Chapter 2

ChapterTwo

ASPEN

“You know, I’ve heard that scowling can lead to premature wrinkles,” Angela says, but I’m not really paying her any attention. I make some kind of sound of acknowledgement but don’t turn away from the window. “And lower your sperm count.”

“Hmm,” is all I say because I don’t like how close Marshall is to the dispatch board. Sure, he’s ninety-seven years old but I don’t like the way he’s smiling at Mina.

“I also heard Mina has a date this weekend.”

“What?” Now that got my attention. I whip around in my chair so fast it nearly topples over but I manage to catch myself on the desk at the last second.

Angela is tying red ribbon around the package on her desk and grabs the scissors to curl the ends of it. “You didn’t know? I think that young firefighter, what’s his name, Ryan? Yeah, I think he asked her out.”

“It’s Valentine’s,” I say it like it’s a murder scene. Which means it should be the obvious reason she’s not going on a date with him.

“Yeah.” Angela looks at me like I’m crazy and holds up the present. “It’s what people do on Valentine’s. Well, I guess people who have the balls to ask out the person they’re in love with.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My eyes narrow in a scowl as I turn my chair away from Angela and go back to glaring out the window. “Remind me how many more days there are until you retire.”

“Maybe you should go back to your own office and count.” She laughs at her own joke.

We both know why I’m in here all the time and it’s not because I want her office. It’s because from this little window you can see directly to the dispatch desk where Mina is working.

She’s been here for over a week now and every moment since she started working here has been the worst of my life. Or maybe also the best because I get to see her so much. Either way she doesn’t seem to understand the literal hell she’s putting me through.

Just then Mina gets up from her desk and I take a long look at her ass. She’s got on a tight skirt today that was hidden by an oversized cardigan. She must have gotten hot and taken the cardigan off because now I can see the flare of her hips and how lush her curves are.

“Isn’t there some kind of dress code?” I say and realize that I didn’t mean to speak that part out loud. Either way, Mina is in violation of something. When she turns around all I can think about is her sweet little pussy she’s keeping tight between those thick thighs.

“A pretty young thing like her shouldn’t have to hide those curves.”

“I’m going to tell Sarah you said that,” I threaten without turning back to Angela.

“Pfft,” she scoffs like I made a joke. “She appreciates something nice to look at just as much as I do.”

“Goddamn it.” I hiss under my breath. Can’t everyone just take their eyes off my fucking girl? Is it so hard for people to back the fuck off?

Okay, so she’s not mine, but Angela damn well knows how I feel. She’s probably the only person on this planet who knows just how in love I am with Mina and she also knows why I can’t do anything about it.

“Aspen,” Angela says, and I sigh before meeting her eyes. When I do, she looks at me with sympathy. “I know you think you can’t follow your heart, but life is short. You should know that better than anyone.” Before I can respond she grabs the little box off her desk and tucks it in her coat pocket. “I’m headed home to give my wife an early Valentine’s Day present. At my age I’ve learned a valuable lesson.”

“What’s that?” I ask, unable to shake the sinking feeling in my chest.

“Don’t wait for the right moment. Make the moment right,” she says and then gives me a little salute before she grabs her hat and leaves for the day.

Great. Now I have to sit here alone to deal with my emotions when all I want to do is stop them from happening. Sure, she’s right that I should know better than anyone about life being short. My parents were killed in a car accident when I was just a baby and I was raised by my grandparents. I know how important it is to tell people you love them and live the life you want because tomorrow isn’t promised. The death of my parents fractured so many around me, most of all my Uncle Fraser. It wasn’t until Nyah and Mina came into his life that he could see what he was missing out on.

Before they came along, our family could only see gray. When Fraser found them on the side of the road suddenly everything was in vivid color. After that Uncle Fraser was always around and he’s become like a father to me. Which is why I’m not supposed to be in love with Mina. That’s his daughter and we were all raised together. When they had three more kids, I never felt like I was being replaced or pushed to the side. Fraser and Nyah always included me like I was one of their own, which makes all of this so much more complicated.

In the distance I see Mina turn around and lean against her desk. I groan at the sight of her shirt stretched tight across her chest. For some reason it feels like she’s doing this to personally torture me. She never dressed like this before, but I guess she wasn’t working in a professional setting before either. Waiting tables and babysitting didn’t exactly require business attire, but I never thought seeing her fully clothed would make me so fucking hard.

She’s reading a piece of paper and I watch as the pen she has in her hand slips past her full lips and my cock throbs. Even from this far away I can see the glossy shine as her tongue darts out to lick them and I have to swallow down a moan.

“Fuck,” I say to the empty room and consider going back to my office to jack off.

That’s when I see that fire-fucker Ryan and my hands clench into fists. She’s planning on going on a date with him? Over my dead body.

As I storm out of the office, I try to remind myself that murder is not an option. For now.