Page 4 of Fake Fiancée Bear's Enemies-to-Lovers

“Who knows the difference between a fire engine and a fire truck?” I ask.

The kid on my shoulder says, “Engines put fires out. Trucks rescue people from the fires.”

“That’s right,” I say with a laugh as I lift him up and set him down next to the truck. An engine has hoses and tanks of water and we use it to put fires out. But the trucks carry ladders and equipment for saving lives.”

I lift two of the little guys into the cab at once and they giggle like crazy. My phone buzzes. I set them down on the seat and give Garrett an apologetic look. “I have to check real quick. I need to make sure it’s not something about the inspections.”

He waves me off. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch your kiddos for you.”

I fake laugh. “Yeah, right, cause I’m such a big daddy.” I frown. “Wait, that didn’t work.”

“Oh no, man, that worked perfectly.”

“Yeah? Well, fu…” I remember the kids just in time and finish lamely with, “…gettahboutit.” Garrett smirks and I walk off. I don’t feel like giving him any more material to razz me about later.

I pull out my phone and see that the message is from the girl from yesterday.

Again, I see her, pretty as can be and even prettier the angrier she got. I also remember how close I was to shifting right in front of her or even dragging her off into the woods and shaking her around a bit. I’m kidding, of course. Shifters don’t do that kind of shit.Well, they don’t do that kind of shit lightly.

But she is a lot to handle, that’s for sure.

And now she’s texting me.

I read her message, fully expecting her to start her tirade again, so I’m pleasantly surprised to see her apologize and thank me for being willing to step in like I did to help her out. She tells me she wants a chance to explain things and asks if I can come by her house to talk.

I read the address and whistle. Yeah, that’s a very nice area.

I think about blowing her off and saying that I just have too much going on, which I do, but something stops me. I guess I figure this message shows she’s not completely unaware of how out of line she was yesterday. I mean, it couldn’t have been easy for her to apologize and ask for help from someone she sees as a threat to her passion project.

I figure I may as well hear her out.

Yeah, I’m full of shit. I want to see her for reasons that have nothing at all to do with an explanation.

I compose a quick response, but I hesitate to press send. I don’t like getting involved with things like this. It just manages to make work, and life, messy.

The kids are laughing and I look over to see they’re all in a line trying to hold the hose. Garrett is swinging it around from the back and they’re dancing around and giggling more. Damn, they do look adorable.

I sigh. Why the fuck not?

Chapter Three

Madeline

Damn, I hate that I’m horny as hell right now. I hate that my nipples feel like they’re being rolled, tweaked, twisted, and flicked even though I’m wearing a pretty snug bra under a pretty loose blouse. I hate that it feels like my panties are actively squeezing and caressing. Damn it, I’m not even wearing sexy panties! They’re just comfortable briefs.

Sensible.

That’s it.

Sensible.

And I’m being anything but sensible right now. That’s the thing that’s really killing me here. I’m the exact opposite of sensible.

Wait… you’re going to get the wrong idea. That’s not true. I’m being sensible in terms of behavior. I mean, I’m waiting for Lucas Adams to show up so that I can calmly and rationally discuss the situation. The man is an unyielding asshole but I think he’s also…

Well, I don’t know. Why did he play along? I didn’t give him any explanation at all but he played along. Even now, he has only the vaguest understanding of the situation. He most certainly doesn’t have a complete understanding of things. So, why did he play along back then and…

And why would he play along now?