Page 7 of Mistletoe Magic

I nod and lock up my office before wrapping my hand around his arm. He holds me tight to him. . . he smells so good. I ask him to stop at the desk to talk to Maisy.

“Doc is making me go get a CT scan. I’ll try to be back for rehearsal, but Mr. Davis should be here. Jack, could you call Lys and see if she can come over for me? Knowing Doc, he’s sending me home, which will be okay so I can work on the set.”

I giggle at Jack’s groan.

“Call me with the results.” He kisses my cheek. “Take good care of my girl here, or I’ll kick your ass.”

Hunter nods, and we walk out. I point to my car, which is across the lot. He leans me against the building and runs to get my car so I don’t have to walk. Why did I let my mom’s words get to me so badly? Once Hunter helps me to the car, I close my eyes as the sun is too bright. My head is pounding, and I can’t find my sunglasses.

“Did the doctor say anything about you falling asleep?” Hunter breaks the silence.

“No, he didn’t, so shut up and let me sleep,” I mutter as I place the now warming ice pack on my head.

“I’ll pull up here since that’s where the doc’s already standing.” Hunter seems proud of himself.

I sigh as I get out of the car. “I’m not riding in that wheelchair.”

“Yes, you are. Get in, or I’ll have them admit you.” Doc is testing my last nerve. He knows I don’t have time for his threats.

“Fine,” I huff as I flop down. “Waiting for Hunter?” I ask. Doc says yes, and makes small talk about Christmas and my plans. I know he’s going to the wedding as he’s related to Matthew’s family. He picked me over them, but his mother will be there. I can’t blame him for wanting to see her. She’s eighty-three and doesn’t have much time left here on Earth. “Well, give Nana my love.”

“I think you should bring Hunter as your date. That man would be a fine one to take and drive your mother crazy,” Doc says as he leans into my ear. I hit him playfully.

“Why is everyone trying to set me up with him?” I sigh. “Am I a lost cause of something? I don’t understand it. Jack is trying to do it too.”

“You arenota lost cause. Ava, you deserve more than anyone I know. You do more for everyone in your life, getting nothing in return.” Doc is making me cry. “Hunter might not be ‘the one,’ but he could be someone that you need right now. Who knows, he might need this too.” Doc quickly stands as Hunter jogs across the parking lot. He smiles, and Doc’s words stick with me.

I swallow hard at the tall, muscular man. I never noticed how handsome he really is until now. Could taking him to the wedding give my mother and sister a dose of their own medicine? Would I be able to move on from the stares from the town who knows every detail?

“Everything okay?” He looks between us. I nod, afraid to speak. “Doc, is there a way to get another ice pack? This is getting warm.” We enter the hospital and bypass everything. Doc takes me straight to imagining.

“You know this is overboard, right?” I ask anyone who will listen to me, and that’s really no one because Doc and Hunter are talking about sports. I sigh loudly, but nothing. Doc knows me too well, and I’m sure he’s telling Hunter to ignore my theatrics. Christmas music plays through the speakers once I’m in the CT scan bubble, which doesn’t help my headache, but it gets me thinking.

CouldI ask Hunter to be my date for the wedding?

Hunter

Doc leftAva and me sitting in the CT visiting room while looking over the results.

“Doc seems to care about you.” It wasn’t a question. The way he talks about her, you’d think he was her father. I found out he’s known her since she was four and first laced up her skates. He was the coach for the hockey team while he was home from college. Ava holds a special place in his heart.

“Yeah. He’s like an uncle to me. If I had married Matthew, then Doc would be my uncle-in-law. Now, my sister gets that pleasure.” She sighs.

“Do you miss Matthew or the idea of being married?” I ask her. I can’t make it out. Is she jealous of her sister because she still loves Matthew?

“Oh, God no. I don’t miss or love Matthew. I’m still very hurt by the two of them. I try to forgive them for my sanity, but I can’t. I see them or hear about this fucking wedding, and my heart feels like someone is ripping it to shreds. They took my wedding; did you know that?”

“What do you mean?” I’m intrigued. She smiles at me, and my heart does this weird flutter thing. I just met this woman. My dad talked about having this with my mom, but does insta-love really happen?

“It’s my wedding date, wedding venue, my caterers, and my flowers. I couldn’t get the deposits back on it, so she kept it since it was the same last name. My mom pretended she was me and granted my sister permission to use everything.”

“She did that?” Doc’s booming voice made us jump.

“Shit. No one was supposed to know.” Ava blushes. She doesn’t like anyone to think ill of her family and clearly seems to take the bad, so her parents don’t have to. She is a different woman than I’m used to. All the women I’ve encountered want the last name King for recognition and the money that comes with it. “Please forget you heard that,” Ava begs Doc. He nods, but I can tell that he doesn’t like it by his demeanor.

“No bleeds, which is good, but if I ask you, would you go home and take it easy for the night? Tomorrow, you can go back to your normal schedule. I’d like for you to rest, ice, and take care of yourself.”

“I won’t argue because I have some work at the apartment that needs to get done.” She smirks. Doc laughs, shaking his head. He raises his hands as he walks away, talking about a pain in the ass and what had he done in his past life that made him saddled with her, which makes Ava chuckle. “He loves me despite that.”

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