Fire and Ice (Firemen do it Hotter Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

made her drained and numb. Yet, at the same time, a tickle of excitement burned in her belly.
    Truth was, she wanted to talk with Grady tonight. She would worry about the why and why not later. For now, she just wanted to hear his voice and chat with him. She was really looking forward to going out on a date with the man.
    She bit her lower lip as waves of concern washed over her. She was driving herself crazy with wanting to go out with him and then going back to not wanting to see him again.
    God, she was going to go out of her mind.
    She pulled into a long line at the cashier and braced her elbow on the shopping cart’s handle before resting her forehead in her palm. She shouldn’t have said yes. She should not have agreed. What was the matter with her?
    Tonight when she called him, she would say no for good and that would be that.
    Right?
    She sighed before straightening her back and strengthening her resolve. Right. She would say no for good and end this madness.

4
    C helsey stared at her cell phone. Moved her gaze to the business card with Grady’s confident male scrawl. Glanced at her cell phone. Looked at the card.
    “Damn it, Chelsey.” She clenched the phone, dropped into a chair at the kitchen table, and placed her forehead on the smooth, cool wood. “Get a grip.” She groaned, rose and flopped with her back in the chair. “He’s just a guy.”
    But some guy. He could have been in an ad for a physical fitness magazine. Or he could have posed for one of those luscious firefighter calendars.
    It was all physical, right? She wasn’t thinking about what a great guy he appeared to be when she talked with him. He had such a great personality and he’d be so fun to be around. She was certain of it.
    “Just a guy.” She tried to picture him in a wife beater with holes, and loose, stretch gym shorts. She worked to get the thought in her head of him kicking back in front of the TV with a can of beer in one hand, a bag of Cheetos in his other, and the remote on the chair’s arm, while scratching his balls.
    Nope. The image didn’t fit the man she’d met. If he was watching TV, he’d be wearing a T-shirt and jeans, or maybe a team jersey and a nice pair of sweatpants. He’d look casual, a total guy, but not in the least bit like a slob.
    Funny how she was already so positive of some things when it came to Grady, and she didn’t even know him. He was one hundred percent male, built like an athlete, and classy in a decidedly masculine way.
    But then there was his intelligence, his sense of humor, his heart—the way he spoke about his family and Spot.
    He made her wish for more… A family of her own to blend with her brothers and sisters, and even more love and laughter.
    The man stirred things in her, too. Long dormant feelings that had awakened and brought her body alive. She wanted sex with the man in the worst way. Or rather, the best way.
    Nope. Not going there, Chelsey.
    She placed her phone on the tabletop and stared at it again. When she’d run into him at the grocery store, she’d been surprised, but she’d been glad, too. She felt confident and comfortable around him in a way she never felt off the ice. It was an intense sensation of being safe and protected. As nuts as it sounded, he made her feel as if she could take on the world.
    Jeez. She barely knew him and she already had crazy feelings for him. Feelings she had to put to an end.
    She needed to get this done and over with, and tell him she couldn’t go out after all. One thing she’d never done, was call a guy she didn’t know well, a guy who wanted to date her. The shy side of her wanted her to toss his number in the garbage. Again. Her integrity knew it was only right to call him and tell him herself.
    When he’d first asked her, she had been excited about going out with him—and here she was, ready to cancel a second time.
    She’d never been wishy-washy, so why was she being that way with Grady? He set her body on fire in all the