April Embers_A Second Chance Single Daddy Firefighter Romance Read online

  I shook my head.

  “I don’t think so. I am sure there is something in there I haven’t worn yet. Is it really formal?”

  Sometimes it was more of a three-piece event, complete with a vest and everything. Maybe even a bow tie. And other times I just needed a simple suit and flat tie. Dress apperance was important at these events. They would mentally scold you if you didn’t fit in.

  “Yeah. Bow tie and everything.”

  I groaned internally. I was not much of a dress up guy.

  “At least I just got a haircut.” I murmured. Silence permeated between us as another episode began. Natalie and I just sat there and watched as we finished up our dinner.

  “Do you ever think about what would happen if you didn’t marry Vivian?” Natalie broke the long silence.

  “I don’t know.” I said after a while. “Maybe I should have listened to Mom.”

  “She never like her.” Natalie laughed.

  I nodded in agreement. My mother’s intuition was like something out of a movie. Always right, and never too wrong. Especially when we first met. I waited at least a few months to bring Vivian home, but the day we met will never be lost to me.

  Damn Levi and his escapades. My shoulders were stiff, my back tight. How did I let him talk me into a ten mile hike up the mountains?

  Good thing I didn’t have class for another few days, winter break was much longer than it was last semester. I could go to the massage parlor downtown, maybe they would have open spots. If I can get out of bed. I laid out for a while, checking my emails. Damned finals dropped my GPA again. If I don’t graduate with a 4.0, Mom will be pissed. I begrudgingly signed up for tutoring, then got in the shower.

  Was I bruised? I checked in the mirror. Of course, I was. My shoulders, my back. Maybe because I fell a few times and we slept on the ground. Levi wanted me dead, obviously. He was already halfway to Aspen now with his family. I made a mental note, never go hiking with Levi again.

  I shook up a protein shake, hoping it would help with some of the soreness. I got in my Cadillac and followed the navigation to the university wellness center hoping to get a massage to ease my pain.

  “Hey, I need a massage. Are there any openings?” The receptionist was older.

  “Yes, just fill this out please.” I groaned to myself. Of course, there was a five-page patient history for me to fill out.

  “Here.” I handed it back when I was done. It was a bunch of simple stuff anyway.

  “Are you a student here?” she looked up at me through her glasses.

  “Yeah. A senior.”

  “Oh, congrats. Do you have your ID with you? You’ll get a discount.”

  I looked through my wallet. Of course, I didn’t have it.

  “Uh no, I left it.”

  She pursed her lips and typed a few things in.

  “That’s okay. Just go through that door and follow the signs to the massage center. Also, our massage therapy students are on call today, so you might get a student, might not. But they’re qualified, I promise.” She smiled kindly. I’d rather have someone do it right, but if she says they are qualified, then fine by me.

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  The signs were relatively easy to follow, and I entered in another room. Someone handed me a robe and led me to a private room. I’d had massages before, so I got in position, laying down on my belly. The door opened moments later.

  “Hi, I’m Vivian. I’m a massage therapy student and I’ll be doing you today. I mean your massage.” I smiled down into the face circle. She had a cute voice, and she sounded young. I was sure she was hot too.

  “Nice to meet you.” I barely made any sense with my face down on the massage table, but I think she understood enough of it.

  She clicked on some music and asked me if it was okay. I was fine as long as I could move my shoulders again. Her hands were soft, the oil made them softer, but she had a good technique. I couldn’t tell she wasn’t a professional yet.

  “Are you a student here?” She asked me.

  “Yeah. A senior.”

  “What’s your name?” I didn’t think they were supposed to ask you all these questions, but the way her hands felt, and her voice fell over my ears, I didn’t mind it. Maybe I was talking her up in my head.

  “Tristan Cox.”

  “Oh, I know you. You hacked the school’s what’s it called last year.”

  “The interface and firewall, messed with the algorithms too.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” she giggled, “did you get into any trouble?” I smiled at the memory.

