The flight attendant’s voice boomed through a microphone. “Thank you for your patience.”
Yes! Let’s taxi.
“You’re on an overbooked flight, and we have airline employees to accommodate. I need three volunteers to deplane, or we’ll be forced into a lottery.”
Katie sank further into her seat. “Oh, no you don’t. I haven’t had a vacation in years,” she mumbled.
“No volunteers? I’ll give you $100 airline dollars,” the flight attendant said.
Screw it. Katie pulled her Kindle out. Electronics policy be damned. This plane wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
But the flight attendant spoke again. “Okay, folks, since we didn’t have enough volunteers, we’re required to do a lottery.”
Katie rolled her eyes. Can’t they just get the drama over with? She had nothing to worry about. They never selected a first class passenger.
“Taylor Lawson,” the flight attendant called.
Katie didn’t care. She was in her happy place.
Eliam would settle large dowries on both of Elizabeth’s younger sisters tomorrow. She’d never give him the opportunity to prove that she could count on him, but it didn’t matter. She cared about her sisters more than life, and all he cared about was her happiness.
“Stop! You’re hurting me!” The screams pulled Katie’s attention back to the plane.
She turned toward the sound.
Two security guards dragged a girl—not woman, she couldn’t be more than twenty—by her wrists. The girl sobbed “Please don’t do this. I’ll miss my connecting flight and I haven’t seen my family since school started.”
Other passengers yelled for her to just go, so the guards wouldn’t hurt her.
“No. I haven’t seen my family since August. Please don’t do this. It’s Christmas.”
Katie’s heart sank. The girl the guards dragged looked so much like Nicole had their freshman year when Katie walked petrified into a dorm and a girl with light brown hair bounced off a twin bed in the corner saying, “Dinner is at six. Thank God you moved in today. Now I don’t have to go alone.” And that pretty much sealed their best friendom. So much for her stress-free vacation.
Katie stood. “She can have my seat.”
The flight attendant standing in front of the open partition turned. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I should have closed this. That’s kind of you, but it won’t be necessary.”
Katie stepped into coach. “Hey.”
The guards acted like they didn’t hear her. They still struggled with the girl.
“Hey!” She screamed to be heard over the chaos.
She had a commanding voice. The plane got quieter but the guards weren’t giving up. “Blue shirts. I’m talking to you.”
That got their attention.
“She can have my seat.”
The flight attendant frowned. “But you’re in first class.”
“And it’s paid for. Give her my seat and I’ll get off the plane.”
Two dumbfounded guards stared at each other. One loosened his grip and the other dropped his hands from around the girl’s waist.
The girl ran for Katie.
“Stop! Stop!” the flight attendant yelled.
The girl slammed into Katie and wrapped her arms around her. “Thank you so much.”
Katie wasn’t used to hugs. Especially from strangers. She awkwardly tapped the girl’s shoulders. “You’re welcome. Just let me grab my stuff, and you can sit down.”
Walking back through the jet tunnel someone called behind her, “Ho, ho, ho. That was a nice thing you did.”
“Thank you,” she said without looking back.
“Tell Santa what you want for Christmas.” His voice was baritone but held a musical note of laughter.
She might have spent so much of her time in an operating room that she found her social life lacking the presence of anyone but Nicole, but even she could recognize a cheesy pick up line. And she wasn’t in the mood to be hit on today. This was why she trusted her love life only to Annabella Valaro, her favorite historical romance writer. A Valaro guy would never use such a ridiculous line. Christmas or no. Eliam Manaj would kill someone for trying to pick up Elizabeth in an airport.
She spun around to face the loser. Time to let him have it. She needed to vent after missing her first vacation in five years, and it would probably be her only vacation for another five years. But she came face to face with an actual Santa Claus. Well, a guy in a Santa suit, anyway.
“What’s your Christmas wish?” he asked.
Her real wish? “Eliam Manaj,” she blurted before she realized it.
