The Best Laid Plans

“I love that. They love those kids more than anything.”

Charlie seemed to sigh with relief. “I’m glad you like it. I thought since Max had them help propose, it was something to consider.”

“Did your sister do anything else? Maybe at the reception?”

“I don’t remember. I can ask her. I’m sure she’s got some other tips.”

“All right, sounds good.” She closed up her notebook and slipped it and her wedding binder into her giant tote bag. She planned to sneak over to her parents’ so her mom would invite her to stay for dinner. For Emma, there was nothing worse about being single than having to cook for one. “I think we’re done here. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Wait,” he said as she began to slide out of the booth. “We’re done?”

Emma laughed. What more could they possibly talk about? How much he liked every idea she had? How excellent she was at picking out the perfect colors for a summer wedding? Maybe he could tell her one more time that she should be getting paid for this. Or perhaps he’d start in on the personal questions again.

“You agreed with everything I had to say,” she told him. “You made this meeting super easy and fast. Now we have the rest of the day to ourselves. Good work.”

He didn’t seem so excited about it. “Yeah, great job, Charlie,” he muttered.

CHAPTER FOUR (#ulink_3d55ccee-bc08-51fc-8e12-7a3f5befb4ac)

THE FIREHOUSE DINING ROOM had two banquet-size tables butted up against one another to make enough room for all the hungry firefighters and paramedics on duty. Charlie and a bunch of the guys from the house were hanging out, reading the paper and making small talk.

The station’s rookie/probie was bending Lieutenant Kyle Keller’s ear about his most recent date. “I just don’t get it. I thought we had a great time, but she hasn’t returned my calls or answered any of my texts.”

“Something tells me your definition of a great time and a woman’s definition of a great time are two very different things.”

A few guys at the table laughed. One of the other firefighters joined in. “Jones thinks dinner at a burger joint and a couple hours at an arcade is a great night.”

“Be quiet, Alvarez. Arcades can be a ton of fun,” Jones argued as the entire room erupted in laughter.

Lieutenant Keller shook his head. “I hate to break it to you, Jones, but there may be plenty of first dates in your future but absolutely zero second ones.”

Probies were usually on the receiving end of a lot of teasing, but Jones had a way of saying and doing things that made him the biggest target of all. He looked to Serena, the only female at Station 22. “Hayes, you’re a woman. Help me out here.”

“Why do I think I’m going to regret this?” she grumbled from behind the Chicago Tribune.

“You’d have fun at an arcade, wouldn’t you?”

She peered over her newspaper at him. “Did you really take some poor girl to the arcade? What was she, ten years old?”

“Come on! It was a fun date!”

Charlie chuckled. Even he knew better than to take a woman to the arcade on a first date. He also had success getting many second dates. What he didn’t know was how to become more than just a date.

Emma was bringing adate to the wedding. The disappointment this created in Charlie weighed down his usually buoyant mood even now, days later. He tried to focus on the positives: she had liked his idea for the wedding and there had been no confirmation of a boyfriend, only a date.

There was still hope.

Charlie didn’t simply want to date Emma. He wanted to be that someone who made her lose track of time, the guy she’d want to spend the day with no matter what her other plans were. That meant he needed to be interesting instead of some boring pushover who had basically complimented her right out the door.

“I’d love to know what women want,” he said aloud unintentionally.

More than a few heads swung in Charlie’s direction.

“Fletcher needs dating advice?” Jones asked. “Since when?”

Pete O’Reilly, the shift’s cook, set a plate of brownies on the table that were snatched up in a matter of seconds. He was happily married to a gorgeous woman, who he claimed was an even better cook than he was. In fact, the two of them ran a catering business together when he wasn’t cooking for this motley crew. The O’Reillys had three adorable kids and somehow managed to keep the romance alive after fifteen years of marriage. Everyone—except Alvarez, the eternal bachelor—wanted to be as lucky as O’Reilly someday.

“Who you got your eye on?” Pete asked Charlie while everyone else was busy devouring their dessert. “Is it that blonde you were talking to at Duke’s last week?”

“I bet he’s planning to make a move on that new paramedic at 55,” another firefighter guessed. A discussion erupted over how distracting her good looks had been at the softball game last week.

Serena folded her paper up and set it on the table. “My money’s on a tall brunette who works at Saint Joe’s.”

The room fell silent and Charlie’s jaw dropped. “How did you know that?”

Serena rolled her eyes. “If you had seen yourself the other day, you would not be asking me that question. I had never witnessed a tongue-tied Charlie Fletcher before then. It was very entertaining.”

No one could believe it. If there was one thing everyone knew about Charlie, it was that he could talk to anyone. He made friends with people who were just walking down the same street. That was who Charlie was. He was everyone’s friend. Didn’t matter if you were eight or eighty, a drop-dead gorgeous waitress or a wrinkly old retiree. Charlie would talk your ear off.

“Fletcher at a loss for words? I would’ve loved to have seen that,” Alvarez said.

Everyone wanted to know who this tall brunette was. They began badgering Serena for her name and any other details she could remember. Luckily for Charlie, Serena wasn’t a gossip. She wouldn’t say anything.

“Come on, give us something!” Jones pleaded.

“She’s a nurse in the ER and that’s all you guys are getting,” Charlie said. “I tell you a name and the next thing I know, she’ll be getting provocative gifts sent to Saint Joe’s claiming to be from me.”

“You know us so well,” Alvarez admitted.

O’Reilly waved his hand dismissively. “Sounds like you’ve got nothing to worry about, Charlie. The nurses over at Saint Joe’s love you.”

“Like Fletcher ever has problems getting a date,” Jones said with a hint of jealousy. “Women think he’s so funny.”

“Aw, don’t feel bad, Jones,” Alvarez consoled him. “Women think you’re funny, too. I mean, they’re laughing at you, but they sure think you’re hilarious.”

Jones stood up and puffed out his chest, challenging Alvarez to “bring it.” Alvarez rose to his feet, ready to do just that. The lieutenant barked at them both to sit down and knock it off. They both did as they were told, but Charlie saw Jones mouth that this wasn’t over.

Charlie had learned over the years that firefighters were no different than brothers. They teased one another relentlessly but would lay down their lives for each other without a second thought.

The alarm sounded, effectively putting an end to fun time. Everyone scattered to gear up. Charlie got the information from dispatch regarding the nature of the call and location. Serena made sure the ambulance was properly loaded and jumped into the driver’s seat.

“So, what’s up with you and this nurse?”

Charlie belted himself in. “Emma’s my buddy’s soon-to-be sister-in-law. I have a little crush, but I think she’s already spoken for.”

“Married?”

“No, but she plans to bring a date to the wedding.”