Lucy Monroe - The Complete Christmas Collection

But Patsy wasn’t buying it. “And just how are you going to get up the stairs?”

Nico ignored the crowd that had gathered around the sofa. Children held cookies, parents held coats and the most recent guests checking in stood next to their luggage and stared. He tucked another velvet pillow behind Grace’s back. “Stairs?”

“She lives in a second-floor condo,” Patsy informed him. “Outside stairs. No elevator.”

“Grace can come home with me,” Nico declared. “I have four bedrooms. And a ramp.”

Patsy looked impressed. “Why do you have a ramp?”

He shrugged. “Grace will find it easy to get around. I live right down the street.”

“Stop talking about me as if I’m not here,” Grace grumbled. “Are there any rooms available?”

“I’ll check.” Patsy tried to hide her smile, but Nico saw a twinkle in her eyes when she turned back to him. “But I think Noelle already filled the rest of the rooms.”

“That was fast,” Grace said. “I thought we’d have cancellations after the guests heard about the wedding.”

“I have some news about that,” Patsy said. “But I’ll call you later and fill you in.”

“Hey, Pats! Grace! What’s going on?”

Nico turned to see three burly young men approaching. They were stuffed into identical navy down jackets and looked as if they’d been outside for hours.

“I slipped and fell,” Grace said, looking mortified. “Do not make a big deal about it, okay?”

One of the guys edged Nico aside and lifted the ice pack. “Uh-oh. Looks like a bad sprain or even a fracture. Come on, babe, let’s do it.”

Babe? Do it? Nico couldn’t let that go. “I’m taking her,” he said.

“It’s no problem,” the kid said. “We’ve got the vehicles here and Doc will have her fixed up in no time.”

“But what about the fund-raiser?” Patsy asked. “Aren’t you in charge of that?”

“Yeah, but there are enough other guys coming early. They won’t miss us.” He grinned, showing acres of white teeth. “We can take care of Gracie, easy enough.”

“Fund-raiser?” Nico wanted to deck him, if for no other reason than the sight of his hand on Grace’s bare leg.

“For Search and Rescue,” Grace explained. “You’re catering the appetizers, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” Twenty pizzas, and cheese and crackers. Done and done. Not exactly a culinary challenge, but that’s what the group ordered.

“I’ll get your things, Grace,” Patsy said. “You’ll be back here in no time and I’ll see what I can do about a room for you.”

Shoved to the sidelines, Nico watched as Grace was bundled into her black cashmere coat. In a matter of minutes she was out the door, being carried by one of the local EMTs and surrounded by two others. The men joked and laughed as if they were going to a party.

“Don’t look so sad,” Patsy said, touching his arm to get his attention. “You’ll have your chance.”

“I just did. And there it went.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

That got his attention. “Please tell me there’s no room at the inn.”

She grinned. “There is one room available, but I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Deal.”

“Don’t you dare break her heart.”

“I won’t. But she might break mine.”

“I know.” Patsy tapped his chest with her finger. “I’ve watched you mooning over her since you started working here.”

“It’s that obvious?”

“Oh yeah. For a big TV star, you’re kind of pathetic.”

“Not anymore,” he declared. “Not anymore.”

“I FEEL A lot better now.” Grace tried to sound emphatic, but her voice quavered a bit as she wobbled against Nico’s side. He’d been in the clinic’s waiting room, seated in the midst of texting teenagers and a mother with a screaming baby, when Grace had limped out, crutches under her arms and a medical boot on her right foot. On her left she wore one of Patsy’s running shoes, which her friend kept in her office in case she decided to use the treadmill in the workout room. A nurse had put an athletic sock over her injured foot before showing her how to put the boot on. “I can go back to work.”

“Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry at all. “But that’s already been decided. Patsy said to tell you that she’d take over for you at the fund-raiser and she’d see you in the morning. If you’re okay to come to work in the morning, that is. What’s the verdict?”

“A nasty sprain, but nothing is broken. I need to stay off of it as much as I can, treat it with ice and keep it elevated.”

“Okay. Let’s go get it elevated and iced.”

“I have to pick up a prescription. Would you mind taking me to Kinney’s?” Her foot ached, but the twelve-year-old doctor had called in a prescription for painkillers at the pharmacy. “If you could help me get home, I would appreciate it.”

Nico was silent as he opened the door and helped her down the freshly shoveled ramp to the parking lot. His familiar Toyota 4Runner sat in a handicapped spot.

“Isn’t that illegal?”

“At seven thirty at night? With a woman on crutches?” He beeped the doors open and settled her into the passenger seat. “There. How bad is the pain?”

“I’m trying not to cry,” she admitted. He looked so concerned. She wanted to tell him not to worry about her, that she would be fine, but he backed away and shut the door.

“First stop, drugs,” he announced once he was behind the wheel. The car was warm, despite the cold temperature and the light snow flurries that danced in the air.

“Thank you.” She adjusted her seat belt and turned toward him. “I would have called Patsy for a ride home. I didn’t expect anyone to be waiting for me.” She’d felt a surprising mixture of relief and pleasure when she’d seen him sitting in one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs and reading an old issue of Sports Illustrated.

“Is there anyone I can call for you? Family?”

“My father lives in Boston, but he’s out of town for the holidays.” Not that he would have been at all helpful. “And my aunt, who lives in Saranac, has gone to help my cousin, who just had another baby. In Arizona.” She had friends, good friends, but it was four days before Christmas and no one needed an injured friend in their spare bedroom, or worse, on their living room couch. Even Karen, the one person she would have called after Patsy, had a houseful of in-laws and a set of eight-month-old twins.

“So you’re stuck with me.” Nico shot her a grin.

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, but you’re thinking it.”

“Just a little.” She couldn’t help laughing. It was either that or burst into tears. She wanted to curl up in her bed and pretend it was July.

He left the car running while he picked up the prescription, which gave Grace time to wonder how Nico was going to carry her up a flight of stairs to her little condo. He’d had no trouble carrying her down the stairs at the inn a few hours ago, but going up was a different deal. She could sit down and scoot on her rear, step by step. It would be cold, slow and undignified, but not impossible.

This was starting to get complicated. Maybe Patsy had found her a room at the lodge. If she could just get into a bed and lie down for a few hours, she was sure she’d feel better.

Nico returned with a bottle of water, her pills and a plastic bag filled with junk food, which he plopped in her lap.

“My sisters always wanted M&M’s when they were hurt. Marie and Cathy said that pain burns calories, and self-pity can be treated with Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies. Beth, on the other hand, believes in chicken soup. It’s all in the bag, so take your pick.”