Santa’s brows knitted together and he shook his head slowly. “Have a private tour of Jamaica, instead.” He handed her a green piece of paper.
She laughed. “Thank you. I appreciate it, but it’s not like I’m going to get another flight on Christmas Eve.”
He shrugged. “The boat leaves from Holiday Island off of Galveston. You have plenty of time to catch it.”
“I don’t even know where that is.”
Santa shrugged. “The address is on the ticket. Don’t worry. You’ll find it.”
It wouldn’t be the white Christmas she’d always dreamed of, but she was tired of spending life trapped in an operating room. And her last case was too much to handle. Mom of twins in an emergency cesarean section. They all died. One baby in dad’s arms. The other, stillborn, removed from the deceased mother.
Reason #222 she’d stick with Eliam for her romantic needs. He wouldn’t die on her.
“Thank you.” She took the pass. She’d go on this tropical cruise. It wouldn’t be much different than a Houston Christmas, but she’d have plenty of Eliam time. If she read her way through enough HEAs, she could easily swagger back to the operating room for another’s day work.
Chapter 2
A day later Katie semi-relaxed—semi, that was as relaxed as she got—in the passenger seat of Nicole’s SUV.
“This is so awesome. Thank you so much for calling me. I never get a girl’s day.” Nicole pulled the SUV off of the ferry.
“It’s not that cool. Some sorority girl got my cushy chair all the way to Colorado. This was supposed to be my perfect White Christmas. Of course, if you would just stay here I could crash your holiday party. But no. You have to go see Paul’s family. And if he is at the hospital, who has your kids?” Katie asked.
Nicole grinned. “My mom. Ordinarily she would pull some bad-mom guilt trip, but her Christian virtue won’t allow her to chastise me for helping a friend at Christmas time. It’s an hour to Galveston and an hour back. I can’t remember the last time I had two hours to myself.”
They drove into the middle through a mostly empty coastline. “Signal lost,” the GPS said.
“I hope this is the right place.” Katie shook her head. “You should have finished medical school.”
“Right. Because spending the last five years trapped inside an OR measuring someone’s heart rate would have definitely been less taxing than chasing two adorable—if feral—toddlers around. I’m perfectly happy letting Paul do the OR schtick for me. Even if I am envious of your shoes and will never have a pair of Louboutin’s again.”
Katie looked out the passenger window. “Take two pair from my closet while I’m gone. Don’t tell me which, because it will cause more grief. And if you take the black stilettos, I’ll see you in the OR.”
“Best Christmas Ever!” Nicole pulled into a parking space across the street from the blue sign that read “Holiday Island Private Port.”
They walked toward the beach.
“I don’t see a cruise liner,” Katie said.
“We’ll find it.” The way Nicole bounced around you would think it was her vacation.
They tramped through sand and then mud. But the only boat on the water was just that—a boat. A large double decker boat but not a ship. Katie had seen a boat like it before when she interned with Doctors Without Borders. It was an Indian-style
house boat.
Katie sighed. “I’m not spending two weeks on the ocean in that thing. It’s not safe.”
Nicole rolled her eyes. “Live a little. Let’s look closer. Maybe it’s not so bad.”
“After being deplaned and driving an hour to get here? It sucks.”
Katie swung her luggage over her shoulder and took Nicole’s hand as they set off to explore. Just like freshman year all over again. “Definitely a house boat. They’re usually more for floating two days down the river.”
“Eliam!” Nicole squealed.
“What?” Katie followed the direction of Nicole’s finger with her gaze. On the second story, tightening a knot in a rope on the hull of the boat, stood a tall, broad man. His neck and the inside of his wet white shirt revealed skin like dark caramel, and his hair was darker than midnight. Nicole was right. It could have been Eliam. If Eliam weren’t fictional and this was 1840. Her heart leaped. “He is effing hot.”
“If you don’t get on this boat, I will and you can explain it to Paul and the kids.”
“I don’t need more motivation.” She hugged Nicole and climbed aboard.
