Hello Dr Christmas
Page 6
“Twenty percent?” I whisper, still sniffling. “That’s the best number I’ve ever heard so far. If there’s a twenty percent chance, I’ll take it. Do whatever you can to make me better.”
“I will,” he responds. “I promise. But what will you do in the 80% chance that I can only make you partially better? Will you hate me? Will you blame me for ending your career?”
“No,” I whisper, reaching for him. I grasp his collar, and pull him close to me so that I can kiss his lips. “But I have another question, Klaus. Do you think there’s even a 1% that you might… want to be with me? Like more than just… physically?”
Klaus laughs softly. For a moment, my heart aches, and I think he’s going to refuse and say there’s no chance in hell. But then his blue eyes shine down on me, and I know his answer.
“Clara, I know that things moved fast, and it seemed like a casual hookup to you. Especially since we didn’t use our names, and whatever. But this was never just physical for me. I wouldn’t have been able to have sex with you if I didn’t… feel something special for you. There’s a reason that you’re the only woman I’ve had any desire to touch in all these years since I lost my wife.”
“Do you think you’re ready to try… to be with someone again?” I ask him. “Is it too soon for you?”
“I wasn’t ready before I met you,” he responds honestly. “But now, I just… I don’t know. The idea of getting on that plane to Europe without you in the morning makes me sick. Is that crazy? I don’t know how I’m ever going to try to be with any woman other than you, ever again. Please don’t make me have to try. I’m so tired of strangers. I just want to know you, and have you.”
He interlaces his fingers with mine, and I feel breathless and overwhelmed. “Klaus,” I say touching his face. “You’re a miracle. I want you to know that. Whether you can fix my foot or not, you’re my Christmas miracle.”
“Just do me one favor, Clara, please?” he begs. He is literally on one knee, begging.
“Anything,” I respond.
“Don’t die on me,” he says earnestly.
“Oh, Klaus,” I say with a tiny laugh, feeling the tears start again. I wrap my arms around him, and hold him close. “I am kind of bulletproof. Don’t worry about that.”
“I can tell from your feet. I think you could literally shoot those things with bullets, and they would just bounce off.”
“Woman of steel,” I say with a smile. “But seriously. I was in the darkest place I’ve been in years, and you gave me hope. I don’t know how miserable I would have been this Christmas if I hadn’t found you. There was nowhere I really wanted to be, nothing I really wanted to do. And now… all I know is that I want to be wherever you are. Whether that’s Sweden, The North Pole, or the moon—I’m getting on that damn plane with you tomorrow.”
“Okay, good,” he says, kissing me and holding me against his chest. “That’s really, really good. And I’ll put you on my operating table, and cut you open, and make you brand new.”
“Deal,” I say with a smile. And then I pause. “Hey, Klaus? Did you know that your cousin has sex on airplanes?”
“No, I did not know this,” he responds. “Men don’t talk about such things as much as women do.”
“I mean, no pressure or anything,” I say lightly. “No expectations. Just mentioning it, just because. It’s an interesting point, worth considering.”
Klaus laughs softly, lowering me to the couch and unbuttoning my Christmas pajamas. “Well, unlike Sven, I’m a medical doctor who must uphold a certain standard of behavior, or risk losing my license. However, I think I can satisfy you so much on this couch tonight that you will be unable to walk properly on that plane tomorrow.”
“Oh my,” I say with a giggle. “He talks a big game. I would like to accept that challenge, but must remind you that my foot is busted, so I will be unable to walk properly on the plane no matter what you do.”
“Exactly,” he says, lowering his face to my neck, and grazing the skin with his stubble. He rains kisses up to my ear, and whispers softly. “I’m going to satisfy you so much that you won’t be able to walk properly for weeks.”
This causes me to laugh as he pulls my pajamas off and begins to make love to me.
Epilogue
The following November…
“Clara, are you still practicing?” Klaus asks, as he walks into my beautiful home dance studio. Cedar wood covered in mirrors, with two walls of windows to let in natural light—the architecture of his home is stunning. “We’re leaving Stockholm in four hours, and we’re barely packed.”
I finish the sequence of movements I’m working on, ending in a perfect arabesque and sissonne that I couldn’t even perform three months ago. “Yes,” I say, pumping my fist.
“Holy shit,” Klaus says. “Are you sure you’re strong enough for that?”
“Of course,” I say, moving over to him and sliding my arms around his neck. “Because my wonderful boyfriend is a genius on the operating table. If I keep practicing, I should be able to star in Romeo and Juliet with the Swedish ballet company, in the spring.”
“I will be in the audience with flowers, every single night,” he tells me, placing a tender kiss against my lips.
“I know you will,” I say happily. And I am happy. I never imagined that getting injured could be the best thing that ever happened to me, but it led me to Klaus, and now I don’t feel empty when I dance. I also work for a company that appreciates my talent, where every single person is supportive and caring—not cutthroat and brutal. I actually go out after work for drinks with my fellow dancers.
