Susan Carlisle - Christmas With The Best Man

The two of them couldn’t be more different. Yet there was some element of Elijah’s personality that was vulnerable, as if he were searching. Anyone who went from woman to woman must be looking for or running from something. Either way, she wasn’t the answer.

She needed to move the conversation back to a more neutral subject. “I appreciate you sharing the heater. The fireplace is too crowded to do much good.”

“I thought there was a better chance of thawing out here.” He shifted so that he was warming a different spot.

“I’m glad my mother sent me some long underwear. It came in handy today.”

“That’s an interesting contrast to that dress.” He studied her, his gaze moving up and down as if he was imagining what she looked like without the dress.

Heat filled Helena that had nothing to do with being inside the tent. Why hadn’t she thought before she’d spoken? “We southerners aren’t used to this kind of weather.”

“I don’t imagine you are. You’re from Alabama, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Brantley, Alabama. Where the most snow we see is a few flurries every ten years.”

“I’ve not heard of it.”

She giggled. “No reason you should. It’s a small town south of Montgomery.”

“So what brings a small-town southern girl to the big city?” He appeared truly interested.

“A job. I wanted to live in a big city after growing up in a tiny town.”

“I guess after the last few days a small southern town sounds good. It’s been crazy.” He glanced over her shoulder as if he was checking on where everyone was.

“It is always invigorating during a storm.”

He chuckled dryly. “That’s a nice way to put it.”

“I’d think you’d be used to that kind of action with your family’s deep involvement in the hospital. You must have seen your parents working when you were growing up.”

His lips tightened for a moment before he said, “I went to work with my father a couple of times.”

“My father owns a large cattle farm that has been in the family for generations. I saw him at work a lot. Even helped him out.” Helena looked around, finding Grace. She was glowing as she spoke to a couple.

Grace only knew a few people attending so she had a reason to act like a wallflower. But Elijah? It seemed as if he was making a point to not join in. “Why aren’t you mingling? Don’t you know most of these people?”

He smiled. “I’d rather keep you company.” Somehow Elijah made it sound as if he found it a great honor.

Grace and Charles were now finding their designated table for two near the dance floor. The other guests started taking their seats at tables as well.

“I guess it’s time for us to join the party.” Relieved, Helena started toward the table reserved for the wedding party. She felt more than saw Elijah follow her. Since when had she become so in tune with him? Surely by tomorrow her emotions would settle back to normal. It must be the happiness in the wedding air that had her so out of sorts.

She found her place card. With regret and a perverse thrill, she saw that Elijah was seated next to her. He held her chair for her before he sat. Seconds later one of his knees brushed her thigh as he worked to get his long legs under the table. Even that innocent action sent a bolt of self-consciousness through her.

He leaned over and said close to her ear, “Looks like we’re partners for the evening.”

Helena glanced his direction. He wore a teasing grin. At least his sullenness was gone. Despite her better judgement, she liked the idea of being his partner. “It seems so.”

“You don’t mind?”

Did her answer really matter to him? The way his eyes considered her made Helena think it might. But maybe he was just toying with her. “No, I don’t.”

Elijah’s eyes held that same stunned look he’d worn when they had met in the hospital hallway. The one that made her feel like he had just now really seen her. “Good.”

As Elijah and Charles’s siblings joined them, their conversation ended. Elijah acknowledged each one as they sat at the table but he seemed to hold back, as if he feared they might not be glad to have him around. Yet that didn’t seem the case.

“Hey, Zac, isn’t that Ella over there?” Penny, Manhattan Mercy’s air ambulance paramedic, asked their brother innocently as she looked toward the other side of the tent at the blonde ER doctor.

“Yeah, that looks like her,” he responded in an offhand manner.

“Didn’t I hear she was moony-eyed over you when you were in med school together?” Elijah teased. “But she seems to be dodging you now. Not even looking your way.”

Zac turned back to the table as if to dismiss the idea. “I don’t know why she would.”

The ringing clink of a glass being tapped drew everyone’s attention. Grace’s father, who had been sitting at a table across the dance floor, was on his feet. He gave a short speech of welcome before waiters and waitresses began to serve the meal. Elijah’s thigh came to rest against hers while they waited for their first course. A glow flowed through her that had nothing to do with the warm soup she was soon served. Elijah participated little in the table conversation, seeming more interested in the food. Soon a plate of filet mignon, scalloped potatoes and julienne mixed vegetables were replacing their empty bowls.

“I like a woman who’s not afraid to enjoy her food,” Elijah remarked.

Her hand stopped in midair. “I’m sorry if I appear to be a pig. I’ve missed far too many meals in the last few days.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s just nice to see a female who doesn’t eat like a bird.” He grinned. “I missed a few of those meals too.”

“You’ve been dating too many women who were hoping to impress you,” Helena quipped.

He raised a brow. “Which you aren’t trying to do. I had no idea you were paying any attention to my social life.”

Helena lowered her chin, giving him an indignant look. “I don’t. I’ve heard talk of your exploits.”

He chuckled. “Exploits.”

“Sounds like it didn’t take Helena long to peg you as a commitment-phobe.” Penny grinned across the table at him.

Elijah shrugged, appearing unashamed.

Penny’s statement and Elijah’s reaction just confirmed what Helena already knew. Even if they had been thrown together tonight, and how handsome and charming Elijah was, he wasn’t a good choice for her. She’d experienced bone-deep hurt before, was determined she wouldn’t go through it again, and she wasn’t going to let Elijah slip under that fence. Tomorrow her reaction to him would be back to normal—that being none.

The tapping on glass once more brought the crowd to silence. This time Elijah’s father stood next to the table he shared with Grace’s father. A low groan came from Elijah. Was he feeling ill? She looked over her shoulder at him. The dessert fork he fiddled with held his attention.

“I would like to say how happy Vanessa and I are to welcome Grace into our family,” Hugo Davenport said in a booming voice.

Helena had never met the patriarch of the family but she was aware of his larger-than-life presence around the hospital. He was even more impressive in person.

“Family is everything,” the older man continued.

This time she distinctly heard a low expletive from Elijah as he shifted in his chair. His leg tugged her dress and she reached down to move it. At the same time Elijah settled and his hand covered hers for a second. Electricity zipped through her. Her look jerked to his. When their eyes locked his anger quickly faded and was replaced by something she couldn’t identify. A second later he removed his hand but his thigh remained pressed against hers as he settled deeper into his chair.