Page 27 of My December Darling

“Why not?”

He takes a two-second pause before saying, “It reminds me of all the times I spent by myself as a kid.”

His honesty is refreshing and downright commendable.

“Lucky you,” I joke to lessen the tension in his jaw. “Some days I was begging Gabriela to shut up.”

He chuckles. “I wish I had a sibling to pester.”

“No doubt you would have driven them crazy.”

“They would’ve come to appreciate my form of love.”

“Like a sibling Stockholm syndrome?”

“Precisely.”

I find myself smiling for the first time since I started my shift, and it makes me feel all kinds of ways.

“What?” he asks with pinched brows.

I consider brushing off his question, but for some reason, I choose to be honest. “I feel guilty.”

He nods. No pushing me to elaborate on what exactly I feel guilty about. No pestering me for answers I’m not ready to give. Nothing but the comfort of his presence as he stands beside me and looks out at the town. Christmas lights decorating the local businesses and houses twinkle in the distance, filling me with warmth and hope after spending the night sick with cold dread.

Luke shifting his weight distracts me from the view.

I fiddle with my snowman badge clip. “I don’t want to keep you.”

“Tonight’s been painfully slow, so you’re doing me a favor.”

My lips turn up at the corners. “Am I?”

“Yup. I hate feeling useless.”

“Must be that savior complex acting up again.”

“Are you diagnosing me?” He turns to face me with a smile.

“I would never dare, Doctor Darling.”

He beams. “Say that again.”

I roll my eyes. “And feed your power trip? No thanks.”

The sparkle in his eyes rivals the stars above us. “Please. At this rate, I will be begging for scraps of your attention.”

“You call this begging?” My gaze flickers over his tall form. It takes me far more effort than it should to fake my disinterest, especially with the way he fills out his scrubs. “Consider me unimpressed.”

“If you wanted me on my knees for the full effect, all you needed to do was ask.”

His words are like magic, sending an image through my head of him doing just that. Except we wouldn’t be on a roof, but rather, he would be on his knees, his hands reaching for my?—

“By all means, feel free to share whatever you’re thinking about that has you looking at me likethat.”

My cheeks burn. Thankfully, the night sky shields him from noticing…or so I thought.

He cups my warm cheek, and I suck in a breath at the way my body lights up from a single brush of his thumb against my skin.

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