Hunter: Things had been going pretty well for me. My time was filled with my jobs and friends, and my parents seemed to have finally given up on bullying me to go to law school. Then everything changes in the blink of an eye. One minute I’m teaching a yoga class, and the next there’s smoke and then fire and with it comes firefighters. One in particular.

Stace: There are only three things that I take seriously—my job as a volunteer firefighter, my work with the animal shelter, and my family. Everything else? Not so much. And then we get a call and I end up carrying an unbelievably gorgeous woman down the stairs and I feel like my entire world has shifted and nothing will ever be the same.

Hunter: She lifted me like some hero from a romance movie and I couldn’t help but notice how good she looked when she took her helmet off and smiled at me. But that’s neither here nor there. I’ll never pursue someone like Stace. Love doesn’t work out for me, not for any member of my family. It’s just not in our genes. Why would I sign up for the inevitable downfall that will wreck my life? I’ll keep my heart whole and intact, thank you very much. Stace is the kind of person who demands all or nothing, and I have nothing for her.

Stace: Hunter is … complicated. Closed-off. A challenge, not to mention she’s so beautiful that she’d make angels jealous. I’ve never met anyone who deserves to be seduced and spoiled by affection more than her. So that’s what I’m going to do. Because I have to have her.