Arson & Ache (Surrender to Them 8)

“Yeah.” Marissa nodded and turned towards the door when the limousine driver opened it.

I wonder which one of us would have ended up with the ice queen—and which one of us would have been lucky enough to end up with Marissa?

The three of us walked over the spot near the fountain where the photographers were waiting, and Marissa told them how she want

ed to do the photo shoot. It was meant to be casual and look like we were having the time of our lives. The whole concept seemed silly to me. Livingston Capital could have just put up a headline on their website detailing how much money they donated to fire department—it didn’t need to be accompanied by a bunch of staged pictures. I went through the motions because we were obligated to do so, but I wasn’t happy about it. The date wasn’t going to last that long and I wanted to know more about Marissa. She was a lot more interesting than any of the other women I had dated—even if it was just a publicity stunt for her company.

Marissa

The date was starting to feel like a business transaction. I kind of expected that, but I didn’t expect to have to entertain two men in the process. After we wrapped up at the park, we headed downtown to get some shots of us walking in the crowd near the movie theater. We were giving the illusion that we were going to be going to a movie, but there wasn’t enough time to actually go to one. Kincaid and Donovan asked me a lot of questions, and I practically had to tell my life story just to answer them all. It wasn’t very interesting. My parents were college sweethearts that got married right after graduation. We moved from to New York after my Dad got a job offer that he couldn’t turn down. My Mom stayed at home after the move, which was good, since she got pregnant with my little brother less than a month after we settled into a nice suburban home. I grew up with good role models who instilled the importance of school and a strong work ethic in me from the beginning.

“You know there are better places to work, right?” Donovan lifted an eyebrow after I finished telling them how I ended up at Livingston Capital.

“What do you mean? Livingston Capital is one of the top investment firms in New York.” I tilted my head to the side with a perplexed look on my face.

“He means you don’t have to work for Veronica Stone.” Kincaid turned his head towards the window. “Trust me, we’ve heard the stories.”

“Ms. Stone is demanding, but that’s the atmosphere at Livingston Capital.” I shrugged and smiled. “It’s really not that bad.”

Once again, probably best to bite my tongue around strangers.

“If you say so.” Donovan eyed me as if he didn’t believe the words that were coming out of my mouth.

“Okay, enough about me—how long have you guys been firefighters?” I looked back and forth between them.

“Next month will be six years for me.” Donovan nodded quickly.

“I just finished my eighth.” Kincaid shrugged. “It feels like a lot more than that sometime.”

Donovan was the first one to really open up to me. He was from a small town in upstate New York and moved to the city right after high school because he was looking for a job. After figuring out that minimum wage wasn’t going to get him anywhere, he used the money he had saved up to enroll in the New York Fire Academy. Firefighting gave him a purpose and he didn’t realize how much solace he would find in helping other people until he was already on the job. I could tell that he enjoyed what he did, even though it was dangerous work. Kincaid was his mentor in the beginning, but the job created a bond that made them best friends. I could tell that they were friends just by the way they interacted, but they were a lot closer than I realized.

“The movie theater should be right up there…” I looked down at the app on my phone.

“You’ve never been?” Donovan raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Not even on a date?”

“I don’t really date that much.” I shrugged and sighed.

“Who would have time to date when you work for Veronica Stone?” Kincaid chuckled and leaned forward. “Considering how bad traffic is, we’ll get there quicker if we just walk.”

“The photographers should already be in place.” I nodded and reached for the door. “Okay, let’s walk.”

We darted over to the sidewalk and then quickly made our way to the movie theater. We were halfway done with the photo shoot before the limousine parked next to the curb. We didn’t have to take as many photographs there as we did at the park, but we were supposed to hold hands. I didn’t mind holding hands with two extremely hot firefighters, but it was a little awkward when I posed for romantic photos with Donovan and immediately had to strike the same poses with Kincaid. We wrapped up and headed back to the limousine. Our next stop was dinner, and thankfully, we were actually going to get to eat. I wouldn’t have been surprised if the itinerary called for us to get our food, pose with it, and immediately head to the next destination for another round of photos.

“Have either of you ever eaten at The Remington?” I looked down at my phone. “They don’t have a menu online.”

“No.” Donovan snorted and started to laugh. “The Remington is far too expensive for two guys on government salaries.”

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s the type of place that posts a menu on the Internet.” Kincaid started laughing as well.

Well now I feel a little foolish—I definitely need to change the subject.

“Donovan told me all about himself, so what’s your story, Mr. December?” I leaned over and nudged Kincaid.

“There’s not much to tell.” Kincaid shrugged and looked towards me. “I’ve lived in New York my whole life. My Dad was a firefighter, and I followed in his footsteps. The end.”

“He’s being humble.” Donovan leaned back against his seat. “He’s the best damn firefighter to ever put on a suit—that’s why they made him an arson investigator.”

“Oh wow!” I blinked in surprise. “So, you’re not a firefighter anymore?”