Ablaze: Edisonville Fire, #2

By Shea Brighton

We agreed to a single night. Now we're dating and living together. How the heck did that happen?

 

One night changes everything.

Izzy Raymond doesn't stay in one place, and Matteo Delgado doesn't do relationships, but their sizzling attraction couldn't be ignored. One night and they'd go their separate ways. The perfect solution.

Until fate, family, and flames throw them back together.

Asking Matteo to be her fake boyfriend went completely against their "one night only" rule, but what else could Izzy do to convince her matchmaker mother to focus on something else? And when flames light up the night sky destroying her apartment, her sexy firefighter fake boyfriend comes to her rescue in more ways than one – he offers her a place to stay.

Except living together tests the already tenuous control they have over their mutual attraction. One they finally give into. Over and over again. Until they find themselves sharing much more than they'd ever intended and discover a parallel history that threatens to derail everything.

Can they push through demons of the past to grab hold of a future together?

Potential trigger warning: though this is a romance with a Happy Ever After, this book deals with themes of cancer and loss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shea Brighton
• Release date: Apr 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224439478

Book preview

Prologue

Edisonville Fire logo - two axes crossed over a firefighters helmet

Edisonville Fire logo - two axes crossed over a firefighters helmet

No. You can’t make me listen. I don’t want to hear any of this.

The words flew out of Matteo Delgado’s mouth, even as he watched the tears begin to streak down his stepmom’s face. He didn’t want to hurt her, but pain sliced at him too.

Matteo. The stern whip of his name lashed out from his father. It held none of the joy or laughter the past few years had brought after being absent for what felt like forever. You will sit and listen. We have to talk about this as a family.

Why? My family’s going to be destroyed again anyway. He glanced to his left, and sure enough, his baby sister and three stepsisters all sat with a shell-shocked look on their faces, tears brimming in their eyes. Just like his stepmom.

You can talk. He needed to get out of the house, unable to watch his family implode again with more bad news. I’m outta here. Taking a step toward the door, his father’s grasp on his arm stopped him short.

What did I say? His father’s tone brooked no argument, but Matteo didn’t really care at that moment. His head and his heart were both telling him to get out and come back when he had a little better control of his emotions. No matter what his dad wanted him to do. We need to all talk about this. Together. Now.

Bile rose up in Matteo’s throat remembering the last time he sat and talked about something like this. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, go through it again. Not right now. Not with his emotions a whirl in his head.

No. Yanking his arm away, he ran toward the door and flung it open. His bike lay on the front lawn, exactly where he left it after coming home from school. Paying no heed to his father yelling from the doorway and the sobs of the women of his family clear from within the house, he grabbed the handles and propped the bike up. Throwing one leg over he pedaled as hard and as fast as he could, until his house and then his street were too distant to see over his shoulder.

After what felt like forever and yet all at once, before he knew it, the smell of the salt air drifted over him, and the ocean’s wide expanse reached out in front of him. This section of the beach wasn’t a popular area so relatively few people packed the shore, yet some still milled around. Slipping his bike into the rack and locking it, he ran for the outcropping of rocks he thought of as his. He’d come here more times than he could count since he found it that fateful day at eight years old.

The day his world started crashing down around him.

Son, I have cancer.

The very reason he refused to stay and listen now.

Girls. Matteo. I’m sick.

At sixteen, he shouldn’t have acted like a baby. Shouldn’t have run away, pushing back the tears in his eyes even as he looked at the ones shining in his dad’s. If Dad could cry, why couldn’t I? But he felt the need to be strong for his sisters, for everyone in his family. A brother had to protect, and he couldn’t protect if he let his emotions take over.

So, he needed to pull himself together, and then he could head back. Go and deal with everything, every bit of pain they were suffering through, every bit of heartbreak. Take as much as he could from them onto himself.

Because in his short ride, he’d come to a decision. He was done. He had his family, and he’d love them from now until the end of time, but that was it for him. Up close and personal, he’d seen love. Not once but twice. Every day when his father mired himself in misery after Mom died, he wondered if it was worth it. Dad had become a shell of himself, of the father Matteo’d known when they were a happy family.

Until the day he met Pia, and all of a sudden, a smile had started tugging on his lips or Matteo would notice a brightness to his eyes that had all but disappeared for years.

Now they were back in the same place.

Picking up a rock, he flung it as far as he could. Fuck. What good was love if it kept getting snatched away?

