Lydia wasn't surprised to see that her dad had already taken care of making sure their customer fended off the broken gla.s.s jinx, and she also wasn't surprised when her dad gave her an odd look. It hadn't occurred to her that she might look like a woman who'd just been kissed and the only guy back there was Aidan Hunt.

"It's hot as h.e.l.l in that alcove," she said, hoping to fend off any questions.

As expected, he latched on to the easy answer. "I've been thinking about replacing the ceiling fans with something with bigger paddles."

"Good idea. Aidan's finishing up the last of the chairs and he'll bring the bus pan out."

"Took you a while."

She wasn't sure if he meant anything by that other than general criticism, but she kept her back to him and focused on the cash register. Hitting the b.u.t.ton to pop it open, she took out some ones and started counting. "We got talking about Scotty's apartment. It came out nice."

As she'd hoped, Fitz took over the conversation, wanting to know how the third-floor renovation was going. Leaving them to it, she counted and bundled the bills in the register drawer.

When she heard Aidan set the bus pan on the bar, she took a deep breath before turning to face him. It was weak to avoid making eye contact, but she could almost feel her father's presence behind her, so she concentrated on putting the spray bottle back under the bar. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Not a problem. You want me to take it out back?"

"I'll get it for her, son." Her dad got off his stool, jingling the key ring clipped to his pocket. "Time to lock up, everybody."

Aidan slapped his hand on the bar, which startled Lydia into making eye contact with him. He smiled. "I'll see you around."

She nodded and grabbed the bus pan, even though her dad had said he'd take it. It was something to do with her hands. "Thanks again for the help."

Her dad walked him and the other customers to the door, talking and laughing with them in that easy way he had with the patrons, and she watched them go. There was a little tension in Aidan's shoulders, which probably mirrored her own.

Once he'd locked the doors, her dad sighed and gestured to Fitz. "Help out, old man. Let's get this place cleaned up so my girl can get home."

Not that she was in any hurry, Lydia thought. It wasn't as if she'd be getting any sleep. With the memory of that kiss to relive and savor, she had a feeling she'd do more sheet-twisting and pillow-punching than sleeping.

YOU'RE AN a.s.sHOLE, plain and simple. Aidan curled his fingers over the edge of the porcelain sink bowl the next morning, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

Kissing Lydia Kincaid in the pool room of Kincaid's Pub with Tommy sitting at the bar made him an a.s.shole. Looking Scotty in the face two hours ago when they'd shown up for the day tour without saying a word about what he'd done made him an a.s.shole. And the real kicker was that he wanted to kiss her again.

No matter how he tried to justify it in his mind, he couldn't make those simple facts go away. He wanted Lydia and he shouldn't. Therefore, he was an a.s.shole.

"Hey, Hunt, you dead?" Jeff Porter pounded on the bathroom door. "I think Eriksson does the best mouth-to-mouth, if you need a little pick-me-up."

"I'm not dead," Aidan shouted back. "Gimme a freakin' minute."

"You've had a lot of minutes. I'm gonna take the Halligan to the door in not too many more minutes."

Aidan yanked open the door and glared at the big man as he pushed by. "You ladder guys need to learn some manners. Here, it's all yours."

Porter grinned and slapped him on the shoulder. "I'm good. I was just bustin' your b.a.l.l.s."

"a.s.shole." Aidan went into the kitchen to see if there were any doughnuts left. There were two cinnamon sugar ones, which were everybody's least favorite, but they met the definition of junk food, so he grabbed a mug of coffee and sat down in front of the box.

The last thing Aidan needed was anybody trying to bust his b.a.l.l.s. They were on the verge of exploding all on their own, without any help. He'd hoped kissing Lydia would get the need out of his system, but it had backfired on him.

It might have gotten the overwhelming need to kiss her out of his system, but now he'd been left with an even more overwhelming need for more. More Lydia. More kissing and more touching. More of her voice in his ear when it was low and husky with desire. More of her hands on his body.

He broke off a chunk of doughnut and shoved it into his mouth. Maybe a sugar high would help.

