Beautiful Burn (The Maddox Brothers 4)
“Sure,” I said. “Just let me finish up this…” I typed out a few more words, saved the document, and sat back in my office chair.
“How does it feel to be back?” she asked, collapsing into the love seat in front of my desk.
“Um … fine,” I said, nodding.
“And how do you like your new place?” she asked.
I nodded again. “That it’s not mine, nor anything that’s in it.”
“I know this is hard. It’d be harder without their help. Right now the focus is on getting well.”
“I know. Tyler says the same. He’s not even pushing me to move in with him, which is … weird.”
“But smart. Congratulations, by the way.” The synapses of Jojo’s mind were clearly firing, and I waited while she twisted the platinum strands hanging from the clear elastic band securing her braid. “Chief called today. He asked how you were doing.”
“The Alpine crew’s superintendent?”
“Yes, that Chief. He asked a few questions about your recovery.”
“Awkward.”
“He wants to give you another chance.”
“He does,” I said, dubious.
“The Alpine crew is on R&R now.”
“I know.”
“They’re leaving for Colorado Springs in two days.”
“I know that, too.”
“When they’re back, Chief asked me if you’d be ready.”
“Why would he want me to come back?” I asked, suspicious.
“He saw your latest feature on the forestry service. It’s getting great reception, and they would like to see it wrapped up on a positive note.”
“I guess the AP picking it up helped him make that decision?”
Jojo smiled. “I’m pretty sure Daddy would adopt you if he could. You put this magazine on the map. Ad space is booked up for six months. Subscription numbers set a new high every day. That was all you, Ellie. I can’t even take the credit for the last write-up. I used almost every word you wrote.”
“I noticed your name was absent.”
“With good reason,” she said, leaning forward. “Getting you well is our first priority. If you think it’s too much, too soon, we’ll push it back to next year’s fire season. Daddy wanted to make sure you knew that.”
I turned, seeing that Wick’s door was closed. It had been that way since I’d returned to a full-time desk job.
“No, I can do it,” I said, my heart thumping against my chest. I tried not to make my excitement too obvious.
Jojo’s entire face brightened. “Really?”
“Yeah. Just stop saying well. It makes me feel sick.”
She stood, shaking her head. “Absolutely. Won’t mention it again.” Not two seconds after she turned the corner, her orange face popped back in, her hot-pink lipstick bordering her bright smile. “That’s not true. I’ll mention it if necessary.”
“Understood.”
Jojo left me alone, and I leaned back, taking in a deep breath. The surface of my desk was still as empty as it had been on my first day, but for the three photographs I had framed. I picked up the metal five-by-seven, looking over the hideously cropped retake of a picture of Finley hanging on the wall of the chateau. It was ironic that that very picture had landed me the photography job in the first place, and just eighteen months later, it looked so amateur I had to lay it flat on its face several times a day.
The front door chimed, and Jojo greeted whoever approached her front desk. I could tell by the familiarity and condescension in her voice that it was Tyler.
“Ellie?” Jojo’s voice squeaked over the intercom.
I pressed a button. “Yes?”
Tyler was in the background, complaining that Jojo should just let him come back to my office.
“Tyler Maddox is here to see you. Shall I allow him back, or would you like me to suggest he return to the sea of venereal disease where he came from?”
I spit out a laugh. “Send him back.”
She sighed loudly. “Fine.”
Tyler appeared, holding two fountain drinks. “Sprite for you,” he said, sitting it on my desk. “Cherry Coke for me.”
“Thank you,” I said, wrapping my lips around the straw. “So, Chief called today.”
“Did he?” Tyler asking, feigning surprise. He sat on the love seat in the exact spot Jojo had been, bouncing a few times.
“How did you talk him into it?”
“Now how in the hell am I going to talk Chief into bringing you back after what you pulled in Colorado Springs?”
“Don’t lie.”
“You’re right. We all talked him into it.”
“Who’s we?”
“The guys. They miss you. Puddin’ laments your grilled cheese at least twice a day.”
“I said yes.”
His eyebrows shot up. “You did?”
I nodded, and he popped out of the love seat, leaning over my desk and grabbing my cheeks to plant a kiss on my lips.
“Wow, I should say yes more often.”
“I agree. Remember what happened the night of the last time you said yes?”
“Yes, I do.”
He smirked. “You said yes a lot that night.”
“Shut it. What are you doing tonight?”
“Besides you?” he asked.
“Hilarious. Any plans?”
He chuckled, itching the side of his nose. “No, baby. You’re the only plans I have.”
“Good, because we’ve been invited to dinner at the chateau.”
“What’s that?”
“My parents’ vacation home.”
He blanched. “Say what?”
“My parents would like to meet you.”
He blinked, his entire body frozen in the position it was in when I broke the news. “Oh.”
“Oh?”
“I just thought … you know … we weren’t going to any parties.”
“Not a party. Dinner. And they’re serving sparkling water. Finley will be there.”
“So, what you’re saying is … this will be the most awkward dinner ever.”
“Pretty much.”
“I’m in,” he said, standing.
I smiled, lifting my chin to meet his gaze. “Yeah?”