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it.” She took a gleeful bite of her Danish and was delighted to find it tasted even better than it looked. They ate in silence a moment before she said, “Where did you get these? They’re heavenly.”
    â€œEloise’s Bakery. It’s actually over in Dundee.” That was a ten-minute drive east of Ribbon Ridge. He’d gone out of his way to be impressive and amazing.
    â€œI’m glad it’s not in Ribbon Ridge or I might gain ten pounds in my first month here.”
    He rolled his fabulous blue eyes. “Tell me about it. Our town might be small, but it’s surrounded by great restaurants, fine wineries, and of course it has the best brewer in the state. If not for my trainer, I’d be three hundred pounds.”
    She doubted that; he was clearly very athletically fit. He had to be in order to control one of those high-pressure fire hoses. Though over six feet, he was a lean 175 pounds, she’d guess. She wasn’t in terrible shape, but she was sure his abs were far more discernible than hers.
    He set his croissant down and took a sip of tea. “So I have to ask, did you move all the way out here for a part-time job at a private school?”
    â€œYes,” she said slowly, putting her Danish on her plate. He’d brought napkins, and she used one to dab at her mouth. “And to answer your next question, sure, I could’ve gotten a similar job back in Pittsburgh, or at least closer to it, but I wanted a change of scenery. I wanted to live somewhere more . . . laid-back.”
    He laughed. “Oregon’s definitely that. Did you spend any time in Portland? It’s a lot of fun. I’ll take you up sometime. I know some great bars.”
    A pub guy would know that, of course. “You like working at the pub?” she asked, wanting to know more about him.
    â€œI do. I did it all through college.”
    It was silly, but Chloe had assumed that he hadn’t gone to college. Neither one of his professions required a degree, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t gotten one. Ugh, she hated that she’d jumped to that conclusion, as it was something her mother would do. And really, Derek could make a similar assumption about her. Maybe she was just some hippy-dippy artsy girl who painted and waited tables. She smiled internally and loved that whole scenario: artsy barmaid dating a hot pub server/firefighter. Yes, this was the life she’d been looking for.
    Spontaneously, she leaned across the table and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said, before moving away. “For breakfast, for finding me a place to live, for . . . everything.”
    He turned his head and caught her lips in a kiss. Chloe nearly jerked back in surprise, but she’d started it. Heat spread from where their mouths were joined and she had to grab the edge of the table for support.
    He tipped his head slightly, his lips moving over hers with soft precision. The man had skills. Then the abrupt sound of the White Stripes’s “Seven Nation Army” broke the moment and they both pulled away. He pulled his iPhone from his back pocket while she resituated herself in her chair and took a bite of Danish to occupy her mouth now that he’d abandoned it.
    â€œThis is Derek,” he said into the phone. “Oh, hi. Yeah, I’m aware of that. K. Oh. Well, crap. I didn’t realize. I’ll be there in a few.”
    He tucked the phone back into his pocket and gave her a sheepish smile. “I have to go. I forgot I’d promised someone else I’d help them today.”
    She wiped her mouth again and smiled at him. “See what happens when you try to do too much good?”
    â€œHeh, right. I’ll endeavor to embrace my inner bad boy more often.”
    Heat swirled in Chloe’s belly. She could think of exactly how she’d like to meet that bad boy. And the sultry way he was looking at her certainly didn’t help.
    She stood.