Operation Date Escape

street through those tinted front windows.”
    “ Jewelry guy?” Cole repeated.
    Kelsie groaned at the reminder. “Don’t ask.”
    He chuckled. “I take it he’s your blind date.”
    “Was,” she corrected.
    “ Then I agree with Nanci that you shouldn’t walk to your car alone,” he said with a determined nod. “That’s why I’ll be walking you there.”
    She scowled up at him. “Excuse me, but contrary to what you two seem to believe, I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions.”
    “Already made a few good ones tonight,” he pointed out, his grin widening.
    “Kiss my-”
    “Uh-uh-uh,” he said, shaking a finger at her. “I’d think twice before offering anything of yours up for me to kiss. I just might take you up on it.”
    “That’s it,” Nanci said. “I’m outta here. Oh, and Cole, be forewarned, if you haven’t noticed already she’s still a little on the cranky side.” She waved goodbye, winking at Kelsie before walking away.
    She watched her traitorous friend get into her car and drive away. “Remind me again how many years I would get for strangling her.”
    “Too many,” he replied with another chuckle. “Come on, I’ll walk you out to your car before we head back to the station.”
    “ I hate to take up any more of your time.”
    “ I don’t mind. Besides, you never know what kind of riffraff you’ll find hanging around outside a strip club.”
    “ Oh, I think I’ve got firsthand knowledge on that one,” she said as he walked her around the building to the main street.
    He nodded. “I suppose you do.”
    She pointed across the street. “My car’s over there.”
    Slipping an a rm around her waist, he walked her over to it.
    Tossing her purse onto the seat, she turned to him. “Thank you for your help.”
    “ Aren’t you forgetting something?”
    “I should have known there was a catch to your offer to walk me to my car. You want to kiss me again.”
    “ Can’t deny that, but that isn’t what I was referring to. I need to get your phone number before you leave. However, if you’d rather pay me back with a kiss instead...”
    “Nice try. Not happening.” She grabbed a small spiral notebook from her purse. The one she used to make notes on after her ‘date escapes’. Then she began to dig around for a pen.
    Cole slid a pen from his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “Here, use mine.”
    “Thanks.” She hurried to scribble her number onto one of the pale pink sheets inside and then tore it off, handing it to him along with his pen. “Here you go.”
    He stepped back as she opened the driver’s side door and slid in behind the wheel.
    Instead of pulling away, she found herself lowering the window. “Cole, I...” She what? Wanted him to kiss her? Wanted him to hold her pressed up against him like he had when he’d rescued her from the tree?
    He stepped up to the car and leaned into the window with a smile, his face lit up by the glow of the streetlight shining in through the sunroof above. That lone dimple drew her attention solely to his mouth, reminding her of how good it felt to have it moving over hers in a heated kiss. “I’d offer to make sure you get home safely tonight, but-”
    “ Driving a woman around in the city’s fire truck isn’t allowed,” she finished for him.
    He nodded. “I’m pretty sure I read that somewhere in the company handbook.”
    “ Maybe next time, when you’re in your own truck,” she heard herself say.
    “I’m going to hold you to that.” He glanced back over his shoulder and then met her gaze. “I should get going. There’s a crew of hungry men waiting to go back to the station and finish their dinner.”
    “You were eating when Nanci called for help?”
    “Starting to.”
    “I’m so sorry,” she said, feeling terrible that her poor choice of date escape had taken them from their meal.”
    “Happens all the time,” he assured her, easing some of her guilt. “That’s what microwaves are for.”
    “I should let you go then.”
    He straightened and stepped away from the car. “I’ll call you.”
    She forced a smile and pulled away before she gave in to the urge to ask with as much impatience as she felt – When? Had she completely lost her mind? After trying so hard to forget the hunky firefighter who’d given her the most incredible kiss of her life, a man too perfect for her own good, she had committed to seeing him again – on a date of all things! Then again, he had been holding