  “For a second, yeah. Then the dean had me fix the system. Now we have the strongest firewall on any undergraduate campus.” I had done it to prove a point to the school, to show them how vulnerable they were. They didn’t listen to me until I hacked in.

  “Whoa, so you’re a tech guy?” Her hands were drifting dangerously low into my towel, but I told myself she was just doing her job, being thorough. It felt good anyway, I was so sore.

  “Yeah. I’m a computer science and systems major.”

  “I’m just into massages.” I heard the smile in her voice. I was dying to see what she looked like. She was on my side now, I turned my head to see her. Damn, she was hot.

  “What else are you into?” Her hands stopped moving, and her eyes met mine as she smiled.

  She looked like a fucking vixen. Brown tresses, full lips, flawless, creamy face. Her polo shirt hugged all her curves, her chest wasn’t too out there, but it was enough. Her cheeks flushed with her blush, and she turned back to her work.

  “I don’t know. Shopping. Design. I want to open my own massage parlor one day.”

  I was still looking at her, even as her hands drifted down to my glutes and thighs.

  “Well you’re pretty good at giving massages,” I stifled a moan. She shook her head, smiled, and came back up to my neck.

  “You have to face down.”

  I smirked but did as she said. She worked my neck and shoulders, not missing any kinks and got all the knots out. Damn, she was good.

  She must have asked me a bunch of questions in the last twenty minutes. I didn’t mind though, it kept me from falling asleep.

  “All done.” She stepped away.

  I sat up, draping the towel over my lap. Her back was to me as she washed her hands and toweled off. My eyes followed her body; she in shape. Her thighs were toned, her back small. She had put her hair up since I last looked at her, giving me a view of her neck. She had a small tattoo on her nape, a key maybe? Couldn’t tell from here.

  “You didn’t tell me your name.” I said. She turned and faced me, a smile creeping up on her face as she looked me over.

  “I’m Vivian Sanders.”

  “What time do you get off, Vivian?” There was something about her. Maybe I just wanted in her pants, but I wanted to know her too. Usually don’t care much about knowing the girls I go after.

  “A few hours. It depends.”

  “Give me your phone.”

  She bit her lip softly but reached in her back pocket and handed me a bright blue phone.

  “This your favorite color?” I arched a brow, looking at her and she nodded.

  I put my number in her phone and then texted myself.

  “Text me when you’re off. Don’t stand me up.”

  She giggled softly.

  “I won’t.” She was halfway out the door.

  “See you.” And then the door shut.

  I shook my head with a smile. Man, there is something about her.

  “Tristan, are you sleeping?” Natalie pulled me out of my trance.

  “Hmm? No. You want some ice cream?”

  “Hell yeah.”

  I got up and scoured my freezer, I found half a sherbet container and some butter pecan. I grabbed spoons and met her back at the chairs.

  “I was just thinking about Vivian. About how we met.” I explained.

  “Have you been doing that a lot?” her v
oice changed. Great, I pulled myself into a therapy session.

  “Yeah.” I sucked on the strawberry sherbet.

  “Why do you think? Is it helping?”

  I sighed.

  “I don’t know. I think I’m trying to see where I missed things. Or how I couldn’t tell who she really was.”

  She slurped her ice cream loudly. She must have different table manners.

  “You never can. And it isn’t your fault she played you.”

  “I don’t think she played me. Ten years is a long time. She had to love me for real at some point. Maybe it was me.” I opened even more. No wonder she was the best in the state, I’ve barely said anything. Or maybe it was just because she was my sister.

  “How so?” She pressed.

  “I don’t know. It could have been how much time I spent away. At work, travelling. Maybe I left her alone. She was never good at expressing her feelings, I guess she felt like she couldn’t tell me.” I shrugged.

  “You two were married. She should have figured out a way. And she shouldn’t have cheated.”

