WHILST THE BED was comfortable, it wasn’t the best night’s sleep. The wind howled and the trees nearby creaked, making her wonder if they might come down on the hospital. The buzzers went a few times, mainly just for minor things, but the disturbed sleep didn’t help.
By the time she’d showered in the morning and dressed in a pair of scrubs, Paige felt as if she’d done ten rounds in a boxing ring. New bruises had appeared on her body—clearly from where she’d fallen with Stefan in the café to shelter.
Strange things were happening with her. Yesterday on a few occasions she’d felt an unusual connection with Stefan. Paige had only had a few relationships—things she’d kind of fallen into. But she’d never really met someone and felt an instant attraction—a buzz—and she part wondered if she was just stressed and this was her brain trying to distract her.
But her brain couldn’t make up the little flutter in her chest when her eyes sometimes connected with Stefan’s, or the tingle in her fingers when her skin had come into contact with his.
Her life felt like a rollercoaster. One day she’d been at work, then she’d been sent on a recuperation holiday of a lifetime, then she’d been involved in a natural disaster, which now meant she was trapped. If she told someone this story it was likely they wouldn’t believe her.
She’d never felt so unsettled. So uncertain or so unsure. This whole situation was madness. But, hopefully, manageable madness. In her head she had already formed a list. X-rays. Assessment. Surgeries. Theatre was not normal for an A&E doctor, but sometimes she’d been called to assist, or ended up in situations in the resus room that weren’t too far from theatre procedures. She might need some guidance but she was confident enough that she could assist Stefan.
But all that still couldn’t explain that tiny feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had been there for a long time, but coming here had finally forced her to acknowledge it. She might be in the middle of a disaster, but things were stripped back here. She didn’t have her own job to think about. She wasn’t surrounded by familiar things and friends. Taking those parts of her life away and realising the gnawing feeling was still there made it all the more real.
She walked down the corridor to the kitchen. The sun wasn’t up entirely, but all her colleagues were. Tea was made, and a large box of cornflakes and a stack of bowls sat on the counter.
‘Don’t want to torture people with the smell of toast if we have to fast them for surgery,’ said Lynn. ‘That would just be mean.’
She pushed the milk towards Paige, who filled her bowl. ‘Do we know how we’re starting?’
Stefan pushed a list towards her. ‘This is the order I think we should do the X-rays. Do you agree?’
She glanced at it and nodded. ‘Once we’ve reviewed, we’ll decide the order for surgery or casts?’
The mood was sombre this morning, probably because they were all aware of the storm raging all night. Lynn handed over some charts. ‘I decided to formalise our paperwork. Observations, medicines and notes. Found a computer and printer in the office—’ she smiled at Stefan ‘—that thankfully had the generic log-in on a sticky note next to it.’
He rolled his eyes. ‘My colleague was site manager here. He’s notorious at work for it. Fortunately for him, his wife is expecting twins and he had to fly back to Hollywood at short notice.’ He looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. ‘You have no idea how glad I am that he wasn’t here when this happened.’
They all nodded. Stefan sighed. ‘I’ve checked everyone this morning. Given some more pain meds so we can move to X-ray. There were a few tears. I think shock is finally hitting our patients. Yesterday, they were just grateful to have survived, and to have somewhere warm to sleep. Today, they are stiff and sore from yesterday, and most of them have clocked the weather and know it’s likely we’ll be here for a few days. Christmas is a big issue.’
‘If it comes to it, we can make Christmas work,’ said Paige decisively.
‘Has anyone spoken to Franco yet this morning?’
They all shook their heads. ‘Let’s do some X-rays,’ said Joe. ‘Hopefully by the time we’re finished, Franco might have some news for us.’
