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over. I won’t tell a soul about your secret.”
    “Really? But what about the other guys from the kitchen this morning?”
    Scott shook his head. “First of all, firefighters are a family and we stick together. No one will say a thing if I ask them not to. And FYI, no one else recognized you this morning, but they will eventually figure it out since you’re going to be hanging around with me a lot.”
    “I am?” He wanted her around him a lot ? Her spirits soared.
    “Yeah, you are because I have an idea. I am going to help you save your fundraiser and your career.”
    Her heart skipped a beat. He was too good to be true. “Why would you do that?”
    Scott laughed. “Well, one reason is because I’m in that calendar and it will be really embarrassing if the fundraiser is a flop.”
    Lexi’s mouth fell open. No wonder Ladder 3 was so familiar to her. She pulled her hands away from his and stood so fast she nearly toppled Scott on his butt.
    “What are you doing?”
    She glanced up from the pile of papers on her desk she’d begun to dig through. “Looking for my calendar.”
    “Oh, great.” Looking resigned, Scott stood. “Is there more wine?”
    “Help yourself.” She smiled and finally located her copy of the Hunky Firemen calendar. She stared at the glossy cover. There, standing in front of the firehouse she’d nearly burnt down just hours before, were a dozen shirtless, muscled firemen, including Scott and some guys she recognized as being the ones so worried about breakfast being ruined this morning.
    Lexi flipped through the pages and finally came face to face with Scott, Mr. July, in all his glory. A shadow fell across the page, he was next to her in the flesh now.
    He groaned. “It’s even more embarrassing than I imagined. Can we put that away and talk about my plan?”
    She turned to smile at his distraught expression. “Sure.”
    She’d have plenty of time later to gaze at him when she was alone. Was it inappropriate to hang a calendar next to the bed?
    He pulled her over to the couch. “So, I’m thinking that since this is a firehouse fundraiser, and since firefighters are known for being good cooks, you could have all the cooking for the event done by actual firemen.”
    She looked at him in shock. “That’s a brilliant idea. But will they do it? Will they help me?”
    “Of course they will, once I ask them. We’ll go through your cookbook and choose some menu ideas. You have actually read your own cookbook, haven’t you?” He smirked.
    “Yes, but we’re hoping to sell at least a hundred tickets to this event. Hopefully more.”
    “So?” He didn’t look concerned, as opposed to Lexi.
    “So, that’s a lot of hors d’oeuvres. It’s a lot of work.”
    “No, it’s not.” He shook his head. “First of all, we can buy some of the stuff prepared. As for the rest, we’ve got four firehouses represented in that calendar. There are plenty of hands to do the last minute prep work and four kitchens to prepare it in. And really, only the guys from my house will know you can’t cook. All the rest will think having firemen cater the party is just another gimmick to sell tickets.”
    “You’d lie to all those other firefighters for me?”
    Scott gazed at her for a second, hesitating. She was asking a great deal of him. Could she really expect him to deceive his brother firefighters?
    “Outright lie, no, but I won’t have to. I’m going to coach you and you’re going to learn to cook, so by the fundraiser there will be no need to lie. It’ll be great press to have the firemen do the cooking instead of you. That’s all they need to know.”
    “You’re so sweet.”
    He laughed. “Not that sweet. I’m serious about you learning to cook everything we serve at that party. I mean everything. Even if we end up having to buy hundreds of appetizer-sized quiches frozen to bake and serve for the party, you’re still going to learn how to make quiche from scratch. That’s the only way