Page 17 of Written in the Stars
SERENITY
Acouple of weeks have passed since I first arrived back in Glimerton. I’ve easily fallen into a routine with Lissa at the store and thankfully haven’t had much time to dwell on what happened with Walter. It’s been the perfect getaway.
One afternoon, I unload some boxes and organize the new items on the shelves for display. The Christmas season is so pretty, I just wish things didn’t have to be so different from last year right now.
At this time last year, I was still with Walter, knowing exactly how my life was going to turn out. We had just recently gotten engaged, so the wedding planning had begun. I didn’t know in a year, everything would be different, and all the plans made were going to go down the drain.
I shake my head, attempting to forget the memories. That’s all they are now. I don’t want to live in the past. I need to focus on the now and stop thinking about everything that happened.
I look over at Lissa and see her at the register reading a magazine; it’s quiet time. I could very well sit next to her, not doing a damn thing either, but I prefer keeping busy. Sure, sometimes I think about things, like I just did moments ago, but it’s only for moments at a time, and lately, it’s been happening less and less. Plus, I enjoy this job and I’ve come to find out that I have a knack for decorating and organizing. I must have inherited some of my older sister’s talents.
“How was Dad when you saw him this morning?” Lissa asks, flipping through some pages.
I look up at her and reply. “Angry, depressed… although he seemed to come around when I mentioned I brought him a chocolate chip muffin. You know how he loves those. I think from now on I’ll just go visit him with sweets.”
She shakes her head and giggles. “That might very well be the way to his heart these days.”
“I refuse to give up, Lissa. There’s got to be something that—”
And just then, from the corner of my eye, I see a cloud of smoke rising, and bright red and orange flames coming from the building across the street.
“Oh my God! Lissa, call 9-1-1!” I wrap my arms around myself, rocking from side to side.
Lissa quickly turns around to see what the commotion is all about, and as she goes to grab the phone, she quickly stops, pointing to the fire truck that now blares loudly. “No need. The firefighters are already there.”
I see the firefighters rushing out, hurrying to get the situation under control. Lissa comes to join me by the front display window to see the crowd that’s formed right outside the store.
“It’s all good. Don’t worry, Serenity,” she says calmly, and I’m shocked. There’s a fire across the street and she’s as cool as a cucumber. I don’t get it.
“How can you be so sure?” I’m freaking out, taking in the images of the men and women courageously putting out the fire.
Suddenly, a firefighter bursts through the store with an elderly man wrapped in a blanket.
“Ladies, my apologies for just barging in like this, but is it possible to please let Mr. Hovinger sit down somewhere? The whole outside area crowds, and our truck already has about fifty senior citizens crowding it.”
It isn’t hard to see his face from underneath his helmet and mask, but even if it would have been, I would not have been able to forget eyes like those any time soon.
It’s him. The stranger with the gorgeous dark-brown eyes from two weeks ago.
My insides turn to mush as I watch him and realize his deep, husky voice matches his good looks. Damn.
“Of course he can stay here.” Lissa quickly helps the old man sit on a chair. Then, facing the fireman, she says, “It’s really no problem at all. We’ve got plenty of room here if you guys need it.”
“Thanks, ma’am. We might have a few more, but the fire is already under control. Thankfully, it was nothing too major,” the hot fireman says, clasping his hands together.
Damn, it’s really true about what they say about men in uniform… they’re so hot.
“Good to hear, and glad to help,” Lissa says.
“Thank you.” He turns around to head back to his job, but before he leaves, his eyes meet with mine once again. “Miss…” he says, nodding his head to me with the smallest smile. And then, his eyes catch something that makes his whole expression change. I can’t pinpoint it or what it is, but his look shifts from smiling and happy to as if he’d seen a ghost.
He shakes his head then and looks back at me. Damn, he’s so fucking hot. His beard, rather neatly trimmed, gives him a super sexy rugged look.
I’m in deep shit. How am I ever going to get that smile and those eyes out of my head now? And now that I know he’s a firefighter? Good God, I’m in so much trouble. This is definitely not the way things are supposed to be. I came here to get away from the male species, but instead, I end up meeting a gorgeous firefighter who just smiled at me and sent me swooning on cloud nine.
Get a hold of yourself, Serenity. He’s just being polite.
Isn’t he?