For hours, Matteo sat watching the waves come in, coasting over the sand, until the sun finally started to set. All the while, the good times he’d had with his Dad, Pia, and sisters, both by blood and by marriage, washing over him. He’d been so happy to have a complete family again after his mom left him too early. Hell, Pia had even been the one to first take him out for a quick drive when he finally got his permit. She’d been there for so much of his life, but sometimes he still felt guilty because his mom had missed out on all of it.

Could he love Pia more than his mom? He’d had his mom longer, but he’d only been a kid then. A baby, then a little boy, who didn’t understand anything except she hung the moon for him. Teenage Matteo understood what Pia meant to him. She wasn’t a memory like his mom had morphed into.

And now he was on the verge of losing her too. Love is stupid. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck, he bit out in time with his hand pounding against the rock at his side.

You know your father would not approve of that language.

Pia’s slightly accented voice floated over him, seconds before she positioned herself next to him. Matteo turned toward her, holding her gaze and looking at her way too close, before turning his stare back to the water. She didn’t look sick. I don’t even know what’s wrong with her. He ran out before his dad and stepmom shared any details, only knowing he couldn’t go through it all again. Really? What choice is there?

None. He had no choice, not about this at least.

He had a lot of choices for his own future.

Your sisters thought you’d be here. Pia gathered her long dark hair in a tie and leaned against his shoulder. Luis wanted to look for you, but I told your father I needed to. Seconds passed as they watched the ocean, silence stretching between them. I’m going to be okay.

You don’t know that. His mom had said the same thing, even though it had been a lie. At the time, he’d been a kid and believed it. Now was a completely different story.

You’re right. I’m not going to insult you by trying to convince you there’s nothing wrong. Pia straightened and turned toward him, until he could feel the weight of her gaze on him. But things are different than they were for your mom. The doctor caught this early, and we already have a plan of action and treatment in place. All things considered, they figure I have a ninety percent chance of coming out of this clean as a whistle with no complications. Those are odds I’m willing to take.

Relief flooded him that the news for Pia was good. Maybe, just maybe, he didn’t have to go through the loss again. Still, Matteo kept his silence, remembering back to what his parents had said years ago. Stage four. Little hope. Soon.

She stared at him expectantly.

That’s good. Lame, jackass. Of course it’s good.

You would have known that if you’d stuck around to listen. I don’t know if your sisters were more upset over the news or your mad dash out the door. A smile played at Pia’s lips and Matteo couldn’t resist his own in response. Talk to me, son.

The word stopped him in his tracks. Pia always called him Matteo. Sure when she referred to him to others, she would often call him her stepson, but never son. Is that how she thought of him? As hers? And how did he think of her? In his heart, he knew he was a lucky kid to have two women in his life he called mom, even if he never uttered the word to the second. Saying it, even thinking it at times, felt like an act of betrayal. The finality of his mom being gone.

Maybe the time had come.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind for now, wondering how to respond to her. He didn’t want to seem weak or to think this was all about him, because it wasn’t. Still, the words spilling from his mouth made a liar out of him.

I don’t know how to handle this. I can’t go through it again. Looking directly at Pia he watched tears begin to glisten in her eyes, but couldn’t stop himself once he got started. All his thoughts and worries pouring out. And why does my dad have to go through it again? Or Cami? His sister had been little more than a baby when their mom died, she didn’t deserve to lose someone again. Dad had been destroyed, spending years in the dark until Pia finally made him see the sun again. I don’t want you to be sick. It’s not fair. Not fair to you or us. He crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest. I hate it.

I hate it too. Placing her arm around his shoulder, she drew him into her warmth. For a small slip of a woman, his stepmom gave amazing hugs. But life’s not fair, Matteo. We’re not entitled to only the good times. You know that.

You’re supposed to be comforting her. Not the other way around. Idiot.

Still, it doesn’t mean we don’t search for them all the time. We’ll get through this together, as a family. One that loves deeply. You know I love you, right, Matteo?

He nodded his head, the whirling thoughts in his mind making it almost impossible for him to form a complete sentence.

Love is the most important thing we have, so we cling to it with all of our hopes and desires and wishes.

I’m never falling in love. This he knew. Risking his heart over and over again, like his dad, only to get pain at every turn. Who needed it?

No, don’t say that. Pia appeared stricken, her eyes going wide at his words. I’ve seen you with your crushes; one day you’ll fall.