  Chapter Four

  Emilia

  I nearly burned the spaghetti, but I managed a good save. Ivy couldn’t stop praising the food, I had a bit myself. Those frozen dinners never seemed to fill me fully.

  Ivy stuck around for a while and even did the dishes before she headed back. Then I was dead on my feet. I got into bed and was out like a light. I was glad I didn’t have to be up early tomorrow, but I still had to get a lot of things ready for this charity ball.

  I must not have been that worried about it because it didn’t really keep me up late or anything. I let the rising sun wake me, even though it was still pretty early at seven in the morning.

  I let out a dramatic yawn and stretched before I got up to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I was still half asleep until I made my cup of coffee. I checked emails, and almost did a spit take when I saw one from Sasha. She had emailed me a few times, when I shipped out orders instead of her coming to pick them up.

  Good morning Emilia,

  I am so delighted to have you on board for the charity ball. It is so short notice, but I really believe in you. Attached you will find a detailed floor arrangement, and my budget for the event. Dan is dropping off checks later today for you to use.

  -p.s. wear your best dress.

  I was fine until I read the last part. I realized I had absolutely nothing that was close to acceptable for an event like this. And I didn’t have the money to go out and get one either. I had to shove that aside, I needed to do my job first.

  I made a breakfast of oatmeal and a smoothie, then showered and got dressed in jeans, and a knit sweater. I tied my hair up, which I always tended to do when I had a big project ahead of me, and then headed to the shop. I felt a pep in my step since I opened this place, it had been my dream for so long. Now I just need a steady income to keep it afloat. My savings wouldn’t pay the lease forever. I hoped that this charity event would help me in some way.

  Once inside, I went about the daily task of opening up the sun views, checking the flowers’ water levels, and keeping everything neat. I got a lot of pass throughs, but the business from that wasn’t necessarily substantial enough. I still treated them well, of course.

  But today my mind was on this event. I printed the floor plan Sasha sent me, the place was huge. And so was her budget. You would think ten thousand dollars gets you a lot, but for gardening and a flower arrangement for a party of this size, it was just enough.

  By about two in the afternoon, I had a plan put together. As if on cue, Dan came inside with the check.

  “Hey Emilia, delivery from Sasha.” He pretended to roll out a creed and bow. The kid had a great sense of humor.

  “Thanks. How was school?”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Horrible. I hate biology. And no offense, plants especially.” He dropped his bag on the counter and blew out an exasperated breath.

  “I love plants. Let me take a look.”

  He took out his obnoxiously large biology book, and I spent the next hour helping him with his homework. I didn’t mind it, though. I was glad to help him, and he seemed to understand it by the time I was done.

  “Thanks, you’re the best. I was prepared to fail this class.” He shook his head. “But Sasha wouldn’t have liked that very much.” He chuckled.

  “Yeah, what about your parents?” I noticed he never really talked about them, and maybe I was overstepping. But my curiosity was getting the better of me.

  “They work a lot. It’s my grandparents that I live with, actually. It was that or boarding school.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder, signaling he had to get going.

  “Oh, okay. Well just let me know if you ever need help in that class.”

  “I will, see you!” He called over his shoulder, and then the door shut behind him.

  I never noticed his parents weren’t around. I mean, it must be sad. My dad worked all the way over in Barbados, on a botany research project. Something about the water retention in tropical plants. He seemed to be having a lot of fun whenever we talked. We would Skype about once a week or whenever he had service.

  I missed my dad too, but that was a situation I couldn’t change. And after Mom had died, he was so different. More distant, enjoyed things less. I think it’s why he decided to go on this course when I left for school, that’s how long he has been gone. Ten years.

  I placed the order for everything I needed, and the labor required. I managed to find a company that handled all of that. I was to drop off the check at the time of service, that way I could make sure everything got put in correctly. When I left for my apartment, I actually felt like I had a pretty productive day. Then I remembered the last part of Sasha’s email.

