11. Blake

CHAPTER 11

Blake

“Elise, you are an amazing woman, I would love to get to know you better, I think we could have a lot of fun, I’d love to spend a bunch of time with you in the next few weeks.”

I frown as I stalk up the sidewalk toward Books and Buns.

That sounds stupid.

“Elise, you are the sexiest woman I’ve ever…” I groan. “Don’t mention the elevator. Come on, man.” I take a breath. “Elise, I need some help, and you’re the first person I thought of.”

First thought of? Hell, her name practically fell out of my mouth.

But this request needs to be perfect. Straight to the point. But…nice. I need her. I need a favor. A huge favor. That I’ve already gotten her into.

Fuck. I’m not even sure Elise likes me.

Oh, she liked my hands and mouth the other night. But me? In a boyfriend sense? Not so sure about that. Or a fiancé sense? Nope, probably not.

I might just have to use my hands and mouth to convince her…

My heart rate picks up and my cock stirs.

Damn. I’m going to confront—no, that’s a bad word. I’m going to sweet talk —Elise, and I need to do it without a hard-on.

I shove a hand through my hair and keep walking.

It’s fucking early to be preparing for a big, important conversation.

I’m used to being up to work out or for early morning skates. Waking up early isn’t a problem. Being friendly, even charming, is.

Kind-of any time of day.

I like being straight to the point. And I make most of my points with a hockey stick. Or my hands.

Again, I think about where my hands were on New Year’s Eve and how much both Elise and I enjoyed that.

I turn the corner and take two steps before coming to a sudden halt.

Books and Buns, the bakery where Elise works and where she told me to meet her this morning, is in the middle of this block.

I decided to come right when they open, because I can’t wait to see her.

Because of my grandma and this whole house thing. Only because of that.

That’s what I’m telling myself.

But coming first thing this morning looks like it’s a bad idea.

There’s a huge crowd outside.

But then I really take in what’s going on.

It’s still five minutes before the bakery is supposed to open, but there are a ton of people gathered in front of the store.

Including a fire truck.

What the fuck?

The lights aren’t flashing, and no one’s running around or shouting. There’s no big hose spraying water anywhere, so I assume things are fine but…

Firefighters show up for medical problems too.

My heart begins pounding, and I start jogging toward the bakery.

Elise lives in the apartment over the bakery. Where is she? What happened? Is she okay?

“Excuse me,” I say, shouldering my way through a few people standing at the fringe. “Let me through.” My size definitely helps in situations like that.

I nearly plow Luna McNeill over.

“Hey!”

“Luna,” I say, as my hands shoot out to keep her from landing on her ass.

“Blake?” Her frown smooths out. “Oh, hi.”

“Elise? Is she okay?”

Luna smiles. “Yes. She’s fine. It was just a small kitchen fire. Easily contained. Everyone’s okay.”

I blow out a breath. I didn’t even realize how tense I was until I heard that. “Is she around?”

“Yes. Somewhere. She’s kind of…busy.”

“I need to find her.”

Luna smiles again. “That way.” She points. “Good luck.”

I don’t know what that means. I start moving through the crowd again, people parting for me easily now.

Until I get to the firefighters.

“I need to get through,” I tell the one in front of me. He’s shorter than me, not as wide, but he’s solid, that’s for sure. Still, he’s between me and Elise, so he needs to move.

He turns. “I don’t think so. You need to stay back.”

I realize I know this guy. It’s clear the next second that he recognizes me, too.

“Oh, elevator guy.”

“Firefighter guy,” I respond.

“You can just call me a firefighter,” he says with a half grin. “Or Lieutenant. Or Lieutenant Burke. Or Aidan.”

“That’s… a lot of choices,” I say, for some reason feeling confused.

“Aidan is probably easiest.”

“Okay.”

“And you’re Blake.”

“How do you know my name?” Unless he recognized me from the Racketeers. Maybe he’s a hockey fan.

“Elise called you Blake.”

“Oh. Why does it matter if we know each other’s first names?” I finally ask.

“Because I think maybe we’re going to see each other around. A lot.”

I frown. “What do you?—”

“Blake! Oh my God, I forgot you were coming over!”

I look up to see Elise hurrying toward me. With some guy behind her. He’s got a blanket around his shoulders, but he’s in only black boxers otherwise.

What the hell?

“Hey,” I say. “What’s going on? Are you okay? What happened?” I step forward, past Lieutenant Aidan Burke, and grasp her upper arms. I look her over.

She seems completely fine. She doesn’t even have a smudge of soot on her face. It looks like she was awakened by the fire, though. She’s got a large man’s coat on, but she’s in lounge pants and a tank top.

And that’s it.

When the coat gapes, it’s clear she’s not wearing a bra.

I swallow and pull her in closer, instinctively trying to keep anyone else from noticing. Even though I’m the late-comer and everyone else here has already seen everything she’s got on display.

I feel a stupid, but sharp, stab of jealousy.

Which makes no sense.

“I’m fine,” she says. “It was just a mess up.” She gives a light laugh. “Of course. I got distracted and left a towel on a burner. No major damage. Thank god.”

