2

Green eyes flashed before me as, with a gasp, I opened my eyes. I looked side to side, frantically trying to figure out where the hell I was and what was going on. Sterile cleaners burned my nose, along with whatever was stuck up into it. I quickly grabbed at it, feeling tubing running into my nose and behind my ears.

I looked around the drab, beige hospital room. An empty chair sat in the corner. No one was here to see me, no one concerned if I was dead or alive. It was a depressing realization that sunk down upon me as a nurse walked into the room.

“Glad to see you awake, honey. How are you feeling?”

I stared at her as I took a moment to process her words, my brain apparently still lost within the fog of the fire. She was an older woman with graying hair tied up into a bun. “Tired,” I finally responded. “Where am I?”

“The hospital,” she replied as though I should know as she logged onto a nearby computer and began typing. “I’ll just need your name and I’ll get some vitals from you.”

My mouth went dry as I stared silently at her for a moment. Did she know? Had she called them already? Were they on their way?

My heartrate increased as my hands began sweating. My fingers fidgeted with the thin, white blanket on the bed.

“Stella Wyatt.”

She nodded, seemingly agreeing with me as I moved robotically, allowing her to take my blood pressure and temperature. She lightly hummed as she methodically worked through the procedures.

“Is there anyone we should call?” she asked. “You’ll be discharged soon enough.”

I lowered my eyes to the tiled floor. I couldn’t call Ace when he was high on drugs. It’s not like he could drive here to get me in his current situation, or even want to. “No.”

“You sure?” she asked as she began typing away again on the computer. “Its no trouble at all. Or you can contact someone yourself, if you prefer. I know you kids all have your fancy cellphones. You just let me know if there is anything we can do for you.”

I watched her feet leave as I slowly raised my eyes and sighed. How pathetic was I that, out of the millions of people in the world, I had no desire to call any of them to join me in the hospital?

After seeing a doctor, another nurse, and an interview with the police, I felt physically sick from the nerves and lies I was forced to tell. Thankfully, I was finally discharged from the hospital and walked out the front door into the darkness of night with an impending medical bill that I had no money to pay for. I worked two jobs, but both were only part time. Despite all my work, I always seemed to be dead broke. I knew why, and I knew I needed to make changes, I just didn’t know how.

With a dead phone and no help in sight, I walked over to the bus stop. I stared up at the stars above and wished for a different life.

Morning came far too soon. I rolled out of bed and reluctantly got ready for work. I blew out a breath as I applied make-up over my left bruised cheek. Somehow, I had become a bit of an expert at covering bruises. Once it was buried from sight, I grabbed my purse and hurried out the door to catch the bus for work.

I had the lunch hour shift today at Kiki’s, a locally owned restaurant I served as a waitress at during the week. The pay sucked, but the tips normally made up for it. Today it seemed everyone was trying the little patience I had on the minimal sleep I had gotten. Not only had I gotten home late, but a pair of green eyes had haunted my dreams.

At the end of my shift, I boxed up a dozen cookies and headed out the door. The hot Florida sun beat down upon me as I began my walk. I was still trying to adjust to the hot summers here in Florida after relocating here. Back home, the summer heat would feel good after the frigid winter. Here, the heat would take your breath away and make you feel as though you were suffocating in the thick humidity.

I walked several blocks, shifting the box of cookies around in my hands and working up a good layer of sweat before reaching the fire house. This was the closest one to where I had been rescued, and I assumed it was the one that had responded.

“Can I help you?” a large, balding man asked as I approached the firehouse.

“Hi,” I greeted him with a smile. “I um, I needed the fire department’s assistance yesterday. I was stuck in a house that caught fire and I wanted to say thank you.”

I held out the cookies with a friendly smile. He smiled back and stepped toward me, taking them from my hands and looking inside.

“Well thank you, young lady. They are much appreciated. Is there a particular fireman I can address these to?”

I opened my mouth but quickly closed it again. I shook my head slowly. “I didn’t get his name. I was kind of, well I, I passed out.”

The older man chuckled. “Happens to the best of us. You know what this fella looked like?”

“Well he was in fireman gear.” I mentally rolled my eyes at myself. I was so awkward sometimes! “He had green eyes and a British accent,” I spit out in a hurry.

Awareness seemed to dawn upon the man’s face as a smirk slowly began to grow across his aging features. He turned his back to me and hollered into the firehouse. “Carter!”

Heat burned my cheeks as I quickly dropped my gaze to my well-worn sneakers. They were my favorite, and most comfortable pair. That along with my jeans and t-shirt with the restaurant name emblazoned across the front didn’t give me the most flattering first impression. Not to mention my hair thrown up in the messy ponytail I had done this morning. At least my make-up was on point thanks to stupid Ace.

I sighed as I shifted on my feet and debated just bolting. Why was I even concerned with my appearance? It’s not like I was going out on a date.

“What you hollering about?” A new voiced asked with a British accent as I raised my eyes.

