“Wild at heart, huh?” Trevor says, locking the front door.
“You have no idea.” Grabbing the bottom of my shirt, I lift it over my head and drop it on the floor, followed by my bra and then my pants and panties, leaving a trail behind me as I walk down the hall.
Trevor catches up to me in his bedroom. We fall onto his bed, and he leans in close, brushing his lips against mine. “Maybe it’s time I find out.”
Epilogue
Three months later
Claire
Pie. Check. Wine. Check. Milo. Check. I think I’ve got everything. I take one last look around Trevor’s house to make sure I didn’t forget anything, and then I’m out the door.
Trevor and I aren’t living together yet, but we might as well be. Sometimes he stays with me, and sometimes I stay with him, and the only time we’re apart is when he’s at work. And those nights are the hardest.
The last three months have been amazing. We’ve had several long talks about life and our future and what each of us wants, and I think it’s safe to say we’re on the same page. It hasn’t been easy to make my peace with Trevor’s profession, and sometimes I still struggle, especially if I’m staying at his house and hear his radio go off. But Trevor has been a dream, always taking the time to assure me he’s safe. After each fire call, he sends me a quick text or gives me a call to tell me he’s okay, and at night he fills me in on all the details.
Sometimes I feel like I’d be better off without all of the details. I’m not sure it helps to know the dangerous things he does—like diving into freezing cold water to save a baby or repelling down the side of a building or running into a collapsed parking garage to rescue a family—but he’s convinced that the more I know, the better. It’s one of the few things we argue about.
My phone rings, and I press the answer button on my dash. “Hey, babe.”
Trevor’s voices crackles through the speakers. “Hey, are you on your way?”
“Yup.” I smile even though he can’t see me.
Once a week we have dinner at his mom’s. It’s usually just the two of us with his parents, sometimes his brothers and sister, but tonight is extra special because my mom and Phil are joining us, and it just so happens that today is my thirtieth birthday.
“Good. And you’ve got Milo?”
Milo perks up in the passenger seat at the sound of her name. “She’s sitting right here. Are you going to run home and take a shower first, or are you meeting me there?”
Trevor is coming off of a forty-eight-hour shift, which means I haven’t kissed his soft lips in two days, and I’m practically dying.
“Actually, there’s been a small change of plans. Chief asked me to stay and cover the first half of the next shift. Mikey and Todd are out with the stomach flu, so I won’t be able to make it to dinner.”
“Oh.” My heart falls to the pit of my stomach.
“Are you upset?”
“No.”
“Want to try that again?”
“Fine. Maybe, but not at you. I’m upset with the situation. I just miss you, that’s all.”
“I know, baby, me too. And I know tonight was special because your mom was coming to dinner, and I swear I would be there if I could, but my crew needs me. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
Actually, tonight was special because it was the first birthday I’d get to spend with you. “It’s okay. I understand.”
“You’re not going to cry, are you?”
Maybe. “No.” I pull into his parents’ drive and park on the pad in front of the garage. “Mom and Phil aren’t even here yet. I probably have time to cancel.”
“What? No,” Trevor says. “You’ve been looking forwar
d to this, and you should go. My mom is making that lasagna you loved so much.”
Vivian makes the best lasagna, and it does sound good, but… “It’s not going to be the same without you. I might feel out of place.”