CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Jenna
“You’re being creepy.”
His eyes widened and his eyebrows rose in mock horror. “How dare you!”
“Stop following me around, and I’ll stop calling you creepy.”
“I like following you, Firefly. I just want to be near you.”
My heart melted a little. “I like it, too.”
“Do you need anything else?”
I looked around at the materials he’d helped prep for my next group—a bird feeder craft to go with the book,A Birdie Named Gerdie.
“No, that’s all. Thank you for your help.”
“My pleasure. I’ll just sit there and read during the class.” He gestured to a tiny table with a towering collection of children’s books about firefighters, ice cream shops, and tricks to teach dogs. “I’ll stay out of the way, but I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too.” The crazy thing was, I meant it. I thought it would be awkward to have him watching me all day, but hewas sweet and funny, and he seemed genuinely happy to be there. He’d eagerly pulled out all those books, being silly about it while still being respectful of me and my library. He’d even helped clean up after the morning toddler rush and said he’d help put away the books. And with him there distracting me, I’d barely given much thought to my nightmare. “You can’t sit there, though.”
His lips pulled down in a silly, exaggerated frown, and they looked so kissable in his velvety beard. “Why not?”
“Because it’s made for little kids, not six-foot giants. You’ll be more comfortable in the adult section.”
“I’m six five, and I’m staying here, near you. I’ll bring over an adult chair, though, so I don’t break yours.”
Oh wow. The only thing breaking here was my ribs—my chest felt like it might crack wide open. My heart was too big, too full from the way he made me feel; there was no way to contain it. I couldn’t say or do anything about that now, though, so I thanked him with a ridiculously big smile and said, “They’ll be coming in soon. Go read.”
“I will, and I’m also going to work on the plans for later. Do you have any preference?”
“Nope, surprise me.”
He blew me a discreet kiss on his way out of the activity room, and that was absolutely perfect, just like him.
Izzy hurried in right after he left and threw her arms around me. “Sorry for doubting you. He’s awesome, but I can’t decide if you guys are making me more envious or nauseous.”
“Hey!” I swatted her away.
“Kidding! I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, Iz.”
A few minutes later, just after the first two kids arrived, Liam came back in, a thunderous look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, rushing over.
“I got called in.”
A chill ran down my spine. It must’ve been really bad for him to get called in and for him to look like that. “What happened?”
“Don’t worry,” he said, his expression gentling. “It’s not bad, just a lot going on. There’s a multi-alarm fire in an apartment building downtown, and also a car accident with injuries and smoke. It’s being covered, but they’re stretched thin and might need additional units so they called us in.”
“If it’s not bad, why do you look like that?”
“I don’t want to leave you,” he said, his voice tight. “I told you I’d be here with you today.”