CHAPTER SIX

Mateo paused, water bottle at his lips. Then slowly, he set it down. His eyes glinted with a hint of vulnerability. “You are.”

She coughed, thumping her chest before recovering.

“You okay?”

“Um, fine. When Scott wheeled you into the ER and covered your butt, he’d said your girl wouldn’t see anything. He was referring to me?”

“Yeah. He knew I have a thing for you, but it’s not like I assumed anything. It was his way of messing with me.”

“I thought you had a girlfriend.” At his dumbfounded look, she forged ahead. “Here at the clinic. I was trying to figure out who your girlfriend was, but I couldn’t remember seeing you talking to anyone in particular.”

“Except you.”

“Yeah, except me. I’m only now realizing that.”

He took her hand. “I’ve been crushing on you since we first met. But you staying at my house? Don’t think I’m maneuvering you. If you’re more comfortable with Anayah, that’s fine. I want you with me, but you feeling safe and comfortable is more important.”

“Mateo, I’d like to stay with you.”

His smile beamed like the sun. “Good. That’s damn good.”

***

Thunder rolled overhead and Juliette leaned against Mateo. They were lounging on the couch in his living room, the lights were off as part of concussion care, and a fire in the gas fireplace made the room cozy. She’d called Oliver, who’d insisted on talking with Mateo before he’d been satisfied she was in good hands.

Fairy lights twinkled from greenery on the mantel, and a small potted evergreen in the corner had a star on top and small ornaments hanging from its branches. A couple of wrapped presents sat below it.

“I like your decorations. It’s hard to believe Christmas is less than a week away.” She tilted her head to study his profile. “How do you celebrate the holidays?”

She felt him shrug. “I’m not religious. To me the holidays are about tradition and celebrating family and friends, and letting them know you love and value them.”

“I like that.”

“How does your family celebrate?”

“When Oliver and I were kids, it seemed more about family, but in the past few years my parents seem more interested in hosting and attending parties. They spend time with people I don’t even know.”

She lifted a shoulder. “Oliver and I make time to see each other. He’s got a new girlfriend. I think he really likes her, and her family invited him to spend Christmas with them. They invited me too, which is kind of them, but I’m staying in Sisters. I’ll be spending my time looking for a place to live.”

She thought he was about to say something, but he seemed to change his mind; instead, he pressed a kiss to her temple.

With the living room curtains open, they watched lightning fork across the sky followed by thunder echoing off the mountains. Rain started with a few fat drops hitting the roof and within minutes became a torrent.

“Wow. Mountain weather is intense,” she murmured.

“I’m glad you’re here with me.” His arms tightened and she snuggled against him, reveling in the feeling of being right where she was supposed to be.

***

The sound of rain beating on the roof, along with the howling wind, brought Mateo out of sleep. He lay quietly studying Juliette’s profile in the half light of early morning. Everything in him yearned for her and for the future he could see for them together. She stirred and stretched, then shifted to gaze at him with sleepy eyes and wild curls framing her face.

“I can’t believe we slept together without making love.”

He traced a finger across her cheekbones. “We will. But you have a concussion, so it’s not now.”

His finger dipped to her collarbone. “I was engaged once.” He hadn’t intended to say the words. They simply spilled out of his mouth.

“Yeah? Me too. What happened?”

He turned onto his back. “Her name was Naomi. I loved her. Or maybe I convinced myself I loved her. She said she loved me, but in the end, she didn’t. Not enough anyway.” He shrugged. “She backed out two days before the wedding.”

“Oh Mateo. That had to be devastating.”

“It was. At the time. Now I know I dodged a bullet so I can’t really be mad about it. Better then than three years later.”

“Kinda makes it hard to trust someone though. At least that’s been my experience.”

He laughed. “Pair that with my prom date sleeping with another dude the night after the dance, and you could be right. It’s taken me a while to put that aside.” He paused, then asked, “What happened with you?”

She took his hand, outlining it with the tip of her finger. “My parents had a yearly holiday party at our house for the surgical residents at the hospital. Brady was one of them. I was in my last year of college. I had finals the next day and didn’t want to attend, but my parents insisted.

“Brady made a beeline for me when I came down the stairs. He wooed me, I guess you’d call it. It was a whirlwind romance, and before I knew it, he’d asked my father for my hand in marriage. The next day he was down on one knee with the most stunning diamond ring I’d ever seen.”

“Did you love him?”

“No, but I liked him a lot and thought I could love him. Eventually.”

“You said yes.”

“I did. People don’t think about the pressure when someone is down on their knee in front of a crowd. My parents were thrilled, and I was so tired of always being a disappointment to them so I went along with it.”

“They thought you were a disappointment?” He couldn’t keep the incredulity out of his voice. Whatever had happened in his life, he’d always known his parents loved him unconditionally. “What did Oliver say?”

“He took me down to the beach so we’d be out of earshot of Brady and our parents and grilled me. He could see I wasn’t head over heels. When I said I was sticking with it, he made me promise to have a long engagement.”

“Ha. Smart guy.”

“Yeah. It was a long enough engagement for me to catch Brady doing it against the wall with the pool guy.”

She said it offhandedly, but Mateo was pissed. “Fucking asshole.”

“To say the least. In fact, that’s what I called Brady while he was pulling up his Tommy John boxers. Brady was yelling that I didn’t understand the pressure he was under.

“Oliver came running and risked damaging his surgeon’s hands by plowing a fist into Brady’s face.”

“Good for him.”

“I think my parents were more disappointed with the breakup than I was.”

“You had to be hurt.”

“No permanent scars other than a low tolerance for cheaters and liars.”

“Yet you fell for me.”

“I fell, all right, but I never thought you were a cheater or a liar. You never promised me anything. Anayah and I figured you were a player.”

He snorted. “You thought I was a man-whore, you mean. I’ve never slept around, and once I laid eyes on you, Juliette, you were all I could see.”

The kiss started sweet, then heated fast.

He was struggling to remind himself she’d been diagnosed with a concussion only the night before when his phone rang.

He sat up, phone to his ear.

“Reynoso.” He listened. “Okay, I’ll be there. Thanks.”

He turned to Juliette. “That was dispatch. The storm is causing flooding. I need to go in.” A thought occurred and he picked up his phone again. “I’m calling Sawyer and Walker. If Mill Creek floods, they won’t be able to get the women off the farm.”

“Oh god, you’re right.” She got out of bed, pulling on her robe before heading to the bathroom.

Mateo called Sawyer and, after a tense conversation, hung up the phone. Juliette came in as Mateo was grabbing his clothes for the shower.

“Cam’s water broke. She and Sawyer are on their way to the clinic. Delaney was having regular contractions, so she and Walker are already there.

“Sawyer got a call from Shane. He and Emery are on their way into town because he didn’t want to get cut off if Mill Creek floods.”

“Wow. Okay. I need to get to the clinic.”

He took her shoulders, giving her a searching look. “How’s your head?”

“Sore where the bruise is. Otherwise, fine. No headache. I need to get to the clinic. We could have three women in labor at the same time. I hope Doctor Tran stayed in town.”