The Dance (62 page)

“Oh god! Is it hot?! I’m so sorry!” I yelled, reaching for the gravy.

Hart placed the boat on the counter. “Bryson, its fine. Just a little spilled.”

“Let me wet a paper towel and I’ll wipe it off.”

“It’s no big deal. I got it.”

Ignoring him, I ripped off a paper towel from the holder and ran it under warm water. I leaned forward and wiped the splattered gravy off of his sweater. The wine and his nearness had my head all fuzzy. And it didn’t help that he was nibbling my earlobe as his hands roamed their way under my green knit dress, up my thigh and to my ass. I was so glad I’d worn the dress and black patent leather boots.

I giggled. “How can you expect me to work under these conditions?”

“Focus,” he whispered, tickling my neck with his lips.

I wiped the last gravy spot off and playfully shoved him back. “Now, now. You went to all of this trouble to make a wonderful dinner and set a gorgeous table. We can’t let it go to waste.”

His head fell back as a low groan escaped him.

As I tossed the paper towel in the trash, I glanced down and discovered the main ingredient in Hart’s dinner. Picking up the familiar container by my fingertips, I turned toward him and cleared my throat. When he saw what I was holding his brows rose and he shot me a pair of blue-gray innocents.

“Seriously, Hart? You had the dinner catered by the same company I work for?”

He flashed his megawatt smile. “Only the best for you, Lovely. It was Nancy’s idea . . .”

Hart met Nancy when he picked me up one day for lunch and they hit it off immediately. Both knew a lot of the same people in town and Hart had been to many events catered by Good Eats. I never defined my relationship with Hart to Nancy. But by her knowing looks it was obvious she could tell we were more than just friends.

Hart continued. “ . . . She told me to stick everything in the oven for a half hour to keep it warm and make the place smell good. I was gonna come clean but she said chicks love guys who can cook.”

Standing next to him, I laced my fingers through his hair. “I already love you despite the fact that you are a horrible cook.”

He grasped my hips and looked up. “I wanted to impress you.”

“You do all the time.”

Bringing my lips to his, my plan was to give him a soft sweet kiss and get back to our dinner. It didn’t take long for the sweet kiss to turn hot. I guess that’s what happens when you don’t see the love of your life for eight days straight. Although, Hart and I could spend 24/7 together and I’d still want to devour him every chance I got. His firm tongue pushed its way into my mouth without apology as he squeezed my ass. God, I loved it when he acted like he couldn’t get enough of me.

Hart tore his lips from mine and nuzzled into my chest, giving my nipple a quick bite through the material. I braced my wobbly knees against the side of his chair as my palms roamed over his biceps and shoulders.

Resting my cheek on the top of his head, my eyes closed and I got lost in the feel of him. “God, I’ve missed your lips.”

“They’ve missed you,” he mumbled against my body.

The bottom of my dress slid up my leg just as a kitchen timer blared, jolting me and Hart from the moment.

Clearing his throat, Hart said, “Dinner. We have dinner.”

I stepped back, smoothing my dress down. “Yeah, dinner.”

After we cooled down a bit, Hart and I worked perfectly together to get the food on the table. As I sat across from him, I couldn’t believe how blessed I was to have been given a second chance at a life with him. And I would never take Hart or our time together for granted.

Taking my hand in his, Hart placed a kiss in the middle of my palm. “You are hands down the best gift I ever got.”

My entire body flushed with heat. Gazing over at Hart, I felt the water rising in my eyes.

Giving my hand a squeeze, he said, “There’s no crying at Christmas.”

I tried to cover up my sniffling with a small laugh. “I just get overwhelmed with how much I love you sometimes.”

“I know the feeling.” He paused right before a sexy gin appeared. “You have no idea what you were up against. You just edged out the electric blue BMX bike I got on my tenth birthday.”

“Wow, thanks. Well, my pale yellow Easy Bake Oven doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

“Merry Christmas, Bryson.”

“Merry Christmas, Hart.”

“Let’s eat!” He announced.

Nancy was a true artist. Each bite of roast melted in my mouth. Pairing it with the Barbarsco made me want to cry tears of joy.

Hart lifted his glass, letting it hover in front of his mouth. “Did you see Will today?”

I stopped eating but kept my gaze down, not wanting him to see the guilt in my eyes. “No. Work was crazy and I needed to go home and get ready to come here. I texted him and he said he was feeling better. He might get to come home next week.”

A funny feeling spread across my chest. Other than having a baby, there was no good time to be in the hospital. But there was something especially lonely about being in one during the holidays. People should be with those they love, not cooped up staring at sterile white walls.

A spurt of air hit my face snapping me out of my head. Hart finished blowing out the other candle.

“What are you doing?”

With his plate on his lap, he rolled away from the table. “Packing up the food.”

My stomach twisted. The last thing I wanted to do was to ruin this night for us. We deserved time together.

I pushed away from the table and followed him into the kitchen. “Why? We’re not done eating.”

“We’ll finish at the hospital.” He tilted his chin toward the cabinet. “Paper plates are in there.”

“Hart . . .”

He stopped what he was doing. “Bryson, no one should be alone on Christmas Eve.”

I leaned over, took his face between my hands, and kissed him hard. His hands came up and buried deep in my hair.

“You’re a good, good man, Hart Mitchell,” I whispered against his lips.

“Was there ever any doubt?” He grinned.

“Not in my heart and soul.”

Hart and I packed up the food and corked the wine, putting all of it in the rolling cooler along with paper plates, napkins, and silverware. I lifted the caramel cake, which was also from Nancy, and placed it in one of my grocery totes I’d left here. As I pulled on my coat, a thought occurred to me that could derail our spreading of joy and good food.