He wouldn’t, though if it helped Pia feel better maybe he’d let her continue to believe in her fantasy. Right now he had one job, to make her as happy as possible and do what he needed to for his family.

It’s not important. Her lips parted as if to argue, but he couldn’t let her. Holding out a hand to her, he spoke, Let’s go home.

After rising, Pia wrapped her arms around him. He’d grown taller than her two years ago, but that didn’t stop her from wrapping him in hugs. After a squeeze, she stepped back and looked up at him. Don’t let what’s happening to me close you off from love. Only love, our family’s love, is going to get me through this. A chuckle escaped her lips before she continued, Well, along with some good doctors and medicine, but you know what I mean. Knowing I have my family by my side, to take care of me, for me to come home to. She captured his gaze, not letting him look away. That’s the best medicine of all. It’s what makes life important.

It also hurt like hell. At sixteen, Matteo set his course because he couldn’t see how love was worth the pain.

Sex. Can I add sex to mine?

Isabella—or Bella, as everyone and their brother called her—Raymond’s eyes almost bugged out of her head and it took everything she had not to spit out the sip of juice she’d taken. Stepping into the small room, almost every girl already in there was older. She tried not to feel like a baby, but at only twelve she obviously didn’t have the worldly view some of the others did, or at least thought they did.

Bella tossed her favorite pink furry pillow on the floor and flopped down on it. Crossing her legs over each other to settle in.

Of course you do, Sally. Everyone does. Marianne, the oldest in the room at nineteen, spoke up on a laugh. Right?

Every girl in the room bobbed their head in agreement, whether they fully understood what it meant or not. Even Suzanna, two years younger than Bella, nodded.

But what else? We’re here to write our bucket lists, and you can’t only have sex on yours, girl. Marianne chuckled. It’s sort of a given. She waggled her brows before continuing, And definitely something you should do more than once.

All six girls laughed at their designated spokesperson’s words.

Suzanna shot her hand into the air, like she wanted the teacher to call on her. In a way, the comparison was accurate. They had all learned a lot from Marianne. Some things their parents would probably they rather not know.

The de facto leader smiled down on the youngest in the room. Yes, Suzanna?

Suzanna, her Winnie the Pooh bear perched on her lap and her head bowed, whispered, What’s a bucket list? The question came out as if she were embarrassed to even utter it.

Bella looked at her friend, and all of a sudden, it hit her how young the other girl was. How young she herself was. She’d had to look it up on the internet herself when she’d been doing her homework because she hadn’t known either. She only knew her friends were gathering to make these lists and she wouldn’t miss the time with them no matter what.

What she found on her search scared her. She’d been terrified a lot since the first diagnosis, but for some reason the idea of a bucket list hit home a little harder.

Marianne moved over to Suzanna, sitting next to her before pulling the little girl onto her lap. A bucket list is a list of things you want to do in your life. She refrained from saying the words before you die because the threat was way too real for everyone sitting in the room. Like places you want to go or things you want to do or sights you want to see. Imagine you could do anything you wanted. That’s what goes on a bucket list. She kissed Suzanna’s hair. You think you can do that?

Suzanna responded with a crazy enthusiastic nod.

Seven girls. Seven bucket lists.

Bella peered down at the sheet of blank paper and wondered if it was worth even writing one, if she’d even get to accomplish anything on it. Looking around at the others breaking the nighttime floor curfew to gather, she worried if any of them would. Someone won’t. Someone’s list is going to die, just like they are. She gave herself an internal shake, forcing the negative thoughts away. It was hard though, given their circumstances.

Instead of a frilly decorated bedroom, they huddled together in Marianne’s sterile hospital room. Even though all of their parents tried to make the rooms cheerier, with pictures taped to the wall and flowers on every flat surface, nothing disguised the fact they were in a hospital. It wasn’t Bella’s first time and likely wouldn’t be her last. Same with all her friends here.

They were a weird group, ranging from barely out of single digit birthdays to on the cusp the next decade of life, but still they made it work. Marianne gathered people to her in general, with her bubbly personality regardless of the circumstances, but Bella and the other girls were special. They’d become a family over rounds of treatment and dealing with things no young girl wanted to deal with.

Bella loved her parents and siblings, but sometimes she could feel the weight her diagnosis had over the family like a physical ache. All of these girls didn’t even know her outside of these hospital walls. They weren’t the ones she’d grown up with, the ones she joked with in the school hallways, but still, she sometimes felt closer to them than anyone else in the world.

