+ Excerpt +

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"Reina! Reina!"

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It must have been a dream, because my brother's best friend, Morgan Sterling, was calling my name, and he had no reason to be in my apartment.

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I wanted to call out, but I couldn't seem to open my mouth.

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It was hard to breathe.

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There was smoke everywhere.

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If I was having a dream, I needed to wake up.

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"Reina! Tell me where you are."

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I jerked awake, immediately sucking in smoke. "I'm here! In the bedroom," I called, but my voice was cracked and weak. I rolled to the floor, staying low, hoping I'd find fresher air here.

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"Is there any fire in your room?"

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All I could see was smoke. "No."

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The door to my bedroom burst open, slamming against the wall. Morgan ran into the room, falling to his knees in front of me. "Can you walk?"

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"I think so."

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He helped me stand, and when I stumbled, he bit off a curse.

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My lungs were burning, and it felt like I'd been breathing in smoke for a while.

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"There's no time." Morgan swung me into his arms and carried me out of the bedroom.

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That's when I realized. "The bakery—"

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Morgan looked down at me with a pained expression. "I got you."

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My eyes pricked from the smoke and tears. My home. My bakery. Everything was on fire. The door was already open, and there were several firefighters standing there in full gear.

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My chest constricted at the site. Their presence made everything more real.

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"I'll take her," one of the firefighters offered, but Morgan tucked me close to his chest, moved quickly down the stairs, and dropped to his knees on the grass.

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As soon as he set me down, my body was racked with coughs.

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He helped me roll to the side, and I was so grateful that he was there. He brushed my hair out of my eyes, and his face was etched with concern. "Reina—"

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Before he could finish speaking, we were surrounded by paramedics shouting questions. I was rolled to my back and an oxygen mask went over my mouth. Panicked, I reached for Morgan's hand and held on tight.

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"I'm right here. Not going anywhere." His voice was soothing, the anchor I needed in this moment.

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His face was covered in soot, but I didn't want to see anyone else. He could have been hurt trying to save me.

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I had been asleep, and I could have inhaled too much smoke and never woken up. If Morgan hadn't pulled me out, would the firefighters have gotten to me in time?

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I could've died.

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There was a lot of commotion with the firefighters battling the fire and the paramedics talking about getting me to the hospital.

"Reina should go to the hospital to get checked out," Maddox said to Morgan.

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Maddox was the fire chief and appeared to be in charge of the scene.

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Morgan nodded. "I'll go with her."

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"You should get checked out too," Maddox said, but the stretcher lifted into the air, and I was being rolled around the building toward the ambulance.

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I had a feeling there were people watching the scene play out, and I closed my eyes against the intrusion, feeling vulnerable and exposed.

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I couldn't believe that there was a fire in my building. I had no idea what this would mean for my life going forward. If it was destroyed, I'd lose everything.

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When the paramedics lifted my stretcher into the ambulance, Morgan's hand fell away, and my heart squeezed.

He stepped into the vehicle and sat next to me, his hand reaching for mine again.

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I let out a breath when our palms touched. I never would have thought that I'd be seeking comfort from Morgan at a moment like this. Despite his friendship with my brother, I had very little interaction with him over the years.

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He wasn't a firefighter. It wasn't even clear why he was nearby. But he'd known I was at home, and he'd broken into my

apartment and carried me out. My heart rate picked up at the thought of him, holding me close, refusing to hand me off to a firefighter. What did it mean?