Content Note: This slice of life takes place one week before Winter Solstice and features some swearing and alcohol use.

Name: Agnieszka
Day/Time: Sunday, 8:09 p.m.
Current state of mind: Tired
What are you wearing? Navy blue & pink flannel pj pants & a navy blue Henley
What are you listening to? Beautiful Mistakes by Maroon 5 & Megan Thee Stallion
What are you drinking? Hot chocolate with Irish cream liqueur
Where are you? On the couch in my living room

It was the season for good food and strong booze—and I was definitely gonna indulge in both tonight. As soon as I got off the phone with my overbearing mother. I tossed my Android onto the passenger seat, refusing to hear another word about how I was wasting my life. It was the same old story, one that I was tired of hearing.

Nothing was ever good enough. Not my career. Not my relationship status. Not my brand-new house. Not my looks. Nothing. Gods, if my mother could see me now, she’d be complaining about how my black pants were too tight and how my gold, sparkly top was too revealing and how my designer heels were too high.

“Agniesia,” my mother shouted over the speaker. “Have you heard a word I’ve said?”

No.

“Yes, Mama.” I picked up the phone. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Don’t stay out too late and don’t—”

“Dobranoc.” I ended the call.

Why did my mother have to be so fucking patronizing all the time? Couldn’t she see that I was a functional adult who was perfectly capable of taking care of myself? I was so fucking tired of being treated like a child. I should’ve ignored her call, should’ve just let her go to voicemail. But oh no, I just had to answer it, didn’t I? Gods, I was a sucker for pain.

I heaved out a sigh, hypnotized by the swishing back and forth of the wiper blades as they swiped away layer after layer of powdery snow. The brewery sat just a short distance away, its brown brick exterior barely visible from behind the curtain of wind-whipped snowflakes. I needed to head inside, needed to get my drink on and forget all about my stupid, fucked-up life for the night.

A soft rap sounded against the driver’s side window, ending my solo pity party. I lowered the glass, coming face-to-face with Alex Moralis, better known as Dr. Moralis in the ER. My breath hitched as I met his concerned denim-blue eyes. “You okay?” he asked.

“Never been better,” I lied, letting my gaze linger on his impossibly handsome face. With his deep blue eyes, chiseled cheekbones, strong, square heavily shaded jaw, and a sensual mouth that was surrounded by thick, dark stubble, Alex was the type of guy who could set my blood on fire.

And we never even kissed—well, at least not on the lips. As my stare drifted to his mouth, I wondered about what kind of kisser Alex was. How would he taste? How would his lips feel pressed against mine? Would his kisses be slow, seductive, and sweet, or would they be fiery, passionate, and deep? Maybe both. Probably both.

“Agnieszka.” Alex’s velvety rumble snapped me from my thoughts, putting an end to my fantasies. “Did you hear me?”

“Um, no.” My cheeks burned as I tried calming my racing heart. I mentally shook myself, clearing my throat. “Sorry. What?”

“Are you gonna head in?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Give me a second.”

Fluffy white snowflakes peppered Alex’s short, coffee brown hair as he waited patiently while I cut the engine and stuffed my belongings into my purse. He extended his gloved hand, helping me climb out of the SUV. And despite the soft black leather covering his hands, his touch flooded me with electric warmth. My body heated as he locked his arm around my waist, steadying me as we cut across the icy parking lot, keeping our heads down the entire time.

The toasty air was a welcome reprieve from all the bitter cold. I unwrapped the cashmere scarf from around my neck while Alex chatted with the hostess, who was practically salivating in her black ankle boots as she stumbled over her words. And I couldn’t blame the little redhead for drooling. I really couldn’t. But the inner bitch in me wanted to pluck her stupid eyes right out of her stupid fucking face. I didn’t know why I was being so territorial. It wasn’t like Alex and I were dating. We weren’t a couple, and probably never would be.

There was a rule against dating your older brother’s best friend. And as much as I hated this rule—and most rules in general—I refused to break it. My family life was complicated enough as it was, and Darek always had my back through it all. I wouldn’t betray my brother by hooking up with his BFF. No matter how tempting it was.

“Come on.” Alex placed his palm on the small of my back, sending another pleasant shockwave up my spine. “The gang’s all here.”

“We’re the last ones?” I asked as we weaved our way through the maze of packed tables, making our way towards the back.

“Think so.” Alex led me up the stairs and into the private room where the party was in full swing.

