Hockey Holidays

by Toni Aleo

  He had a girlfriend. A nice girlfriend, she reminded herself. Alex deserved to find happiness.

  “Dr. Terraza, Henry is back in his room. I’ve updated his file,” Callie said, and all thoughts of makeup and hair care, and Alex—and his girlfriend—faded away.

  She had a job to do.

  “Great. I have to look in on Camilla first. She just started that new clinical trial.” A trial that might’ve saved Grace. She bit the inside of her cheek. She had to focus on her patients, and on finding the best treatment course for each kid that came through the door. As much as she wished Grace were still here, these kids were, and focusing on the past wouldn’t help her be the best doctor she could be.

  She poked her head into Camilla’s room. Anna, Camilla’s mother, gave her a bright smile but Maggie saw the pain behind it.

  “How are we doing today?” Maggie asked, pulling up Camilla’s chart on her tablet.

  “Hi, Dr. Maggie. A little sore, and my tummy hurts,” Camilla said, rubbing her belly.

  “She’s even more tired with this new medication, and she doesn’t want to eat a lot,” Anna said, holding her daughter’s hand. She only had smiles for the little girl, but when Camilla looked away, there was fear in her mother’s gaze.

  “Tiredness is normal with this trial. You should take naps when you need them, but make sure you’re moving around every day and getting some exercise, even if it’s just walking down the hall here, or around your house when you get home. Your stomach pain should fade soon, but if you still feel this way in a few days, I want you to let me know.”

  “Do you think I will be back home for Christmas, Dr. Maggie?” Camilla asked.

  “Hopefully if all goes well, you’ll just be here for the week or two and then you’ll be home in plenty of time for Christmas,” Maggie said, lightly squeezing her hand.

  She finished up with Camilla and moved down the hall to check on the rest of her patients. She wished every kid in this hospital could go home for the holidays, and she would do everything she could to help them celebrate this year—and hopefully, many years to come—at home.

  “Westie brought Santa,” a child’s voice called out as Maggie made her way to the nurses’ station.

  “And Santa’s friends,” Ruth, one of the nurses whispered. “Who knew elf boots could be so hot.”

  “Right. Rudolph can jingle my bell any night he wants,” Dr. Avery Gordon said, wiggling her eyebrows for good measure.

  “But keep your hands off Westie. He belongs to Maggie,” Callie chimed in.

  “Wait. What?” Avery asked.

  “I’m never telling you anything,” Maggie bit out, but Callie just shrugged.

  “Spill. How do you know him?” Avery asked.

  “We grew up together and dated in high school. It’s no big deal. We’re just friends now,” she said, turning away from her gossipy co-workers. Her gaze crashed right into Alex, his smile broad, his lips full, and her mouth watered. Freaking watered.

  Yep, she definitely wasn’t on the nice list this year.

  “Yeah, friends,” Callie said. Maggie didn’t need to turn around to see her friend’s smirk. Brat.

  Alex stopped at the nurses’ station next to her, and she stiffened. His soft chuckle rolled over her. Bastard.

  He greeted every nurse and doctor individually, and it drove home how invested he was in his program.

  “The kids are excited. Someone let it slip that you were coming,” Callie said.

  “No problem,” Alex said before he turned to Maggie. “Dr. Terraza, did you want to join us?”

  “What? No. You guys have fun.”

  That gleam in his eyes was pure trouble. She broke eye contact with him before she could do anything she’d regret.

  Girlfriend.

  She moved away from him, skirting along the edge of the nurses’ station.

  “Look at all the presents,” a child’s voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked down the hall to see a few kids poking their heads out of their rooms. She’d seen the list of patients the guys planned to visit. It was almost the entire floor, barring the few kids that were too sick to see visitors. She could only imagine how many presents they had for all four floors.

  “You didn’t try to hide today, Mags,” Alex said, nudging her shoulder so she’d look at him again.

  She gasped. Crap. When had he sidled up next to her? “Don’t you have presents to give out?” she asked, pinching his side.

