.
“Zoe, can we talk?” I asked her.