Ninety minutes later, Stefan and Paige had all the information they needed. Little Claudia definitely needed surgery to pin her tibia and fibula. One of the women with a fractured ankle needed some manipulation and a cast. The other needed surgery, as did the woman with the fractured ulna and radius. Rafe had six rib fractures. He was probably the sickest here, but there was no surgery that could help him. Bruno’s head injury was stable, but he still needed observation. Eva, the pregnant lady, was fine, just anxious, and Bob was keeping his blood sugar under control with only the short-acting insulin. The one who was giving unexpected concern was their elderly man with angina. After a comfortable night, settled with some nitrate medicine, Eduardo had started to experience chest pain again. His ECG was mildly concerning.
‘In an ideal world we would do emergency bloods,’ said Paige. ‘But there’s no chance of that here.’
Stefan looked around. It was clear he was measuring the range of experience in the room. ‘I know the weather isn’t good,’ he said carefully. ‘But, if there’s a break in the weather, we might have a chance to Medevac some people out. Eduardo would be my number one patient to get out of here. He needs bloods, and probably somewhere they have a cath lab in case he’s heading for a myocardial infarction. Does everyone agree?’
Paige nodded. ‘Who would you consider next?’
‘That’s difficult,’ he mused. ‘It could depend on how our surgeries go today. If we could get extra insulin for Bob, he will be fine. If Bruno took a turn for the worse, I’d struggle with the appropriate surgical equipment, or the expertise. He’d be next for me.’
Paige nodded again. ‘It’s like playing a lottery with people’s lives, and I hate that. But we have to try and prioritise.’ They’d already decided that both doctors and Joe would be in Theatre today. Lynn would do any casts post-surgery, and Cathy would be keeping an eye on everyone else.
Cathy gave a solemn nod. ‘So, if Franco gets in touch, I know the first two patients to get ready for transfer.’
‘Don’t be afraid to come and get us. Getting someone inside a rescue stretcher is difficult. They might only send the stretcher down in a winch if they think it’s too dangerous to send the member of staff. It will likely be based on timing. So come and tell us if you need to.’
Paige’s thoughts were circulating back to experiences she’d rather forget. ‘I can help,’ she said quietly. ‘I’m familiar with the stretcher and winch technology. We’ve transferred a number of patients via the roof of the hospital before.’
Stefan gave a grateful nod. ‘Fantastic. Been a while since I’ve been near one.’
‘You’ve used them too?’
He nodded. ‘When I first went to California I was based near Long Beach. Had a short-term role with air and sea rescue.’
Paige was intrigued. Stefan had made a comment last night about being busy. Did the guy ever stop working?
‘That’s great.’ She stood up and stretched her back. ‘Are we ready to get started?’
Everyone nodded.
Paige was nervous. Operating theatres were a little outside her comfort zone, but she could see that Stefan was right at home. He moved about with ease. Checking all the surgical tools that were ready. Moving the mobile X-ray machine and checking the drugs on a nearby tray. When he was finally happy he turned to them both. ‘Lynn has Claudia and her mum outside. I’ll give Claudia some light sedation before I bring her through. Joe, are you happy to monitor her, while I scrub?’
Joe nodded. He had years of experience in Theatre and had a specialist position as an advanced nurse who could also assist in anaesthetics. In the worst possible set of circumstances, it seemed that luck had smiled on them.
Things went smoothly. Claudia had an open reduction and internal fixation of her bones, and a cast applied. After everyone was content, they continued with their other surgeries. Frances had an open reduction and internal fixation of her ulna and radius. Anna required a pin in her ankle, and Greta was luckiest, with her bones still in position, and just required a plaster cast on her lower leg.
Stefan had been cool. He’d admitted reading up on all the surgeries last night—to refresh his brain. Paige was glad to hear him say that. She’d assisted as best she could, conscious of the fact that she would never have managed any of this on her own. He’d been thoughtful and respectful of them all—not like some of the arrogant surgeons she’d met in the past, and she was grateful, because her nerves could have got the better of her. But working alongside someone who was clearly careful and supportive had made her feel much more at ease.
