Rachel Brimble - Saved By The Firefighter

How can she forgive him for what he didn’t do?

Photographer Izzy Cooper feels as frozen as her pictures. Trent Palmer might be the hottest firefighter in Templeton Cove, but she can never face him again. Not after he failed to save her brother. But when they’re forced together by a calendar shoot, the sparks between them are undeniable.

Izzy knows it’s not fair to blame Trent for the tragedy, but opening herself up to loss again isn’t something she’s prepared to do, no matter how determined Trent is to show her that pain is part of life and that love—their love—can make any suffering bearable.

“I’m not trying to save you.”

“No? Then what are you doing?”

He met her steady gaze. “Trying to make you mine and me yours.”

She stared at him for a long moment before her eyes softened. “Trent, please try to understand. I can’t spend every day wondering if today is the day I lose you. I have no one who needs anything from me. I’m free to do and go where I want, and that’s exactly what I should be doing. My pictures could be a hit in the city. I could make more money than I’ve ever dreamed of.”

“And you think money will make you happy. It never made anyone happy. You know that.”

She put down her menu and looked past him toward the bar, her expression unreadable.

He studied her beautiful profile. “I’d never hurt you, Izzy. I know you don’t need me protecting you or caring for you, but Robbie...”

“Would’ve wanted you to.” She met his gaze, tears glinting in her eyes. “And maybe part of me wants that, too, but I’m scared, Trent. Really, really scared.”

Dear Reader,

So happy to welcome you back to Templeton Cove! Saved by the Firefighter is book six in the series, but all the stories can be read as stand-alone books. I’ve always wanted to write a story with a firefighting hero, but the right tale didn’t come along until now. Trent Palmer and the heroine in the story, Izzy Cooper, are two new characters to the Cove, and they were a joy to write.

After Izzy loses her brother in an explosion at the local garage, she blames Trent for not coming to his rescue soon enough. Even though her brother was already dead on the fire crew’s arrival, Izzy needs to blame someone, and in Trent, her friend and past lover, she has a safe place to direct her anger and grief.

As willing as Trent is to shoulder the blame if that’s what Izzy needs from him, he isn’t so happy to sit by and watch the woman he loves morph into someone he hardly recognizes. As he coaxes Izzy back into life and toward the people who care and love her, the trust begins to build...but the obstacles keeping them apart escalate.

Their story is one of overcoming grief and learning to love and live again. I hope you enjoy meeting these two wonderful people in my favorite seaside town, Templeton Cove.

Happy reading,

Rachel

Twitter: @RachelBrimbleFacebook: Rachel Brimble

Saved by the Firefighter

Rachel Brimble

www.millsandboon.co.uk

RACHEL BRIMBLE lives with her husband, two teenage daughters and chocolate Labrador in a small town near the famous city of Bath, England. She writes mainstream romance and romantic suspense for Harlequin Superromance and Victorian romance for Kensington.

Agented both in the US and the UK, Rachel is currently working on book seven of the Templeton Cove Stories as well as the first in what she hopes will be an ongoing Edwardian saga.

When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel reading, knitting or walking the beautiful English countryside.

Links:

www.RachelBrimble.comTwitter: @RachelBrimbleFacebook: Rachel Brimble

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For Mum & Dad—who are so supportive of my dreams. Thank you for making me feel as though every book I write is something huge to celebrate. I’m proud to be yours!

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

Three months earlier

IZZY SLOWLY OPENED her eyes and languidly stretched, inhaling the scent of sandalwood and man. Turning her head, she stared at Trent’s dark brown, sleep-ruffled hair as he dozed peacefully beside her. She smiled and waited for the regret to set in...but instead only happiness flowed through her.

She’d done it.

She’d finally invited Templeton Cove’s hunkiest firefighter into her bed.

After months of self-protection, weeks of carefully executed sanity, she’d let down her defenses and given in to the man any sane woman on the planet would want to wake up next to. Would this morning bring a new beginning...or would they slip back into their casual friendship once more?

Her smile dissolved. A friend with benefits was most definitely not on her agenda. Her morals and need for order put paid to that sort of nonsensical relationship.

She couldn’t guarantee Trent would feel the same way.

He was a firefighter. A man who thrived on the thrill of risking his life every day; a man who needed to save people. Templeton considered Trent a hero. Someone who lived and breathed his job. One part of a team relied upon by the Cove’s residents to keep them as safe as much as they relied on their police force to do the same.

Izzy turned her gaze to the ceiling. Her life was the antithesis of Trent’s. She was methodical. Careful. About everything. Trent lived his life as though every moment was his last.

He shifted and murmured something intelligible. Izzy glanced at him just as his eyes flickered open. His bright green gaze met hers and he smiled sleepily. “Hey.”

Izzy forced a smile, her stomach tightening just at the sexy sight of him. “Hey.”

He reached his hand across her naked abdomen and tugged her closer, brushing a kiss over her ear, inching lower to kiss her jaw. He inhaled. “How come you still smell like flowers first thing in the morning?”

She grinned. “I didn’t realize I smelled like flowers any time.”

“You do. Always.”

As he moved his hand higher to gently stroke the underside of her breast, her body heated, and all thoughts of making it clear to him that their relationship couldn’t be a casual thing faltered.

The frenzied, almost illicit surrender of just a few hours before was replaced with gentleness. A slow, exquisite exploration of each other’s bodies. Izzy stared into his eyes, secretly hoping he saw her and no one else. That she was special to him.

Her reward was better than she could have imagined or hoped for. His usually intense, concentrated gaze was soft, trusting and full of only her. She had no choice but to respond, her body turning pliant under his gentle caresses as her heart inched closer to love than like. Surrendering, she moved her hands over his back, higher to his shoulders until her fingers were in his hair and their kisses intensified.