Page 8 of Striking the Match (Redwood Bay Fire #3)

Teddy could be straight, but I’m absolutely positive I got a vibe. And it could be that he wasn’t interested in getting to know each other, but his breathless laughs and starry eyes said otherwise.

The more I turn it over in my mind, the more I come back to the fame factor cock-blocking me again.

Of course a young guy like that is going to be intimidated.

In fact, I probably wouldn’t be attracted to him the way I am if he was a rabid fan, enamored by my celebrity.

If he sees that as a downside rather than a bonus to pursuing anything, that says a lot about his character.

But it still leaves me besotted and frustrated. Something that hasn’t gone unnoticed by my eagle-eyed PA, apparently.

“Come on, spit it out,” Bryan says, as if I’m a puppy chewing on the TV remote.

I arch an eyebrow at him. “Huh?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, mister,” he huffs. “You’ve had your head in the clouds since I arrived. No…” He looks slyly at my mom. “You’ve been distracted since about halfway through our visit to the animal shelter yesterday. Have you got a certain baby-faced firefighter on the brain?”

“No! I…” My argument dies before it can even form, and my mom’s face has lit up like the Fourth of July.

“A boy?” she cries, abandoning the shallots she was crushing to give me her full attention. “You deserve to meet someone nice, Cassius!”

I wave my hands at them both before they can get the wrong impression. “We met for all of ten minutes,” I say firmly. “He was the guy that rescued Kiki. But then he left, and that’s it.”

“It was clearly long enough to leave an impression,” Bryan quips smugly.

I sigh and head for the fridge. “I need a beer,” I mutter.

“Ooh, get me a glass of the chardonnay in that case,” Bryan calls after me. “Rosie, you’ll join me?”

“Naughty boy,” she says with a laugh, lightly smacking him with a dish towel. “Oh…go on then.”

I’m not sure if I want my mom getting tipsy and trying to fix my love life.

But then I deflate and realize there’s probably no stopping either of them…

and actually…I don’t want to. I don’t have to hide this stuff anymore.

It’s about time I started discussing it openly and maybe asking for advice.

Because apparently, I’m not getting anywhere on my own.

“So…” I say tentatively as I re-approach with our drinks. “What if I was interested in Teddy? Would that be a terrible idea?”

“His name’s Teddy?” my mom practically squeals. “Oh, I adore him already.”

Bryan, on the other hand, has his game face on. “Assuming he likes you back?”

I shrug, thinking about how fast Teddy left yesterday. “Yeah, it’s entirely possible I imagined the vibe between us at the shelter.”

Bryan scoffs, making me blink in surprise. “Bitch, please,” he says, shaking his head. “Sorry for my language, Mrs. Garda. Cassius, that boy wanted to climb you like a tree. Again, sorry for being inappropriate, Mrs. Garda. But the big man clearly needs some help with this.”

“With what?” I ask defensively despite absolutely knowing the answer.

Bryan flutters his eyelashes at me. “The pretty boys,” he says slyly. “And that one was pretty for days, also, definitely interested. You just scared him off with…”

“With what?” I ask again, slightly pathetically this time.

He snaps his fingers then waves them around to encompass my house. “With all of this, honey. You. You’re an international sporting legend. He’s a small-town firefighter. I’m sure his brain short-circuited, and his survival instincts told him to flee. But trust me, the sparks were flying.”

I take a sip of my beer and mull over his words. “Okay, that’s cool,” I say slowly, not wanting to get my hopes up. “But that brings me back to my original question. Is it a terrible idea?”

“You mean because he’s definitely at least a decade younger than you with absolutely zero media training and clearly worships the ground you walk on?” Bryan crooks an eyebrow at me as he sips his white wine. “No, I can’t see why any of that would be an issue.”

I groan, but my mom sighs and gently swats Bryan’s arm. “Sweetie,” she says to me. “If you felt something special with this young man, you’ll regret it if you don’t give it a try. Let’s say you ask him out on a date, what’s the worst that could happen?”

One of the best things about my mom is that she still just sees me as her baby boy, her firstborn, her little prince.

