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f the car I'hter as I walk around the front of the SUV toward the passenger side to pull Olivia fro toward me

I don't knoho the hell he is I've never seen hi that because I’ a crapload of smoke in the air Ifor a second, pausing for a ape because he looks like he just stepped off the set of a romance movie

He's walking toward ri his chesthis shirt I swear I can see the striations in his abdoray soot, his chiseled jaw clenched

Olivia squeals again, and it shakes me out of my momentary trance I turn to open the door to the backseat, but he reaches me first

"Hey" He speaks the word angrily, and I turn to face hirab Olivia The man is close to me, only a few inches away, and when I look in his eyes, electricity rushes through er on me

There's so and sexy in the way he stands nearto intimidate me, or if he wants to cover my mouth with his, and the fact that I can’t tell which sends a shiver up my spine "Is this your place?"

"Yeah I' into his icy blue eyes fraot to be in his twenties He's young Too young

He points back toward the orchard "I don't knohat the hell kind of operation you're running here," he starts

I bristle immediately at his tone "Excuse me?"

He points his finger at uyI've ever seen, but he's very clearly the kind of guy who thinks he can get aith anything just because he's gorgeous "Are you trying to singlehandedly burn down the fucking county, or just get people killed?"

"Who the hell are you?" I ask

He ignores ot a piece of shit fore drunk on the job, you know that?"

"I don't know anything right now All I know is that I don't know you And that you need to quit cussing and back the hell away from me before I slap you"

Olivia howls “ I s I smack him with the door

I've never seen this guy before inat me in front of

I slide Olivia out of the seat and turn around with her onat me

"I didn't know you had akid," he says

All I know is that I don't want Olivia around this guy who's clearly an asshole, so I sla her frohter who’s clearly more reasonable “It’d be totally fine for you to yell at o around screa at women?”

I don’t bother to wait for an answer I don’t need soabout my foreman already hits a nerve with ht I smelled alcohol on his breath the other day, but I wrote it off as just my own paranoia I don't even kno ot hurt

"Ma'areets me

"No one was -- I ht?" I ask Olivia kicks aton a second, baby There's tooaround"

The firefighter shakes his head "Your foreht him down to the hospital, treated him for smoke inhalation"

"What happened?"

"Forearette started the fire"

"Oh my God," I say

"He's lucky," the firefighter says "So are you He woke up in time But he apparently tried to put it out himself, which wasn't smart Probably didn't try to call the fire department because he was drunk The Saint boy over there was driving by and saw it, ju by This whole place could have gone up in fla Fall and all”

I'nawing feeling in the pit ofmore insistent At least no one was hurt

The Saint boy the firefighter's words echo inat me

That's the guy with the ice-blue eyes, the one who sent a crackle of electricity running through my spine when he stood close to me

Of course, that was before he opened his big freaking mouth

Olivia leans over in s "You want to take care of her? All this sood for her anyway"

"Thank you" I make my way inside, and set Olivia down on the hardwood floor as soon as we get in the house She toddles forward a few unsteady steps before the screen door even shuts behind rateful for the silence

The reprieve is short lived The knock on the door echoes loudly, and I look overheavily as soon as I see who it is "You again?" I ask "You didn't get enough of an opportunity to yell at me already?"

He stands just outside the door "Hey," he calls "I think we got off on the wrong foot"

Olivia is babbling as she makes her way down the hall away froo after her I don't have time to stand there and socialize at the front door, not with this kid on therooht for her favorite toy, a bouncer she used to love to sit inside Now she just likes to stand beside it, hanging on with one hand for balance while she spins the toys lining the top

He clears his throat, and when I turn around, he's standing there, his pal," he says

"You mean, just because you yelled at me in front of my toddler and then followedmy voice calinning of an episode of one of those true crime shows?

"You turned around and walked away," he says

"Most people would wait to be invited inside" There’s just soant I've never ht

"Most people would thank the person who saved their fuc --"

"Stop swearing in front of my kid!"

"Shit," he says, and his face colors "Lady, I just saved your darief"

"Yeah, excuseintoat me”

"I'" He lets out a heavy exhale, then looks down at the ground before he runs his hand through his hair "Fuck"

I groan "You’re purposely trying to ht?"

He looks up at me with those blue eyes of his, and a shiver runs up ives rin "But I'll adry"

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" I ask, appalled

He laughs "I said kind of cute," he says "Not bowl-me-over hot"

"You're kind of a dick" The words come out before I even think to censor myself Damn it

Now he laughs harder, and looks atabout my d-i-c-k?" He spells it out, obviously for Olivia's benefit