Kissed By Christmas

“I try not to think about.” Miguel shrugged. “The nature of a job. There might be something worse just around the corner.”

Asa had thought about those words all the way home that day. Hallie had asked him if he was happy. He had never thought about it before. He loved his job. He was having fun in New York dating some interesting women. But was he happy? Lately he had been feeling like something was missing in his life. Maybe Miguel was right, maybe the crane collapse had just put him in a weird head space.

He went home, made himself something to eat and tried to get some rest. He should be exhausted after working back-to-back shifts, but his mind kept going back to Hallie, wondering how she was. If she’d gotten home okay. Part of him wondered if he would have put her out of his mind had he not known she was his neighbor, but a bigger part of him thought that she was just the kind of person that would stay with him.

He got up and left his apartment. It would be easy enough to check. Then he could just go back to his life.

He knocked on her door, listening for sounds inside. If she wasn’t home he could check with the hospital. Most of the time they never knew what happened to the people they transported, but Asa could find out, see if she needed help. Perhaps contact a family member for her. It was what he would have wanted someone to do for his sister.

He knocked again and this time he heard rustling from inside of the apartment. He waited for a moment and then she opened the door. She wore sweats and fuzzy pink socks on her feet. Her springy curls stood out in every direction. Her eyes widened when she saw him and a guarded look crossed her face immediately.

“What are you doing here?” It certainly wasn’t the same greeting he had gotten when he’d first approached her that day.

“I came to see if you got home okay.”

“I did. How do you know where I live? Did you follow me home? I may have hit my head, but if you think you can abuse your position and try to take advantage of me, you have another think coming.”

“Whoa.” Asa put his hands up in defense. “Why the hell would you think I would try to take advantage of you?”

“You showed up at my door. You knew I lived alone. How many women have you followed home before? I bet they let you in because you’re charming and good-looking. But it’s not happening this time. I should call and report you to your supervisor.”

Asa felt his anger rising, but he tried to tamp it down. What was she supposed to think? It must have been scary for her to see a strange man show up at her door. “I’m your neighbor. I live at the end of the hall in 4D. I sure as hell didn’t follow you home. We bumped into each other once when I was moving in. I’ve seen you at the mailboxes before.”

She paused for a moment and he could see the pain and sleepiness on her face. “Prove it to me.”

“You want to see my lease?”

“That would be nice, but just show me that you can get into your apartment.”

“Okay.” For a moment he wanted to refuse, but the last thing he needed was for the little schoolteacher calling up the FDNY and complaining that he was stalking her.

He took a step back and she came out of her apartment with a metal baseball bat.

“You always answer the door with that?”

“When I’m not expecting visitors. My mother got it for me when she heard I moved here.”

“Smart.” He had to give her that. She should bash the head in of any man who tried to mess with her. He stopped in front of his door and pushed it open to reveal his large studio apartment.

“It’s twice the size of my place!” She stepped inside, her mouth agape, and even though he was annoyed with her he had to admit that she was still mighty cute.

“Here’s some of my mail. Addressed to me here.” He thrust some envelopes at her. “And here is a picture of me with my parents when I completed my training with the FDNY.” He pointed to the framed black-and-white photo on the wall.

“Oh.” She placed his mail back on the little side table he had taken it from. “I’m sorry. You do live here. You’re the guy who had all the big, hot guys move him in. You apologized to me for the noise the day you moved in. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize you.”

“You hit your head and I keep irregular hours. It took me a little while to place you, too.”

She placed a hand on her forehead as if she were in pain. “What did I say to you today? Was it crazy? I know I was out of it, but was it as crazy as I think it was?”

“No.” He started feeling the need to tease her a bit. “It was just something about me being an angel with a perfect body.”

“Oh, no.” She groaned deeply and walked toward the door. “I’m going to crawl under my bed and die now.”

“Hey!” He grabbed her arm and turned her around. “I know you were joking, but don’t joke like that, especially after a head injury. What did the hospital say?”

“That I’m not allowed to go to work and that I need to rest for the next few days because I might have some lingering pain and dizziness. But I’ll be fine. I’m going to go in.”

“No, you’re not.” He cupped her face in his hands and looked into her large almond eyes. “Your eyes are watery. I can tell that you’re still in pain. You’re not going to work tomorrow. You’re going to follow the doctor’s orders and rest.”

“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

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.

“No sore or tender spots?” he asked as he continued his examination. “Bend over for me just a little like you’re going to touch your feet.”

She did as he asked as his hands traveled across her back. “Does anything hurt when you do that? Any particular pain or twinge?”