  “Hey, you know I’m ticklish there,” he said. That damn twinkle in his eyes needed to go the hell away.

  Now she was thinking about way too many tickle fights that had ended with her gasping on top of him and all of their clothes missing. She shook her head.

  “Yeah, fond memories,” he whispered close to her ear.

  “Stop it. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I wasn’t trying to hide from you.”

  “Sure, you weren’t,” he said, tweaking her nose before he headed down the hallway with his teammates.

  “Yeah, friends my ass,” Callie said, sidling up next to Maggie.

  “Zip it, you. Thanks for outing me just now.”

  “Ahh, they would’ve found out eventually. Especially with the way he can’t stop looking at you.”

  She would not look up at him. She. Would. Not.

  “I have to check on a few patients,” she said, heading down the hallway.

  “Sure, you do. I’ll save you a cookie,” Callie called out.

  She wanted to say that she spent the next hour focused on her job, but after checking on two of her patients, she found herself standing just inside the door of Henry’s room, watching him painstakingly open his gift as he told Alex that Baz was his new favorite player. Alex claimed to be heartbroken and then threatened to sing holiday songs.

  The guys joined in on a few songs, including Olaf’s favorite. She couldn’t stop her smile as Alex’s tone-deaf voice rang out and Henry covered his ears.

  “This is why Baz is my new favorite,” Henry said, and Alex leaned over to give Henry a hug.

  “It’s okay. I’ll forgive you for now, but you’ll be back. It’s only because you have the same smile with all those missing teeth.”

  Alex looked up and caught her gaze. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile, and it did nothing to tamp down her buzzing nerves. Good thing he wasn’t Santa, or she might’ve climbed into his lap.

  He has a girlfriend. A. Nice. Girlfriend.

  She ducked out of the room.

  “Maggie, wait.” His voice was too close, and she spun around.

  “Can we talk?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, Alex. What about the kids?”

  “The guys have it covered. I need to talk to you.”

  She hesitated to tell him no. There was something in his voice: nerves, excitement. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but it probably would lead her to say things she shouldn’t. Do things she shouldn’t.

  “Alex,” she started, but he’d already nudged her into an empty hospital room.

  “Alex. What are you doing?” she asked as he crowded into her, pulling the door shut behind him.

  “What I’ve wanted to do since I saw you in my suite. Hell, since forever,” he said, snaking his arm around her waist and settling her into his body.

  “Alex, we can’t. You have a girlfriend,” she said, her hands on his chest to shove him away. Alex was not the cheating type.

  “She was never my girlfriend. We went on a few dates and we’re just friends. She knows all about you, and she said I never looked at her the way I look at you. Anyone can see that.”

  “Alex,” she started, getting caught up in his eyes. Dammit. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

  “Stop ignoring this, Maggie. Can I kiss you now?”

  He leaned in, and heaven help her, she shifted closer, her eyes locked on his lips. Lips she remembered nibbling on in the back of his SUV before graduation.

  He pulled her closer
, if that was even possible. His rumbled groan washed over her and every excuse vanished as he dropped his head down and whispered please against her lips.

  Her hands gripped his shirt, her fingers curling into the warm fabric, and when she pressed her lips to his, it was like coming home.

  Chapter Four

  He sealed his lips to hers and every doubt, every minute that had passed with them apart, vanished. She was back in his arms. He swallowed her soft gasp, slanting his head to the side, to fit her perfectly to him. Her sigh against his lips, the way her body molded to his, memories didn’t hold a candle to the actual feel of her in his arms. Where she belonged. Where he belonged.

  He didn’t immediately push for more, just relished in the fact that she was kissing him back. Her tongue darted out, tracing the seam of his lips, and he gave in, parting to her questing tongue. He groaned against her mouth. She tasted like warmth and cinnamon, with a touch of icing from the cookies they’d brought. He wanted to eat her up, but he let her set the pace.

