as he did. He would make her crave more. But right as he was deepening the kiss and pulling her against him, an acrid scent tickled his nose. He dismissed it for a moment, too wrapped up in the feel of Contessa in his arms, but soon the smell was too strong to ignore. He pulled back, alarm bells starting to ding through the growing fog of desire in his head.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Do you smell that?” He let her go and peered over his shoulder toward the kitchen.
She sniffed. “Smells burnt.”
He shook his head. That wasn’t a burnt smell. It was a burning smell. He strode toward the appliances, checking to see if an oven or stove had been left on or if a greasy towel had been left somewhere and ignited. But nothing seemed amiss. His staff was well-trained to check and double check everything for safety before closing up each night. But the smell was growing stronger.
“Van!”
He turned. Contessa pointed at the door that led out to the side hallway and exit. Dark black smoke was creeping beneath. Dread rushed through him. He closed the distance between the two of them in three long strides, grabbing her purse from the countertop and shoving it at her. “We need to get out of here. Now!”
She let him hustle her toward the door that led to the dining room, but when they swung the door open, a rush of hot, acrid smoke blew right in their faces. His eyes and throat burned with it, and Contessa started coughing beside him. “Van.”
“Get down low,” he barked, keeping a hold of her elbow. Heat shimmered in the air as they crouched down and heard the first roar of flame and crack of wood. The sound seemed to be coming from the main dining area, though it was impossible to see anything in the smoke. “Stay with me. Don’t let go. I’m going to get us to a back exit.”
Contessa was coughing hard now, unable to respond. Shit. He needed to get them out fast before she took in too much smoke. And why the fuck weren’t the sprinklers going off? Luckily, he knew the layout of this restaurant better than his own house. It was one he’d designed himself. It’d been his first baby, the one he loved the most. And now it was burning. Crawling on their hands and knees, he led Contessa through the banquet room and to an emergency exit. He hopped to his feet and shoved the door open with his hip, a wave of cool night air swooping in as he dragged her outside and into the back alley.
“Baby, talk to me,” he demanded, his heart hammering in his chest.
She’d stopped coughing and had gone heavy in his arms. He hauled her up and off her feet and carried her away from the building. Sirens wailed in the background as he laid her out on the grass in front of the flower shop across the street. Her cheeks were black with soot and her eyes were shut, but he could see her chest still rising and falling.
“Contessa, come on, baby, take a few deep breaths for me.” He tugged off his shirt and ran to a water fountain to soak the fabric. Then he hurried back to her side, his lungs still burning, and wiped the soot away from her face with the cool cloth. “Come on, sweetheart. You’re scaring me.”
She coughed, a loud hacking sound, but it was one of the sweetest Kade had ever heard.
He rolled her onto her side. “That’s it. Get that shit out.”
A fire truck sped to a halt in the street and men poured out, two heading Kade’s way and the rest going for the building. The young firefighter hustled over and knelt next to Contessa, while the other flagged down an EMS crew that pulled up behind the fire truck.
“Ma’am, we’re here to help you,” the first one said, as he started checking her over.
“She took in too much smoke,” Kade said in a rush. “We got out quickly, but there was so much smoke so fast.”
“Was there anyone else in the building?”
“No.”
The EMTs were already hurrying over with equipment and oxygen. She was going to be all right. Help was here.
Kade sank back onto the grass, relief enveloping him. Thank God.
In the background, flames licked up the side of his restaurant, engulfing and devouring his favorite location. But he couldn’t find it in himself to care at the moment. Contessa was going to be okay. The restaurant was just wood and metal and could be replaced.
“Sir, do you know this woman?” the EMT asked. “Or if she has any medical conditions or allergies I should be aware of before we take her in?”
Contessa tried to speak but she started coughing again and they put an oxygen mask over her face. She pointed to her purse. Kade grabbed for it and pulled out her wallet to dig for information. He found a medical card. “She’s allergic to penicillin and codeine.”
“And what’s her name?” the EMT asked, not even looking at Kade.
“It’s Con—” But he stopped himself when his eyes landed on the name listed on the card, his throat trying to close. “It’s Tessa McAllen.”
“Thank you.”
But Kade didn’t even hear him. Or notice another medic who came over to check and see if he needed any help. All Kade could hear were his own words repeating in his head. It’s Tessa McAllen.
Tessa McAllen.
Tess …
Everything inside him knotted—longing mixed up with a paradoxical dose of pure bitterness. For a moment, he was transported back years to a version of himself he’d tried to forget existed, to a night he’d tried to obliterate from his psyche.
“Sir, you can ride with us to the hospital or follow us there if you feel okay to drive.”
“I c-c-can drive.” What the hell? He nearly slapped his hand over his mouth, the stuttered word like the sound of breaking glass to his ears. He hadn’t flubbed a word in over a decade. He rolled his shoulders, shaking off the reappearance of the old tic.
The medic adjusted the oxygen mask on Tessa’s face. “Looks like she’s going to be fine since you both got out so quickly. But we want to get her checked out and run a few tests to be sure.”
Kade nodded absently as he stared down at Tessa. Her hair was blonde now and she was curvier, softer in the best possible way. But, of course, all those years would’ve changed things. Nothing about him resembled the boy she’d known back then either, not even his name.
She was still as beautiful as he remembered, though. And based on some of the things she’d said tonight, probably just as unattainable.
The only difference was maybe this time he could actually do something about it if he wanted to. The question was—did he want to? Last time he’d taken a risk on Tessa McAllen, his life had blown up and disintegrated around him. He didn’t need that kind of drama in his life again or a regular reminder of what he most hoped to forget.
But as he watched Tessa get loaded into the back of the ambulance, he knew there was no way he could step back and let her walk out of his life a second time. She’d said that she only wanted tonight. She’d said this was a one-time thing.
Kaden Fowler would’ve turned and gone home. That boy had been used to hearing no.
But Kade Vandergriff didn’t even know what the word sounded like.
FIVE
1996
Kaden Fowler sat in a shaded spot with his back against the grimy brick wall of Henley High’s recreation building, hoping to blend into it. The rest of the junior and senior class were either still inside the cafeteria eating or were gathered in small groups around the main yard, claiming their piece of concrete or grass and trying to impress each other.
Kaden never did either here—try to impress or eat. After one too many fatass