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date tonight since you’re on day shift.”
    “It got canceled.” Danny kept his attention on his food as he answered and braced himself for the gibes.
    “I can’t believe it!” Barb laughed. “The Lady Target got stood up?”
    “Yeah, well, Lisa took it badly when I told her things were going too fast.”
    “Eighth date already?”
    Danny looked at Andrea in confusion. “Huh?”
    “None of the women you go out with seem to last past the eighth date.”
    “That’s not true.” He scoured his memory for an example of a long-term relationship, but after a moment, he came up blank.
    “Told you.”
    Danny shrugged impatiently. “Lisa started dropping hints every time we passed a jewelry store, so I called it quits a couple of days ago.”
    “You did the same thing with Kelly, Sheryl…” Barb ticked off on the fingers of both hands as she quoted names.
    Danny wiped a smear of sauce from his mouth. “Are you keeping tabs on me or something?”
    One of the paramedics walked in and grabbed the chair beside Andrea. Frank looked around at everyone. “So, what are you guys talking about?”
    “L.T.’s single again,” Tony replied.
    Frank nodded sagely. “Hit the eighth date with Lisa, huh?”
    “Actually, it was only our seventh.” Danny pushed his plate away, feeling defensive. “But who’s counting?”
    From the other end of the table, Jen smirked. “It’s not a hard pattern to figure out, L.T. You dated two of my friends, remember?”
    “You also went out with my cousin, Vicki,” Frank chimed in.
    “And both of them said everything was great, then you suddenly broke it off and stopped calling.”
    “Now wait a minute. It’s not always me who breaks up—”
    “She’s right, L.T.” Mike gestured with his fork. “About the time your girlfriends start thinking about a future, you start thinking of reasons to back away. No matter who ends it, you’re still the one with commitment issues.”
    Danny glared down the table at his supposed friend. “Thanks very much for that psychoanalysis, Dr. Stonewall.”
    “Men can’t commit.” Barb set down her glass and addressed the other two women at the table. “Evolution programmed them to procreate and continue the species. That’s why they’re compelled to initiate sex with any attractive female who comes along.”
    Andrea and Jen murmured agreement.
    Tony scoffed. “You’re way off base there. L.T.’s problem is intimacy. Since he can’t open up and express his true feelings, he shuts himself off from emotional involvement.”
    Danny sputtered indignantly. “What the hell are you babbling about?”
    “I saw it on a talk show one day.”
    “Oh, please. You watch that stuff?” Jen tapped her index finger twice on the tabletop. “It’s all about man’s need to explore. Once a guy has established his territory, he starts looking around for new worlds to conquer.”
    Danny raised his hand. “Can I say something here?”
    His request was ignored as Mike talked over the other voices. “I think the real issue is lack of trust—”
    Just then the alarm blared through the station house, saving Danny from further analysis of his love life.
    The dispatcher’s voice sounded over the loudspeaker. Fire in progress on the two hundred block of Paca Street near Lexington Market. Everyone scrambled away from the table, running to get into their coats and boots as the drivers revved the engines on the fire trucks.
    Danny felt the rush of adrenaline that always accompanied the call to duty. Part of him was tempted to grab his gear, but he’d already put in ten hours. So, instead, he chose to stay and have another piece of lasagna rather than go home to an empty apartment. As he ate, he considered the things his colleagues had said.
    He loved the thrill of the chase, the excitement of the new. He loved dating and prided himself on treating women well during the time they were together. But when his girlfriends seemed to be getting too serious, he drew the