  His hand skated up her spine, and she shuddered under his touch, her tongue dueling with his as he finally gave into his need for her.

  She released his shirt, trailing her fingers down his chest, and his stomach clenched under her touch. He couldn’t stop from pressing his desire against her. He’d been hard from the moment he’d pulled her into the empty room.

  “Alex,” she gasped against his lips, and he barely resisted the urge to lift her onto the closest bed. He wanted her legs wrapped around him, her heat pressed against his cock.

  “I’ve missed you so fucking much,” he growled against her mouth before he kissed her again, his tongue darting in to meet hers.

  He deepened the kiss, spinning them so he could press her against the wall. Her fingers sank into his hair, tugging on his scalp, and desire burned down to his toes.

  Fuck it.

  His hands settled under her ass, and when he hoisted her up, her legs immediately went around his waist, tightening as she held on to him, her breasts crushing to his chest.

  He broke the kiss, peppering bites along her jaw, sucking her earlobe into his mouth as she moaned. He pressed a kiss behind her ear, and she shuddered in his arms.

  “Some things never change,” he whispered against her skin.

  She scraped her nails along his scalp, and then it was his turn to shake.

  “Yep. Some things never change,” she said, her laugh husky, her eyes glittering with familiar humor and desire.

  “Go out with me tonight.” He paused, shaking his head with a laugh. “Shit. I have a game tonight. See what you do to me?”

  “You do the same to me,” she said, unwrapping her legs from around his waist and shifting to stand in front of him.

  Her smile warmed his entire body. He’d missed that smile. He squeezed her hand, not willing to let her go just yet. “Come to the game tonight. We can grab something to eat after.”

  “I would love to go to another game, but I’m working early tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow night?”

  “We are leaving for our road trip tomorrow night. I’ll be back in a week. You could always meet us in Vancouver. We’re there for two days.” He wanted to sneak her into his hotel room, to pick up where they’d left off, and he wished he didn’t see hesitation in her eyes.

  “I can’t do that, I have to work. I just started my residency. I’m on call most of the week and I don’t have a lot of days off. Especially not days together. Maybe this isn’t a good time,” she said, nibbling her lower lip, and he resisted the urge to capture her lips again.

  “We’ll find a good time, I promise.”

  “I mean, maybe this isn’t a good time for us to fall back into a relationship. I mean, that’s what you want, right? But my schedule is crazy and your schedule is crazy and I just—I just don’t know. And who knows where I’m going to be after my residency ends, and you could get traded.”

  Shit. She was spiraling.

  He tugged her close. “Mags, we can’t focus on what could happen. Anything could happen, but I don’t want to let you go this time. I know you had your reasons, and a part of me agrees they were valid, but I’m here and so are you, and the feelings are still there.” He paused. “They’re still there, right?”

  Her small nod and bright eyes did him in. He leaned down, brushing his lips against hers, pouring every feeling he had for her into that kiss.

  He swallowed his victory when she moaned against his mouth, sinking into his chest. He tightened his arms around her, holding her close, and she opened her mouth under his. He wanted to kiss her forever.

  “Hey, Westie, stop making out with the pretty doctor. We have another floor to visit.” Jake’s voice came from the hall. Maggie broke the kiss.

  “Dammit, I’m going to kill him,” Alex muttered, refusing to let go of Maggie’s hand when she tried to pull free. “Ignore him.”

  “I can’t ignore him. He’s going to start shouting.”

  “Then his life is over.”

  She playfully shoved his shoulder. “Stop it. I should check on my patients anyway. If I haven’t already told you, it’s amazing what you’ve done to help the kids. They’ll be talking about this for a long time.”

  “What I would love is for the hospital to be empty, especially for Christmas, but since that’s not an option, I want to do whatever I can.”

  “You are amazing. Well, except for the singing,” she teased, and he pressed a kiss to her nose.

  “That singing was just to hear you laugh,” he said, leaning in again.

  “Oh, Westie. We know you’re around here somewhere,” Jake called out.

