I smiled.
“Why would I?”
He narrowed his eyes at me for a second.
That look almost broke me.
Then he laughed, grabbed his bag, and headed out.
“Love you,” he called.
“Love you too.”
The front door shut behind him.
I waited about ten seconds before smiling to myself.
The plan wasn’t complicated. That was what I liked about it.
No giant party. No reservations that might get ruined by an emergency call. No pressure.
Just me showing up.
I’d done this once before, years ago, and the guys had practically thrown a parade.
Tyler had been so embarrassed and so happy at the same time.
Back then, he had only been at the station for a few years.
I still remembered walking in with cupcakes and watching several firefighters immediately start yelling that someone’s “girlfriend” had arrived, even though Tyler and I were already married.
Tyler had turned bright red.
One of the guys had put a paper birthday crown on his head.
Another had taken a picture before Tyler could stop him.
Tyler complained about that picture for months.
He also kept it.
That memory was part of why I felt so good about going this time.
The station had always seemed like Tyler’s second home.
I knew some of the firefighters well enough to recognize their cars.
I knew which guys were loud, which ones were quiet, and which ones could turn anything into a joke.
They had been around for pieces of our life together.
Weddings.
Babies.
Promotions.
Bad calls.
Long nights.
I wasn’t walking into a room full of strangers.
At least, that was what I thought.
I picked up the cake shortly before heading over.
The bakery employee handed me the white box carefully.