Laughter and chatter resounded through the spacious, glass-encased space, nearly drowning out the upbeat carols playing over the speakers. A Yule tree stood tall in the corner, all decked out in warm white lights and gold and silver ornaments. White snowflakes twinkled from the wooden beams above, while lighted garland adorned the long U-shaped bar and windows.

As Alex and I shed our coats, I couldn’t help but appreciate the way his long legs looked in those black designer dress pants, or the way the charcoal-colored sweater accentuated his broad shoulders and sculpted biceps. With his impeccably handsome features and designer clothes, he looked like he belonged on the cover of some fashion magazine and not in the ER. You would never guess that he spent most of his nights fighting the Grim Reaper and saving lives.

Hell, you’d never be able to guess that any of us spent a good chunk of our time covered in blood and bodily fluids. We all looked so normal when we were out of our scrubs. We all looked so normal, dressed in our holiday best as we mingled about the room, sipping on beers and cocktails while munching on an assortment of appetizers. And as much as I loved my job, thrived on the unpredictable organized chaos of it all, normal felt good.

“Shall we?” Alex nodded towards the candlelit table where all our friends were seated.

“Yes.” I smiled.

Somehow, I found myself sandwiched between Alex and my brother, Darek. I wasn’t sure how this seating arrangement had come about, but I hoped it wasn’t some foreboding sign that I was gonna come between their friendship. Or maybe I was just being paranoid. I was probably being paranoid.

“Heard you hung up on Mom.” Darek took a sip of his seltzer, a flicker of amusement sparking in his steel blues.

“She called you?” I plucked a pint of chocolate stout from the wooden tray. “Seriously?”

I didn’t know why I was surprised. My mother had always favored my brother over me. She had always dreamed of me becoming a doctor, just like Darek and the rest of my brothers. A Marczak family tradition. But I didn’t have the patience for medical school. So, I opted for nursing instead, much to my mother’s flagrant disappointment.

And she wouldn’t let me live it down. Nope. She constantly reminded me of how I had wasted my talents on becoming some lowly nurse, unlike Darek, who oversaw the Emergency Pediatrics division. He was her pride and joy.  And whenever I upset her—which was almost every single fucking day—she’d complain to one of my brothers, or my father, or whoever could talk some sense into me.

“It’s Mom. What did you expect?”

“For her to act like a mature adult and not some tattle-tale teenager.” I tipped my beer back, savoring the rich, dark chocolate notes as they melded on my tongue. “What else did she want?”

“She wanted me to remind you about dinner tomorrow.” He polished off the rest of his drink. “You’re still going, right?”

“I have to pick up Nala,” I replied, regretting leaving my cat with my mother for the night. “But I think I’m gonna skip dinner.”

“You think she’s just gonna let you leave?”

“What’s she gonna do?” I asked. “Hold me hostage?”

“She might try.”

“How’s your arm, Agniesia?” Stavros asked from across the table.

Saved by my boss. I turned towards Stavros, the “dad” of our dysfunctional little work family, which was a fitting title since he was a father to the cutest six-year-old girl I’d ever seen. I should’ve known he was gonna ask about my injury. Everyone knew about it. Hell, the entire department had heard about my incident before Alex even had a chance to treat my wounds.

“Wait.” Darek frowned. “What happened to your arm?”

Well, not everyone.

“You didn’t tell him?” Stavros cocked a dark brow. “I thought you were gonna tell him.”

“It slipped my mind,” I lied. The biting incident hadn’t slipped my mind, I just didn’t want my brother freaking the fuck out over it. He had a tendency of being annoyingly overprotective. “It’s not a big deal.”

“You got bit,” Alex said. “It’s kind of a big deal.”

“My patient decided to use my arm as her personal chew toy last night,” I blurted, meeting my brother’s impatient stare. “But don’t freak, Alex healed me and I’m good as new.” I pulled the sleeve of my cashmere sweater up, revealing my flawless skin. “See?” I showed my forearm to our little group allowing everyone to take a peek at Alex’s handiwork.

“Any pain?” Alex asked as Stavros leaned over, the two of them examining my arm.

“Nope.” I shook my head, enjoying the featherlight touch of Alex’s fingers on my skin a little too much. “None whatsoever.” I smiled, tugging my sleeve back down.

“Good. Happy to be of service.” He winked.

“That healed up nicely.” Stavros relaxed back in his chair. “Nice work, man.”

“Thanks.” Alex tipped his pint glass towards Stavros. “I’ve got skills.”

Stavros smirked, lifting his own glass in a toast. “It’s why I hired you.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Darek asked.