After taking a long swallow of coffee to wash it down, he took another bite. Then another. Fifteen minutes later, the doughnuts and coffee were setting up like concrete in his stomach, and he leaned back in his chair and debated on catching a quick nap.

Scotty walked in at that moment and poured a cup of coffee. Then he peeked in the doughnut box and scowled when he saw that it was empty. "You didn't save me one? What the h.e.l.l kind of friend are you?"

Guilt punched Aidan in the gut, and he felt the blood drain out of his face. If Scotty only knew just how bad a friend he was. He should tell him, he thought. He should tell Scott he'd kissed his sister and let him do what he had to do. Maybe he'd take such a beating from her brother that he'd shy away from ever being within touching distance of Lydia again.

"Jesus, Hunt. I was kidding. What the h.e.l.l's wrong with you?" Scotty hooked a chair rung with his foot and dragged it away from the table so he could sit down.

"I'm just tired. I thought maybe I could fend off the urge to nap with a sugar rush. But mostly I just feel like I need a longer nap now."

"You're turning into an old man. You need a girlfriend, my friend."

"I don't think getting laid is going to cure my need for a nap."

"Not just getting laid, dumba.s.s. A real girlfriend. You're getting into a rut and you need somebody to have fun with. To go to the movies and s.h.i.t with, you know?"

Aidan stared into his empty coffee mug so he wouldn't have to look his friend in the face. He didn't want to go to the movies with a girlfriend. He wanted to go some place private with Lydia and maybe reenact some late-night movies. Which, of course, he should not be thinking about right now, with Scott in the room.

"You're one to talk," Aidan said. "Grant told me you and Piper are no more."

Because he looked over when he said it, he saw Scott's expression change. He actually looked regretful, if not downright sad, which was different for him. "She was just chasing the bennies, and she was willing to get knocked up to get them."

The idea a woman would get pregnant deliberately to get a ring and benefits made Aidan angry on Scotty's behalf. "Grant said she was after a nose job?"

"Yeah. That's a h.e.l.luva story for the grandkids, huh? Well, kids, your grandma wanted plastic surgery, so she trapped me with an unplanned pregnancy and that's why I drink so much."

"Heartwarming." Aidan set the empty mug back on the table. "Sorry it didn't work out. Maybe the next one."

"Maybe we're destined to be single. We should move in together and I'll just leave all my s.h.i.t around and you'll clean up after me, like that old TV show my dad used to watch."

"Yeah, I don't think so."

"Hey, Kincaid," they heard Gullotti call from the other room. "Come give me a hand for a minute."

Scotty knocked back the rest of his coffee and stood up. "No rest for the awesome, my friend."

Aidan watched him rinse his cup and set it upside down on the drying mat before leaving the kitchen. There might be a weird kind of domesticity around the station, but he had no intention of becoming The Odd Couple with Scott Kincaid, best friend or not. He was still holding out hope he'd find the perfect woman who loved him and could handle his job and wanted to have some kids and a dog.

His thoughts turned to the woman who didn't make any secret about not loving the firefighting, though. He wasn't sure how she felt about him, kids or dogs, but he already knew that while she could handle his job, she didn't want to go through it again.

Pulling out his phone, he cast a guilty glance in the direction Scotty had gone, and then pulled up his texting app. Cursing himself for a weak, stupid son of a b.i.t.c.h, he tapped on Lydia's name.

Hey. You busy?

It probably took only seconds for her to type in her response, but it felt like forever.

A little, but not slammed. What's up?

Just wanted to say hi.

Hi back.

He smiled at his phone, but then felt like an idiot. It was like being back in high school again.

Before he could come up with anything brilliant or charming to say, another text from popped up.

Getting busy but text me your schedule later and I'll take a turn saying hi.

Okay, he typed. Talk to you soon.

Just as he hit Send, the alarm sounded. He took the few seconds to rinse his coffee mug and tucked his phone in his pocket. Once in the bay, he stepped into his gear and grabbed his helmet and coat.

"Great," Eriksson said as he jogged by. "Another f.u.c.king genius barbecuing on the second-floor deck of a three-decker."

