My favorite scene from Five Alarm Love

Five Alarm Love, the third book in my Yukon Valley, Alaska medical romance series, is out August 7, 2025!

It's a heart-squeezing book of two childhood friends who have realized that they might be right for each other... but events happen that force them both to sacrifice their happiness to save the other's future.

One of my favorite scenes is the moment that EVERYTHING CHANGES, and I'm bringing it to you below.

Don't click to open the scene if you don't want spoilers!!!

Excerpt from Five Alarm Love:

For the first time in forever, Tuli went utterly still and serious. His intense gaze pinned Lou in place. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

Her mouth went dry.

She’d never experienced him like this.

He stepped forward until they were a few inches apart. Heat rolled off him, bringing with it Tuli’s light scent of soap and smoky aftershave. He looked down at her. “What if there was more than friendship?”

Lou’s thoughts swirled like puffs of smoke from a forest fire. One thought chased another to its inevitable, painful conclusion. The genetic report. His dreams. Her changed future. “There’s a lot going on right now. Things are complicated.”

Tuli’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Life is always complicated. That’s life. But sometimes things are truly simple.” He rolled his lips. “At some point, we will miss out on some awesome moments by keeping everyone out of our business.”

“Sometimes keeping people out of our business reduces the chance of pain.”

Nodding, he said, “Connection has risks. It requires trust. Respect.” He patted his pocket containing the phone. “It opens us up to criticism and to not living up to others’ expectations.” 

It was like he read her mind. “Why risk the pain?”

“Because letting people into our business can also be a joy. Trust. Simple connection.” He extended his arms to the sides.

Lou pointed. “That phone attached to the internet makes things not simple.”

“Huh?”

She reached for the only logical argument that didn’t force her to share her deepest secret. “I had my personal business broadcast all over town once before. I can’t do it again. I can’t live that exposed of a life. Not like you do.”

“No one’s asking for you to be broadcast anywhere.”

“Aren’t you? That’s part of the Tuli package. Social exposure.” As if she had a shot at being part of that package. Lou knew the score. She did not have a chance.

“What are you getting at?”

“I’m a very private person.”

“And I’ve respected that privacy. Always. Never mentioned your name online. Never put you on camera.”

She kept going. “I can’t deal with any relationship, friendship or otherwise, on display for others to see and examine. I don’t know if I want to be around someone who thinks about life as a series of clips for thousands of people to see.”

“Technically, over a hundred thousand people.” He gave a self-deprecating snort. “That’s literally my job.”

“People aren’t content.”

He flinched like she had slapped him.

Lou blew out a harsh breath. “You’re never off. This is why you’re so … you … all the time.”
A beat. Then two. Then he said, “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Horror dawned when she realized what she had said. Lou had undermined what he valued most in his life. She had attacked the person he was. Oh, God. Maybe she could take the words back. “Never mind. I don’t want to say anything else.”

“Why not?”

She fought to form the words. “Because I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Lou.” He was a breath away.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not talking about anything public. I’m not talking about filming things. I’m not talking social media. This conversation right here? It’s about you and me. We’ve been through thick and thin together. Leaned on each other for help. Lifted each other up. All I’m asking is, what if there’s more for us?”

Her heart hammered in her chest. The risk of pain versus the risk of … something good … tempted her. “I don’t know.” Even as she said the words, she leaned toward him like he was the anchor off the side of a fishing boat. The weight and the current pulled her toward the churning water.

The scent of woodsmoke and aftershave swirled around him.

What he was suggesting was akin to watching a fall wildfire blaze out of control. The act would be final, irreparable, and risky. Things would never be the same after the flame. Someone could get burned.

She tilted her head up. Somehow, she had ended up a hair’s breadth away from him.

His rapid breath feathered over her, warm and familiar. “Lou,” he said on an exhale.

She needed that heat like she needed oxygen. “I don’t—” Unable to stop herself, she brushed her lips over his. Once. Twice.

Something deep down sparked to flame and crackled to life.

Blazed through her heart.

Then consumed everything in its path.

Tuli. Her friend. How was this possible?

He gave a shuddering breath, lifted her chin with his fingertip, and returned the kiss. Pressed to her lips, his trembled. His kisses drifting over her sent heated waves through her body.

Twenty-six years. She had waited her whole life for this moment.

​A moment that had changed everything.