With these friends, they never let each other dwell on the dreaded C word, even though sometimes it felt as if it were the be all and end all of their existence. In their group, they could just be and take their minds off the present. They knew and understood what she went through on a daily basis, more than anyone else in her life. Because of that, she sat with a pink rainbow decorated notebook on her lap, ready to write down her hopes, dreams, and plans for a future.

A future she wished for every night when she looked out the window and gazed up toward the stars. One she prayed would actually happen for her and her friends.

C’mon, girls. Marianne clapped to get everyone’s attention. Time to start.

Thirty minutes later, everyone yelled out what had already made their list, and the room filled with the sound of teen and pre-teen giggles and awwwws in response.

Get a puppy.

Ride a camel in Egypt.

Learn how to ski.

Live in a different country.

Have a one-night stand.

Have sex with the world’s sexiest man.

Bella peered down at her list and embarrassment washed over her. Her friends had wild things on their lists, while hers started off with falling in love and getting married. How boring could she be? Was it weird for her to simply want a normal life? Go to work, find someone to share laughs and love and a home with, be happy and healthy—that was what she wanted.

Shouldn’t she want more though? At only twelve, she hadn’t seen or even heard of some of things being mentioned. Maybe she could search online and look for stuff to add to hers. Except her heart kept telling her she’d already penned the things she wanted most.

Because it’s normal. You want it because, for once, you’ll feel like everyone else.

And therein lay her real dream. To be like her siblings and her friends at school. Someone no one worried about every time they went to the doctor. A kid who could try out for the volleyball team or cheerleading without everyone wondering if she’d have the energy to see it through.

Normal. Why couldn’t she be normal?

Bella tried so hard to not let her condition get the best of her. To hide her disappointment or fear from her parents. They had enough on their plate without having to take care of her even more. Sometimes she told the therapist here at the hospital. Mostly though she shared everything with the girls in this room.

And even they didn’t know what she truly wanted from this bucket list.

Bells, a quiet voice broke through her thoughts, and she turned to see Suzanna watching her. You okay?

Bella tried to put a smile on her face. Yup.

You want Winnie?

Suzanna kept the stuffed bear with her constantly, and she never offered it to anyone. Bella bit her lip to hold back the tears that threatened.

How about you put him between us?

Watching her friend situate Winnie between their thighs she fought to pull herself together and had a realization. Did her list even matter if her friends never got to fulfill theirs? Why should she be special? Why should she get the normal life, filled with everything she wanted?

Live my friends’ dreams.

She wrote the words down, knowing her commitment to this was real. It was the least she could do for the girls who’d given her so much. Her dreams, her bucket list, would never live up to theirs, so she wouldn’t try. Hers could wait. In the meantime, she’d take them as her own.

Chapter One

PRESENT DAY

Edisonville Fire logo - two axes crossed over a firefighters helmet

Edisonville Fire logo - two axes crossed over a firefighters helmet

Running a finger along the neckline of his pure white dress shirt did nothing to dispel the discomfort Matteo felt at the moment. Being dressed up in this damn penguin suit felt foreign to him, practically unnatural against his skin. With a glance around, he couldn’t help but notice none of the other guys standing backstage seemed to feel the same. No, they stood around joking and laughing, not trying to figure out a way to ditch this damn suit as soon as possible. Or hell, the whole damn event like he did.

He never should have agreed to taking part in this auction. Like I had the option? Saying no hadn’t worked. Volunteering to switch out with one of the guys actually working tonight had been met with a more than vehement fuck no from his entire damn team. For a split second, he’d actually considered pretending to be sick, but decided that would make him seem like a child.

He swore the tie around his neck tightened.

It's one night, one date, for God’s sake. The person who bids on you isn’t expecting a commitment.

Not that he didn’t date. He did. Well, more like he had sex until it faded out and they went their separate ways. He wasn’t in the market for a wife, for a family. One that could be snatched away.

Instead, Matteo had fun when he wanted and lived happily solo when he didn’t.

Except now, for no good reason he could discern, he felt ridiculously worried.

Why am I here again?

‘Cause you love the department.

Matteo shook his head as two of his squad sauntered over to the wall he currently propped up. He had no intention of being as diplomatic as Lucas Corelli when dealing with Buck Webber. Mainly because the man didn’t do or understand subtle ninety percent of the time.

And you crave attention.

