Passion Ignited

“I’m not sure why we’ve gotten off on the wrong foot,” Omar began. “But there’s a negative energy between us. I’d like to resolve that.” He extended his hand to her, and offered her a charming smile. “Omar Ewing. Lieutenant at Fire Station Two. Pleased to meet you.”

Gabrielle shook his hand. “Gabrielle Leonard.”

“I realize you were upset because I judged you wrongly,” Omar said. “And for that, I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted.” She started toward her driver’s side door.

“Whoa, wait a second.” When Gabrielle turned to look over her shoulder at Omar, he said, “That’s it? You’re taking off?”

“I... I have an appointment.” Not that it couldn’t wait. But being near Omar caused her heart to beat quickly, and she was feeling suddenly flustered.

“All right. I’ll be quick. You said you got a look at the guy you think is the arsonist. So I’m thinking it would be a good idea for the two of us to meet so that we can discuss whatever else it is that you’ve learned. Perhaps combined with what the arson investigators know, we might be able to finally take this guy down.”

“All right,” Gabrielle said slowly. “I’ll give you my card. You can call my assistant tomorrow. Make an appointment.”

Omar chuckled softly. “Call your assistant? I was thinking more like we could go to dinner.”

Now Gabrielle was the one to laugh. Finally, she understood. “So you’re here to ask me on a date?”

“A working date, if you will.”

Predictable... He wanted another notch on his bedpost, and he had set his eyes on her.

“You can pick the place,” Omar said. “We could do this tomorrow, if you want.”

“Mr. Ewing. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

He made a face. “Excuse me?”

“I know what you really want.”

Omar folded his arms over his brawny chest, and his biceps grew exponentially. He looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Really? What do I want?”

“Dinner?” Gabrielle scowled. “Does that work with all the women you hit on?”

His eyes widened. “You think I’m hitting on you?”

The way he said the words caused her jaw to stiffen a little. Though the reason was beyond her. She shouldn’t be offended if he wasn’t actually hitting on her. Because she didn’t want him to hit on her.

And yet there was this itty-bitty feeling in the pit of her stomach that felt like rejection.

Or maybe it was just humiliation. Was she jumping to conclusions where Omar was concerned? Just like he had with her last night?

“If you really want to discuss the case, we can do it at my office.”

“But dinner would be so much nicer.”

Gabrielle knew his game. And just seeing him here had her unsettled. Her heart was still beating fast, and she had this odd sensation coursing through her body.

She didn’t like it.

All she knew was that if she never saw Omar again, that would be the best thing for her.

“If I recall, you mentioned something yesterday about how I should go to the police with whatever I knew,” she said. “I think that makes the most sense.”

“Or, you and I could discuss what you think you know, then I can advise you on whether or not we should go to the police with it. I am a firefighter. I’m not some schmuck off the street.”

No, he certainly wasn’t. He was six foot one or so of hot black man. And that was the exact problem with him. Gabrielle could totally see herself losing focus around him. Because for the first time since Tobias had left her, she was feeling a stirring in her gut.

And that was the last thing she wanted. Especially with a man like Omar Ewing.

“I didn’t say you were a schmuck.”

“Sorry,” Omar said, offering her a smile. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“I really do have to get going.” Gabrielle was hoping that she could slip away before he realized that she hadn’t actually agreed to a date with him.

“You know what I really don’t understand,” Omar began. “Why you were at the scene of the fire hoping to nab the arsonist without any help from anyone at your cable station. The more I thought about it, it made more sense for you to go to the scene with someone who had a camera. You might have been able to get the suspected arsonist on film without him knowing.”

“When I heard about the fire, it was late,” Gabrielle explained. “Far too late to wake up any of our cameramen. So I just went to the scene of the fire on my own.”

“What about someone else? A friend or boyfriend or husband who could have been there with you.” He paused. “Didn’t it occur to you that trying to go after the arsonist on your own could be dangerous?”

She almost laughed. He had thrown in boyfriend or husband, hoping to have her reveal her marital status. He thought he was smooth.

“Gabrielle?” Omar prompted when she didn’t speak.

“I...” Gabrielle began, but her voice trailed off. How could she answer that? She hadn’t even discussed her plans with anyone from the network. She hadn’t been at the fire scene in any official capacity. “I... It was just something I was compelled to do,” she finally answered. She certainly wasn’t going to get into the real reason. He didn’t need to know about her parents’ restaurant.

Omar nodded. “In the future, I think you should leave the detective work to the professionals. You could get yourself hurt doing what you did.”

“I assure you, I’ll be fine.” She paused. And when she met his gaze, she had to look away. He had this way of looking at her, as though he were seeing deep into her soul.

“Mr. Ewing—”

“Omar.”

“Omar,” she said. “I do have to get going.”

“You didn’t answer me about dinner,” he said.

She opened her car door. She got the sense that if she didn’t get behind the wheel, he would keep talking to her. “One minute you thought I was the arsonist. Now you’re asking me out on a date?”

“I wasn’t asking you on a date,” Omar said. “But, hey. We can always kill two birds with one stone,” he added, smiling with humor.

He was unbelievable. Gabrielle knew his type. Men who thought that because they were sexy, they could have any woman they wanted. Add to that the fact that many women lost their heads over men in uniform, and she could only imagine that his ego was even more inflated.

“If you’re really serious about discussing the arsonist,” she began as she got into the car, “call my assistant.”