“What if the night nurse won’t let us bring the cooler in? They can be pretty strict.”

As Hart tugged his black knit cap down over his blond hair I chuckled to myself. In all black he looked like a sexy spy or a burglar.

“We’ll be fine. The ladies know me.” He winked.

“I bet they do. But as charming and sexy as you are, I don’t think it will work in this situation. The night nurse on duty this week has been a guy.”

“What’s his name?”

“Chad.”

Flashing me a lopsided grin, Hart said, “We’ll be fine.”

Since it was the holidays the hospital was quieter than normal with only a skeleton staff. Once the nurse’s station was in sight Hart told me to hold back with the cooler while he took the tote. I found the perfect spot by the fake Christmas tree in the corner, allowing me to be close enough to hear the conversation without being noticed. Sweet as you please, Hart rolled right up to the desk with tote in lap.

“Merry Christmas, buddy.” Hart smiled.

Dark-haired, portly Nurse Chad’s seafoam green eyes lit up like twinkling stars.

Chad shifted his gaze from side to side, making sure no one was within earshot. “Well, look who the cat dragged in, Hottie McGee.”

“How’s it going, Chad?”

“Much better now,” he said flirtatiously.

The Hart effect was in full swing.

“I’m here to see my friend Will Forsyth. Wanted to bring him some holiday cheer.”

It might have been my imagination but it sounded like Hart choked a little on Will’s name. The fact that Hart was doing this made me love him even more, which I didn’t think was possible.

Craning his neck, Chad peered over the desk. “Whatcha packing?”

“A few snacks.”

Fiddling with the top button of his shirt, Chad said, “Hmm . . . now Hart, you know the hospital frowns upon outside food or drink being brought in. Especially on this floor. There are some very sick people up here.”

Hart lifted the cake out of the bag and placed it on the desk right under Chad’s nose. “I’d sure like to share some of the holiday with you too, Chad.”

Chad’s cheeks glowed redder than Rudolph’s nose. His gaze swung between the cake and Hart. Honestly, I couldn’t tell which he wanted more.

“It is the holidays. And since the patient is doing better, I see no harm.”

Hart reached for the cake. “You’re the best, dude.”

Gripping the other side of the cake plate, Chad said, “You can leave this here.”

“No problem.”

Hart tossed Chad a lazy grin as he rolled back away from the desk. Tilting his head to the side, he gave me the signal to join him. As I scooted past the nurse’s station, a glaring pair of seafoam green eyes followed me.

“Hart, don’t forget to come see me later for a little something sweet.” Chad scrunched up his face in my direction.

Free and clear, Hart and I headed down the hall toward Will’s room.

“That guy’s a piece of work. He actually gave me the stink eye.”

“You’re adorable when you’re jealous, Bryson. You have nothing to worry about. Chad’s too much man for me.”

“Ha-ha.”

Once standing outside Will’s room, I looked over at Hart. “You sure you want to do this? You don’t have to.”

“Yes I do. It’s important to you so it’s important to me. The fact that I think he’s a fucking bastard is beside the point.”

I kissed his lips before giving the door a light knock.

Will’s muffled cough filtered through the cracked door. “Come in.”

Poking my head in, I smiled and said, “Merry Christmas.”

At first I couldn’t tell if Will was shocked or confused. My guess was a little of both.

Will’s voice had gotten a little stronger but was very hoarse and scratchy. “H-ey. What are you doing here?”

I pushed open the door revealing my cohort. “We’re here to celebrate Christmas with you.”

Will’s gaze shifted to Hart, causing his expression to go slack.

“Merry Christmas, motherfucker,” Hart said sarcastically.

The tension in the air was stifling as the two men locked in a staring contest. Time stood still and I stayed put, waiting to see if Hart and I were even staying. After a few moments, the edges of Will’s mouth twitched until a full-blown laugh erupted. Blowing out a deep breath, my body felt weightless. It had been such a long time since I shared anything positive with Will.

With the tension lifted, Hart and I slipped into the room and set up the feast.

Pressing the button on the side of the bed, Will sat up and watched in astonishment. “What is all this?”

“Christmas Eve dinner,” I explained, clearing off the hospital table to make room.

Like a well-oiled machine, Hart unpacked the cooler, handing off each item to me. I dished out the food while Hart poured a small amount of wine into the plastic hospital cups.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Will said with a slight shake in his voice.

I divvied out the silverware. “You can thank Hart. If it wasn’t for him you wouldn’t be about to sink your teeth into this deliciousness.”

Will’s head jerked in Hart’s direction. “Really? How’s that?”

“The dude at the desk has a hard-on for me.” Hart blurted out.

More laughter filled the room. I won’t ever stop being amazed by Hart. The way he was handling this situation was beyond anything I could have expected. Just the fact that he offered to come and spend time with my ex spoke volumes about the type of character he possessed and the depth of his love for me.

Raising his plastic cup, gazing at me, Hart toasted. “To love, life, and happiness.”

Warmth started in my cheeks and spread the entire length of my body as I took a sip of wine.

“I’d like to add to that toast if you don’t mind,” Will said.

With my gaze on Hart, I searched for any signs that indicated he thought Will was stealing his thunder. Catching the subtle glint in his eyes, I knew he was fine. “Sure.”

All three of us raised our cups once more.

Grateful dark brown eyes looked directly at me and Hart. “To friendship, generosity, and kindness.”

“Cheers!” We said in union.

The dinner conversation was fairly benign—holiday memories, football, and basketball took up most of the talk. It was as if we’d all taken a silent vow not to delve into any explosive subjects. After the food was gone we were all too full to bother with dessert or dealing with Chad. The guys watched ESPN while I cleaned up. They made random comments here and there but for the most part were quiet.