Playing With Fire (Firehouse Fourteen Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

from underneath the blanket. Thankfully he was nowhere in sight, and she wondered if he was deliberately staying out of her way.
    Probably worried she'd throw herself at him again.
    From the sounds coming down the hallway, she figured he was in the kitchen now. Well, the noise, plus the smell of bacon cooking. Yeah, nothing was getting by her this morning.
    She took a deep breath, placing her hand against her stomach in a pathetic attempt to quell the butterflies. Okay, she could do this.
    She reached out to turn the knob, then stopped and stepped back. No, she couldn't. She was a coward. God, how could she face him after what she did last night? It didn't matter that he had participated. Well, at least a little. Even though she knew he was fighting it.
    Or maybe he had been trying to fend her off.
    And really, what was that one kiss all about, anyway? When he had bent over and kissed the top of head like she was some little kid? Or, worse, a puppy dog.
    And enough already. She couldn't put this off forever. With a steadying breath, she tossed the backpack over her shoulder and pulled open the door, holding her head high and pretending that she hadn't made the worst sort of fool out of herself the night before.
    The smell of bacon was richer as she approached the kitchen and she was surprised when her stomach growled in response. Well, it was nice to know that embarrassment hadn't killed her hunger, at least.
    Except she really didn't want to spend any more time with Jay than she needed to.
    Stop it, she told herself. Just pretend nothing happened. Just act normal.
    Only she didn't know what normal was around Jay, because she had always been kind of quiet and shy around him.
    Because she had been crushing on him.
    And why, oh why, couldn't she have just kept acting like that last night?
    She stopped in the dining room, which was just an extension of the hallway with a pass-through window and small counter next to the door leading into the kitchen. Jay's back was to her as he stood in front of the stove, stirring something in a pan. She took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face.
    "I'm ready whenever you are."
    Had she imagined the slight stiffening of Jay's back? Probably not. She chewed on her lower lip, wondering if she should say anything else, but he spoke first, stopping her.
    "You can at least have some breakfast first. I hear your stomach rumbling from here."
    Angie slammed her hand against her stomach, hoping to stop it from making any more noise, but it didn't listen to her. Great. Just one more thing to add to her embarrassment.
    Jay didn't say anything else, though, just pulled the pan from the stovetop and sat it off to the side. She watched as he grabbed two plates from a cabinet and spooned some scrambled eggs onto each, followed by a generous helping of bacon. He turned with both plates in his hand and walked past her, sitting them on the table before returning to the kitchen.
    "Um, anything I can do to help?"
    "Just have a seat."
    She turned and dropped her backpack on the floor, then lowered herself to the ladder back chair. Jay came back to the table and placed silverware and a napkin next to her, then returned to the kitchen.
    She absently unfolded the napkin—a real cloth one, not a paper towel—and stared down at the plate in front of her.
    "Would you like coffee or orange juice or anything?"
    "Um, coffee please."
    "Cream? Sugar? Black? I don't have any artificial stuff, sorry."
    "Cream and sugar is fine."
    A minute went by before he returned and placed a cup of coffee in front of her, the rich brew teasing her nose. She grabbed the cup and took a sip, hoping to use the steam as an excuse for her flaming face.
    But she shouldn't have worried, because Jay wasn't even looking at her.
    She let out a small sigh and grabbed her fork, playing with the eggs before finally taking a bite. She hadn’t known what to expect, hadn't given much thought to Jay's cooking abilities—after all, why should she