It’s Bryan who laughs before I can respond. “The worst that can happen? Hmm…he could lure Cassius into a honeytrap, swindle millions from him, gather compromising screenshots and photos, then go running to TMZ to earn even more millions in a devastating tell-all interview.”

“No?” my mom gasps. “Surely no one would do that? Would they?”

I groan once more. “I’m never having sex again,” I mutter, shaking my head. “I’m going to become a nun and go live in the mountains with my cat.”

“Orrrr,” Bryan says pointedly. “He could simply be a sweet, shy boy who would love nothing more than to hear from you again. You could live happily ever after together with a hundred angry cat babies.”

I chuckle but something warm stirs in my chest. I like that option a lot better.

“He didn’t give me his number, though,” I say. “Even if I did want to reach out to him, how?—”

“Got it,” Bryan interrupts triumphantly. I’m not even sure when he picked up his phone, but he’s grinning at it, then at me.

“You found his cell number?” I ask dubiously. That doesn’t sound ethical.

Bryan rolls his glittery eyes at me. “Our new friend, Paisley, said yesterday that there’s only one fire station in town. I’ve got their phone number in front of me.”

“That’s right!” my mom agrees cheerfully. “Such lovely boys. And they have a lady firefighter, too! Whenever the church has a fundraiser, they’re always happy to bring their truck along for the kids to play on. And they do fire safety talks all around town!”

“Hi, there,” Bryan’s perky voice pipes up, and I realize with mild horror that his phone is pressed to his ear.

“I don’t know if you’re able to tell me if Teddy Foster is on shift at the moment?

It’s only that he saved my friend’s cat, and my friend would really love to say thank you. ” Again, he mouths silently at me.

I’m going to kill him.

He just smiles sweetly, though. “Yeah, I know people just show up in person, but my friend would rather not do that. He doesn’t want to make a fuss.

Of course, I understand if you can’t divulge that information for security—oh!

We can talk to the captain? Tomorrow? Yes, that would be amazing!

What was your name? Nancy! Thank you so much, Nancy.

My friend is going to really appreciate your help. You have a good evening, now.”

With a devilish grin, my PA hangs up and sips his wine, ignoring my incredulous stare despite keeping his eyes locked with mine.

“You are a naughty boy,” my mom titters, waving her veggie knife in his direction.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” I croak.

“You can call any time after eight tomorrow morning,” Bryan informs me, then shrugs.

“Or not. It’s up to you. If you’re thinking about dating and want someone who understands living in the limelight, I’m sure I can line up twenty adorable actors and pop stars before the end of the week.

But if you don’t want the boy next door to slip through your fingers, now you have a chance to speak to him again. ”

I glare at him, swirling the beer in my bottle. Honestly, I don’t know what I want. Bryan reckons Teddy ran away because he was scared. Well, he’s not the only one. It doesn’t matter right now that I’m famous and rich. I feel like an awkward teenager trying to ask a boy out for the first time.

But is my mom right? Will I regret it if I don’t at least try?

I think I know the answer to that from the way I physically recoiled at the idea of Bryan setting me up with someone from ‘my world.’ I’m not interested in a hypothetical also-famous boyfriend so we can parade for the tabloids together.

I want something real. And there’s a chance I could find that with Teddy.

If I’m brave enough to come out to the nation, I can be brave enough to risk being rejected by a sweet and kind firefighter.

Like my mom said: what’s the worst that could happen?

Ignoring Bryan’s response to that particular question, I take a deep breath and nod. “I could just see if he wants to hang out, right? Show the new kid around town. No pressure.”

“That sounds like a nice plan,” my mom says, reaching out and patting my cheek.

“No pressure,” Bryan scoffs, finishing his glass of wine. “Sure, big guy. If that gets you to stop moping and get proactive, I’ll take it.”

He winks at me as he slides off his barstool to fetch the chardonnay bottle, showing me that despite his snarky tone, he is genuinely supportive. I’m certain he understands just what a huge leap this is for me.

But if Teddy can jump into that river like he did to save Kiki, then I can take this metaphorical step forward. I’m never going to date anyone if I’m too afraid to try. I get the feeling that Teddy is going to be worth trying for.

Maybe I won’t have to become a nun after all.