Dara Girard - Snowed in with the Doctor

He found himself thinking of her skin, which was the color of roasted cocoa beans. Her lovely light brown eyes were warm like the sun shining on a white sandy beach. He’d already pictured her naked more times than he could count. At first he’d tried to stop himself, but then he just indulged. Now he couldn’t stop, and he’d started adding details he was eager to verify. This was not good. Women had never been a strong point for him. Facts, statistics, hypotheses he could grasp. But the female mind was a mystery. With three older sisters it wouldn’t seem so, but they’d been more like aunts than siblings. They were older and nurturing of the youngest and only boy in the family.

In his career, he felt safe. Now Lora had taken that safety from him. He couldn’t predict her. She was like a wild variable in a controlled experiment. Why did she have to change her hair? He couldn’t stop staring at the golden highlights that glistened when she moved. He noticed how strands brushed against her neck. It was very distracting.

He knew she hated him and he wanted to change that, but she always met any attempt at a truce with suspicion. He’d just have to try harder. He couldn’t make her forget the past, but perhaps he could get her to forgive him. Hell, he shouldn’t even care. He didn’t want to. After all, she wasn’t just a personal threat, but also a professional one. Lora was a viable opponent in the race for the Poindexter Fellowship, and he had to make sure that he kept his record in place. That’s what he needed to focus on. Not a pair of beautiful brown eyes he wanted to see dilate with desire, or soft full lips he wanted to taste.

Justin glanced out the window. It was a bright, sunny day, but it didn’t disguise the late November chill. People were bundled up as they marched down the street. Holiday wreaths decorated buildings, and strings of colored lights draped around the trees, ready to light the darkness when evening came. Ah, he loved the holidays. He was looking forward to his nieces’ holiday pageant, the food, the gift giving and spending time with his family. They were the only people who seemed to understand him and with whom he could be himself and relax.

But this year would be different; he had to up his game for the fellowship, which meant spending long days and nights, and even weekends, in the lab. His poor dog, Louis, a three-year-old American bulldog, was showing signs of frustration from not having him around. The past two evenings Justin had come home to a house full of shredded paper. Louis had gotten into his study and emptied his trash bin. But for now, he couldn’t worry about his dog—he had something more urgent to worry about. Yes, he’d forget about Lora Rice. He had to.

* * *

Oh, how she hated the holidays. It was the last week of November, and holiday madness had begun. Lora navigated her way through the crowded mall, regretting her decision to help her older sister, Belinda, go shopping. Her sister seemed to have an ever-growing list of people she had to shop for.

When they were kids Lora had nicknamed her “The Bullet” because sometimes she could hit you right between the eyes with a tactless remark or demand. Her sister was beautiful and knew it, and she took advantage of her looks to get her way. She had one failed marriage behind her and was already planning for husband number two.

“Can you make it to my party?” Belinda asked, handing Lora another bag to carry while she studied the mall map.

“I have a cold.”

Belinda looked at her sister, unconvinced. “You don’t have a cold.”

Lora rubbed her throat. “I feel one coming on.”

“You had a cold last year.”

“It’s coming back.”

“And the year before that.”

Lora shrugged. “What can I say? I’m susceptible.”

“To the same cold around the same time each year? Come on, you’ll have fun.”

“No, thanks. You know I hate the holidays.”

“Still? I thought you’d gotten over that. I know as kids we didn’t have many happy memories, especially around the holidays, but we can make up for it now.”

“By drinking with a bunch of strangers?”

“They’re friends.”

“Your friends. Sorry, but my schedule is full.” Full of false cheer, she thought. She didn’t look forward to the office party or her parents’ holiday gathering or her grandmother’s holiday dinner, where she’d be asked again and again if she was seeing someone. She didn’t want to add Belinda’s bash on top of them. She wanted this holiday season to be different. Something had to change.

“I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” Belinda said. “You have to come, or I’ll get Mom to force you.”

Lora inwardly shivered. Whereas her sister was like a bullet, her mother was like a pair of handcuffs. Once she locked into you, you couldn’t escape. “Okay, you’re right,” Lora said quickly. “I wasn’t being honest with you.”

“I knew it.”

“I have a date,” she said, hoping her lie sounded convincing.

Belinda frowned. “With a man?”

Lora nudged Belinda with her elbow, affronted. “Of course with a man.”

“Not necessarily. Knowing you, you could be talking about a rat or monkey.”

“My experiments don’t involve animals.”

“What’s his name?”

“Just somebody at work. What’s the next store?” Lora asked.

“Who?” Belinda pressed.

Lora adjusted one of the five shopping bags she was carrying, feeling like a beast of burden. “If it works out, you’ll know.”

Belinda tapped her chin, looking intrigued. She was only carrying two bags because she said she needed to keep her hands free to hold the map and organize their shopping expedition. “You never talk about the people at your workplace except that guy you hate, Dr. Sliver.”

“Silver,” Lora corrected.

“Whatever. So what makes this guy so special?”

“When you meet him you’ll know.”

“Let’s double date.”

“No.”

“But I’m curious. This is your first date in—” She stopped. “Wait...have you ever had a first date?”

“Of course.”

“No, I mean a date you got on your own. Not one set up by me or Mom or Uncle Rudy.”

Lora curled her lip. “Never mention that again.”

“His heart was in the right place.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know where he’d put his brain.” Her uncle Rudy, her mother’s brother, had set her up on a date with a dock worker forty years her senior, whose main topic of conversation was his low libido and fear of dying alone.

“That was a mistake I’ll never repeat.”

“So this isn’t a blind date?”

“No.” Lora gestured to one of the window displays. “Doesn’t that dress look like something perfect for someone on your list?”

Belinda ignored her. “Did he ask you out, or did you ask him?”

“It was sort of mutual.” At least that’s how she hoped it would be one day.

“I want to hear all about this mystery man after your date.”

“You will.”

“And he had better be real.”

Oh, he was real all right. He just hadn’t noticed her yet. When she’d first laid eyes on Dr. Warren T. Rappaport, she’d had to stop herself from staring. She soon discovered that not only was he good looking, with rich caramel skin and chestnut eyes, but he also laughed easily, had a warm smile and always had a kind word. But the best part was the fact that he was single.

Suddenly, Lora spotted him only a few feet away, as if just by thinking of him she’d conjured him up. She had to act fast or he’d be gone. She waved. She didn’t expect him to see her at first, but he waved back and then started toward them. If her arms hadn’t been loaded down with bags she would have clutched her chest. Remember to breathe. Remember to breathe.