Jamie Pope - Kissed By Christmas

“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?”

“I was planning to see Virginia at Christmas anyway. You could have told me this over the phone. What else is going on?”

“Your father and I are retiring to Florida. I put in my paperwork yesterday and we’ve officially put the house on the market. We are going to be looking at homes on Hideaway Island while we’re there.”

“Oh.” He wasn’t expecting her to say that. He had always pictured his parents living in their Cape Cod–style home, but it made sense for them to move. His father had hurt his back shoveling the heavy snow more than once. And he had been retired from the military for years now. None of their children were home. There was no reason for them to stay. They should go but he felt odd about it. “Congratulations, Mom. The school will miss you.”

“Is there something wrong, sweetheart?” She touched his cheek and in that same moment he heard his bathroom door open. Out stepped Hallie in a short blush-colored robe. Her curly hair was damp, but he could see her perfect ringlets forming. Her eyes went wide when she saw his mother there, and he found Hallie to be incredibly beautiful.

“Well, who do we have here?” his mother asked.

“Hallie, this is my mother, Dr. Andersen. Mom, this is Hallie. She lives in 4A.” He could have explained why Hallie was there, but he didn’t want to. He was thirty-two years old and if he wanted to have a woman in his apartment, he would have a woman in his apartment.

“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Hallie started to rush forward, hand extended, but then stopped. He could see the pain on her face.

Asa went to her, his hand impulsively reaching out to touch her cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I almost forgot that my body is one big, giant sack of soreness.”

“Did the bath help?”

“A lot. Thank you.”

“How’s your head?”

“I’ll take some aspirin when I get home. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you okay, dear?” His mother stepped forward. There was genuine concern on her face.

“I’m fine. I just fell on the ice yesterday and gave myself a little concussion. Your son came to my rescue. I was coming to tell you it was nice to meet you and then get out of your hair. I didn’t mean to interfere with your plans. You have a very nice son, Dr. Andersen.”

“Thank you, Hallie.” His mother looked at him and gave him a smile. “He’s a good man.”

“I’ll see you around, Asa. Thank you again.”

He grabbed her hand, stopping her from fleeing. “You don’t have to leave. You’re not interfering with anything.”

“We didn’t have plans,” his mother added. “I was just stopping by. You shouldn’t be alone when you have a concussion. Sit down on the couch and I’ll make you some tea. Have you eaten anything today?”

“No ma’am, but—”

“No buts. You take yourself over to the couch this moment. Asa, help me find the tea and use that app on your phone to order us something for lunch. Italian, I think. Or maybe deli. What do you think, Hallie?”

“Whatever you want, Dr. Andersen.”

“I think you need pasta and bread. It’s settled. Go sit down now and I’ll bring you your tea.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Hallie did as she was told, leaving Asa and his mother heading to his kitchen.

“That girl is just darling. I like her already. A much different direction than your usual conquest. What’s her story?”

“She’s not one of my conquests. She’s my neighbor. She’s a high school teacher at Wheatly Academy.”

His mother gave an approving nod. “I’ve heard great things about Wheatly. They take brilliant but at-risk youth and prepare them for college. They only hire the most qualified teachers. Your girlfriend must be bright.”

“She is bright. Her dream is to become a college professor, but she’s not my girlfriend.”

“A college professor! Why didn’t you tell me about her sooner?” She rummaged through his cabinet for the tea he kept there just for her.

“There’s nothing to tell. I barely know her.”

She slanted a brow at him. “I saw the way you looked at her. Sweet, pretty, educated. She’s perfect for you. Maybe I’ll finally get some grandchildren. Your sister has been married for nearly two years and stubbornly refuses to give me one. Maybe if she knows she’s in competition with you it will speed her up.”

“She’s enjoying traveling with her husband. Carlos just retired from baseball at the end of the season.”

“You’ve both done enough traveling.” She touched his face. “Don’t ruin this for me, Asa. I might never like another one of your girlfriends again.”

Chapter 4

Hallie snuggled into the warm, hard surface she was sleeping on. She had slept on softer mattresses but she liked the feeling of this one. She had been so cold since she had been in New York, like a chill had seeped to her bones and never let up. But tonight it was finally gone and for once she felt warm and protected. It was when she felt a hand gently rest on her cheek that she realized that her warm, hard mattress was a warm, hard body.

She remembered where she was and she knew that she should move, but she didn’t want to. She didn’t want to lose this feeling that she was sure she would never have again while she was here, but she lifted her head and looked up at Asa. “I can’t believe you let me fall asleep on you.”

“You needed to sleep. You injured your brain. It needs rest to recover.”

She was feeling a little better despite the stiffness in her body. The Andersens had really taken care of her today. Dr. Andersen had bossed her around, ordered her to put her feet up and eat more and drink extra fluids. It was heavenly. She hadn’t been mothered in a long time. It was nice to experience it, even if it came from someone else’s mother. “Where is your mother? She must think I’m awful.”

“She went home about two hours ago.”

“Two hours ago! How long have I been out?”

“You went down about a half hour before she left.”

“You let me sleep on you that long?”

“It started out with just your head on my shoulder, but you curled up like that a half hour ago or so.”

“You should have woken me.”

“I didn’t see a reason to.”