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Tony stared at her for a beat, then his lips twitched. “Yes, ma’am.”
Sienna shook her head. “Sorry. As someone who has seen my share of therapists because of what I’ve seen and done, I tend to be passionate about the subject. Come on, let’s go inside and see if we can’t find your dad. I know he’s probably anxious to see you.”
The three headed inside the hospital and were directed to Chris’s floor. They went down a long hall and Tony pushed open the door to a room, but Sienna paused before following him inside.
Sarah turned just inside the room and asked, “Mom? Are you coming?”
For a split second, Sienna wondered what she was doing. She and Sarah should be headed to the nearest Chinese restaurant, as was their Christmas Eve custom. She should’ve dropped Tony off and been on her way.
Why was she excited to see Chris again? It wasn’t as if they were actually dating. They were strangers. She’d been first on the scene of an accident more times than she could count.
Why was Chris King so different?
Before she had time to grab Sarah and make an escape, she heard Chris’s happy shout of greeting upon seeing his son. And that was that. Hearing his low, rumbly voice made her feet automatically move forward, as if they had a mind of their own.
Closing the door behind her, Sienna smiled at the scene in front of her. Tony sat on the side of the bed and was embracing his father. Man and son had no problem showing affection for one another. Sienna liked that. The genuine emotion coming from both men was easy to see and feel in the room.
When they were done greeting each other, Chris’s eyes met Sienna’s. “Hey,” he said with a broad smile. “You came back.”
“So I did,” Sienna said, knowing she was blushing once more, but not able to control it. She felt as if she were fifteen again every time she was around him. She wouldn’t have blushed, but the look in his eyes told her that he was just as interested in her as she was in him.
She managed to sit down and have a normal conversation with the others in the room, but Sienna was more than aware of the way Chris kept sneaking looks at her, just as she did at him. The tension between them was so thick, she couldn’t believe Sarah and Tony didn’t comment on it.
After the tenth time being reassured his dad really was all right and the doctor was only keeping him overnight as a precaution because of a slight concussion, Tony finally stood up. “If you’re really all right, dad, I’m going to head out. Some of the single guys from the unit are getting together for an impromptu Christmas/welcome-home party.” Tony turned to Sarah. “Wanna come?”
Sarah looked at her mom. “Oh, well…we were going to find a Chinese restaurant and have dinner…”
Sienna shook her head at her daughter. “It’s fine. Go on. Have fun. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?”
Sienna’s eyes flicked to Chris, and when she saw that he was staring at her with a look so intense, she immediately flushed. “I’m sure,” she said absently, holding eye contact with Chris.
Their connection was severed when Tony leaned over to hug his dad once more. Sienna stood to hug her daughter. Once their children were gone, Sienna immediately felt awkward.
But Chris held out his hand, palm up, and said, “Come here.”Chris held his breath as he wanted for the beautiful woman to take hold of his hand. He waited what seemed like hours, but in reality was only seconds. He saw her take a deep breath, then take the few steps needed to bring herself to his side.
The second her fingers closed around his, Chris relaxed. He pulled on her hand until she was standing right next to the mattress. He tugged once more and she sat in the spot that his son had occupied a minute ago. “Thank you for coming with Tony,” he told her, wanting to get this part over with before moving on to more interesting topics. “I know he’s in his twenties, but he’s still my little boy, and I hated that he’d hear about my accident from someone else.”
“The commander did a good job in making sure he knew you were fine before I gave him any details,” Sienna told him.
Chris loved the sound of her voice. It was low and even, and it made him relax now, just as it had when they were inside the wrecked car earlier. “And thank you for coming up to my room with him.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“I could eat,” she responded.
“Chinese?” he asked with a smile.
She returned the grin. “It’s tradition. I’m not the best cook, and one Christmas Eve I worked a twelve-hour shift before I got home and there wasn’t much to eat. So I made going out a big game with Sarah. It became a tradition after that. But…”