Chapter 3
Other than Katie and the Eliam lookalike no one was on the boat. Odd. She glanced down to the shoreline and spotted Nicole who peered up at the boat under a shielded hand. Katie would give it a few minutes before she bolted.
And what was he doing? Was he going to come introduce himself? She’d be damned if she climbed to the second story to introduce herself.
A white guy in khaki shorts and a Ninja Turtles t-shirt came running up the dock. With his black-framed glasses, he looked like one of the guys from med school. His blue backpack bobbed up and down as he ran. He climbed onto the boat, pushed his glasses up with his forefinger, and smiled at her. “Oh, Eledon’s found a—” He seemed to search for the word. His cheeks turning pink. “A companion has he?”
Katie blinked. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Is that a book?”
The man lifted an eyebrow like there was something for him to be confused about. He held out his hand. “Ryan.”
She took it to shake. “Katie.”
“I suppose we’re just waiting for Pete and Bindu then we can set sail.”
“Pete and Bindu?” Why did this guy feel a need to tell her his life story? Katie gazed at him squinting her eyes. She tried not to stare but couldn’t ignore her gut. This man was sick.
“Bindu went through engineering school with us. Pete’s her husband. They met when he got outsourced.”
Katie nodded, still clueless about why he wanted her to know this random information. “Do you feel okay?”
Again with the raised eyebrow. “Yeah. I’m fine. What did you do this weekend? I had an epic adventure on World of Warcraft.”
Reason #158 book boyfriends were better. “With alcohol?”
He smirked. “What else?”
“You drink a lot, then? Hold still.” She pulled her phone from the bag and turned on the flashlight. She held it up to his eye.
“What the hell are you doing? Eledon, your girl’s weird.”
Chapter 4
Eledon finished tying off the boat. Girl? Pete and Bindu must have arrived, but Eledon had to set this shit straight. Because if Pete heard Bindu referred to as another man’s girl, there would be a fight.
He jumped down from the second story, landing smoothly on his feet. But the brisk movement rocked the boat.
“Get that out of my face!” Ryan yelled.
The woman could be a plastic doll with her perfect white tipped fingers and her perfect blonde hair. She wore black capris and a pink lace tank top with shoes that could feed a whole village. He only knew because Bindu had talked about red-soled shoes all through engineering school, and she bought a pair with her first paycheck.
She moved the phone out of Ryan’s face just long enough to make eye contact with Eledon. “You need to be more careful. You could have broken a bone or fallen in the water. I do hope the attendants are going to enforce better behavior, or this could be a dangerous trip.” And the phone was back in Ryan’s face.
“Who the hell did you bring on my boat?” Eledon asked Ryan.
“Uh—I thought she was yours. She was here when I boarded. What is she doing to me?”
That was a fair question. “What are you doing to him?”
She ignored the question. “Open your mouth.”
Ryan glanced to Eledon who shrugged. Ryan complied.
“You need to get off the boat and go to an urgent care clinic. Your eyes are yellow, and so is the inside of your mouth. Does your stomach hurt?”
“I just…”
“You just what?”
“I just need to crap.”
Eledon laughed at Ryan’s crimson face.
“I haven’t diagnosed in a while. I stick with anesthesiology, but I’m fairly certain you need treatment for jaundice. And a new hobby. The last thing you should do is spend two weeks at sea. Your illness could get complicated. Should I call someone for you? Or do you think you can drive yourself?”
Ryan’s mouth hung open and he looked to Eledon.
Eledon shrugged. “It sounds like she knows what she’s talking about.” But who the hell was this woman?
“I can drive.” Ryan started for the exit.
“We can delay if you need a ride. Jamaica will still be there if we’re a few hours late,” Eledon called after him.
“I’m fine.” Ryan picked up his pace and scurried off the boat.
“Who are you?” Eledon asked.
“Katie Pearson. Would you like to see my ticket?”
What ticket? “Since this is a private party, yes.”
Katie pulled the green piece of paper the airport Santa had given her from her bag and handed it to him.