"You're kidding."

Danny climbed into the driver seat of Engine 59 and flipped the siren on. "Let's go save the structure from the morons who live in it."

Chapter Seven.

LYDIA ENJOYED THE COOL breeze washing away the last traces of humidity as the sun started dropping in the sky. She and Ashley were walking to a little Italian place they loved, and since they had plenty of time before they met Becca and Courtney, they took their time.

Karen, Rick Gullotti's girlfriend, had offered to take a shift and give Lydia a night off, and she'd jumped at the chance without even running it by her dad. She hoped spending some time with her friends and Ashley would distract her from the fact she hadn't seen Aidan in several days. There had been a few just saying hi texts here and there, but she hadn't seen that face of his since the night he kissed her at Kincaid's.

"Oh my gosh, Lydia Kincaid!"

They stopped to chat for a minute with what seemed like the hundredth person who recognized Lydia and wanted to welcome her home-this time an elderly former elementary school teacher who never let anybody forget she had to teach all three Kincaid kids how to read. Maybe she should have worn a hoodie.

"Danny texted me earlier," Ashley told her when they'd started walking again.

"Really? Is that good or bad?"

"I don't know. I was mad when I got the text. I wanted him to call me instead, so I could hear his voice. I miss his voice, a lot."

"You miss him."

"Yeah. But he wanted to set up a time when he could come get some more of his stuff."

Lydia sighed. "Maybe when he does, you should tell him you miss him."

"He wanted to coordinate the time so I wouldn't be there."

Her sister's quietly spoken words broke Lydia's heart and she stopped walking. "Ashley, do you really want this separation?"

"I don't know." They faced each other on the sidewalk and Lydia saw the strain in Ashley's eyes and around her mouth. "I wasn't happy with him. I'm not happy without him. I keep telling myself it's because this part is the hardest and I'll be happy...someday."

"I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but you guys really need to talk." The more time she spent back in Boston, the more convinced she became that neither Ashley nor Danny wanted a divorce.

"I think I'm going to tell him to come over when I'm home. He can have his stuff if he takes a few minutes to talk to me."

"I'm not sure ransoming his belongings is a step forward in marital communications."

Ashley shrugged and put her hand on the door of the restaurant. "Maybe not, but it's a start."

She yanked the door open and walked inside before Lydia could say anything else. Becca and Courtney waved to them from a back table, and Lydia felt her mood magically improve just from seeing their faces.

Courtney was rocking some kind of chic, blond, sharply angled haircut and sophisticated makeup, probably inspired by her fancy office job. Becca was going to keep holding on to her big hair and black eyeliner until it came back into style, Lydia thought, hugging them each in turn.

They all talked over each other for a few minutes, catching up. Thanks to texting, email and late-night phone calls, there wasn't a lot of catching up to do, but nothing beat the energy of being all together in the same place.

The wine flowed and they each ate an entire week's worth of carbs. Maybe more, Lydia thought, looking at the mess of empty pasta plates and bread baskets they'd made of the table.

They were all considering dessert when Lydia's phone chimed and she saw that it was from Aidan. Even though n.o.body would be able to see the screen from their seats, she felt compelled to hold the phone under the edge of the table with her head bowed to read his message.

I want to see you.

They were just words on the phone screen, but in her mind Lydia heard Aidan's deep voice saying them, and a chill went down her spine.

Are you drunk texting me?

No. If I was drunk I would text that I want to...never mind. See? Not drunk.

Screw that. She wanted to know what he wanted to do, in detail.

Maybe you should get drunk later and text me the end of that sentence.

Or I could get drunk and show up at your place to DO the end of that sentence to you.

She laughed and, when Ashley cleared her throat and Lydia looked up, realized they were all staring at her. "Sorry. I really hope you guys weren't talking about something terrible or sad right then."

"Who are you talking to?" Ashley asked.

"n.o.body." She looked back down at her phone to type a response.

I'm staying with Ash, so no. And you have to stop.

"n.o.body seems funny," Becca said, propping her chin on her hand. "Is he hot?"