Page 21 of A Baby for the Firefighter

I clutched my pillow in my arms. “I told him I don't want him to date anyone else. And now I don't know what to do.”

“Oh Griff.” My brother's voice was so full of sympathy I almost started to bawl. “Do you want me to come over so we can talk?” he asked.

“Would you?”

“Of course I would. Let me just get dressed and I'll be right over.”

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.”

He hung up and I waited. I figured that maybe I should get dressed too, so I heaved myself out of bed. At least the only hangover symptom I was dealing with was a headache, no nausea, so that was good. Still, I brushed my teeth extensively before getting dressed.

How could Dean stand to kiss me the day before? Ugh.

Maybe that was why he hadn't tried again. Because I was gross. I spit into the sink and washed my mouth out.

Better.

Next I put on some clothes and prepared coffee. By the time Eli walked into the house, I felt almost like a person again.

“I'm in the kitchen,” I called when I heard him in the take off his shoes in the entrance.

“Coming!”

I poured a mug of coffee for him and myself and put a more than generous amount of sugar in my own cup. I really needed that this morning.

When my brother came into the kitchen, I handed him his mug and we sat at the counter.

“Tell me what happened?” Eli asked.

“Well...” I closed my hands around my mug. Where to start? “Do you remember Dean?”

“Dean?” Eli furrowed his brow. “Wait, is that the kid you hung out with in school? Who was over at our place sometimes?”

“Yeah.”

“That's the Dean you were talking about? He's the one feeding you cupcakes?” Eli's eyes widened, and I tried not to blush.

“Yeah.”

“Wow, I thought he'd moved away or something.”

“He did. But he came back a couple of months ago.” Which Eli would have known if he kept up with the town's gossip at all. Everyone talked about the hot new firefighter in town who wasn't new after all.

“I had no idea. Why did you never say anything?”

“Because I know you. If I'd said anything, you would have assumed I was into him or something.”

Eli just looked at me. “And would I have been wrong?”

“No,” I admitted grudgingly.

Eli's expression turned sympathetic. “Is having a crush really such a bad thing?”

I didn't know what to say. It wasn't inherently a bad thing; it was only a bad thing forme.But how could I tell my brother that without admitting to everything that was wrong with me? I'd called him with the intention of doing just that, but now that he sat beside me, speaking the words turned out to be a lot more difficult than I'd thought.

“Tell me what happened last night?” Eli said when I remained silent.