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“And you’re the ringleader for all of these events?” he asked, sipping his coffee and setting the now untangled lights on the table.
“There are usually a few others interested in helping, and Dalton took over the secret Santa duties. I think he likes to try to pair up the people that don’t mesh and force them to get to know each other better.”
“I thought it was supposed to be random?”
“As random as it can be when Dalton’s in charge.” She shrugged.
“Will you be attending the gala this year?” he asked.
She stopped fiddling with her cup and looked up to find him watching her intently. “I don’t think so. Attendings take turns each year. So since I went last year, it’s Dalton or Dr. Raj’s turn.”
Drake nodded but didn’t say anything. She hooked her phone up to the portable speaker she’d brought and started her favorite holiday playlist. And for the next thirty minutes, she wondered if he was planning to attend the gala. Would he be wearing his expertly fitted tuxedo and have a gorgeous woman on his arm? Was he really back and staying for good? She wasn’t sure she could believe he would stay or how she should feel about it.
He looked like the same boy she fell in love with in high school, but all grown up and with an edge. His dark features, tall confidence, and deep voice were like magic that could cast a spell on any woman. It was a mystery no woman had managed to get a grip on him and lock him down into marriage.
Man candy with a medical degree.
When she finished with the snowflakes, she turned to find Drake had all the lights up and was starting on the faux gingerbread house archway that went around the entrance on both sides. It was over the top and totally up her alley, she thought as she surveyed the room. He was laughing as he unfolded the cardboard contraption.
“What’s so funny?” She huffed.
“I think your love for Christmas has only gotten more childlike.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” she said with a yawn.
Now it was his turn to let out a huff. “Why did you plan this job after a shift?”
“My next day off isn’t for three days, and we’re already late with getting these up. Besides, I like to handle the decorations every year, or we’ll end up with a sad Christmas wad of lights. The ER staff need to have some holiday cheer—there will be an uptick in disturbing cases the closer we get to Christmas Eve, and it will wear on everyone.”
Another yawn snuck up on her.
“Okay, go home, or you’re going to staple gun yourself, and then you’ll have to let me give you medical care.”
Tapping her list of decorations to put up, she shook her head. “But I still need to . . .”
“Good night, Margo,” he said in a commanding tone as he crossed the room and took the rest of the garland away from her just as another yawn racked her body.
“I’ll come in early and finish whatever you don’t feel like doing,” she said, but he ignored her, walking away with her list and a wave over his shoulder.
With one last stolen look of him framed by the Christmas garland he’d tossed over his shoulder, she grabbed her bag and left. Being stuck in the same room with him hadn’t been as volatile as she’d expected, but it still hurt. Being close to him while they were still worlds apart was just a reminder of everything she’d lost.
Tucking into her big winter coat, she walked out into the cold evening to head home. But her mind was back in college when she and Drake were still a couple, before everything got ruined. The last time they spent Christmas together, she’d been sick with the flu, and it was so bad she had to miss all the festive events and couldn’t travel home. But Drake had stayed with her, and while she’d slept, he’d hauled a huge, real tree into her little dorm room, strung lights, and hung ornaments that each represented something about their relationship. Everyone else had traveled home, but they’d stayed shacked up the entire break, swearing they’d always be together and spend every Christmas Day in bed.
Then, less than six months later, she’d been forced to walk away from their plans, and he hadn’t looked back. At twenty-one, she’d done what her parents said was the realistic and responsible thing, and what she’d thought was right, but now she wasn’t so sure.
*
The next morning, Margo made her way into work an hour early. She’d been so tired the night before, she couldn’t remember how much had been left to do for the decorations. But when she walked into the ER, there was red-and-silver garland on the intake desk and more framing the hallways. The gingerbread archway framed the doorway to the doctor’s lounge with a sign she’d never seen that read Santa’s workshop. Once she walked through and flipped on the lights, she gasped. It was like a winter wonderland and far more intricate than she’d planned.
Colorful lights, icicles hanging from the ceiling, red-and-green checkered tablecloths on the table with pinecones for a centerpiece. The gingerbread archways framed the doorway on both sides perfectly, and not one, but two real Christmas trees, fully decorated, sat on either side of the room. Trees that they hadn’t had in the supply closet before yesterday. There was fake snow sprayed on the large windows, and the words Merry Christmas stenciled in white.
“Damn, we wanted to surprise you,” Dalton said, walking in with Drake and what looked like bags of candy canes.
“You guys did all this?” Margo asked.
“Drake made everyone contribute. He harassed us through our entire shift, singing Christmas carols when we said we were too busy.”
Drake had a Santa hat on and looked tired but grinned like a proud peacock. Then stepped under one of the strategically hanging sprigs of fresh mistletoe.