She’d just pulled the pale pink cap from her head when Cathy rushed in. ‘You were right. Franco just radioed. There might only be time to get one person out. They have a temporary break in the weather.’
Within five minutes Paige was outside, jacket over her theatre scrubs at a wide space in the middle of the car park. Poor Eduardo was behind a set of doors, ready to be bundled out and into the rescue stretcher.
The thud-thud of the helicopter sounded in the distance. The clouds above were thick and heavy and, from ground level, visibility was poor. Stefan had the satellite phone in his hand, listening to instructions. He gave a hand signal to Paige. Three minutes. She nodded. Bruno was also in the background, waiting to see if there would be a chance to evacuate two patients instead of one.
Paige was trying to pretend her heart wasn’t thudding in her chest. She breathed in the freezing air and blew it out slowly, trying to count in her head. Anything to calm her nerves down. As the whirring increased above them, the dark body of the helicopter appeared. The side door opened and a man’s legs swung over the edge, clearly operating the bright orange stretcher that descended towards them. There was also a small bag attached. Paige untied it with shaking fingers, as Stefan detached the stretcher. Paige could see Cathy talking directly into Eduardo’s ear, trying to keep him calm. She wheeled him out and, between the three of them, they manoeuvred him into the stretcher, unable to talk properly because of the noise overhead. Eduardo had his hands across his chest, his GTN spray held tightly in one fist. Paige didn’t even want to consider how scary this might be for a man with chest pain. Stefan had given him something to relax him in preparation. But would it work?
As they snapped the last clip into place, Paige gave the signal to ascend. The wind seemed to be picking up, or was it just the backdraught from the rotors above? The stretcher swung perilously as it started to move upwards to the helicopter. But that was normal. Paige knew from experience that the ascent was never in a straight line. How could it be?
Within moments, the operator above had grabbed the stretcher and loaded it on board. There were a few seconds’ pause. It was clear the pilot and operator were discussing whether they had time to retrieve another patient. The operator gave a signal. Four minutes. They only had four minutes left.
A second stretcher descended and Stefan sprinted across the car park to the doors for Bruno. Every moment counted. He ran across with Bruno in the wheelchair. Bruno was well wrapped up, and easier to get into the stretcher than Eduardo had been. Within a few minutes the stretcher lifted into the sky, was bundled into the helicopter, the sliding door slammed shut and the helicopter disappeared into the dark clouds above.
It was bitterly cold. But Paige was momentarily frozen to the spot. Stefan bent down at her feet and grabbed the bag, which was still there. He caught her hand and pulled her back towards the hospital, slamming the doors behind them.
Cathy was already inside, tugging off her woolly hat. ‘I think we made that by the skin of our teeth,’ she said. Then she looked at them both, and obviously caught the expression on Paige’s face. ‘Kitchen,’ she said bluntly. ‘I’ll make the tea.’
She turned and walked away while Stefan looked at Paige. ‘You okay?’
She nodded and swallowed. ‘Just absolutely freezing.’ She hugged herself in her ski jacket. ‘Didn’t have time to dress properly underneath. And the noise from the helicopter made it difficult to concentrate. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing out there.’
Stefan looked at her steadily. ‘You manoeuvred two patients into a complicated stretcher system and ensured they were safe in a limited time frame. You did fine.’ He held up the bag. ‘Now, let’s hope we’ve got some insulin in here.’
The bag was small, but thick and heavy. They opened it in the kitchen and found well-packaged insulin—both brands that Bob usually used, along with a new fourteen-day sensor. There were also some other drugs, another satellite phone, and some additional items.
Stefan stared at the phone for a few moments. ‘Guess they think we might not be getting out of here soon.’ He undid the wrapper on something else and frowned. ‘What’s this?’
Paige inspected the box. It was clearly something electronic. ‘I think it might be a booster,’ she said as she stared at one of the wires coming off it. ‘Maybe to give us some kind of internet provision?’
