The living room grandfather clock chimed seven times. Her heart beat fast and her stomach fluttered. She skirted from her bedroom without tripping in her heels, and sat on the sofa, poised with legs crossed, awaiting Noel’s arrival.
Holly glanced at her watch. Seven-ten. No Noel yet. She shifted on the sofa. When the clock played its quarter past the hour tune, there was a knock on the door. She leapt from the couch, and started to run toward the door, but slowed to a brisk walk, not wanting to appear too desperate. With one hand on her coat dangling from the coat rack and the other on the doorknob, she smiled and opened the front door. She had to look down to find him. Ten year-old Sam stood on her stoop holding out a drugstore plastic bag.
“This is for you, Dr. Green. Merry Christmas.”
“Oh, Sam!” Although disappointed Noel wasn’t on the other side of her door, Sam’s toothy grin pulled a smile onto her lips.
“Go head, open it,” Sam said, a blush gracing his cherub cheeked face.
Holly pulled the edges of the bag apart and peeked inside. A Christmas card without an envelope sat on top of a box of cherry cordials.
“Did you spend the money you earned on this gift?”
Still smiling, Sam shrugged.
“Thank you, Sam. That’s so thoughtful of you. Come in. I don’t want you to have spent your hard earned money on me. These are actually my favorite chocolates. But let me give you some spending money for yourself.”
He shook his head. “Not necessary. I’m glad you like the candy. I picked out the card all by myself.”
“It’s lovely!”
“I gotta go, Dr. Green. I’m late for supper. You should really get a Christmas tree. Then you could put those chocolates under it. But just because you don’t have a tree, doesn’t mean you can eat them before Christmas.”
She winked at him. “I promise I’ll wait until Christmas! Goodnight, Sam.”
Holly stepped out on her stoop and watched Sam cross the street and go back inside his house. She looked down her street both ways. No cars. No Noel. Sam wasn’t the only one late for dinner.
Seven thirty came and went.
Holly slumped into the sofa and grasped a throw pillow by its edges, flipping it in circles, and when the clock struck eight, she tossed it aside, stood, turned off the living room light, and retreated to her bedroom. Unzipping her dress, she let it slide down her legs, and then hung it back into her closet. She slid off her hose and removed her fancy lingerie, trading them for cotton panties and pajamas. Holly sniffled while brushing her teeth. She took a deep breath. Noel Shepherd wasn’t going to make her cry. He was probably clinking his beer mug with Ashley and the Granite State Medical crew at Callahan’s right this minute. She trudged into her bedroom, set her alarm clock to 5:30 a.m., and dodged under her bedcovers. It was just after 8:00 p.m. Ordinarily she stayed up until 11, but there was no point in prolonging the evening.
Headlights filled her bedroom. Holly squinted. A car had pulled into her drive. She heard its door shut. Footsteps led up to her stoop. Three knocks thudded on her front door, and after a pause, the doorbell rang.
“Holly. It’s Noel. Are you all right?”
She pulled the sheet over her head and didn’t answer back.
Chapter Seven
Holly gritted her teeth. Noel’s persistent knocking on her front door echoed in her head. She whipped back the covers and crammed her feet into her bunny slippers. Grabbing her robe, she punched her arms through the sleeves and yanked the belt around her waist, knotting it with haste. She stomped into the living room and turned on the light. Holly jammed her heels into the hardwood floor with every furious step. The man was over an hour late. He didn’t even bother to call. Coward! I bet he didn’t want me to hear the bar crowd’s cheers in the background. She clenched her fingers around the doorknob, yanked open the front door, and glared at him. Noel’s eyes widened. He leaned back.
She shot her hands to her hips. “What do you want Noel?”
He paused and then softly said, “Perhaps I have the wrong house. Does Dr. Holly Green live here?”
She twisted her lips. “You’re looking at her.”
“Well, although she looks quite sporting in those pajamas,” he gazed downward, “and in those furry rabbit slippers, she might be a tad underdressed for Chez Jacques, not to mention that those bunnys may bolt when they see the chef’s version of lapin.”
“I waited for you for an hour, dressed and ready to go. You now show up at my door like there’s nothing wrong. And you want to know if I’m all right. No Noel! I’m not.” Holly pressed her hand on the doorframe and pushed on the door, distancing herself from him.
