Flirting with the Fireman by Judy Jarvie

What’s a girl to do? Best friend is getting married: be bridesmaid yet again, even if eleventh time! Aunty sick? Housesit and watch her crazy dog! Attracted to best-man, run the other way or jump him?? Aunt’s dog attacks best-man! Comfort him and stand-in at wedding??? WAIT a minute!

Felicity Truro's diary is filling up with problems. First there's the ugliest bridesmaid's dress in the world, then there's her sick aunt's serious secret. But it's Rod McAllister, the handsome firefighter best man with attitude, who's melting her willpower and frazzling her nerves the most.Can Flick survive being a bridesmaid for the eleventh time whilst falling for the best man? And how will she cope when Rod needs a stand-in and she's promoted to top of the candidate list?

Felicity Truro is the local Liberian extraordinaire. Everyone thinks she is quite, bookish, maybe a little shy but she has the fancy, stylish shoes to prove them wrong. She also knows everyone’s little secret reads and gets a kick out of this knowledge (like the pastor liking crime novels, the Italian restaurant owner reading romances). Even the hot fireman, Rod, that all the girls are after, looks over cookbook when he brings his mother in every Thursday.

Now Flick’s best friend is getting married and wants her to be ‘main’ bridesmaid. After all, she is the last one not married or even engaged, and this will be her eleventh time being bridesmaid. Flick can’t figure out how to say no, and does love her friend Linda. But Linda is marring fire Chief Mack, so the best man is Rod McAllister. Flick has issues with Rod and that he, and all the women in town, thinks so much of himself. They may have known each other since school, but she just can’t get over how much the women fawn over him, or that he eats up this attention.

Rod gets behind the best man idea full force, even buying a ‘handbook.’ There are emails and phone messages between Rod and Mack, and between Rod and Flick. Flick does NOT get Rods messages as humor, but thinks he is picking on her. Things heat up and she gets upset until the wedding planning luncheon. On the way there, Flick encounters her Aunt Audrey sitting on the bus bench acting odd. Turns out, Aunty is not going on vacation next week but into the hospital with possible cancer. So now on top of the wedding, she is worried about her sick aunt and trying to hide it, not wanting to detract from Linda’s big moment.

Rod knows something is wrong and helps Flick out at the luncheon. Later he learns that Audrey is sick and goes to her house to help Flick. But Audrey’s dog ends up attacking him. Now Rod is down for the count and Flick sees more of him while he is recovering. They have to work together to make sure arrangements Rod made still happen. Spending so much time together brings them closer. And their past comes out, like Flick hiding much of herself after her mother dieing of cancer when Flick was young, and Rod having his mom live at his house after his father died to watch over her. Rod seems to want to start a relationship, but can Flick “come out of hiding” and trust the town playboy?

In Flirting with the Fireman, Jarvie uses several writing formats to tell this story. She uses emails and phone messages between characters, diary entries by Felicity, and normal third and first person writing. The changing formats can take a little getting use to. But these varying techniques gives the different views and feel of many characters without having to spend lots of time in their heads/space. This turned out very effective for a limited space, i.e. a novella.

Flirting with the Fireman is cute and that is all there is to it. Some of the scenarios are a little far fetched, like being a bridesmaid for eleven times(!) and Rod being a player but still living with his busy Mom? But even these extreme situations are fun when one reads them, and the characters make it seem possible to find oneself in falling into said situation (okay, I do stupid stuff in real life, too). That Rod has his Mom living with him to help and watch out for her is sweet, not him living off of her. And Flick is really just hiding herself away no matter what front she puts on for the world. And we may only see them through messages, both Rod’s mother and Audrey seems to be feisty older ladies!

Flirting with the Fireman reads fast with lots going on to keep one entertained. And I LOVED the cover! I enjoyed this enough to look forward to more from Javie.