Page 18 of Burning Love (Looking For Love #7)

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“ J ace, Talia Carlisle is here to see you.”

Jace looked up from the report he was reading on his computer to see Cheryl standing there. She worked part time at the firehouse and did some office work.

“She’s here now?”

“Yes,” Cheryl said. “She has something for you. It looks like an envelope.”

He’d had no idea she was stopping over. He hadn’t seen her since last Wednesday night when the two of them got naked for the first time.

Seven long days ago.

She’d been in New York for a family event for three days and their schedules hadn’t worked out since she returned on Sunday afternoon.

They had been texting and talked last night.

Which didn’t explain why she hadn’t told him she was stopping into his job.

“I’m coming.” He stood up and followed Cheryl to the front area.

“Hi,” she said.

She was dressed business casual in navy pants that were fitted to the body he’d been seeing in his dreams naked for a week.

They stopped at her calves, nude pumps on her feet.

She had a yellow and white shirt on that looked silky.

He’d bet anything it was. Short sleeves and tucked into the waist of her pants.

Her blonde hair down and falling around her shoulders, her makeup minimal. Fresh faced and effortless.

“Hi. What can I help you with?”

She was smirking at him. He didn’t think she was here for a friendly visit, but he wasn’t letting on to anything between them regardless.

“I’ve got a check for your victims’ fund.”

“Oh.” It’d been almost three weeks since she’d asked for more information.

How had the weeks flown so fast?

She handed it over. “It takes time to get money from corporate. I’ve got to give a write-up of everything with a purchase order. I was able to get that on my own through research. But for the equipment, I need more details. We have an application if you’re interested.”

“I can pass that on to the chief,” he said. “Can I open this?”

“Yes.” She was still grinning at him and looking around. There were a few men close enough that might be watching. He was damn positive they were.

If he hadn’t been dating Talia, he’d be watching just because of how gorgeous she was.

He slid his finger into the edge and ripped it open. The check for fifty thousand had his eyes popping. He hadn’t expected that. He thought maybe five tops.

“Damn. This is generous. And you still want information for the rest?”

“The foundation is large,” she said. “And you know, we live in this district. Anything to keep my mother safe and the higher ups comfortable with that.”

She wasn’t saying her brother’s name, but he knew what she was talking about.

“Do you have a few minutes? I’ll bring you back to meet the chief. He’s going to want that with the size of this check.”

“I assumed as much.”

He wanted to put his hand on her lower back to usher her back but couldn’t with so many prying eyes.

“Follow me.”

She moved closer to him, leaned in and whispered, “Have you been thinking of me?”

He turned his head. “Don’t tease me here. You might not like the outcome when we are alone again.”

She laughed and his blood boiled over the sound. “I think I might enjoy that very much.”

He always thought he was good at word games with women, but she had him at a disadvantage in a place where he wouldn’t push it.

The clicking of her heels on the concrete floors was the only sound to be heard as he kept his mouth shut for the moment.

He turned the corner, saw the chief at his desk and knocked on the doorframe. “Do you have a minute?”

Chief Rogers stood up when his boss caught sight of Talia next to him.

“Of course,” Chief Rogers said.

“This is Talia Carlisle. She’s brought over a very generous donation for the victims’ fund. She’d also like us to fill out an application for equipment that we might need.”

Chief Rogers moved forward with his hand out. “We’d love to do that.”

“I’ll email Captain Rigby the information since I’ve got his address already, if that’s okay?”

“Perfect,” Chief Rogers said. His boss took the check and looked at it. “This is very generous. If I knew you were coming, I would have made sure we had some kind of press or newspaper here. It’d look good for both sides. Do you have time for me to give them a call?”

Jace should have figured that would happen.

“I have two hours before I need to be on a call if someone can come right now,” she said. “Otherwise I can return another day or they can reach out to ask me questions.”

“I’ll place the call now, if you’d like to wait.”

