“And you’re team chauffeur?” Grae teased as I made the turn onto Main Street. “I do have a brand-new SUV now. And you should really be prepping for the gala tonight.”
“I like driving you,” I said, lifting her hand to my lips.
“Don’t turn me on before I have to go to work,” she grumbled.
“Maybe I want you thinking about me all day long.”
Grae shifted in her seat. “If I have to suffer, then so do you. I’m going to text you the dirtiest things I can think of so you have blue balls right along with me.”
I choked on a laugh. “Vicious.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
I followed Main Street to the edge of town where Jordan’s house stood. I pulled to a stop in front of the two-story Craftsman just a couple of blocks from Grae’s old place. Sliding out of my SUV, I rounded the hood and opened her door.
“I see the gentleman is back in full force this morning.”
I arched a brow. “And what was I before?”
Her eyes danced with mischief. “I’d say last night you were a little bit of a devil.”
I hauled her to me, kissing her deeply. “I think you liked the devil.”
Grae bit her bottom lip. “I wouldn’t mind a repeat performance.”
“I’ll certainly never look at that counter the same way again.”
She laughed and wrapped her legs around me, brushing the hair out of my face. “You’re fun, Caden Shaw.”
A throat cleared behind us, and Grae dropped from her spider monkey hold.
Ramirez, the fire chief, stood on Jordan’s front porch, and Rance stood next to him, glaring daggers at us.
Grae squirmed in place, and I took her hand, tracing comforting circles on her skin.
“Grae,” Ramirez said with a nod.
“Sorry. I didn’t see you there,” Grae mumbled.
Rance scoffed. “Sure you didn’t.”
Ramirez sent him a quelling look. “We wanted to stop by and let you know that your house has been cleared as of last night. I apologize that processing it took so long.”
“What does that mean? I can go inside?”
Ramirez nodded. “I can recommend a couple of local fire restoration companies. The majority of the actual fire damage is in the bedroom, but I’m afraid there’s smoke and water damage throughout.”
“Is it safe to enter?” I asked.
“Yes. We’ve done a structural assessment. But it’s a mess, and there could be damaged items you could hurt yourself on, so I would leave the rehab to the professionals,” Ramirez urged.
I shifted to look at Grae. “Do you want to take a look and call someone before work?”
“Did you not hear us?” Rance clipped. “You need to leave it to the professionals. But you probably think you can handle anything.”
My gaze cut to him. “I wasn’t suggesting we try to fix anything. But we need to get an idea of the damage to tell the fire restoration company.”
My voice was calm and even, but anger flickered deep down. Rance was acting like a spoiled toddler who hadn’t gotten the toy he wanted.
