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“Hold it right there.” He held a hand up. “We might not be in a long-lasting relationship, but you can ask me whatever you want. I'm not hiding anything. Yes, I live alone. No, I don't celebrate holidays in my little apartment. Like you said, there isn't much point in decorating just for yourself. I usually volunteer to work holidays, so a doctor with a family can stay home.”
“Do you ever get lonely?” she asked.
“Do you?”
She hadn't expected him to throw the question right back at her. She stumbled for a second over her words, trying to put together a coherent sentence while she was on the spot. “I... of course. Doesn't everyone get lonely sometimes?”
He gave her a look that conveyed the dumb question had been hers.
She tried again. “I meant to ask if you're lonely in Boston without family? Or have you made some close friends that you spend time with?”
“Time? Who has time? I'm an ER doctor working double shifts more often than not. When I'm off work, I'm asleep. I don't have time to get lonely.”
What kind of life was that?
He shrugged and admitted, “Once in a while, I hang out with my lawyer friend, Skylar Griffin, and we watch football. A bunch of us get together and go camping on those rare occasions when I have more than one day off.” With a rueful look, he added, “Let's not talk about Boston or my life away from here. You promised no strings. No emotions.”
“You're right,” she said.
“If this is going to work, we don't have a past or a future. We just live in the here and now.”
That made her smile. “I like the sound of that.”
They melted into a passionate kiss, and she prayed no one would get hurt at the end of their time together. She realized it was easier to say no strings than to actually do it. Her feelings for him were already growing, while his hadn't changed in the slightest.
He lifted his head. “Now, I say we get out of these wet clothes and take a warm shower.”
“Together?”
He grinned. “Well, we should try to conserve water.”
∞∞∞
Jared brought down a box of Christmas ornaments from the attic. She opened it and picked up each ornament carefully because so many of them were extremely fragile. He took the time to tell her what he remembered about them. Some of them represented moments in his life, and some had been significant to family members. They were halfway through the box when she came across one that stole the happiness from his eyes.
He mumbled, “Finish up in here. I need to make some calls.”
Before she could protest, he was gone.
She cradled the ornament carefully in the palm of her hand and stared down at it. Why had the sight of the pretty ballerina upset him? She surmised it must have belonged to his mother. Perhaps it had been her favorite ornament.
Beth went to work on the tree alone. She continued hanging ornaments until the box was empty. Then she turned the Christmas lights on. The beautiful sight would have been better if she had someone special to share it with. Too bad her special person had disappeared into the den again.
The space beneath the tree looked barren. They needed presents. She should at least give him a small token to show him how happy she was to have him with her for the holiday. They couldn't go shopping. Even ordering online wouldn't work because of the snow. Maybe she had something in her room.
Or perhaps she could make him a gift.
With a big grin on her face, she raced upstairs.
Chapter Twenty
That night before dinner, they met in the living room. It wasn't a planned meeting. She had just put a present for him under the tree and was about to go looking for him. He entered the room with his hands behind his back and a smug smile on his face.
“I have something for you,” he said.
She blinked. “You do?”
He brought his hands around to the front. They were holding a box hastily wrapped in brown paper as if he were on his way to the post office to ship it somewhere else. It was tied with twine and had her name scrawled across the top.