“Positive.” I patted his arm. “I’m fine, I swear.”

Tired of taking center stage, I shifted my attention back to Stavros. “By the way, I got Olivia another teensy Yule gift. Are you guys gonna be around next week so I can drop it off?”

“You realize you’re spoiling my daughter.”

“I’m her aunt.” Olivia might’ve not been my niece by blood, but she was still family in every way that counted. I loved that little girl from the moment I’d met her six years ago, and I loved showering her with gifts. We all did. “It’s my job to spoil her.”

“We’re heading over to Nick and Kari’s on Solstice—”

“What?” Alaina coughed, her olive-green eyes widening as she choked on her martini, spitting out the remnants of her cocktail. We all jumped up, instinct driving us forward, but Stavros being the closest was already on it.

“Come on, honey.” He clapped her between the shoulder blades with his palm. “Cough it out. No death by chocolate for you tonight. Not on my watch.”

“Not on anyone’s watch,” Alex muttered, his gaze fixated on the “mom” of our little group. And he wasn’t wrong. No one was gonna let Alaina choke to death, especially not Stavros, who had grown fond of the charge nurse over the recent weeks.

“I’m fine,” she stammered, her skin flushing crimson as another coughing fit overtook her.

“You are not fine, you little liar,” Stavros retorted, rubbing her back. “But you will be.”

Alaina’s coughing spasms subsided a couple of minutes later, much to everyone’s relief. Her cheeks were still flushed as she glanced over at Stavros. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” he replied.

“So…” Alaina twisted her drink napkin, her gaze fixated on the damp paper. “I guess we’ll be spending Solstice together.”

My brows shot up, though I wasn’t sure why I was surprised by the juicy little newsflash. We all knew Alaina and Karina were good friends, just like we all knew that Stavros and Nick were related. It was only natural the pair would be spending the holidays with the people they were the closest to.

“We’ll be doing what?” Stavros quirked his brow.

“Um, Kari invited me over for Yule,” Alaina blurted. “She didn’t want me spending the holiday alone, and I forgot that you—”

“Gotcha.” Stavros nodded. “Let me know if you need a lift. Olivia and I are heading over there at five.” He drained the rest of his beer and shot to his feet. “I’m gonna get some air and have a smoke.”

“Wait.” Alaina clasped his wrist. “Do you not want me to go?”

“What gave you that idea?” Stavros frowned, looking as confused as I felt. “Do you honestly think I’d offer you a ride if I didn’t want you going?”

“No. I don’t know.” She fiddled with her aquamarine pendant. “You just seem kind of annoyed.”

“I wasn’t annoyed.” Stavros pulled his wrist from her grasp. “But I’m getting there.”

Awkward. Gods, I wanted to slide under the table and hide beneath all that wood just from the secondhand embarrassment alone. I loved Alaina. I did, but sometimes she was her own worst enemy—overthinking, then overreacting, always assuming the worst about everything and everyone. Talk about your mountains and molehills.

“Is it okay if I step outside?” Stavros shrugged into his jacket. “Or are you gonna get offended by that too?”

“I wasn’t offended,” Alaina replied. “I was just—no, you know what? Never mind—go enjoy your smoke.”

“Thanks.” Stavros rolled his eyes.

“Hold up.” Alex tugged his gloves on as Darek buttoned up his coat. “We’ll join you.”

The trio veered towards the glass doors leading to the deck, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Alaina heaved out a long-winded sigh. “Stavros seemed annoyed, right? Like he sounded genuinely irritated about me being invited to Kari’s, right?”

“No. Not really.” I winced, shaking my head. “I think he was just a little surprised at first, that’s all.”

“Yeah.” Ewelina nodded, tucking a strand of her pale blonde hair behind her ear. “I think you just caught him off guard. He didn’t seem annoyed at all—and I’ve seen Stavros annoyed—that was not annoyed. Not even in the slightest.”

“Shit. I totally overreacted, didn’t I?” Alaina groaned. “No wonder he hates me.”

“Stavros doesn’t hate you.” Ewelina patted Alaina’s back. “He wouldn’t have saved your life if he hated you.”

“She has a point,” I agreed.

“I wasn’t in any danger of dying,” Alaina muttered.

“Maybe not, but it’s the gesture that counts,” I replied. “He wouldn’t have acted if he didn’t care.”

“Agnieszka’s right.” Ewelina popped a pretzel bite into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “But you do seem kind of off tonight.”

“Yeah.” I took a sip of my gingerbread stout. “You’ve been unusually quiet. Is everything okay?”

