Home > Ignite My Heart (Sparks in Juniper #1)(4)

Ignite My Heart (Sparks in Juniper #1)(4)
Author: Loni Ree

Once I’m able to breathe normally again, I roll over and look around the room. Last night, stress and exhaustion hit me hard, and I barely remember arriving at Trace’s home. After he showed me the guest room and attached bathroom, I took a quick shower and dropped into the bed. I don’t even remember falling asleep. It was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time—actually, as long as I can remember.

I’m looking around the beautiful room when I hear Trace out in the hallway. “Roger.” His footsteps get closer then move past the bedroom door. A few moments later, I hear footsteps again, and I wonder if it’s his roommate, Roger, but Trace calls again, “Roger! You’re going to miss out on breakfast.” The huge cat seems to think that’s a problem because his head shoots up before he races over me and across the floor. When he gets to the door, the animal lets out the most pitiful cry I’ve ever heard.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the door, and Trace asks, “Paige, can I come in?”

After looking down to make sure I’m covered, I call out over the yodeling cat, “Yes, come in.”

The door opens, and the cat flees out the door past Trace. Trace calls to him, “Roger, you little shit. Next time you hide out with Paige, no breakfast. It won’t kill you to go without.”

I can’t help myself; I burst out laughing at the strong fireman fussing at his cat. Trace turns and raises an eyebrow at me. “What are you laughing at, baby?”

My insides instantly melt, and I have to fight the desire to tackle him to the floor. Somehow, I manage to smile and shrug. “Grown man fighting with his cat. You know it’s not something I see every day.”

Trace jumps before I can react and pins me to the bed. He kisses the tip of my nose and laughs. “I want you to stay around here a lot, and you’ll see it every day. That asshole is hard to live with.” He’s got a pained look when he hops off the bed, and I’m about to ask if he’s okay. Then Trace smiles at me and points at the door. “I made breakfast. Get your beautiful self together and meet me down in the kitchen.”

As he walks away, I find myself staring at his gorgeous body. Two days ago, I’d barely been able to string two words together when I opened the door and found the hot fireman standing on my front porch. It’s not every day I open the door to tall, dark, and drop-dead hotness standing there smirking at me. Then he came in and explained his purpose and left me speechless for a whole other reason.

After throwing back the soft comforter, I rush into the bathroom and get ready in record time. I toss on a pink t-shirt and my faded blue jeans then head down the stairs. When I turn the corner, I do a doubletake. Underneath the staircase is a cut-out area. My curiosity gets the best of me, and I stop to look closely. It’s a perfect little miniature room with a tiny bed against the back wall, cartoons playing on a small flat-screen television across from the bed, and a toy box full of stuffed animals and toys. The picture of Trace holding Roger hanging over the small bed gives a hint to who owns this room.

Following the smell of bacon, I walk around the corner and up a couple of steps and find Trace in the huge kitchen, standing at an industrial stainless-steel stove. He’s wearing earphones and shaking his perfect ass, so I stand there for a few minutes and watch him. After a while, he turns slightly and notices me out the corner of his eye. Trace pulls the earbuds out of his ears and smiles. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“No problem. I was just checking out Roger’s bachelor pad. He has an awesome set-up.” As Trace smiles widely, I swear my ovaries explode.

He points at the breakfast bar where there are two glasses of orange juice already poured. “Sit and talk to me while I finish up these eggs. I hope you like eggs and bacon.” He glances over his shoulder, and I nod while taking a sip of the orange juice to cool myself off. “I always cook eggs and bacon for Roger on my days off.” He grabs a bowl with an orange fish painted on the front and places two eggs and a couple of slices of bacon in it then walks over to place the bowl on the opposite breakfast bar.

Roger manages to jump several feet onto the breakfast bar and stares at me for a second before turning to devour his breakfast. “Isn’t all that grease and fat bad for him?” I can’t stop myself from asking, and both male heads turn and look at me. Realizing I need to tread carefully and make friends with the feline, I hold up my hands. “I mean, he looks really healthy and all.” Oops, I need to learn to use the filter between my mouth and brain.

Trace sets a plate in front of me and immediately turns to his cat. “Roger, you’ve had breakfast. Go watch TV.” The cat glares at me for a second before licking his paw and hopping off the counter. Roger looks back at me a couple of times as he walks out of the kitchen, and I realize I’m going to need to buy kitty treats to make friends with him. Right now, I’m not his favorite human.

As we eat breakfast, Trace tells me about his younger brother, Rory, buying Roger to give to a girl in the hopes of getting her attention. Come to find out, she was allergic to cats, and his attempt at courting fell very flat. The girl met a male nurse in the emergency room and is now married to him, and Trace ended up with Roger. I don’t have the heart to ask about Rory. Hopefully, I’ll find out for myself soon.

As we’re cleaning up from breakfast, I sigh. “Thank you for letting me stay last night, but I really need to get home and figure out how to handle the damage.”

Trace closes the dishwasher door then leans against the counter. After crossing his arms in front of his massive chest, he rubs the back of his head. “Rory was there early this morning with Ted from the Next Co. Windows. They got the window replaced on your door.” I sit on the stool when I realize he’s taken care of my house while I’ve been sleeping. I haven’t had anyone to take care of me since I was sixteen, and I’m not sure how to react. “The hole in the siding is going to be harder to fix since they have to remove most of the siding on the side of the house. They have to order materials, so it’ll take longer.” He’s still explaining all the plans as I sit with my mouth hanging open. “Now, I’m not letting you stay there alone until we get a damn good alarm system. I don’t fucking trust the idiot in town, so I have a friend coming in from Denver. Todd will be here next Friday to install the alarm, and you can stay here with Roger and me until then.”

I have no idea how to respond. Biting my lip, I sit there and think to myself, I just met him a few days ago, and he’s doing all this for me. “Because you opened your door, and it’s like I was hit in the head with a bat. I just knew.” Trace lays his hand over his heart, and I realize I spoke out loud. “I realized you’re the one. Some people may think I’m crazy, but I’m known for crazy. Hell, I have a cat condo built-in under my stairs.”

Trace walks over and spins my stool around. As he stands between my spread knees, I want to pinch myself to make sure I’m really awake. He takes my chin and raises my eyes up to his, and I see the seriousness shining from his intense brown eyes. “I know this is fast and probably insane. I’ll give you however much time you need to catch up with me, but I won’t walk away.” When he leans down and kisses the tip of my nose, sparks zip through my body, and I melt into the chair. I’m starting to love his crazy, and I think I may be falling for him, too. “Now, let’s get ready and go get your things so you can make yourself at home until you can go back to your house. I’ll work on getting you to move in permanently next week.” He leans back and winks, and my ovaries do that throbbing thing that has me panting and sweating.

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