He navigated me there, and I dropped him off in the front so I could find a place to park. After finding an empty spot, I ran toward the hospital, praying with each breath that she would be fine. I didn’t know how Tyler would take it if something happened to Pigeon.

I didn’t know how I would take it.

As I pulled open the doors, I saw Tyler and Pigeon in one of the examination rooms. She was lying on the counter, still crying and shaking. He was trying to calm her without petting her since touching her seemed to make it worse.

A nurse came into the room and asked what was going on. We tumbled over each other, trying to explain her symptoms and reactions.

The nurse nodded, listening. She tenderly touched Pigeon’s back, and there was more yelping. “Let me go get the doctor.”

She returned a couple of minutes later with the veterinarian in tow. He examined Pigeon, and came to a stop when she cried out again.

“Obviously she’s in a lot of pain,” the vet said, “and we’re going to give her some pain medications so that we can run some more tests. This could be just about anything—a slipped disc, a pinched nerve, muscle pain. It’ll take us a little while to check her out, do some blood work, maybe an X-ray. Given how late it is, why don’t you leave her here and we will call you just as soon as we know what’s going on?”

Neither one of us wanted to leave, but we weren’t given the option to stay. I drove Tyler home with him speaking only to tell me which turn to take until I got to familiar territory.

We walked out of the garage, into the lobby, and into the elevator without talking. Part of me thought we should just go to bed, try to get some sleep. My hope was that she was fine, that this was something simple and she’d be okay. My fear was that something was really wrong with her and I didn’t want to face what it would be like to lose her.

Tyler went into the living room and collapsed on the couch and I followed him. “Do you want to watch some TV while we wait? It will take our minds off things.” It was the only way I could think to comfort him. Distract him.

He looked at me bleary eyed and for a moment I thought he would say no. Instead he just nodded and I picked up the remote.

Just as I got the TV turned on, his phone rang. He grabbed for it and I muted the television. Could it be the hospital calling us already?

“Uh-huh. I see. Send me the information.” He hung up.

“Who was that?”

“Work. Some deal is potentially falling through out in California and they want me to get on a flight in a few hours to fix the situation. If something’s wrong with Pigeon—”

“She’ll be fine,” I interrupted him. We had to stay positive.

“If something’s really wrong, I won’t go.” He rubbed his face with his hands. “But I have to go. My whole job could be on the line.”

“Like I said, she’s going to be fine and we’ll bring her home and I’ll baby her until she feels better and then you’ll be back home before we know it, right?”

He nodded.

“It does kind of suck, though, that they’re making you come out the day before Christmas Eve.”

“I’ll be back in time for eggnog and presents,” he promised.

That made me smile as I thought of the presents I’d gotten him. The first was a check for rent. I didn’t know what he paid but I’d finally managed to smooth out my budget (in large part because I was finally able to stop replacing things) and I had enough to give him something. I felt very proud of it, that I could contribute and that he wouldn’t have to take care of me. I figured we’d work out the actual amount after he opened it.

The second was a photo book I’d made from a website. I took that photo of him and Pigeon and got them some new background images: Buckingham Palace, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Grand Canyon. Things like that.

The last photo had a bunch of Pokémon images surrounding them. I didn’t know which ones were his favorite, but I thought Tyler would get a kick out of it.

I had noticed a couple of presents with my name on them under the tree and it had taken all my willpower not to shake them or mess with them in any way. Okay, maybe I had a little. And one was heavy and the other was light and felt like clothes. But I could have been wrong!

“Turn the show on,” he said, his head lolling against the back of the sofa. I nodded and we watched TV until an alarm sounded and he announced, “I have to go and get packed. A car’s going to be here to pick me up soon.”

I wanted to help him somehow. Maybe offer to assist him with his packing? But I knew there was nothing I could do. We probably wouldn’t even hear anything until the hospital reopened officially at eight o’clock in the morning. And by then he’d be on his way to Los Angeles already.

As I washed countertops and swept floors just to keep my mind busy, he returned, wearing a suit and pulling his suitcase. He slipped his laptop into a bag and strapped it across his chest.

“Will you call me the second you know something about Pigeon?” I asked.

He nodded, weary. “I don’t want to leave until—” His phone beeped. “My ride’s here,” he said.

“It will be okay,” I told him.

Then his phone rang. The driver must have been impatient. Tyler answered and said, “Hello?”

His eyes went wide. “Yes? I appreciate you calling. So it was a slipped disc?” Then he put the phone on speaker so we could both hear.

The nurse’s voice came through clearly and reassuringly. “We gave her pain medication and the doctor did a little manipulation of her spine, but she’s going to be fine. We’ll give you a prescription when you come to pick her up, but she should be back to her old self soon.”

“Thank you!” I said, nearly ready to burst into tears I was so relieved.

“You can come pick her up in the morning,” the nurse said.

Tyler echoed my thank-you, said goodbye, and then dropped the phone on the counter.

“Isn’t that so great?” I asked. “I knew she was going to be okay!”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, the next thing I knew, he had pulled me into his arms.

And then he was kissing me.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

At first there was just shock. Total shock that he was kissing me. It was like some kind of kiss explosion. One second he was saying goodbye on the phone and the next his mouth was on mine. I could feel his relief, but there was more. There was passion. There was joy. All those things being conveyed, and more.

He held me so tight that I should have felt suffocated; instead all I felt was delight at getting to touch him and hold him again. I loved the feel of his strength against me. His edges pressed against my softness, his corded muscles tightening around me to keep me close.

His mouth was a blur of action, moving so quickly I could barely keep up or breathe. But I didn’t care. This was where I wanted to be. Kissing Tyler. Being held by him. Like no world existed outside of the circle of his embrace.

The electricity was still there, sparking and crackling as it filled up every part of me. But it was something more. Like the electrical storm had morphed into a firestorm. There was a blinding need and searing heat. My entire body felt like it was about to be engulfed in flames and I wanted to burn.