Meg Lacey - The Fireman's Christmas

Tessa climbed the steps, her gaze wandering from the old-fashioned swing occupying one corner of the porch to the newer white wicker chairs and round table hugging the tower in the other corner. She reached for the dull brass knocker on one of the doors and lifted it, letting it fall with a ringing thud. The sound was so lovely, she tried it again.

The door jerked open beneath her hand.

Danny Santori stood before her, but she hardly recognized him as the same man she’d dined with the other night. His eyes were heavy lidded and his black hair stood off his head in tufts.

“Who…? Oh! What are you doing here?” He shoved one hand through his hair, making it stick up even more.

Tessa frowned, not so much at his abrupt greeting as to suppress her own reaction to his rumpled—but oh, so sexy—appearance. “You invited me, remember? When I called last night.”

“You said you’d stop by in the morning.”

“Right.” Tessa pointed to her watch. “That’s now.”

Danny grabbed her arm and peered at her wrist. “It’s only seven-thirty, for God’s sake. I expected you at some civilized hour, like ten, maybe.”

Tessa pulled her arm away, giving him the once-over. He must have rolled out of bed only a few minutes before. His face was shadowed with black stubble and his eyes were still at half-mast. A T-shirt was partially tucked into low-riding jeans so old and faded they seemed to be part of him. His bare feet hugged the floorboards.

Despite herself, she couldn’t resist a smug grin. “You’re not a morning person, are you?”

Danny rubbed a hand over his face. “What makes you think that?”

“Wild guess.”

He smiled then, a lopsided twist of his lips that made Tessa’s own lips automatically tingle. Maybe it was the dimple. Really, the guy could make money off that smile. How else could she explain her reaction?

“Uh…may I come in?”

Danny backed up, waving her inside. “Oh, yeah…sorry.”

Tessa stepped into a foyer that fulfilled all the house’s promise of welcome. Huge pocket sliding doors lined the ample rooms to the right and left. A grand staircase arched up to the next floor. Tessa eyed its sweeping lines, picturing a Victorian lady descending in flowing satin. She stepped forward to stroke the wide banister.

“It’s so smooth.”

Danny chuckled. “Not from polishing. More likely from the bottoms of all the kids who’ve slid down it over the years.”

Tessa considered the curve. “You’re right. It has the perfect width and slope.”

“Be my guest.”

She chuckled. “Maybe when I know you better.”

“That was the first thing my wife Laurie did when we bought this place.”

Tessa wasn’t sure what to say, so she said nothing. His voice held no bitterness—only a hint of amusement laced with tender longing. The moment passed quickly. He touched her elbow, indicating the dining room through the archway to the left.

“Sorry. Coffee, I’ve gotta have coffee. Want some?”

Tessa preceded him into the dining room and took a seat at the scarred oak table. “I’m not sure I should have another cup. I’ve already had two.”

Danny paused before the sideboard with a mug in one hand and the coffeepot in the other. “Really? When did you have the time?”

“I usually get up at five.”

“Good God,” Danny sputtered, nearly dropping his mug. “Why? I can’t even move much before eight.”

“That’s my time to think. Time to plan the day and get myself geared up to tackle it. But I don’t understand. You said you work twenty-four-hour shifts. How can you do that if you can’t get yourself going in the morning?”

He shrugged. “That’s different. That’s work.” He took a sip of coffee. “So does this mean you’ve changed your mind?”

Tessa blinked and realized she’d been staring at him. “About what?”

Danny gave her a strange look. “Are you sure you didn’t get up too early? After all, you called me.”

“Oh, right.” Tessa fought to keep from squirming. “I guess I’m willing to talk more about this arrangement, provided the kids are all okay with it and we can work out the specifics.”

“The specifics?”

Tessa nodded. “I have several questions.”

“Okay.” Danny took a long swig of his coffee, then rolled his shoulders as if to loosen up. “Fire away.”

Tessa pulled a short list from her hip pocket. “First, I’ll need to know exactly which days you work so I can schedule my jobs around them.”

“No problem. I’ll give you my calendar. There could be a few things that fall outside what’s listed there, but we can work it out. What else?”

“Second, we work out a food budget. You shouldn’t have to pay for all the meals that my kids and I eat here.”

“We don’t have to—”

“Yes, we do.” Tessa lifted her chin a notch. She thought she detected a smile hidden behind his coffee mug, but accepted Danny’s nod of acquiescence.

“Third, we agree to give fair notice if either of us wants to change the arrangement. Say, two weeks?”

Danny swallowed and lowered his mug. “I have no intention of backing out on you.”

“I didn’t think you would, but you did say you’re hoping for a job change. Who knows what might happen then?”

“That’s true,” he admitted. “I’m hoping for that to come about when two of the guys in the department are offered an early-retirement package, though I’m not sure of the timing.” His mouth twitched. “Are you going to back out on me?”

“Of course not,” Tessa protested, tracing a swirl in the oak tabletop with one finger. “I just think we should understand each other, that’s all.”

Danny lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, I think I understand. But I’ll agree with all your rules. Anything else?”

“One more thing.” Tessa pretended to study her list while she avoided his eyes. “What are your plans for sleeping arrangements?”

He smiled. “Did you have something specific in mind?”

Tessa sent him a narrow look. “Are you flirting with me? There’s no flirting—that’s part of the ground rules.”

“Flirting? Of course not. I just figured that because you seemed so prepared…” He indicated her list.

“Hmm.” The glint in Danny’s eyes left Tessa wondering.

“Sleeping arrangements. Well, I’ve got one extra bedroom fixed up that you can use. Your kids can either sleep in the loft on the third floor or in with my kids if they want. I hope that’s okay. There are two more bedrooms that I use for storage, but they need some fixing.”

“Good…that’s fine. I mean, I guess that answers all my questions.” Tessa nodded. Risking a glance at him, she half expected to see that roguish grin she’d encountered at the restaurant, and was surprised to see a solemn expression. It was almost a disappointment.

Before she could examine that unexpected thought, a small figure bounced in through the doorway leading from the kitchen, tattered blanket trailing.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Mornin’, punkin. You’ve already been into the peanut butter, I see.”

Tessa hid a smile as the adorable little girl in her peanut-butter-streaked nightie hugged Danny’s knees.

“You were talking to the lady, so I had to do it myself.”

He patted her tousled golden hair. “Why didn’t you eat some cereal?”

“’Cause Kevin wanted peanut butter sammiches for the camp.”

“What camp?” Danny pried his daughter from his legs. “Are your brothers up in those trees again, after I told them not to?”

“They’re not.” The little girl shook her head so fiercely, her lopsided ponytails—which looked left over from the night before—bounced. She put her finger in her mouth and stared at Tessa.