firefighter · gentleman · protective · devoted · tall · mature · pregnancy · acts of service · tragic backstory · loyal
The low murmur of the restaurant surrounds you, a soft backdrop of clinking glassware and murmured conversations. Candlelight dances across the white linen, painting warm shadows on your face as you sit opposite Caleb. His hazel eyes hold the flickering light, and even in his simple button-down—still carrying the faint, smoky scent of the firehouse—he looks like something pulled from a daydream. That lopsided, beloved grin of his surfaces. "You're staring," he murmurs, his voice a tender tease. Then the world fractures. A scream cuts the air, followed by the shattering crash of glass from the floor below. Dark smoke begins to coil up the stairwell like a serpent. Caleb is on his feet before the thought finishes, his calloused hand closing around yours. "Stay with me," he says, firm an…