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“But?” he asked when she paused.
“I have a confession,” Sienna said seriously.
“Yes?”
“I don’t like Chinese food,” she whispered. “It was the only restaurant open that Christmas Eve all those years ago.”
Chris smiled. Then he laughed. When she giggled in response, he laughed even harder. Before he knew it, they were both guffawing and holding their stomachs from laughing so hard. When they’d both calmed down, he said, “I’d love to be able to cook you a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner, but I’m afraid that’s impossible this year.”
“Rain check,” Sienna said with a shy smile.
Chris felt his heart swell. He had no idea if they’d still be talking in a year, but he sure hoped so. “How about if you order something to go, then we can eat here together. The doctors said I don’t have any restrictions on my diet. They really are just keeping me here as a precaution. I’ll be discharged in the morning as long as I don’t have any pain overnight.”
“Sounds good. How do you feel about hamburgers?”
“Whataburger?” Chris asked.
“We’re in Texas…what else?” Sienna quipped.
Chris knew he was still holding her hand, but she didn’t move to pull it away from him.
After a beat, she asked, “What are we doing?”
“Getting to know each other,” Chris said immediately.
“This is crazy,” she said more to herself than to him.
“The only crazy thing would be ignoring this intense connection we seem to have,” Chris said, taking a risk. “I like you Sienna. A lot. I have no idea what will happen in the future, but for now, I just want to enjoy your company and get to know more about you. What kind of music you like, what your favorite color is, and maybe more about the previous forty-some-odd years that you’ve lived.”
She chuckled, but didn’t respond.
“You feel it, right?” Chris asked, suddenly afraid that he was the only one feeling the intense connection between them.
“I feel it. But it’s scaring the hell out of me,” Sienna admitted.
“I’m a man in a hospital bed with a concussion, what’s there to be scared of?” Chris asked with a smile.
At that, she sat up straight and nodded. “You’re right.”
“Of course I am.”
Sienna rolled her eyes. “I’m going to go find a Whataburger and hope it’s open. I’ll be back.”
She stood, but Chris didn’t let go of her hand.
He stared up at her, and then nodded. Brushing his thumb across the back of her hand, he finally dropped it. “Hurry back. Drive safe. Watch out for rogue pickup trucks. I hear they can be dangerous.”
She smiled at his quip and nodded. Picking up her purse, she headed out of the room and looked back when she was at the door. Licking her lips, she said, quietly, “I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.”
Chris closed his eyes when she was gone and took a deep breath. He didn’t know what it was about Sienna, but he hadn’t looked forward to anything in a long time as much as he did her return.Sienna glanced at her watch and was surprised to see it was almost midnight. The night nurse had been in a few times to check on Chris, but was satisfied that he was doing fine. She’d told Sienna that visiting hours ended at ten, but since it was Christmas Eve, she’d look the other way if she happened to stay longer than that.
They’d eaten their hamburgers and had been talking nonstop ever since. Chris was extremely easy to talk to. She felt as if she’d known him for years, rather than less than a day.
“What time is it?” Chris asked.
“Almost midnight.”
“Will you grab my backpack for me?”
Sienna blinked at the surprising request. She was sitting on a chair next to his bed, leaning her elbows on the mattress. He’d been lying on his side and they’d formed a sort of intimate bubble over the last few hours.
Doing as he asked, Sienna stood and grabbed his backpack where it sat next to the wall. She handed it to him and watched as he rifled through it. She was curious, but kept quiet. After a moment, he pulled something out, and then leaned over to put the bag on the floor next to the bed. He reached out a hand once more, and automatically, Sienna reached for it.
He encouraged her to sit on the edge of the mattress and gazed up at her with a look so intense, it made Sienna catch her breath.
“Christmas has never been my favorite holiday. Most years I was by myself as Tony was with his mom. The years I did have him, I constantly worried about whether he was comparing the holiday at my house, to the one he usually had with his mom.” He shrugged self-consciously. “I put so much pressure on myself to make everything perfect for my son, I never really thought about the meaning of the holiday. That it was a time to be thankful for what you had and to give to others. When Tony graduated from high school, I volunteered to work most holidays, simply because it was less lonely. When I was caught in the middle of that riot, I thought I was done for. That the cops would find my beaten and broken body in that cell and that would be that.”