When my phone rings, I look around for a second, forgetting where I placed it. Then I see my sweater and purse in a corner, and rush over to answer. It’s a video call from Mary. I push accept, and see her looking very pregnant and exhausted.
“Mary! Holy crap, are you going into labor?”
“I don’t know,” she says with annoyance, panting through what might be a contraction. “I’ve never done this before, and I’m freaking out. Can you please get home soon?”
“We’re getting on the plane in a few hours,” I tell her. “But isn’t Mom there?”
“Yes, but Sven is driving me crazy,” she whispers into the phone. “He keeps making me health food. I can’t eat any of that junk right now. I just want tacos. I need junk food, and if I see another goddamned holiday-themed protein shake I am going to scream!”
I laugh softly.
“Is my cousin there?” Klaus asks from behind me.
“No,” Mary responds. “Because I had to get away from him. He has already decided this kid is going to be an athlete, just like his daddy and Auntie Clara, so I’m the one who has to suffer through all the protein shakes. I’m trying to explain to him that he’s going to have many years to feed the actual kid once it’s born, and it’s not going to pop out of me with giant muscles, pumping dumbbells, but you know Sven.”
“I’ll try to distract him from being too overbearing,” Klaus says with a laugh. “He’s just excited, Mary! It’s his first child.”
“Bring junk food,” she says with a groan. “Please bring lots of junk food.”
“I will try. I’ll bring lots of Swedish treats. What about Evie? Is she home yet?”
“She and Adam went to some charity event,” Mary explains. “Evie’s actually really getting into helping him with his fundraisers. And I think he’s planning to propose to her soon. Maybe even this Christmas, in front of the whole family.”
“Oooh,” I exclaim with excitement. “That’s going to be amazing. I’m so happy for her.”
“What about you two?” Mary asks. “When are you guys getting hitched?”
“Does it matter?” I ask laughing and holding up my hand. “I’ve already got this shiny rock on my finger.”
“It does, most definitely, matter,” Mary says. “Because we need plenty of time for wedding planning and everything.
“Don’t worry, we’re not as spont
aneous as you and Sven,” I tell her, hugging Klaus around the waist. “You will have plenty of notice before I need to get a white dress and start popping out babies. It won’t be like fifteen days, or whatever the heck you gave us.”
“Well, when you know, you know,” Mary says with a smile, rubbing her giant belly. “I’m just happy you seem to be in such a better place than you were last year at this time, Clara.”
“I really am. Thanks to the change of scenery, and this amazing man,” I say, smiling at Klaus.
“Clara and Klaus!” Mary says with a happy sigh. “The only names that will look just as good together on a wedding invitation as Adam and Eve.”
“I think our names look even better together,” Klaus says with a grin. “But I hope you all are prepared to fly to Stockholm for the wedding.”
“I love any excuse to travel,” Mary says. “As soon as this little one gets out of me.”
“Just a few more days, Mary,” I tell her with a bright smile. “And we’ll all be home for Christmas, and there to meet the newest member of the Frost family.”
“Don’t you mean the Andersson family,” Klaus teases.
“The Andersson-Frost family,” Mary responds. “So hurry up and pack, you two! And don’t forget the snacks!”
We both laugh as we hang up.
“I can’t wait to meet my niece or nephew,” I say with a happy sigh.
“And I can’t wait to meet my… first cousin once removed? Second cousin?” Klaus asks with confusion.
“When you marry me, he or she will just be your niece or nephew-in-law,” I offer.
“That’s much simpler,” he responds with a grin. “So what was that about the white dress and popping out babies? Did you think you might be ready for that sort of thing, anytime soon?”
“Maybe after I finish dancing in Romeo and Juliet,” I tell him. “I just want to prove to myself that I’m still good enough to be a principal dancer, before I put my body under even more pressure.”
“Well, I’m ready whenever you are,” Klaus responds, kissing my hand. “Your health and strength are my main priority, always.”
I sigh with contentment. “How the heck did I get so lucky, and find a great guy like you?”
“I was really drunk that night,” he jokes with a wink. Then he slaps me on the ass. “Come on, woman, we need to pack!”
“Okay, okay,” I say, grinning and walking after him. But when we pass the photograph of his beautiful late wife, that he still keeps on his fireplace mantle, I pause and smile at Lilly. She and I have had many long conversations over the months that I’ve been living here.
“Finders keepers,” I whisper to her, with a wink.
Thank you for reading the Snowflake Creek series!
Book One: You Can’t Ruin Christmas
Book Two: All I Want for Christmas Eve
Book Three: Hello Dr. Christmas
Other books by Olivia Noble:
Love Under the Sun
A Caribbean Christmas
A St. Vincent Valentine
A Sorrento Summer
Billionaires Underground
Club Luxe 1: The Private Room
Club Luxe 2: Secrets Exposed
Club Luxe 3: Deadly Lust
Club Luxe 4: Tortured Heart
Club Luxe 5: New Beginnings
Club Luxe 6: Forever
Billionaires on the Beach
Just a Fling
More than a Fling
Just a Flirt
More than a Flirt
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