Kissed By Christmas

“How exactly are you going to stop me?” She looked up at him defiantly.

“I liked you a lot better when you were dazed from a blow to the head.”

“Listen, I just spent the last five days alone in my apartment due to this stupid freak snowstorm we had. The last thing I want is to spend another week alone in my apartment. Those kids are the only reason I’m still living here. I don’t want to miss a week of work.”

She was dedicated to her students, and maybe she was lonely being all alone in this big city, but he couldn’t allow her to risk her health.

“I’ll come by tomorrow.” He hadn’t meant to say it, but it slipped out and he couldn’t take it back. He felt the need to look after her. Like there was a reason that he and Miguel, out of all the EMTs and paramedics, had responded to the call when they were technically off duty. “Just to check on you, and just in case you get any ideas it’s not to stalk you or take advantage of you, or any other twisted thing you thought up.”

She nodded and it was then he realized he still had her face in his hands. Her face was so small in his hands and her skin was so smooth. He resisted the urge to run his thumbs across her cheeks. He removed his hands from her face and stepped away from her.

“Get some rest, Hallie.”

“I will. Good night, Asa.”

She left then and Asa was sure that he was going to be seeing a lot more of his neighbor.

Chapter 3 (#ub316e48e-492c-5b3d-8ad7-79b4e262689f)

Hallie could barely move the next morning. She had really thought about defying Asa and going to work anyway, sure she would be feeling a hundred percent better when she woke up, but that wasn’t the case. She felt like she had been hit by a large truck that had backed up and run over her again. The noise from the television hurt her ears. Looking at a computer screen caused a sharp pain to go right through her head, so she just lay in bed and reached for her cell phone.

Her cousin was on speed dial. She missed her family painfully, but it was her cousin whom she had the hardest time being away from. Derek was the mayor of their small town of Hideaway Island. He had encouraged her to move on after her breakup with Brent. He had given her the courage to step away from everything she had known and live a life that was simply just for her and no one else. But while she was living just for herself, she found herself missing the slow-paced life of her island home and the people that made living there so wonderful.

Her head throbbed steadily as she placed the phone to her ear, and she wanted to curse her cousin. If it weren’t for his unfailing support, she would have never slipped on the ice in the first place.

“My favorite cousin!” his deep voice boomed through the phone.

“Bite me,” she replied.

“Whoa. I’m pretty sure your mother taught you that you aren’t supposed to greet people like that.”

“I have a concussion. Spent all day in the hospital after I slipped on the ice heading to work and hit my head in front of a bunch of teenagers, and it’s all your fault. You big dumb jerk.”

“Did I cause you to fall?” he asked seriously. “I don’t remember flying to New York and giving you a shove. But if I did, I apologize.”

“You made me move to a terribly cold place.”

“I didn’t. I encouraged you to get off the island and be away from that pretentious jackass who you were giving up your dreams for. You took the job in New York because it was a great opportunity. I happen to like New York. It’s a great city. I would live there if my heart wasn’t so connected to this place.”

“I miss home.” She sighed. “I miss you, too.”

“You must have really hurt your head if you are admitting to missing me. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said, but could hear the weariness in her own voice.

“I’m serious. Are you really okay? I can catch a flight out of Miami this afternoon and be there tonight.”

“No.” He was protective of her. The big brother she needed. “You don’t have to. I was just calling to ask you to look for flights for me. I have a long winter break this year and really need to be home for Christmas. I would look myself but I’m not supposed to be on the computer.”

“Does your mother know that you got hurt?” The worry in his voice was clear.

“Of course not. She would have heart failure if she did.”

“She worried all Thanksgiving about you. She was sure you were going to starve that day because nothing would be open for the holiday.”

“That’s one thing I love about New York. There’s always something open.” She suddenly got extremely tired, almost letting the phone slip out of her hand.

“Hallie? Hallie!”

“I’m here. I just zoned out for a moment,” she said as she heard the knock on her door. She already suspected she knew who was standing on the other side of the door.

“I really think I should come up there. You don’t sound like yourself.”

“I’m fine. My neighbor is here to check on me. He went to med school.”

“But you didn’t say he’s a doctor.”

“He’s not.” She eased herself out of bed, feeling every one of her muscles protest. “He’s a paramedic. I’ve got to go, Derek. He’ll probably break down the door if I don’t open.”

“Who is this guy? I’ve never heard you mention him before.”

“That’s because I didn’t know him before. Please let me know about the flights.”

She disconnected before he had the chance to question her any more. The phone call seemed to zap the tiny bit of energy she did have out of her.

The knocking on her door had turned to full banging by the time she got there. Asa stood there, his beautiful face twisted with concern. It wasn’t fair that he got to walk around looking like that. He wasn’t dressed for work today. She had expected he would be and on the way to a shift but he was in jeans and a T-shirt. Looking just as good in that as he did in his dark blue uniform.

“You look like hell.” He stepped inside, took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. Normally she would slap any man who touched her face like that after knowing her for twenty-four hours but she didn’t mind Asa’s hands on her skin. Big, warm hands that were a combination of rough and smooth and felt soothing when nothing else did.

“Gee, thanks.”

“You’re in pain.”

She attempted to nod, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Yes.”

“Just your head?”

“No. All over.”

“A side effect from slipping on ice. You probably have some minor soft tissue damage.”

He took a penlight out of his pocket and shined it in her eyes, which caused her to wince.

“Pupils look fine, but you have some light sensitivity. Sound, too?”

“Yes.”

“Turn around,” he murmured. He slipped his hand beneath her shirt and ran his fingers along her spine. It was in a medical way, not an ounce of seduction there, but Hallie had to admit that she liked the sensation of his hands on her bare skin. It had been a very long time since a man had touched her at all. Even when she was with Brent, their lovemaking had been very scheduled, very ordinary, pleasant but almost mechanical. Hallie was feeling different with Asa than she did with Brent and all he was doing was checking to see if she was injured. She wanted to chalk it up to being celibate for so long, and figured that she might react this way with any good-looking man but she knew it had more to do with Asa being Asa.