A younger looking man walked toward us. His brown, wavy hair fell messily all around his head down to his chin. It was swept up and back in the front as though he had run his hands through it excessively throughout the day. He was tall, nearing six feet, and had a lean yet muscular build. His voice had a boyish charm yet he eluded sex appeal without even trying. He had on tight black jeans and a black shirt with the fire departments name upon it and a skintight, long-sleeved undershirt.

“I’m guessing you saved this young women’s life yesterday,” I heard the older man say but my eyes were too focused on the younger fireman to move. “Seems she came to say thank you.”

The younger fireman’s gaze shifted to me. I lost my breath as his green eyes settled upon me. My heart rioted and pounded in my chest as those haunting green eyes wandered up and down my body. I felt utterly exposed and inexplicable aroused. How I’d love to run my fingers into his hair and taste his full, red lips.

I blinked rapidly, banishing the thoughts as I held my hand out and tried to control it from shaking. “I’m Stella Wyatt.”

He grinned and it seemed to take over his entire face and reveal a mouthful of perfect, white teeth and dimples upon his cheeks. “Alaric Carter,” he said as he took my hand into his and shook it.

I stood staring at him like an awestruck teenager and held onto his hand long enough to make it awkward. “Thank you.” I went to pull my hand away but his grip tightened and held onto me. I looked down at our joined hands, heat spreading through my body. “Thank you for saving my life yesterday.”

“You’re welcome.”

The humor I heard in his voice drew my eyes back up to his gorgeous face. Those green eyes were gleaming with amusement upon me, sparkling like a dashing movie star.

I was knocked completely off guard by his good looks. I tried to process a logical thought in my fluttering brain. “I brought the cookies for you.”

“I’ll have to get ‘em back,” he replied, still holding onto my hand. He spoke with a slight slowness, as though he thought out every word before speaking it.

I glanced around and realized the other fireman had left. “I hope he doesn’t eat them all.”

“It’s alright,” he replied, his voice lowering slightly. “There’s something else I’d rather eat.”

My face whipped back to him, my cheeks burning hot. Surely I had heard him wrong. “Excuse me?”

“There’s other stuff to eat,” he replied with innocence as he let go of my hand and glanced behind him. “We’ve got a kitchen here.”

I nodded my head slowly at his explanation as my eyes narrowed slightly. “Good.”

“It was nice meeting you, Stella.”

My heart fluttered as my name slipped from his lips in his British accent. “You’re not from around here?” I internally groaned at the words I hadn’t meant to speak aloud.

“How’d you guess?” he chuckled in amusement.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Lucky guess. I should go.”

He nodded as I took one more look at him before turning to leave.

“Stella!”

I whipped around like an anxious schoolgirl. “Yeah?”

His face had suddenly turned serious, his green eyes dull and hard. “How’d you get that bruise?”

Nerves shot through me at my secret being exposed. “What bruise?”

He stepped toward me, his booted feet thundering in my ears. He stopped within inches of me and raised his hand. I flinched and silently cursed myself for being so skittish.

He held his hand in mid-air as he searched my face, seeming to ask permission, before very slowly moving his hand to my face and tracing his fingers over my cheek. My skin tingled and heated at his touch.

“This bruise,” he whispered softly.

My breath caught as I stared into his eyes. “I fell.”

“Onto someone’s fist?” His voice had a roughness that startled me.

“No,” I forced out as I took a step backward, putting space between us. “Of course not. I fell and hit the post on the bed yesterday when I was lightheaded from the smoke.”

I was good, perhaps too good at lying. It didn’t seem to work on him though. He stared at me with disbelieving eyes and judgement written across his face.

“Thank you, again. For saving me. That’s all I came here for.”

His grin slowly returned to his face as his features lightened. “You sure about that?”

“Of course,” I shot out in annoyance. Sure, he was smoking hot but his cockiness was igniting anger within me. “Why else would I be here?”

“I have a boxing match this weekend. You should come see it.”

I was speechless at his sudden turn of conversation. He could switch gears so quickly and casually it was hard to keep up. “You box?”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “Its nothing professional but its entertaining nonetheless.”

My eyebrows rose. “Punching another human being is entertaining?”

“It is if you’re not the one getting punched,” he replied, his voice lowering and becoming somber.

I nodded my head slowly as his green eyes seemed to bore into me and expose my deepest secrets. Or perhaps he was undressing me with his eyes. The thought made my cheeks burn. I had to get away from him. I don’t think I have had a rational thought since he approached.

“I’ll try to go,” I breathed out as I turned to leave.

“Give me your number,” he called out.

I looked curiously at him but he spoke before I could.

“So I can send you the address.” His boyishly handsome grin spread across his face like the first morning rays of sunshine in the morning as his dimples punctuated his cheeks.

He pulled out his phone as I rattled off my number against my better judgement.

“I’ll see you around,” he smirked as he finished typing my number into his phone.

“Yeah, sure,” I replied off balance as I slowly turned and walked away.