Typically, it didn’t take much for Buck to garner said attention, either. All the man had to do was walk into a room and people of all ages and genders turned to watch. Of course, he soaked up every second and every phone number he got.

Yeah, I get all that, but I mean, come on. The man in question waved a hand down his body from head to toe, the black-on-black tux a perfect foil for his blond hair. How you gonna compete with all this? I don’t want to embarrass you with how much I bring in.

Matteo couldn’t even hold back his laugh. Maybe no one will bid when you open your damn mouth.

Oh, I’m pretty sure my mouth can drive the bids higher. His brows furrowed in thought before he continued, Corelli, you think they can add extra money after the date? Sort of like a tip, but it goes to the fund?

Lucas’ eyes bugged out of his head and looked ready to explode. Jesus. These women aren’t paying for sex.

Well, no, but you have to admit it’s probably going to happen. I mean, Sophie’s going to bid on you. You saying you’re not going to have sex with your girlfriend after your date? Buck glanced at Lucas with an incredulous look plastered across his face. ‘Cause that’s weak, man.

Can we not bring up my girlfriend and our sex life? How did we get here?

Matteo shook his head. You let Buck speak, that’s how. Things usually take a turn when that happens.

Hey. Buck’s booming voice rang throughout the backstage area. I’m only trying to make sure you guys know I’m going to win.

This isn’t a competition. Lucas planted his hands on his hips, testing the fit of his jacket. This is to raise money.

And I’m saying I’m going to raise more than you. Probably anyone in the house too, but you’re all at a disadvantage having to work with me.

Ain’t that the truth. Alana Carmichael, their team’s paramedic, strolled over sporting a dress he’d never expected to see the woman in and a teasing grin. Maybe we should have a friendly wager over who brings the most in.

Well, it ain’t gonna be Delgado. Buck shook his head and almost looked pained over the thought of Matteo’s plan. That shit is dull, man. Those dark eyes of his aren’t even going to be able to save a boring dinner.

For weeks, they’d been giving him grief over his offer. He didn’t see anything so wrong or bad about dinner and a movie. Even his sisters had cringed a little when he told them, even though his plans mimicked their standard dates for whatever losers they went out with.

It’s boring, Matteo.

How you going to raise money with that?

I guess if someone wants to nap on the date, this is the one for them.

Finally he caved and started searching for other options. Except he didn’t really know of any. He kept his dates basic, not wanting to impress a woman too much in case she thought anything more than a few weeks or months of a good time were on the table. That’s bullshit though. I want to impress, but what if it led to more?

And more was not something Matteo willingly entertained. He’d made his vow long ago and had every intention of keeping it.

He could, however, get his team off his ass.

I’ll have you know I may, in fact, top all of your dates. Matteo was not above a little gamesmanship, and lord knew his team thrived on competition.

Yeah, right. I mean, my date’s gonna get wet. A collective groan rang out, not only from their team, but everyone in the near vicinity of their conversation. I mean I am giving her surfing lessons. Wet sort of comes with the territory for me.

Seriously, Webber? Lt. Ian Wright joined them, bucking the unofficial tuxedo theme of the evening and instead wore his dress uniform. By the look the entire team gave him, LT knew what they were thinking. What? They say ladies love a man in uniform, so I had to compensate for being one of the older guys here and do something to up my chances of getting bids.

Carmichael fanned herself. Yeah, I don’t think there will be a problem. Don’t take this wrong, LT, but you clean up damn fine.

Thanks. Even with the dim lighting, the flush overtaking LT’s face was impossible to miss. Um, back to someone else now.

Corelli nodded his way, before throwing him under the bus. Delgado here was going to explain how he’d get more bids with the lame ass date he planned.

Probably by changing things up at the last minute. Impressive move there, man. Brad Stewart sauntered over to the group. The minute Lucas had called Stewart and got him on board with this disaster waiting to happen, there was no way he wouldn’t get the entire Bedford FD to join him. Consequently, more than one neighboring town signed on, none of them wanting to be outdone by the others. She was thrilled when you called. I couldn’t get a damn guy from our department to go that route.

What the hell, Delgado? You holding out on us? Carmichael frowned, a look she often gave all of them, especially after they rode in her medic truck.

Maybe. Matteo had thought long and hard about changing his plans. On the one hand, it could bring in some decent money since it happened to be a bit out of the ordinary. On the other, it could fall flat if it were too far out there. Either way, he was stuck now. If Stewart hadn’t mentioned his change of plans,