“I’m just sore all over. My tailbone hurts the most.”

He pulled the band of her pants just a bit and looked. “You’ve got a bit of a bruise there.” He straightened her to standing and turned her around to face him where his fingers slid to the back of the neck.

“How’s your neck?”

“Stiff,” she answered and as soon as the word came out of her mouth his touch stopped being medical. He rubbed her aching muscles with his thick, long fingers. Too sore and sleepy to think about what she was doing, she pushed herself against him while he did it.

* * *

Asa’s intentions were pure when he’d begun his examination of Hallie. She’d opened the door and her appearance had knocked him in the gut. He could tell that she was in pain, her big beautiful eyes dull, her skin tone ashen. He still found her beautiful, but more than that he had this overwhelming need to take care of her. It was something he had never felt before, like something internal that was pushing him to. And then when he was examining her lower back, his need to take care of her had changed into a different kind of need all caused by the little tattoo of a seahorse on her back.

He had been surprised to see it there and then he realized what he had been doing, running his hands all along this woman’s body. Slightly aroused by her when he knew he shouldn’t be. He turned her around to face him, knowing he should stop, that he should go home, knowing that he had done his duty. But he looked at her tired, sad face again and couldn’t step away from her. She was a stranger, but he felt like he knew her, like he was supposed to be there. It was a crazy thought, but as he went to rub her neck and she pushed her soft body against his he knew that maybe he wasn’t the only one who felt a connection.

“Don’t think I’m crazy,” she said softly as she wrapped her arms around him. “But I think I’m going to cry.”

“It’s okay.” He stroked his hand down her back. “I know you’re in pain.”

“It’s not that. You smell good and your body is so warm and I miss my family. It’s been a long time since I’ve been hugged.”

“It must have been hard to be away from your family on the holiday.”

His parents were a few hours away in New Jersey so it hadn’t been that long since he had been hugged, but he couldn’t think of the last time he’d had a beautiful woman wrapped around him. He dated, frequently. He enjoyed women, but lately it had just been dates. He hadn’t invited anyone back to his place. He hadn’t spent the night at anyone else’s. He could have, but ever since his twin had gotten married he’d felt off. Odd. Like there was something missing in his life. Virginia was so happy. The women that Asa dated didn’t make him happy. They were just someone to pass the time with.

It was strange to be having those kinds of thoughts while he was holding a woman he barely knew, but he couldn’t stop them.

“I’m fine now.” She pulled away from him and he found himself missing her warmth. He should just go back home and forget about her. His mind could be soothed now. She was a little banged up, but he was sure she would be fine.

“You should take a hot bath with Epsom salts. It will make you feel better.”

“That sounds amazing.” She moaned a little and it made him harden just a bit. “But there’s a problem.”

“What?”

“I don’t have either of those things.”

“You don’t have a bathtub?”

“Have you seen the size of this place?”

He looked around him. He really hadn’t paid attention to it before, but it was tiny. Just one long room. He could see the entirety of it from where he stood. But it was cozy. It looked like her. She had a white gauzy curtain around her bed, which was made with a fluffy white-and-black floral-printed comforter. There was a small love seat beside it and a vintage wood desk that had been painted a soft blue. Besides the old fireplace that Asa was sure was no longer functional, there was nothing else to the space. They were standing in her kitchen. He turned around to see that her bathroom only had a shower.

“I have a tub.”

“My place could fit inside of your place three times. How can you afford it? Do paramedics make that much?” She looked pained then. “That’s one of those questions I’m not supposed to ask.”

“I happened to be there when the owner of the building was hit by a livery cab. I stabilized him until the paramedics arrived on scene.”

“You saved his life,” she said softly.

“No. I did what I was supposed to do. But he was grateful and he tracked me down to thank me. When he found out where I was living he told me his son was moving out of this building and offered the apartment to me at the same price his son was paying.”

“Oh. Did you follow him home to check on him, too?”

He grinned at her. “No. But I did visit him in the hospital.”

“Are you sure you’re a real person? No one cares that much.”

“I have a family. If it were my father, I would have wanted somebody who went through medical training to be there with him until help arrived. And you made me think about my sister. I wouldn’t want her hurt and alone in a strange city.”

“I’m not sure that I could ever be that good of a person.”

“I’m sure you’re wrong.” They looked at each other for a long moment, the urge to pull her closer and wrap his arms back around her growing stronger.

“I hate you a little,” she said changing the subject. “You mentioned the word bath and now it’s all I can think of.”

“You can take one at my place. My tub is pretty big.”