He unfolded the paper to find Jason Morgan’s name on a party invitation with a strikethrough line and the neatly typed word “Transferrable.” He laughed so hard he bent at the waist and handed Dr. Barbie her invitation back.
She put her hands on her hips. “What?”
“I won this boat in a card game. I invited the dumbass who wagered it out of obligation or sympathy or something like that. How do you know Jason?”
“Oh,” she said slowly. “A guy in a Santa suit gave this to me at the airport yesterday.”
Jason didn’t even know the girl he gave his invite too? What if she was some kind of psycho? “Do you always take invitations from random strangers in Santa suits?”
Katie sighed. “No. It’s just I haven’t had a vacation in years. But you’re right I shouldn’t be here. Judging from the return date, I don’t even know if this boat can make the kind of voyage you’re planning.”
He stared at her. “My boat can make it.”
“Right. Well, anyhow. Nice to meet you. Try not to break any bones.” She picked up her bag and was about to climb back onto the dock.
“Wait,” Eledon said. “Why would a doctor take an invitation from a random guy in a Santa suit?”
“They tried to drag a teenager off the plane last night. I gave her my seat to keep the airline guards from manhandling her. I haven’t had a vacation in half a decade, so when he offered I thought I might as well.”
“If you weren’t working so hard to pay for those shoes, you wouldn’t need to go five years with no break.”
“Making money was the purpose of going to med school.”
“At least you had a reason.”
“Yeah. Most everyone dedicates ten years of their life to something in hopes of being impoverished. Have a nice trip, Aladdin.” She took another step toward the dock, but he stepped in front of her, blocking her exit.
His stomach lurched. Something about this girl brought him to life in a way that nothing had for years. “Dr. Barbie, stay.”
Her eyes narrowed and her mouth formed a perfect “o.” “I’m Dr. Katie Pearson. You may call me Katie, or Dr. Pearson. You may not refer to me as Dr. Barbie.”
He grinned. “Dr. Plastic Nails, don’t go.”
She moved toward him. And he was okay with this. Until she poked him in the chest with her white tipped index finger.
“My nails are real. Captain Fake Accent.”
“Love, the accent is real.”
“I think I prefer Dr. Barbie to ‘love.’ Prove the accent is real. Where are you from?”
“The far East.”
“Obviously some country where they still own women.”
He could think of one woman he would like to own. They were practically touching. If she came any closer to him, he might show her how to properly own a woman. And then he dismissed the thought, because he didn’t need that kind of trouble. “It’s not nearly that backward. Although, I’m not sure men still protecting women is a bad thing.”
“No but referring to them as plastic dolls might be.”
“Umm…you’re on a boat with three-inch heels and, priy. After the first wave, that shirt will be see through.”
A gust of wind rocked the ship. There would be waves, even she knew that. “I thought I would be on a cruise liner.”
Eledon pursed his lips. “What’s that loser up to?”
“I have no idea. Since it’s been brought to my attention I’ll need more appropriate attire, can you please point me toward my quarters?”
Eledon had promised a cabin to Bindu and her husband. Since there were only two, he’d be sleeping in the captain’s office tonight. “Second door on the left.”
She nodded and dragged her luggage away.
The next morning, Eledon knocked on Katie’s door. “Are you ever going to get up? You fell asleep before dinner. What are you doing in there?”
“Dreaming about Eliam.” That wistful note in her voice couldn’t be missed.
Where was this prick Eliam while his girl was on some pirate’s houseboat anyway? Then he remembered what she said about not having had a vacation in five years. She must be with one of those Indian Gurus who worked all the time and would be happy to keep his marriage-in-name-only wife a few states away. Why get mixed up with a girl as beautiful and smart as Dr. Plastic Nails if you’re only looking for social acceptance. Amma and Achan could have arranged for a girl who would be perfectly content like that. And why was Dr. Plastic Nails wasting her time with such a loser? And was she ever going to answer the door?
A Merrily Matched Christmas Page 12