Flirting With Fire (Hometown Heroes) Read Free Page A

paycheck, then that’s exactly what I had to do. Just a few grand more
and I’d have enough for my own place, which I vowed would be a zero drama zone. So suck it up, buttercup.
    Ignoring the
warning alarms going off in my head, I pushed the door back open. The argumentative
couple—this Dawn and Xavier, I assumed—stood behind a modest reception desk
scowling at each other. Her hands were fisted onto two very pregnant hips, his arms
folded across his chest. The instant they spotted me, the scowls smoothed into
two warm, albeit forced, smiles. I took that as my cue, and took a few
tentative steps into the suite.
    “Welcome to Spa
del Sol,” Dawn said in a voice sweet as honey. Her thick, luxurious dark hair
was swept up off her neck, and her skin carried that healthy mother-to-be glow.
The blue V-neck top she wore brought out the blue in her cornflower eyes. She
was stunning, even with her petite stature and swollen belly. “Can I help you?”
    “Yes, I—”
    “If you would
excuse us for just one more minute,” Xavier cut in, not taking his eyes off of
Dawn. “We have a little matter to resolve.”
    Dawn turned back
to him, sweetness morphing to subtle fury. “The customers always come first,”
she hissed. “Isn’t that your motto?”
     His olive
complexion flushed scarlet. “They do, except when I’m discussing the well-being
of my fiancée and our unborn child.”
    Dawn put her
hand up as if to block further comments from him and turned back to me. “What’s
your name, sweetheart?”
    “Elizabeth. Williams. But you can call me Liz.”
    “Okay, Liz. I’m
in need of a second opinion.”
    “ Christ .”
Xavier ran a large hand through his stylishly shaggy mane.
    “Shut up, Xavier.
Liz, what is it that you do for a living, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “I…I’m a massage
therapist.”
    Dawn’s eyebrows
shot up. “Licensed?”
    “Yes. I
graduated from Ball State in 2005.”
    “Ah, they’ve got
an excellent program down there,” she replied.
    “Will you get on
with it?” Xavier growled.
    She ignored him.
“Reflexology, too?”
    “Oh yes, I swear
by it.”
    “Then would you
say if a woman is in her second trimester, with borderline high blood pressure
and ankles swelling up like balloons every afternoon, not to mention the
sporadic pain that radiates from her sciatic nerve” she turned to face Xavier,
“that reflexology alone is not the answer? Perhaps she shouldn’t be spending so
much time on her feet as well?”
    “Well, I’m no
doctor but--”
    “For the last
time, Dawn,” Xavier said. “I never said you couldn’t rest! This is our child ,
we’re talking about. But we can’t just go canceling all your appointments
without finding you a suitable replacement first.”
    Whatever confusion
Dawn had previously had about Xavier’s intentions suddenly cleared. She threw
her arms around him and squealed in delight. “Oh, darling! I knew you’d
come around!”
    Xavier hugged
her back, shaking his head at the ceiling as he did so. Welcome to the land
of constant mood swings, buddy. I’d been through three rounds of this with
Sarah now. Eventually you learn to give them what they want in order to
preserve your own sanity.
    Someday I hoped
to get the chance to be on the receiving end of all that grace myself.
    Dawn reached up,
pulled his face to hers, and kissed him full on the lips. And it was no short
kiss. In fact, they remained lip-locked so long I began to wonder if I
shouldn’t try to slip out the door. Then again, I needed a job. And it sure
sounded like they would soon be hiring. Like right now.
    I cleared my
throat.
    The lovers ended
their kiss, but remained tightly intertwined. As Xavier reached up to tuck a
piece of hair that had slipped from Dawn’s jewel-encrusted clip back behind her
ear, he asked, “You are a massage therapist, Miss Elizabeth?”
    “Yes, sir.”
    “Any good?”
    “From what my
clients tell me.”
    “Excellent. When
can you start?” he