Her eyes widened. “With you?”

“Alone. Unless you really want me there. I thought we made it clear that I wasn’t going to try anything. I try to stay away from women with fresh head injuries. You don’t have to take me up on my offer.”

“But I will.” She turned away from him and grabbed a robe out of her closet and some fresh pajamas. He knew that this wasn’t the typical favor that one neighbor did for another but he couldn’t take back the offer. He wasn’t ready to leave her alone just yet and knew his instincts were right when he saw how slowly she moved, like her body was stiff with pain.

A few minutes later they were in his bathroom, which by New York City standards was huge, with a deep tub and a wall with tiles that had been salvaged from old buildings. The shower was separate from the tub and was enclosed in glass.

It was a million times better than his last place and as he sat down on the side of the tub to turn on the water, he knew it would take an act of God to get him to move out of this place.

“I can definitely tell that a man lives here, but this bathroom looks like it has been designed by a woman.”

“It might have been. The guy who lived here before me moved out because his fiancée left him. He moved to LA.”

“Oh, I know that story.”

“Do you?”

“Why do you think I came to New York?” She gave him a small smile. “My fiancé called off our wedding just before I was supposed to walk down the aisle. He wasn’t sure if I was the kind of wife he wanted, or if he loved me enough to spend forever with me.”

“Stupid bastard.” He got up, brushing past her to grab the Epsom salts and lightly scented oil and bubble bath he kept under the sink.

“Why do you think he’s the stupid one? It could be me. You don’t know.”

He looked at her for a long moment. “I know.” Any man who broke up with a woman like that after he asked her to marry him was cruel.

She gave him another soft smile. There was a sweetness about her and he wanted to pull her mouth to his just to see if he could taste it.

“You look like a man who has run a lot of baths for women,” she said as he added everything to the hot water.

“I’ve been known to take a bath from time to time. I was a college football player. I took a lot of hits and last year I did a Spartan Sprint and dislocated my elbow. The hot water usually soothes it when it starts acting up”

“A Spartan Sprint? Is that one of those 5K mud runs?”

He shook his head. “My brother-in-law and I did a long-distance one. Twenty-seven obstacles. There was fire, mud and barbed wire. We would have been the fastest team if I hadn’t slipped.”

“That sounds like my worst nightmare.”

“We’re going to do another one in Miami in March.”

“Crazy. I can barely walk down the street without falling and you sign up for death runs.”

“You sound like my mother.”

They grinned at each other for a moment before he looked back at his tub that seemed inviting. He had never taken a bath with a woman. He liked his private time, but it was something he might like to try with her.

“I’ll leave you alone now. Take as long as you want in here.”

“Thank you, Asa.”

He nodded and left her.

He settled in to read, but he couldn’t concentrate on the words because his thoughts kept returning to the presumably naked woman in his bathroom.

A knock on his door saved him from trying to go back to his book. He found his mother standing there. She was looking fashionably proper, with her hair swept up elegantly and wearing a gray wool coat that would probably never go out of style. Dr. Andersen might have a PhD in advanced mathematics, but she was no absentminded academic. She could intimidate nearly anyone she came across and that was why Asa was uneasy about her unexpected appearance at his door. It had nothing to do with the woman in his bathtub.

“Mom? Hey. What are you doing here?”

She breezed past him with a smile on her face. “Do I need an excuse to see my baby boy?”

“Um. No? You just never drop by unannounced.”

“I was in the city to have lunch with a former colleague at Columbia and I thought I would stop by. I have something to tell you and I figured I should do it in person rather than over the phone.”

He sat down hard on the stool at his breakfast bar. “Are you sick?”

“No! Of course not.”

“Are you divorcing Dad?”

“Asa! Do you think I would look this happy if I were divorcing your father or sick?”

“I don’t know, Mom. You could be coming over here to tell me that you’re running away to Bora Bora with one of your students.”

“I’m not sure where you got such an imagination from. You’re starting to sound like your sister.”

“Did you tell her the news?”

“She knows. It was her idea.”

“It was Gin’s idea and you’re happy about it?” He crossed his arms across his chest. “This I’ve got to hear.”

“Your sister wants to throw a big get-together at her house on Hideaway Island with both families. It’s going to be wonderful—two weeks of holiday festivities, topped off with a huge Christmas party they are inviting the whole island to. I’m so excited. And I’m making the point of telling you that you’re going to use up that vacation time you have accrued and spend the whole time with us down there.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

“No argument? No, ‘I have plans,’ or ‘a date?’ Or something more important than following your mother’s dreams and wishes?”