  I was lucky my best friend was a designer. I didn’t expect her to make me anything in twenty-four hours, but maybe she had a massive discount to some stores, or I could borrow something.

  “Hey, Ivy. Are you busy?” I skipped the formalities.

  I was on my couch, just about freaking out. I couldn’t exactly show up looking like the flower girl, I had to blend in. Otherwise, I would rather not stay.

  “Not in theory. Are you okay? Did something happen at work?”

  “No, not really. It’s just I realized I don’t have anything to wear to this gala. Sasha said, I quote, wear your best gown or something like that. I have nothing!” I shrieked.

  Ivy just laughed, how could she be laughing?

  “Don’t worry, Emilia. I actually just finished a show with my boss, and I think one of the dresses would be perfect. You can wear it and he would never know.”

  I gasped. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I can bring it by later. Just let me finish this up. Deep breaths, girl.” She laughed and then hung up.

  I supposed I could relax more now that I had a prospective dress. I decided to let the rest of my frustration out and then go for a run. I laced up my shoes and went a few blocks and back. By the time I was back and showered, I had missed a few calls from Ivy.

  “Hey, sorry I missed you.” I called her back.

  “No worries, I was just on my way but I’m literally outside your door now.” On cue, there were four knocks.

  I hung up and opened up the door to Ivy being swallowed up by a black dress bag.

  “Oh, my goodness, there really is a dress!” I exclaimed.

  She rushed in and set the dress on my bed, just a few paces from the door.

  “Go ahead, open it.” She pressed. I looked the large bag over and then turned my attention to her.

  “You look fancy.” She was in a tight skirt and pink blouse. She actually managed to get her hair in a bun.

  “Yeah, it’s from the reveal we had. Open it up, I can’t wait for you to see it!”

  Gently, I unzipped the bag as if I would break it or something. “You’re sure I can wear this?” I double checked before I looked even more.

  “Yes. He won’
t know it’s missing. I was supposed to bring it to the cleaner’s anyway. Besides, he doesn’t remember half of the designs he has anyway.” She laughed, dropping herself onto my nicely dressed bed.

  “Okay.”

  I bit my lip nervously, pulling the dress from the bag. And my goodness, was it beautiful. The deep blue color was almost black, but the shine on it was amazing. The sweetheart neckline and shaped bodice would bring out my curves in a flattering way. I lifted it up and was surprised by how light it was compared to how much fabric was cascading down.

  “Try it on, I can hem it anywhere if you need it.”

  I nodded and stripped down to my underwear to put the dress on. She helped me zip it up. I didn’t have a full body mirror, so she took a picture and showed me. The look wasn’t even completed, and I was already in love.

  “You can borrow one of my heels. The length should be fine. It’s nice and dramatic anyway.” She giggled.

  I nodded in agreement, looking down at the fabric. It glinted under the dim light as I moved around. I hadn’t noticed the bottom had intricate etchings on it, almost like flowers. It was so beautiful.

  “This is so perfect, thank you Ivy!” I squealed.

  “No problem, I can’t wait to do your hair too.”

  She helped me out of it and then I hung it up and got dressed in my sweats again. It was like everything was coming together. I had figured it all out, it seemed.

  The plans for the ball were all set up, and I actually had something to wear. I could get used to this relaxed feeling. Sure, it wasn’t over. Setup still had to happen and all that, but I could taste the success.

  Ivy forced me into some jeans, so we could go out to dinner. There was this amazing burger place nearby that we always went to, so we sat in there and had a few beers while we watched a soccer game.

  “What the hell are we doing? We don’t watch soccer.” Ivy laughed.

  “I know, but the guys are hot.” I giggled.

  She nibbled on some fries.

  “True. Maybe we should find men. Then we won’t have to use Groupons for dinner.” I laughed at her joke.

  “I don’t care if I ever get rich, I will always coupon.” She clinked her bottle to mine in a cheer.