“Wait,” Noel yelled. “I texted you a least a dozen times telling you I had the reservation changed to 8:30 because my patient, the young guy with Crohn’s disease that you assisted me with in the O.R., had a complication. I had to transfer him to the ICU. That’s why I’m late.”
Holly’s lower lip dropped. “You didn’t go to Callahan’s Bar?”
He shook his head. “No. Why would I?”
She opened the door and motioned for him to come inside. Her palms moistened. “I overheard the nurses inviting you to happy hour, and then I saw Ashley giving you a note. I’m so sorry, Noel. How’s your patient?”
“He’s stable. And he’s Ashley’s brother. The note she slipped me was about her concerns. This was going to be my happy hour, hopefully our happy hour, but I’m not so sure now.”
The lump in her throat gripped her hard. She’d done exactly what she’d been trained not to do, formulate a wrong conclusion without the facts. Facts she didn’t get because she was too distracted preparing for a fabulous night, leaving her cell phone in the bottom of her tote, Noel’s messages not received.
Holly swallowed. “I hadn’t checked my cell. I never saw your texts. I’m so sorry.”
“Apology accepted.” He cocked his head and grinned. “Do you still want to go out?”
She blinked, caught off guard at his offer, especially since she acted so foolishly, almost shutting the door in his face. “Sure. Have a seat in the living room. I’ll be ready in ten minutes.”
Holly walked casually to the bedroom and eased the door shut. Then the private frenzy began. She kicked off her bunny slippers, whipped out of her pajamas and granny panties, strapped on her black bra, slipped into the matching panties, and jammed her legs into the hose. Yanking her closet door open, she grabbed her dress and wiggled back inside it, dancing around the bedroom while zipping it closed. “Shoes. Where my shoes?” Kneeling, she gritted her teeth as she searched under her bed. “Ah, there they are.” She slid the black pumps on, tottered out from the bedroom and into the bathroom. In her disgust with Noel’s absence, she hadn’t washed off her make-up. A few pats of powder and fresh coating of mascara would suffice. She reapplied the lip-gloss and ran a brush through her hair. Holly glanced at her watch. Ha! Eight minutes! She had two minutes left to catch her breath and to walk into that living room with grace. She took a deep breath and headed down the hallway and into the living room.
Noel rocked out of the couch, his eyes wide and his eyebrows arched almost to the top of his forehead. “Wow!”
Holly twirled just for the effect. “I’m ready.”
They walked to the coat rack. Noel lifted Holly’s coat from the brass hook and held it up for her. Her back to Noel and about to slide her arms into the sleeves, she paused.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “I’ll be right back.
Noel stood clutching the shoulders of her coat. Holly ran into the bedroom and retrieved his scarf from her dresser. Returning with it, she took her coat from Noel and hung it back onto the rack.
Noel narrowed his gaze and furrowed his forehead. “Did you change your mind?”
Holly smiled and shook her head. “Nope.”
She circled his Burberry plaid scarf over his head and wrapped it around his neck. Her fingers brushed his warm skin. Holly knotted it and patted it against his
chest, another innocent chance to touch him. His breath heated her. Noel leaned into Holly and lowered his head. He tilted left. She tilted right. His lips pressed onto hers. Without a second of hesitation, she rested her hands on his shoulders. His hands slid to the small of her back. Noel’s heartbeat pulsed against Holly’s chest, his rhythm mingling with hers. Her stomach flipped and her knees weakened. She hadn’t realized how much she craved to be held until Noel slipped into her life.
Their lips parted and they eased away from each other.
Noel grinned. “I’ll have to think of something else to leave behind.”
Holly tapped Noel’s nose. “Here’s to forgetfulness.” She lifted her eyebrows. “I’ll take my coat now. We don’t want to be late for dinner.”
Noel reached for Holly’s coat and helped her into it. “I kept you waiting long enough.”
