After the Christmas Party(33)

It had been months before Chase had wanted anyone at the hospital to be aware that they were dating and then he’d acted more embarrassed than proud.

“Why are you so nice to me?” she mused out loud.

“Huh?” Obviously, he had no clue what she meant. Which made her happy inside. He wasn’t putting on airs or trying to impress her, just being himself.

“I’m just curious why you’re so nice to me.”

“I already told you the answer to that, princess. More than once.”

“What’s that?”

“I like you.” He smiled and she deep-down knew he believed what he said. He liked her. “A lot.”

“This is good,” Trinity praised twenty minutes later, the lemony grilled salmon practically melting in her mouth. “Much better than my grilled cheese the other night. I think you missed your calling.”

“I happened to like your grilled cheese the other night, although perhaps not the butt-kicking at chess that followed.” He grinned. “You really think I should give up cardiology and cook for a living?”

She snorted. “When you word it that way, probably not, but you are a very talented man and I am well aware that I barely won that chess game.”

“Glad you noticed and appreciate my efforts.”

“Oh, I notice.” Every detail about him. She took another bite. “You have a beautiful place, Riley.”

“I like it. When I was looking to buy, I knew I’d make an offer on this one the moment I stepped inside, even though it’s a little further from the hospital than I’d intended. It felt like I was coming home.”

She glanced out the windows towards the sea. “Great view.”

“It’s better tonight than usual.”

But when she turned to him, he wasn’t looking at the gulf. He was looking at her.

Heat infused her entire body. “You don’t have to say things like that, you know.”

“I know. I want to.”

“Why?”

“Why?” He sounded confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know. You’re just always complimenting me and I don’t want you to feel it’s necessary.”

“But complimenting you is necessary. Very necessary.”

She wanted to ask why again, but didn’t want to sound like a broken record. So she smiled. With Riley, when in doubt about what to do, smiling seemed to work best. “This house suits you. Functional, beautiful—”

“Christmasy?” he interjected, grinning.

“Christmasy,” she agreed, unable to deny his claim. He was everything Christmas should be. Everything that Christmas had never been. Not for her. But everything he did made a long-suppressed part of her memory pull forward.

Enough so that she experienced a twinge of panic, but the evening was too nice to let doubt ruin it.

They finished eating and together cleared away the dishes, stacking them in the sink. Trinity tried to load them into the dishwasher, but he shook his head.

“Not now. Let’s go for that walk on the beach. I’ve been looking forward to it since you first mentioned doing so earlier.”

“Okay.” She set her plate down on the marble countertop and picked up the jacket he’d set out earlier for their walk as the wind was brisk. “You talked me into it.”

Putting on his own lightweight jacket, he laughed. “That’s my girl.”

As much as she kept telling herself that she wasn’t in love with this man, that she wouldn’t fall in love with him, she couldn’t argue with his statement.

She was his girl.

Indisputably.

Hand in hand, Riley and Trinity walked along the beach. Ignoring how much he wanted Trinity was getting more and more difficult. He didn’t want to rush her, didn’t want to make wild assumptions, but from the moment she’d arrived all he’d wanted to do was pull her into his arms.

Her mind stimulated him.

Her quick wit stimulated him.

Her curvy little body stimulated him.

It was the latter that was currently tearing his resolve into bits. He felt as if he was in a constant state of stimulation.

He couldn’t recall ever feeling this way. Not even when he’d been a randy teenager.

Letting go of his hand, she’d ran ahead of him, laughing as the waves lapped at her bare feet. She turned to beckon him to join her. Wind whipped at her hair.

Temptation whipped at his soul.

What he wanted was to push her down in the surf, rip her clothes off and make love to her right then and there, with the waves crashing around their naked bodies.

He swallowed, watched her dance around in the white foam.

“Riley, hurry,” she called. The water crashed around her ankles and she laughed, looking and sounding freer than he recalled ever seeing her.