“Sure,” she said.

“Why don’t we go into the conference room,” Jace said.

Talia held her smile, nodded, and followed him to a room a few down, then shut the door for privacy.

“Sorry about this. If you’d given me a heads up I would have warned you.”

Her hand landed on his arm and ran up and down, then ended on his hand, their fingers meshing for a minute.

He hadn’t realized how touchy feely she was but found he was craving the contact as much as she might have been.

“I’m used to this but didn’t want to put you on the spot.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t come with one of those big cardboard checks. I’ve seen pictures of you with them.”

“Have you been searching me online?” she asked, winking at him.

“Maybe.”

“Some places like big checks like that. I thought this could be a little smaller. I do live in the area.”

Which he hadn’t considered. “You can tell Chief no to the interview.”

“I wouldn’t do that. I need to get it out there, the work we do. But I also didn’t want it to seem as if I was doing it for that.”

Jace nodded. “So you only gave this donation for publicity?”

She rolled her eyes. “If I was doing that, I’d be dropping checks at all sorts of places in the area who would gladly accept them. If you remember correctly, my mother set this up.”

“Don’t remind me. Or how we met.”

“I haven’t smoked anything since. I’m very careful now.”

“Good to know.” The door opened, Chief Rogers stepping in. “The local paper is sending someone over. They said it’d be about twenty minutes. Is it okay to get some pictures before they get here? I’m sure they will take some too, but we like to have a few of our own to put on our website.”

“Not a problem,” she said.

“Jace, can you go grab Cheryl, then come back to get in the picture too?”

“You want me in the picture?” he asked.

“Yes. You’re the one who got this started,” Chief Rogers said.

“You’re not going to say that, are you?” He saw Talia’s smile drop. He’d have to dig out of this hole. “They might not know why and it could alert everyone that West Carlisle’s mother lives in our district.”

“It’s fine,” Talia said. “Anyone could look up the property information to find that as well. But I appreciate your concern there. I’d like you in the picture also. A friendly face.”

There wasn’t much he could say to that and left Talia there while he searched out Cheryl.

He returned a few minutes later to see Talia laughing with his boss.

“Talia was telling me what caused the alarms at her house. Cookies and thawing chicken. That’s quite a story to get us this donation.”

“Sometimes funny fate things land in our lap and work out perfectly,” she said.

Jace knew a double meaning when he heard one. She was really putting him on the spot.

He’d play that game.

“It’s amazing all the interesting things that come from chance meetings.”

Her face flushed and he’d scored himself a point on that one. Or maybe it was the lift of his eyebrows when he’d done it.

Cheryl had them stand in front of one of the fire trucks, Talia between him and his boss, making her look a lot smaller, even in her heels, then a few shots were taken.

“These look great,” Cheryl said, handing the camera over for them to look.

“That’s a smile to melt some women’s hearts,” Chief said. “Jace is good at that. We like him in the pictures.”

Fuck. That was the last thing he needed said in front of the woman he was sleeping with.

A reminder of what he’d told her. That he wasn’t looking for any type of commitment and never had one before.

“He sure is pretty,” Talia said. “A weaker woman might only see the surface though. I’m sure he’s a solid guy underneath.”

Chief slapped him on the back. “We try to tell him that, but pretty faces get more attention too.”

“Chief, the mayor is on line two,” someone shouted from another room.

“I’ll be right back,” Chief said. “Jace can show you to a waiting room and get you a coffee or something.”

“Guess you’re being ordered around today,” she said.

“It seems it.”

They moved back down the hall away from everyone. “How about I let you order me around tomorrow night if you’re around? You know, to make up for putting you on the spot today.”

“You’re seriously going to let me call the shots?”

“Promise.” She dragged her pink manicured fingernail down the center of her chest, then across her nipples seductively. “Cross my heart.”

“You’re evil.”

She laughed. “And you love it.”

More than he cared to admit.