  Alex groaned. “I’m going to kill that guy.”

  “Stop. Now get out there. We’ll pick this up when you get back next week.”

  “I’m holding you to that.”

  Tuesday

  Alex: I wish you were here in Vancouver with me. We could walk around the city. It’s decked out for the holidays.

  Maggie: That sounds beautiful. Maybe one day. Good luck with the game tonight. I’ve got to run. One of the doctors called out sick this morning, so I’m up to my eyeballs in paperwork and patients.

  Thursday

  Maggie: You were amazing tonight. So close to that hat trick.

  Alex: Hey, gorgeous. Tell Henry that first goal was for him, even though he prefers Baz to me. Crazy kid.

  Maggie: I’ll make sure to tell him. He’s going home tomorrow.

  Alex: That’s great news. And as soon as I’m back, we are going out. I demand burgers and kisses. I’ll skip the onions. Miss you.

  Maggie: I’ll see what I can do. My schedule is crazy, but I’m definitely up for burgers and kisses. Miss you, too.

  Saturday

  Alex: Remember that lake house we rented for a week after your freshman year of college? We should do that again.

  Maggie: Totally random, but I would love that. But I’m not getting on a rope swing with you again. You almost crashed us into a tree.

  Alex: You nibbled on my ear right before takeoff. Clearly, you were at fault. How was your day?

  Maggie: Long and stressful. Camilla is not taking well to the new meds and we lost William today. I thought he was doing better.

  Alex: Oh Mags, I’m so sorry. That kid was a trooper. I’ll call you.

  Maggie: No. It’s okay. I don’t really want to talk, if that’s all right. Wait, shouldn’t you be at dinner with the guys? You flew into Winnipeg today, right?

  Alex: Yes, but I skipped out on dinner. We didn’t get to talk much last night and you said you’d be home tonight.

  Monday

  Alex: We are back in town tomorrow. Have dinner with me.

  Maggie: I’m working an overnight tomorrow. What about Wednesday night? I can’t wait to see you. Six points in 4 games. Your streak is still holding strong.

  Alex: We have a game on Wednesday. You should come.

  Maggie: I have to work early on Thursday, but good luck tomorrow.

  Alex: I thi
nk you’re my good luck charm. You always were.

  Thursday

  Alex: I don’t care if we have to hang out at your place and get a pizza. We are having our date tonight.

  Maggie: So demanding. What if I wanted to go out for dinner?

  Alex: We can do whatever you want, as long as it involves both of us in the same room. I’ll make out with you in any secluded corner I can find. I plan to kiss every inch of you if you’ll let me.

  “Look at that sappy expression,” Callie called out. Maggie dropped her phone. It clattered on the floor, and she bent down to scoop it up, then shoved it in her pocket.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maggie said, grabbing her tablet.

  “Sure you don’t. So, you’re finally going on a real date with Westie?”

  “Maybe,” Maggie said, refusing to look up at her friend.

  It’d been ten days since he’d kissed her. Since he’d swept her into his arms like no time had passed. Ten days and they couldn’t find one night to grab dinner and catch up on each other’s lives, on all the kissing they hadn’t done. It was almost as bad as a long-distance relationship, and they were living in the same damn city.

  Syncing their schedules was not going to be easy, but they were going to dinner tonight, no matter how exhausted she was. She could sleep tomorrow. Or maybe their date would continue into tomorrow.

  She took in a deep breath as desire coursed through her. Was it too soon to act like the last four plus years hadn’t happened? Like their relationship had continued all this time? It was their first date and their five hundredth date all at the same time. Their kiss had picked up where they’d left off all those years ago, but she wasn’t sure if falling into bed with him at the first chance she got was a good idea.

  Now she was getting way ahead of herself.

  But that kiss.

  She would not fan herself. She would not.

  “I want all the details the day after tomorrow. And you should definitely pack a bag,” Callie said, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “You are horrible. And, he’s coming to my place.”