I’m watching her face as she explains. Despite her laugh, she doesn’t look amused. She looks embarrassed.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I tell her. Then I feel like I need to add more. I squeeze her arms. “Everybody does stuff like that. No big deal.” I look at the firefighter. Aidan. I roll my eyes. “Right? Lieutenant ? It’s no big deal.” I give him a look that says he better agree.

Aidan nods. “Right. Easiest call we’ve had in weeks. No risk. No problem.”

Elise blows out a breath. Then she gives me a wobbly smile. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” I rub my hands up and down her arms. I want to run my hands all over her. Without any layers of clothes between us.

“I’m so sorry I forgot you were coming over,” she says. “I got distracted. I didn’t even realize what time it was.”

I look around. “You’ve had a lot going on.” Then my eyes land on the guy in the boxers. He’s right there. Still. And…he’s in boxers . I narrow my eyes.

“Oh, hey, Blake,” Aidan says. “This is Simon.”

I look from one man to the other. “Okay.”

“Simon, this is Blake.”

“Hey, mate.”

Jesus, he’s British.

She’s got a half-dressed Brit and a cocky firefighter here. No wonder she was distracted.

“Hey.”

“You should know his name too,” Aidan says. “Probably going to see him around a bit.”

“A bit?” Simon asks.

“A lot?” Aidan asks.

Simon nods. “Definitely.”

I frown. What the hell? I look down at Elise. She looks a little sheepish.

Uh, huh. Okay. Well… fuck.

It seems I have some competition.

Which is a stupid thing to think. Elise and I do not have a relationship. We kissed for the first time on New Year’s Eve.

But I need her.

I need her to agree to this crazy, stupid plan I spontaneously hatched with my grandmother, who I do not want to lie to but who is strong-arming me. I need her to not be into another guy, or a couple of other guys, who could mess up the idea of us being a convincing madly in love couple for the next ninety days.

I need her to…

Fuck. I need her to want me. The way I want her.

Yes, I want her. Even without the house thing.

Dammit.

Well, ‘competition’ is one of my favorite words.

“I need to talk to you,” I tell her, ignoring the other men.

“Yeah, so you said in your text,” she says. “Can it wait?”

“No.” That’s probably an asshole answer considering what’s going on here, but they just said it was no big deal, and I have a ticking time clock here.

She frowns, studying my face. “Is everything okay?”

“I need your help with something,” I tell her honestly.

She looks confused, but nods. “Okay. We can go upstairs and talk.” She frowns. “I think?” She looks at Aidan. “Is it okay if we go inside now?”

Aidan looks from her to me, then back. “I don’t know.”

I give a little growl. “Is it safe to go inside, Lieutenant ?”

He looks pleased that he’s pissed me off.

“Yes. But I should escort you, just to be sure.”

“My clothes are in there,” the Brit pipes up. “I need to go inside, too.”

Well, I guess that answers any lingering questions about why he’s here and not fully dressed.

I sigh. “Great. Let’s all go inside.”

Aidan talks to the firefighters who are still lingering around. Elise talks with Luna. And ten minutes later, we—the three guys—are following her upstairs to her apartment.

She pushes the door open and then stops in the doorway and turns to us.

We’re single file on the steps, not able to all fit any other way.

I’m first, with Simon right behind me, and Aidan bringing up the rear.

“So, before we go inside,” Elise says. “You need to know that I almost never have people over.”

I frown. She clearly had Simon over.

“The apartment looks like a disaster but…” Her gaze finds someone over my shoulder and she smiles, then nods.

I look over my shoulder. I don’t know which guy is giving her a silent pep talk, but when I see Simon’s face, I assume it’s him. He’s looking at her with clear affection.

Great.

It wasn’t just a one-night stand. They’re not just fucking.

My ask of her is going to sound really stupid if she’s got a boyfriend .

I mean, I’d love to ask him where the hell he was on New Year’s Eve if he’s so smitten with her. I’d love to ask her just what the hell our kiss in the elevator was if the Brit is so amazing. But I just grit my teeth instead.

I don’t really have another choice here but to go ahead and ask my favor. Unless I can talk some other girl I know into pretending to be my fiancée and pretending her name is Elise.

“But?” Aidan asks.

“But this is how I like it,” she says, lifting her chin. “It’s my mess and if you don’t like it, you can leave. I don’t want any comments, I don’t want any help cleaning it up, and yes, it’s always like this.”

We all wait after she stops.

“That’s it,” she says.

“Well done, love,” Simon tells her. “Now I could really use a pair of socks.”

Love?

She laughs and steps back. “Of course. Come on in.”

We all file past her into the apartment.

The small apartment.

That is, in fact, a bit of a disaster.

I look around. All I can see are dresses. And shoes. But mostly dresses.

The sexy-as-hell dresses she always wears that remind me of Marilyn Monroe.

I love these fucking dresses.

The only time I’ve seen her out of them is when she wears jeans to hockey games. And fuck her hips and ass look amazing in fitted denim.

But yeah, I’ve had some really dirty thoughts about these dresses.

“Be right back,” Simon tells us as he ducks into what I assume is Elise’s bedroom.

I clench my jaw.

He spent the night. I’m just going to have to deal with that.

Hope Simon is cool with me pretending to be madly in love with his girlfriend for the next three months.