“I got into a fight with my sister earlier.” Alaina ran her finger around the rim of her cocktail glass. “She’s back with her cheating douchebag of an ex and I’ve been in a crap mood ever since.”

“I’m sorry.” Ewelina squeezed her hand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” Alaina replied. “I think I’d rather ply myself with some delicious cocktails and forget all about my problems for the night, like the fucking adult I am.”

“I could go for a round of shots.” I polished off the rest of my beer. “First round’s on me.”

“I’ll get the next one,” Alaina said.

“Sorry. Can’t. I’m on call.” Ewelina pointed at her iced tea. “But if none of my patients go into labor or have some other sort of medical crisis, I’ll be more than happy to give you both a ride home later.”

“You are a godsend.” I got up and gave Ewelina a hug.

“Thank you.” Alaina’s red lips curved up in a genuine smile. “I’ll return the favor next time—or whenever you feel the need to overindulge.”

“Sounds good.” Ewelina laughed. “Let’s just hope I don’t get called in.” She crossed her fingers.

Several Hours Later

“I’m drunk,” I announced, sounding rather pleased with myself, like I had just won some kind of trophy in a shot-drinking contest. “As a fucking skunk.”

“That you are.” Amusement threaded through Alex’s deep timbre as he eased me down onto his king-sized bed. He dropped to one knee and got to work rolling up my pant legs.

Well, technically, they weren’t my pants. They were Alex’s. His sweats and black T-shirt were way too big, but they were so comfy and smelled like spiced woodsy musk and warm amber. I loved his scent. I wanted to bathe in his scent. “You smell nice,” I blurted, feeling the blood rush to my cheeks.

“Thanks.” Alex chuckled, twisting the cap off an electrolyte drink, before popping the seal. He handed me the bottle. “Drink up.”

Normally, I hated being ordered around, but when it came to Alex, I didn’t mind it all that much. Hell, I didn’t mind it at all.

“Thanks.” I took a sip of the drink, grateful that it was the blue raspberry flavor and not that plain shit—which tasted vile. “You don’t have to do all this, you know.”

“I know.” A soft smile played up on his sensuous lips. “But I want to.” He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’m gonna get changed. Why don’t you find something to watch while your food settles?”

I fluffed the pillows and propped them up against the headboard as Alex disappeared into his walk-in closet. I’d been to his house plenty of times, but I had never been inside his bedroom.

The spacious master suite was tidy, decorated in shades of grays, dark greens, and deep blues. Most of the furniture was composed of polished dark wood, which accented the plush pewter carpet. With the flat screen TV propped up above the fireplace just across from his custom-made bed, the space was just how I imagined it, and it suited his style perfectly.

As Alex emerged from the ensuite bathroom, I tried not to stare at his tall, athletic form. I didn’t notice the broad span of his shoulders, or his chiseled biceps, or all the tattoos adorning his tanned skin. And I definitely didn’t notice his perfectly sculpted abs or long legs clad in gray sweats. Nope. Not me. I didn’t notice a damn thing.

“How you feeling?” He stretched out beside me, crossing his feet at his ankles.

“Better,” I replied. “Tired. I feel like I could sleep for an entire week.”

“Sorry sweetheart, but you gotta stay up a little longer.” He yawned, sympathy flooding his exhausted stare. “You gotta let all that food settle first.”

And gods, I felt like such an asshole at that moment. Here I was invading his space and keeping him awake until the early morning hours, all because my drunken ass couldn’t handle my liquor. “I’m so sorry.”

“For what?” He frowned.

“I didn’t mean to get all shit-faced and sloppy on you. I had a bad day, and then the drinks started flowing and before I knew it—”

“Hey.” Alex cupped my chin. “It’s okay. This shit happens. We’ve all been there before.”

“I know.” I sighed. “But now you’re stuck babysitting me.”

“I told you, I don’t mind.” He swept my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. “I like taking care of you. You’re a pretty good patient.” Alex winked.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard that.” I smiled.

“There’s a first time for everything.” He slung his arm around my shoulder and tucked me against his side. “What do you feel like watching?”

“Do you like Elf?”

“Who doesn’t like Elf?”

“Miserable assholes.” I pillowed my head on his chest, listening to the steady thrumming of his heart.

For the first time that week, I felt at peace. It felt so good to be cared for, to be pampered and held. Alex had done so much for me—he drove me, fed me, gave me his clothes, and a warm place to sleep. And while those things might’ve not seemed like much to some people, to me, all those little things meant a lot. More than words could ever convey.

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