‘We’ve had barely anything since the avalanche,’ said Cathy. ‘It might help a lot. If some of our patients could contact their families they might be a bit more settled.’
Joe and Lynn came in. ‘All patients that are left are fine.’ He glanced at the items on the worktop. ‘Oh, insulin, great. I’ll take that along to Bob and put the rest in the medicine fridge.’
Lynn stayed near the doorway. She seemed to be reluctant to talk.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Paige.
Lynn sighed. ‘Claudia’s mum was quite tearful. Wondered why some people had been evacuated and not her and her child.’
Stefan straightened in his chair. ‘We know why. The decision had to be made on a medical basis.’
Lynn shrugged. ‘We know that. But they don’t understand. Greta’s upset too. They’re stranded up a mountain after an avalanche, a few days before Christmas. People expect to be with their families at this time of year. It’s hard. Particularly when we don’t know what comes next.’ She gave a soft smile. ‘I’m lucky. I’m here with Joe. But if I was up here by myself I’d feel differently.’
Stefan ran his fingers through his hair. Paige could tell he was exasperated. ‘I’ll talk to them,’ he said. ‘I get that they’re upset. But there has to be some perspective. We’re all alive. We’re all safe. We’re somewhere warm, with electricity and food. We can survive. And people know that we’re here. They will try and get us out.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I get that people are sentimental about Christmas. It’s a time of year I love. If I don’t get out of here, my dad will spend Christmas alone. But it’s one day of the year. And he’ll understand. He’s a resilient old guy.’ There was a real tinge of sadness to his words that struck somewhere deep down inside of Paige. She wanted to ask more. But now clearly wasn’t the time.
She held up her hands. ‘We can’t control the weather. And we all have to take responsibility for the fact we knew there was a weather warning—albeit for the next day—and we still chose to go skiing. I had planned to head down to the town, get some more supplies, and spend the next few days holed up in the chalet. I would likely still have been stranded. But I would have been safe. I would have been warm and comfortable. Just like I am here.’
‘You could go back to the chalet if you wanted,’ said Stefan, his blue eyes connecting with hers. ‘The rest of us don’t have someplace else to go. But, if you wanted to, you could go back. There’s no obligation to stay.’
Her skin prickled at the back of her neck. Was he testing her? Did he want her to leave? She hated the way she instantly felt inside. As if she could grab the keys to the car, disappear down the mountain and hide in the luxury cabin.
Anyone would be a fool not to consider it.
And she hated herself. Because it did flash through her brain. The thought of not having to be a doctor. The thought of actually having the holiday she was supposed to have. Switching off from it all. Hiding in the chalet with the warm fire, the exquisite library and hugely comfortable bed.
She was a horrible, terrible person. She shouldn’t have let even that fleeting thought enter her brain.
‘There’s no way I’m leaving. I’ll only go back to the chalet when the road is clear again and we can all get out of here.’
Cathy gave a nod and poured the tea, but Stefan was looking at her carefully. ‘You don’t have to.’ He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. ‘We’ve done all the surgeries that we need to. Everyone is stable.’
‘If it wasn’t so tricky, we could probably have taken everyone back to the café, so we were all together.’ Joe and Lynn came back through the door at this point and sat down, picking up mugs of tea as they were poured.
Stefan shook his head. ‘Not much point in that. At least we have beds here. And all the food from the chalet. I know the cafés have food, but I’m not sure how much. I’m sure it’s much more comfortable in the hospital. We are as well waiting things out here.’
Joe nodded. ‘My back is too old to sleep on a floor these days.’
It made perfect sense. And even though Paige had been prepared to spend Christmas alone, she didn’t mind being surrounded by other people.
She looked around at her colleagues and stood up. ‘Why don’t you let me cook this evening? We’re all tired. I can make dinner and we can all try and get to bed early tonight.’