The boys had cleared the snowy drive down to the asphalt. Thankfully Holly could walk to Noel’s car in her black pumps without having to change into boots. She crunched across the scattered rock salt, the dig of her heels staccato while Noel, in his size eleven loafers, crackled out bass beats behind her. He quickened his pace ahead of her and opened the passenger side door. Holly scooted into the car’s seat, letting him shut the door once she was tucked in. This wasn’t so bad, she thought. Relinquishing control didn’t exist in her repertoire, but she could bend a bit tonight.
When they arrived at Chez Jacques, Holly, used to being in complete control, darted out of the passenger side, shut her door, and stood by the side of the car.
Noel got out of the car and closed his door. Clicking the remote on his key ring, he locked the vehicle. He paused and glanced at her with a huge grin on his face. “Hungry, aren’t you?”
Holly met him at the back of the car and held out her hand. “Starved!”
He held her hand all the way to the restaurant’s entrance, his grip inviting. Noel halted before the door.
“What are you waiting for?” she asked.
He looked at her squarely. “You are a challenge, Dr. Green.”
She smiled. “Yes. And don’t you forget it, Dr. Shepherd.”
Noel winked. “Oh, I won’t.”
He opened the restaurant’s door and escorted her inside, his hand resting on the small of her back. She was starting to like it there.
A woman, squeezed into a black sequined dress, who Holly gauged couldn’t have seen her twenty-third birthday, greeted them. “Welcome to Chez Jacques,” she said in a soft, lilting voice while tossing a strand of her elbow length ebony hair over her bare shoulder.
Holly shot her eyes to Noel and then to their “hostess with the most-est” and then back to him. If he was peeking at her cleavage, he kept it under cover well.
“Good evening,” he said. “I’m Dr. Noel Shepherd and this is Dr. Holly Green. We have dinner reservations for 8:30.”
The vampy hostess smiled at Noel, but glanced askew at Holly. Holly’s lips pressed into a tight smile. Noel was a sexy man and a surgeon, the ultimate draw for a lot of women, nurses and hostesses aside. If their relationship were to flourish she’d have to muster her own self-confidence. After picking up dinner menus, the hostess cat walked in front of Noel as she led them to their candlelit corner table. Aha! Holly caught him glimpsing Miss Fake Parisian’s’ derriere. Their sultry hostess leaned towards Noel as she handed him his menu and then she slowly but intentionally scooted Holly’s across the table and under her nose.
“The waiter will be with you shortly.” She tilted her head at Noel “Enjoy. And si’l vous plait, let me know if I can do anymore for you.”
Do anymore? The French would choke on their escargot. “Thank-you,” Holly said, but the young woman had already turned away, not acknowledging her. “Tart,” Holly muttered.
Noel peeked over his menu. “What did you say?”
“I said that I’ll have the tart for dessert.”
He looked down at his menu. “Yes, that does sound delicious.”
Unsure if he had picked up on that slip, Holly hid behind her menu.
He grasped the top edge and lowered it, revealing her face. He tracked his eyes from her eyes to her cleavage, and then back to her face. “You look beautiful this evening.”
Was this damage control or was he sincere? She gazed into his unwavering brown eyes. Holly smiled. Sincere, definitely sincere.
Neither on call that night, Noel ordered a bottle of Beaujolais.
Noel raised his glass of wine. Holly followed suit.
“Here’s to a night that nearly didn’t happen,” he said.
They clinked their glasses and sipped their wine, gazing at one another over their crystal brims.
“I apologize for accusing you of ditching me for the gang at Callahan’s.”
Noel shook his head. “Ah, wine under the bridge. I hadn’t considered Callahan’s, but maybe you and I could go there some time after check out rounds.”
Holly paused. She had never hung out with the hospital crowd, always rushing home instead. Although she wouldn’t really be comfortable there, Holly recognized that Noel was new in town and that he needed to network.
“Maybe,” she said. It was the best answer she could give him at the moment.
“Maybe yes, or maybe no?”
“Maybe, Maybe.”
“Good enough. I’ll stop haranguing you.”
Holly feasted on her Duck Confit while Noel cut into his Coq au Vin. They ate in silence for a few minutes, their forks and knives chiming against their china. Holly caught him glancing down at the pager attached to his belt.
“Do we need to go? Is there a problem with your patient?” Holly asked between bites.
