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And he should be, too. But he doesn’t look one bit like it.
“I bet you’re hungry, too,” Rainier says.
I shake my head. “You’re not going to trick me into having another dinner at a fancy restaurant with you.”
“Trick you?” He looks offended. “Actually, I was going to ask you to come to my place. I’ve got a chef.”
“I’m sure you do, but I’ve got a bed waiting for me.”
I walk through the doors. After a few steps, I stop and look up at the sky. A feather-light speck of white smears the lens of my glasses. Another lands on the tip of my nose.
I take off my glasses. “It’s… snowing?”
I can’t believe it. It’s finally snowing.
“Yeah, it’s about time,” Rainier says as he steps beside me. He glances at his watch. “Actually, they’re late. I told them to make it snow last week but they only started doing it now.”
“Ha.”
I wipe my glasses and put them back on.
“Still don’t want to go to my place?” he asks me.
My eyebrows crease. “What does that have to do with the snow?”
“I’ve got a fireplace,” he says.
That gets my attention.
“Three, in fact. There’s nothing like sleeping in front of the fire on a snowy night or waking up to a fire and having coffee in front of it.” He glances at my cup. “Real coffee. Or cocoa. I bet Phil can make a good cup.”
I say nothing because I’m considering his offer. A fireplace? Tempting.
“Plus my apartment has amazing views of the city,” Rainier adds. “And those views will look even more magical with all the snow.”
Snow-covered Chicago. It must look spectacular.
“Oh, and did I mention that I’ve got this collection of enchanting Christmas snow globes?”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You do not. You don’t like Christmas.”
“Fine,” Rainier says. “It’s not my collection. It was my mother’s. She loved Christmas. But they are enchanting, which is why the maids brought them out and put them on display. They’re all over the apartment now.”
I let out a deep breath. A fireplace? Views of snow-covered Chicago? And now, snow globes?
“Fine,” I give in. “I lose.”
Rainier grins. “And I accept your admission of defeat.”
I lift a finger. “But I’ll only go on one condition.”
“What?”
“You have to let me sleep.”
I was expecting Rainier to protest or at least look disappointed, but to my surprise, he gives a quick nod.
“Yeah, sure.”
He glances towards the black BMW that stops in front of the hospital.
“Shall we?”
Chapter 8 ~ Hot and Cold
Rainier
I watch Ellis as she sleeps on the bed in one of my guest rooms. She’s lying on her side, her golden hair spread out on the pillow made amber by the glow of the fire. The plump feather duvet is pulled up to her chin, making it impossible for me to sneak a peek at anything.
Well, it is cold, I think as I gaze past the window, especially now that it’s started to snow.
I walk towards the window.
It’s falling even harder now. No doubt the whole city will be white by morning.
I look back at Ellis. I thought she’d be sitting here by the window, watching the cascade of snowflakes with a look of awe on her face. Yet, there she is on the bed, sleeping soundly. I guess she really is tired.
She has reason to be. Today was a hectic day because of that explosion. I actually thought she’d break down at some point or that she’d give up. I was afraid that she would run away from the OR because the memory of losing a patient was still fresh. But she didn’t. She stayed calm. She helped as many people as she could. She finished a surgery for me. She even sang for the families of the victims and helped prevent a riot, or so I was told.
The best part? She didn’t do any of that because she was trying to impress anyone or she wanted people to think of her as a hero. She wasn’t trying to prove anything even though she had something to prove. She was just genuinely helping. She even called back her fellow interns so they could help, too, even though without them, she could have had the chance to do more.
Ellis truly is a great doctor and an amazing woman. And she’s mine.
I’m going to make her mine.
I want to slip beneath that duvet and get started on it right now, but I promised I’d let her sleep and I will.
I draw a deep breath and try to will the heat in my crotch away.
For now, I’ll let her sleep. This way, in the morning, she’ll have all of her strength.
She’ll need it.
~
“I need to add snow globes to my Christmas decorations,” Ellis tells me as she cradles the one above the mantel. “Your mom had the right idea. They really make everything more… Christmassy.”