Joe, Lynn and Cathy all nodded in assent. Stefan looked at her. ‘I’ll help.’
She wasn’t quite sure what to say. She’d wanted some space to think, but she could hardly turn down the offer of help.
‘Of course,’ she agreed in a tight voice.
The rest disappeared down the corridor, likely to one of the other rooms to sit and relax.
Paige made her way over to where they’d placed all the provisions and pulled the cupboard doors open.
Stefan appeared at her elbow. ‘Okay, so what dream dinner are you going to make?’
Paige looked around. ‘I think it will be simple. Pasta, with a tomato sauce bulked by some of the vegetables while they are still fresh. We can toast some of the bread with garlic butter. Simple, but fine.’
He gave a nod and moved across the kitchen, lifting out a giant pot and filling it with water, and setting it on the hob. Paige grabbed some armfuls of packets and tins. She poured the pasta into the pot and handed him the tins. ‘You open these tinned tomatoes and find another large pot. I’ll chop all the vegetables.’
It wasn’t quite as awkward as she had first thought. Stefan could find his way around the kitchen. He wasn’t trying to interfere, just be helpful. After a few minutes, she could feel his eyes on her as she chopped the vegetables.
‘Not doing it efficiently enough for you?’ she joked. ‘I would have given you this job, but didn’t want to risk a surgeon’s fingers.’
He gave a small smile but shot her a thoughtful glance. ‘You did well today. I’m sorry if I didn’t say it sooner.’
She looked at him in surprise. ‘It was you that did well. You were doing orthopaedics. I know that’s not normal for you.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s not. I usually deal with facial bones. But I have experience in other surgery, and have pinned and plated before, so it was just a case of remembering all I could.’
She kept chopping. ‘You seemed confident.’
‘I was pretending.’
She stopped and stared at him, kind of in shock. She gave him a sideways glance and started chopping again. ‘Well, I guess I’ll need to remember that about you. You’re good at pretending.’
‘You make me sound like some kind of spy.’
She raised her eyebrows. ‘You could be. But, to be honest, if you were some kind of spy, I would have expected you to get us out of here today.’
‘You mean, phone my headquarters and ask for the snow-burrowing machine to get through the road block?’
She wrinkled her nose. ‘I was thinking more high-tech.’ She waved her knife as she spoke. ‘You know, the machine that burrows to the centre of the earth, and then spins around and comes out just at the entranceway to the hospital.’
‘Oh, you wanted the big guns,’ he joked.
She shrugged and put the onions and courgettes she’d chopped into the pan with the tomatoes, ‘I did,’ she admitted. ‘But maybe you’re not that level of spy.’
‘You’re dissing my spy status?’
‘Of course.’ She started combining ingredients to make the sauce.
He folded his arms. ‘You seem pretty set on getting out of here.’
‘Isn’t everybody?’
She looked at him, because he hadn’t replied. As she stirred the sauce she dug deeper. ‘Are you telling me that you’d be happy to stay?’
Now he looked awkward. It was as if the handsome, broad-shouldered man had turned into a four-year-old boy who was shuffling his feet. ‘Not...happy. Just not sad exactly either.’
She put down her wooden spoon. ‘Okay, you’ve got me. I’m not touching this dinner until you tell me more.’
‘You might get a bad review for your restaurant,’ he quipped, clearly trying to change the subject again.
‘Well, it’s your restaurant, so see if I care.’ She winked at him, and he burst out laughing.
He pointed his finger at her. ‘So, there you are.’
He said it with satisfaction and she didn’t quite get it. ‘What do you mean?’ She started stirring the sauce again.
‘The girl I met in the café before the avalanche. The one that—how do you say it—wouldn’t give me an inch?’
Now it was Paige’s turn to shift uncomfortably. ‘But I’ve been here all along.’
He leaned forward, putting both elbows on the counter and staring at her. ‘But you weren’t. You lost your spark.’
