Play With Fire

3. Jasmine

Chapter Three

Jasmine

I decided I needed another bagel because—oh my God—they were good. They must’ve gotten them fresh from Firehouse Café. Janet was known to sell them occasionally when she was in the mood to make bagels. Levi had made a batch of fresh smoked salmon cream cheese to go with them, which was simply divine. I knew Levi had made it because Lucy didn’t cook, hardly at all.

Most people paid a fortune for that anywhere outside of Alaska. Yet, locally, Alaskans smoked their own salmon and made it themselves. After toasting another bagel, I generously slathered it with the cream cheese and sat back down just as Lucy came in the kitchen door.

She smiled the minute she saw me, pulling me into a big hug as soon as I stood up from the table. Stepping back, she let a grocery bag slip off her arm onto the counter. “You look like you’re doing just fine.”

“Were you worried?” I asked.

“Well, according to Levi, you were, um, passed out when you got here. He figured you’d wake up with a hangover, and he wasn’t so sure you’d remember what happened last night.”

I fought my smile, but this was Lucy, so I burst out laughing. “Yeah, I might’ve had a little too much to drink. You don’t happen to know who brought me home, by the way?”

I tried to make my question sound casual, but I was curious, really curious.

“Donovan Ryan. He’s a friend of Levi’s, well, of ours. He’s a firefighter. I know that’ll come as a shock,” she said with a wry grin as she turned to put the groceries away.

As she turned, I noticed the slight curve of her belly, just now remembering she was pregnant. “Oh! You look great!” I squealed.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder, her gaze confused. “Uh, thanks?”

“You’re so cute pregnant,” I added.

Her cheeks went pink, and she rolled her eyes as she reached up to put some cans away in a cabinet above her head. Lucy looked a bit like a fairy, with her almost white-blonde hair, fine-boned features, and bright blue eyes. She was small and petite. With the soft curve of her belly, she looked even more feminine, which I’d bet was annoying to her. Lucy was a total tomboy—I mean, she put most men to shame—and worked in construction. In a rare moment, she wasn’t actually covered in dirt.

Levi absolutely adored her, and he was beside himself about their baby. I was so happy for them.

For now, I was relieved I was dealing with Lucy first. She could ease the blow of telling Levi why I was here. I helped her finish putting away the groceries, and she made some tea before joining me at the table as I slipped back into the chair to finish my bagel.

“So, I’m guessing there’s a reason you showed up and got drunk at Wildlands before letting anybody know you were home,” she said with a sly smile.

“Hey, no sense in taking it slow, huh?” I countered with a grin.

Lucy shrugged and rolled her eyes. “I figure, let’s get right to the point. You can tell me what the hell happened, and then we can figure out how to tell Levi. He called your parents, by the way. Your mom asked you to give her a call when you’re up.”

I sighed and paused to take a sip of my coffee between bites. “Okay, I’ll call her in a little bit. I should’ve figured Levi already let them know I was here.” After a fortifying gulp of coffee, I steeled myself. “Here’s what happened. Five days ago, I forgot to bring my lunch to work, so I stopped by the apartment to pick it up, and I found Glen f*****g Lisa from the gallery.”

Lucy’s eyes widened and then promptly narrowed. “That f*****g asshole. And what a f*****g b***h she is. I hope you hit her just like that guy last night.”

I almost spit my coffee out at that. I paused and then shrugged. “Did Donovan tell Levi about that? I don’t remember much,” I added with a sheepish shrug.

I didn’t quite remember how Donovan ended up taking me home, although I did remember hitting the guy. I vividly remembered kissing Donovan, however.

Lucy shrugged. “Yeah, he told Levi about some guy being an a*s. Sounded like the guy deserved a fist to his face. Donovan’s a good guy. You don’t need to worry about that.”

Little did Lucy know, the only thing I was thinking about was the fact I kissed him and wanted to kiss him again.

“So, back to Glen. I walked in on them and left. I don’t know if you recall, but Lisa’s the assistant manager at the gallery where I worked. After I went back to the gallery, I got fired because I told my boss her bitchy friend was f*****g my fiancé. In front of the customers,” I explained with a bitter laugh.

That was the only part about all of this that was satisfying.

Lucy burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s perfect! She gets to be embarrassed.” She paused to take a sip of her tea. “The last part is funny, but it sucks. It totally sucks he did that. How are you?” she asked, her gaze sobering.

I shrugged and suddenly wanted to cry again.

“You can cry. An ugly cry is probably worth it right now,” she said gently.

I swiped at my tears and laughed softly. “Already took care of that this morning. I’m not really okay. I broke up with Glen, so that’s done. I lost my job, so I just came home. I wasn’t really thinking too far ahead. I probably look like an idiot.”

Lucy shook her head. “Not at all. I think coming home was the right thing to do after all that. You can stay here as long as you need. You know we’d be thrilled if you stayed for good.”

I swallowed through the knot in my throat and took a deep breath, letting it out on a sigh. “I know. Thank you for that. I’m sorry I showed up the way I did. I suppose I should track down Donovan and thank him for taking me home last night.”

“You can find him at the station.”

“He’s not from Willow Brook, is he?”

Lucy shook her head. “Not originally. He moved here about two years ago. He started on Ward’s crew and then switched over to foreman on Levi’s. They’re pretty good friends.”

“Oh,” was about all I could manage. I was all kinds of curious about Donovan. I couldn’t believe he worked with my brother, although I should’ve known. He definitely had the whole alpha-man-rescue-vibe going on.

“So, what’s your plan?” Lucy asked, as she sipped at her tea.

“I don’t know. I’m here for now, and I’ll figure out what’s next.”

Lucy was quiet as she regarded me. I felt so lucky to have her as a sister-in-law. I’d never had a sister and considered her one. While she was opinionated and wouldn’t hesitate to tell me what she thought, she definitely had a “live and let live” kind of personality. Levi, on the other hand, tended to have an opinion about everything I did.

“Are you going to just hang out here today, or do you need a ride into town for your car?” she asked, immediately moving on.

“A ride to my car would be great. I’d like to stop by and see my parents. And I suppose I should go by the station to thank Donovan. I can say hi to Levi when I’m not passed out drunk,” I offered with a wry laugh.

Lucy flashed a quick grin. “Well, let’s go then. We’ll swing by the station together and then I’ll take you to your car,” she said, standing from the table.

“Don’t you need to work?”

Lucy shook her head. “Nope. I called Amelia and told her I wouldn’t be in today. You’ve got me all day.”

It felt good to be home, if only because I had friends like this. No matter what, I wasn’t worried any friend here would end up in bed with any guy I was seeing.