How
can she forgive him for what he didn't do?
SAVED BY THE FIREFIGHTER
Templeton Cove #6
Rachel Brimble
Releasing Nov 1st, 2016
Harlequin Superromance
How can
she forgive him for what he didn't do?
Photographer Izzy Cooper feels as
frozen as her pictures. Trent Palmer might be the hottest firefighter in
Templeton Cove, but she can never face him again. Not after he failed to save
her brother. But when they're forced together by a calendar shoot, the sparks
between them are undeniable.
Izzy knows it's not fair to blame
Trent for the tragedy, but opening herself up to loss again isn't something
she's prepared to do, no matter how determined Trent is to show her that pain
is part of life and that love—their love—can make any suffering bearable.
The security alarm
chimed. Someone had stepped inside the studio. Exhaling a heavy breath, Izzy
pulled back her shoulders, lifted her head and forced a smile.
“Hi, how can I…” Her
heart stopped. Trent Palmer stood just inside the door. “Why are you here?”
His dark green gaze
bored relentlessly into hers, his strong jaw set as he reached behind him and
shut the door. “I came by to see how you’re doing.”
Traitorous attraction
skittered over the surface of her skin before Izzy turned and strode toward the
corner she used for staging portrait shots. The fluffy bunnies, huge furry dice
and toys she’d used to relax a toddler earlier now felt macabre.
She spun around,
clutching a teddy bear. “The same as I was doing yesterday and the day before.
I told you I don’t want to see you. I don’t ever
want to see you. Why do you keep coming back?”
He came closer, his
gaze locked on hers. “You have to talk to me. I was Robbie’s friend. There was
nothing—”
“You could do. Fine.
I get it, but why do you feel the need to keep coming in here and checking up
on me? What do you want me to do? Dance in the street? Kick up my heels at the
fairground? God, just leave me alone.”
“There’s a beach
party tonight. I want you to come with me.”
She stared. Why him?
Why would a man she really liked—a damn firefighter—have to pursue her like
she was someone worth pursuing? “No.”
He looked at the
equipment covering the desk alongside him. He lifted and replaced a camera, the
hunch of his wide shoulders indicating his discomfort. Izzy hated that she drew
no satisfaction from that…only sadness.
He turned. “I want
you to come and show your face to the people who care about you. Kate said—”
“Kate had no right to
say anything to you.” She lifted her chin. “I’m fine.”
“Then come to the
beach.”
“No.”
He crossed his arms.
“Why not? What good is it doing you, hiding away in here twenty-four-seven?”
“I’m not hiding.” Liar. “My work is better than
it’s ever been. I have lots to keep me busy, and I don’t need you or a damn
beach party to make me feel better.”
“This isn’t who you
are, Iz. You’ve always worked, always been ambitious, but everyone is used to
you taking pictures while you play as well as work. Where have you gone? Don’t
you think Robbie would’ve wanted you to step out into the sunlight now and
then?”
The sound of her
brother’s name on Trent’s lips brought the sting of tears to her eyes. “Don’t
talk to me about Robbie. He would want me to do whatever I wanted and right now
the last thing I want to do is talk to you.” She turned her back to him and
tossed the bear into a plastic crate of other props. She sighed. “Please,
Trent. Just get out of here.”
“You know as well as
I do that Robbie wanted us together. He actively encouraged it.”
“Yeah, he did and
look how that turned out.”
His jaw tightened.
“Are you saying it was no good? That we were no good? God, Iz, Robbie would’ve
loved knowing we finally got together.”
Loss wrapped around
her heart making it ache. “Maybe, but he would’ve also seen we were a bad idea
together too.”
Hurt flashed in his
eyes, before he exhaled heavily. “Look, you might not want to talk to me, but
there’s someone else we have to think about.”
She planted her hands
on her hips, her body humming with irritation and the urge the grip him by his
stupidly large biceps and march him out of her studio. Didn’t he realize he was
invading her only place of peace? “Who?”
“Maya Jackson. We
have to do this calendar, Iz. We promised. If we don’t set up the shoot soon,
it won’t be ready for Christmas. That little girl, her family and Kate are
relying on you…us…to do this.”
She tipped her head
back and glared at the ceiling. There was no way she’d let down Maya, suffering
so acutely with leukemia, any more than she would continue in a relationship
with date the firefighter who’d failed to respond quick enough to save her
brother. No matter how the results of the ensuing investigation had confirmed
it had been a falling beam that killed Robbie at the garage, she had to blame
someone or she’d go insane.
The safest person to
blame was strong, reliable Trent. A man she’d grown to deeply care for and
admire during the four years before Robbie died. A man who knew her and her
brother. Knew her home and her life…and who, God damn it, still wanted to know
her.
He didn’t deserve her
derision; he didn’t deserve everything she threw at him, yet time and again, he
became her target. She had to keep his interest at bay. Better still—stop it
altogether.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014 contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in South West England.
She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!
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