Paige was immediately on the defensive. ‘Well, let me see, there was an avalanche, there were patients to treat. There were thoughts of being trapped and wondering what on earth happens next.’
Now, she was a bit annoyed. ‘Anyhow, don’t stand around doing nothing. Find the butter and the garlic, mix it up and put it on the bread. The oven is behind you.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Bossy.’
Paige shook her head. ‘Not at all. The word you’re looking for is direct, or I might even let you off with a Scottish word. Crabbit. That’s what happens when you have to share a suite with a record-breaking snorer.’
Stefan’s mouth fell open and he moved around the counter, coming up next to her. ‘You can’t get away with that one.’ He picked up one of the wooden spoons and wagged it at her. ‘You’re the one that snores all night.’
‘I do not,’ she said, aghast. Or at least pretending to be. Her insides were cringing.
‘You do so.’
‘I’m going to tape you tonight. You literally start snoring the second you close your eyes. And even though there’s a wall between us, I can still hear you.’
‘Anyone would think you were criticising the renovations that have gone on here.’
‘I wouldn’t dare,’ she sparked back. ‘You might start charging me rent.’
Stefan started mixing the butter and pressed garlic together. He looked thoughtful. ‘Now, that could actually be a good idea.’
Her phone buzzed and then started playing a tune. After a few seconds Stefan looked at her with his eyes wide. ‘Really?’
She pulled her phone from the back pocket of her jeans, letting the chorus of the eighties pop song ‘Last Christmas’ fill the air.
‘Classic,’ she said decidedly, prodding the pasta and deciding it was ready. ‘Hurry up with that garlic bread.’
After all her earlier anxieties in the day she couldn’t help but notice how relaxed she felt in Stefan’s company. Somehow, just being around him, his easy chat and teasing manner seemed to lift her spirits and, as she watched, she wondered if she was having the same effect on him. The restlessness that seemed to plague him appeared to have been pushed away. It was nice just to concentrate on the moment.
He grabbed a knife and spread the garlic butter over the bread, lifting the tray and sliding it into the oven. ‘No. You don’t get to drop that Christmas tune without an explanation.’ Then he looked at her curiously. ‘Did you just get a signal on your phone?’
She sighed and pushed it towards him. ‘I should be so lucky. No, it’s a pre-set alarm.’
‘What for?’ It was a natural follow-up question, so Paige tried not to let it bother her.
‘I take some supplements. It’s just a reminder.’
He paused for a second then gave a brief nod. ‘And you need your favourite pop band of the eighties to remind you?’
Paige glanced in the pot. The sauce was definitely ready. ‘Actually,’ she said, as she drained the pasta, ‘it’s my favourite ever Christmas song. Has been for years. And I won’t be moved on that.’
‘“Last Christmas” is your favourite ever Christmas song?’
She nodded. ‘Absolutely. Just be glad the weather is bad out there. I’d be out in that snow in a flash, trying to recreate the video.’
He rolled his eyes and shook his head. ‘Who trapped me with an eighties fanatic?’ he joked.
She stirred the sauce into the pasta. ‘Actually, I have a whole host of Christmas songs on my phone. I might treat you to all my favourites if you’re lucky.’
He started putting out plates for everyone. ‘You just make this “snowed-in” event better by the moment.’
She sighed and looked around. ‘I actually love Christmas. To be honest, the chalet was my dream come true. Christmas paraphernalia everywhere. A gorgeous setting. Lots of food. And the library. My plan was to spend all day playing “Last Christmas” and just mooching around.’
‘Mooching?’ He frowned.
She held up her hands. ‘You know, flopping from one seat to another, going from room to room, being completely relaxed. I even brought my own advent calendar with me. A proper one. Not one filled with chocolate. You know, the kind you had as a kid, where you open a window each day and see a Christmas picture—a robin, a reindeer, a Christmas wreath, a present.’ She stared spooning the dinner onto plates. ‘You know, they’re very hard to find these days.’