“No. I’m just paranoid. When I left him in ICU, he was already turning the corner. Even Ashley was relieved. She said she’d stay with him until 10 or so, and would call me with any concerns. And the ICU nurses are top notch. They’ll page me if there’s a problem.”
“They are the best. I know how it is. I replay surgeries in my mind all the time. Was everything hemostatic before I closed? Did I dissect all the anatomy clearly? On and on. I think that makes us prudent and caring surgeons.”
“I do too. Mrs. Shale has certainly taken an extra liking to you.”
“And I to her. She’s alone. Her husband, Martin, had died earlier this year. This is her first Christmas without him.” She glanced down at her plate. “I know how it is.” Her eyes began to burn. Holly blinked the pain away. She had to stay in control.
Noel’s eyes softened.
He knows what I’m feeling.
Holly swallowed back the lump threatening to rise to her throat. She quickly continued the conversation about Mrs. Shale. “I looked her up in the computer under demographics. She didn’t have any family listed. I don’t think she and Martin had any children.” Holly took another bite of her dinner. She looked into Noel’s eyes that had not once wandered over to their hostess. “I plan to discharge her from the hospital tomorrow. I don’t want to send her home alone, even if a visiting nurse could check on her. I want her to stay with me for a while, especially during the holidays. I have a big house with plenty of bedrooms. She’d have her own bath. I’d cook for her. Bring her meals. Noel, am I crazy to get so personally involved with my patient?”
Holly took a deep breath after her litany.
Noel took her hand. “No. You’re not crazy. It’s doable. I think it will be good for her, and for you.”
“Great. I’ll ask her tomorrow.”
They finished their dinner and their wine. Warmth percolated through her body. She even indulged in dessert with her coffee. In keeping with the slip of her tongue, Holly ordered the lemon tart while Noel dug into his profiteroles au chocolat. It was the perfect night.
The waiter brought the check. Noel signed the credit card bill with a gleam in his eyes, a hefty price for sure, but his male ego let the ink flow without hesitation. Eh! She’d bump him from an O.R. after the holidays. Holly rested her chin in her pal
m. He’d probably not even mind, she mused.
Holly stood as Noel pulled her chair from the table. She was proud she hadn’t teetered once on her high heels the whole night. That practice session in the privacy of her bedroom had paid off. Their hostess smiled through her red lipstick at Noel, but curtly nodded at Holly.
“Au revoir,” she cooed to him. “Please come again.”
“Merci,” Holly replied before Noel could speak. “Bon nuit.”
The young woman blinked as if she was turning Holly’s three words about in her head searching in her cerebral cortex for the area containing the French to English Dictionary. Holly’s chest swelled and her pink lip glossed lips curved upward as she waved to the bewildered hostess before heading to the coat check, Noel in tow.
“Thank you, for a lovely evening, Noel,” she said while slipping her coat on.
Noel donned his coat. “Oh, it’s not over yet.”
Her heart picked up pace. “Noel, I need to take this a little slower. Let’s not rush things.”
Noel grinned. “No. That’s not what I meant…yet.”
Holly took his hand. “Oh, okay.” Happy shivers spread through her at the very thought of a “yet”!
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and escorted her to his car. The winter night was clear with stars dotting the sheet black sky. It felt so good to let go and lean against him. They strode under the canopy of their breaths. His hand pressed into her upper arm as if he were saying, “It’s all right. I’ve got you.” She could smell the leather of his gloves. Holly wiggled her fingers inside of hers. She paused and let him open the car door for her. And as Holly sat and buckled her seatbelt, Noel leaned inside and kissed her. Before she could respond, he darted around the vehicle and jumped into the driver’s side.
Noel tapped the steering wheel. “Okay. Let’s roll!”
Holly sat there, her mouth open and her eyes wide. The man was one big surprise after another.
She gazed out the window. This was not the direct way to her house. She knew where she was, but Noel was taking the long way to get there, driving along meandering side streets. The wheels crunched over rock salt. The popping sound faded as Noel pulled the vehicle to a stop. Holly exhaled and her stomach dropped. Noel had brought her to a Christmas tree lot. He unsnapped his seatbelt and bolted from the car. He trotted over to Holly’s side while humming, “Oh Tannenbaum.”