Page 46 of A Christmas Changes Everything

Though it was the second time in as many days he’d admitted missing her, emotion suddenly burned her throat and blurred her vision. Spoken as softly as his kiss had begun, his confession struck something deep in her heart, the effect more profound than Holly thought possible.

Since she’d experienced similar feelings less than thirty minutes ago, there was only one way for Holly to respond. “I’ve missed you too, Chace.” They probably needed to say a million other things to each other, but for tonight, they’d said enough.

15

Like clockwork, Chace’s internal alarm woke him every morning promptly at five, regardless of the time zone, when he went to bed, or how freaking exhausted he was. Therefore, he rarely, if ever, bothered to set an alarm. Not even last night when he’d barely had enough energy to haul his tired ass upstairs and into bed.

So, with no alarm set, what was that incessant buzzing sound that continued to invade his slumber?

When the noise failed to cease, Chace peeled one eye open to find a completely darkened room that told him absolutely nothing since the sun didn’t rise on the East Coast in December until around seven a.m. Groaning in protest, he rolled over and picked up his phone to check the actual time.

As he squinted at the screen, the cell vibrated against his hand.

Lyss.

The time:

04:45

Concerned about why his sister was calling before dawn, Chace scrambled to answer the call. “What’s wrong?”

“I could ask you the same thing. I’ve been trying to get hold of you and Holly for over an hour.”

Relieved that she wasn’t in tears, Chace sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “It’s the middle of the freaking night, Lyss.”

“Yeah. Sorry about that. But since you’ve always been a light sleeper, I thought I’d call to update you on Sean while they run some tests on him.”

Scrubbing a hand over his whisker-stubbled face, Chace mentally calculated the time difference between them and realized it was nearing eleven in the morning in Germany. “How is he?”

“All things considered, a lot better than I imagined. That’s not to say he doesn’t have a long road to recovery ahead of him, but he’s alert and seemingly in good spirits.”

“Seemingly?”

Lyss chuckled. “Well, from what I can tell, he’s not wallowing in self-pity, but I haven’t gotten to spend much time alone with him since his arrival unless he’s sleeping. Doctors, nurses, and technicians are constantly in and out of his room, tending to his injuries or running tests.”

“Which, as a nurse, you should understand.”

“I know.” She sighed.

“What are the docs telling you?” Chace asked, knowing full well that if the medical staff weren’t forthcoming with information, his sister would track them down and pepper them relentlessly with questions until she got the answers she wanted.

“Technically, his condition was upgraded from critical to fair before transport yesterday, and as of this morning, he’s maintaining that status. They’re continually monitoring his vitals, of course, and ensuring his internal injuries are healing properly. His leg is immobilized, and the scans they’re running right now will determine if the bone is fusing back together on its own or if he’ll require surgery. Singularly, his injuries are manageable, but they present more opportunities for complications, like leakages, infection, and necrosis when combined.”

Chace had no idea what over half of the information Lyss had just relayed to him even meant. Obviously, as a nurse, she did, and since she didn’t sound hysterical or overly concerned, he’d take that as a positive sign. “How areyoudoing?”

“Tired, but not as worried now that I’ve seen him.” She laughed again. “Even though he looks like hell.”

“I hope you didn’t tell him that.”

“No. Not yet, anyway.”

“Play nice, Alyssa.”

“You don’t think he’d tell me if I looked like I’d just gone ten rounds with Tyson Fury?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean you have to rub salt into his already painful wounds.”

“Speaking of painful wounds, how’s everything going with you and Holly?”

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