Stefan turned, grabbed some oven gloves and pulled the tray of garlic bread from the oven. ‘What can I say?’ He shrugged. ‘I’m from Switzerland, the land of chocolate. I’m with the kids that like the chocolate advent calendar.’
‘Primitive,’ she joked as the warm aroma of the garlic bread surrounded them. ‘Okay—’ she put her hands on her hips ‘—I think we’re ready.’
Stefan grabbed a tray and put some of the bowls of pasta on it. ‘Patients first, then us. Let’s make sure everyone is good.’
It only took a few minutes to serve the dinner and for Joe, Cathy and Lynn to be attracted by the smell and come to collect their food.
‘Where do you want to eat?’ asked Stefan.
All of a sudden she realised they were alone. It would be so easy to suggest they eat with some of the patients, or with their colleagues. But, for some entirely selfish reason, Paige didn’t want to.
‘Any place you haven’t shown me yet?’ There was a hint of something in her voice, and it surprised even her.
There was a flicker of recognition on Stefan’s face. He smiled. ‘Sure. Follow me.’
They walked down the corridor with their food, past all the rooms and around another corridor and down a few steps.
‘What’s this?’ asked Paige, as he pushed open a door to a dark space.
He gestured for her to follow. ‘Are you scared of the dark?’
‘No. But why are you asking that?’
‘Because if you don’t mind waiting a few minutes in the dark, I might surprise you.’ He leaned over and set his food down somewhere. ‘Back in a sec.’
Paige had no idea how he knew where he was going. Some hidden part of her brain decided to instantly remind her of every horror movie she’d ever watched. What was that noise? Was that a shadow?
A few seconds later there was a flicker.
And then she gasped.
Dim lights came on. In front of her were a few rows of wide red velvet seats, and in front of them, on the furthest wall, was a large screen.
‘A cinema!’
The screen flickered and Stefan’s voice came through much louder than before. She jumped. ‘Just switching things on.’
The screen came to life, and the soundtrack of a popular dinosaur movie came through the apparently hidden speakers.
Stefan appeared again through a door up a couple of steps at the back of the room.
He lifted his plate. ‘Let’s grab a seat. Movie’s about to start.’
She shook her head. ‘You have a cinema in a hospital?’
He shrugged. ‘All I can say is that it’s one of the most popular parts of the hospital complex in Hollywood. More popular than the gym, or the library.’
Paige still couldn’t believe it. She moved along a few seats and sat down. The red velvet chair was sumptuous, deep and well-supported. Stefan sat in the one next to her, his shoulder brushing against hers.
‘I can’t believe this,’ she said as the lights started to dim around them, conscious that they were still touching.
‘A cinema?’ he asked. ‘I don’t think it’s that unusual.’
She shot him a look as she ate a spoonful of her pasta. ‘No. Not the cinema. I can’t believe that a few days before Christmas you get a chance to pick a movie—I’ve told you about my Christmas obsession, and you still go with Jurassic Park.’
He grinned in the dark. ‘What can I say? Who doesn’t love a dinosaur?’
‘If it isn’t Christmas, I’m a sci-fi girl,’ she grumbled good-naturedly. ‘Star Trek, Star Wars...’
He leaned over and whispered in her ear while laughing, his warm breath on her cheek. ‘Dinosaurs are sci-fi. Get with the programme.’
There was a definite shiver down her spine. And it was nothing to do with the dark, or the dinosaurs. It was the closeness between them. The hint in the air that had been there from the moment they’d stepped down the corridor towards the cinema. Their teasing and flirtation seemed to have reached a whole different level.
Paige settled back in her chair, trying to pretend this wasn’t a completely surreal experience. A private cinema. A handsome man whose warm breath had just been on her neck. And an avalanche. She couldn’t make this up.
But if she could, the next part might need a rating that wasn’t for dinosaur movies.