Page 27 of Take Me Home for Christmas

My heart swelled with happiness and gratitude that my mom was on the road back to health. And that I was with the people I loved most in the world.

“Santa’s coming,” Emma said, her tiny voice almost a whisper. “In this many days.” She held up three fingers.

“What did you ask Santa for?” Brax asked with the practiced nonchalance of someone who talks with kids all day long.

“Mommy and me took my old books to the kids at the hospital,” she said. “So I got to ask Santa for more.”

“That’s really kind of you, Emma,” Brax said. “Having fun books to read is really important for kids.”

Emma beamed. Yet another woman succumbing to his spell, no doubt.

“She loves books,” Dina explained.

As I glanced down at my plate, I noticed my peas had vanished. Just like that. As Brax was dazzling me with his smile, he must’ve scooped them right up.

I felt—well, a little dizzy, to be honest. I wasn’t used to somebody having my back. I was used to having my own back, which was working out just fine, thank you. But still, what he’d done floored me. And also made me relieved, because I knew that I was one pea away from a giant hurl.

I shifted my gaze to Brax, but he was laughing at something my mother said.

As dinner wore on, I braced myself for embarrassing anecdotes from my brothers, like the time I’d tossed a half-peeled potato at Liam and given him a black eye, or how I’d been able to outrun both of them for most of my teen years, until they turned into bricks of solid muscle, or a more touching one about the time I’d gotten into med school and both of them spontaneously showed up at my college dorm with champagne. All classic family lore, which got told in one form or another during that dinner.

“Tell everyone that funny story about how you two met,” Mom said, setting down her fork, propping her elbows, and tenting her fingers, all ears.

Brax seemed to be all ears too.

Panic closed my throat as I considered what to say. We’d actually met twice. The first time was at a bar. We’d each gone with friends, and our respective teams had gone head-to-head in a trivia game.

He’d told me that night that he’d just moved from Philadelphia, where he’d done his residency at CHOP, to take a position in the clinic at Children’s Wisconsin because he loved to teach. And because of his mentor, Dr. Atticus Pendergast, whom he’d met while he was an undergrad at UW. Dr. Pendergast was a legend, a beloved pediatrician who was still revered in town. I loved that Brax had been lucky enough to know and be inspired by him. Brax hoped—like many of us residents whowere planning to stay in Milwaukee—to land a prime spot in the impressive practice that he created.

Our connection was instant, raw, and electric. That night was followed by two glorious weeks where I was certain I’d found my soul mate.

I decided to stick with the G-rated version. I racked my brain to remember precisely what I’d told my mom, what exactly that version was.

Our next “meeting” had been at the hospital, at the welcome-new-residents gathering in July where Brax introduced himself as the chief resident in charge of interns.

Yeah, not a meet cute. Because as I sat there, it dawned on me that he was the guy I thought I was in love with, the guy who hadn’t called me in the week since our last date, who hadn’t been answering my texts. Then Sam, who was seated next to me, whispered, “I’d like to have a private morning report with him.” She chuckled. “At his place.”

I sat there frozen, my heart practically fibrillating in my chest. Because I hadbeenat his place. As recently as last weekend, eating Chinese and having hot, wild sex in his bed…and other places.

I smacked my head. Suddenly, I got it. Why he hadn’t called me.

Could it be he’d discovered that he was my colleague? He’d been going to teach in the clinic, but now for some reason, he ended up as a chief resident in my program. But even with the job switch, he had no authority or power over me. He wasn’t my boss—he was in charge of the brand-new residents, the interns, the ones fresh out of med school. Not. Me.

Was he merely ghosting me in the cruelest way possible, one that would mean we’d see each other every single day despite having broken up?

I felt like a fool.

And I was angry. Why hadn’t he told me? Been an adult about it?

Brax seemed completely unperturbed, not acknowledging me in any way other than as a present and accounted-for resident. A warm body to take call and keep the wards orbiting in their usual state of contained chaos.

This was not a meet cute. It was a fricking nightmare.

After the meeting, everyone scurried away to do their twelve-plus hours of work. I told Sam I needed to stay and discuss some business.

How could Brax blindside me like this? Also, how on earth were we supposed to work together after all this?

Brax and I walked down to a tiny used-to-be medical supply closet, which was now his office. He unlocked the door and gestured for me to go inside.

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