“It’s all right, my lady. Give your worries to me.”

“You know I hate it when you call me that.” Still standing in the threshold of the open door, Eliam opened his arms, and Lady Elizabeth collapsed into them. If anyone in the ton saw her in such a compromising position—with a Gypsy no less—she’d be ruined. She didn’t give a Queen’s crumpet about that.

“My lady, I wasn’t using your title.”

Elizabeth buried her face deeper into Eliam’s shoulder and sobbed. “It’s just—”

“Shh.” Eliam soothed. “Sweetheart, you’ll be fine. Everything will be fine. I’ll make certain of it.”

The cries came so deep that the movement of her shoulders rocked his body. He moved to the settee and pulled her into his lap. “Have you decided to marry me yet?”

“No. You are too intense. I could never handle you.”

His lips curved into a half smile. “The sooner you agree to marry me, the easier it will be for me to care for your family.”

“I can take care of my sisters just fine.”

Eliam combed his fingers through her hair. “You can. You’ve proven that. But you it’s no longer required. Let me prove that.” He pressed his lips into her light blonde curls.

Katie’s heart leapt as she turned her Kindle off with a smile on her face and a pain in her chest because she’d never have what Lady Elizabeth had. Eliam was the perfect boyfriend for a girl who refused to make a commitment. Every time Lady Elizabeth turned him down, Katie wanted to slap her. Because Eliam Monaj was the closest thing to true love Katie would ever have. For the first time in five years, Katie wouldn’t spend Christmas at the hospital or on-call to be there, and Elizabeth’s Heart must be closed for now, because she refused to miss her flight.

“Now boarding first class passengers for flight 1061 to Colorado.” A voice boomed through the terminal. Katie grabbed her sleek Louis Vuitton roller bag and wheeled toward the gate.

She boarded her flight and sank into the leatherback chair. She glanced at the large older man beside her, his breath so heavy it startled her. She kept her gaze on him until he looked up and made eye contact. She smiled.

He smiled back.

“Drink a lot of water. No alcohol or caffeine on the flight, promise?” I’ll be damned if this old geezer has a cardiac event on the plane. Once I’ve treated someone, they’re my patient. I can’t help but follow up. It’s my nature.

“That’s an odd greeting.”

“It’s the best advice anyone has ever given me.” Oh can we load this bus and get to taxi already? I just want to plug my headphones in and let my Kindle read Elizabeth’s Heart to me. Eliam is so much more real that way.

Katie closed her eyes and tried to nap as business and then coach boarded the plane. Couldn’t people walk faster? She was ready to turn on her Kindle whisper sync.

The flight attendant’s voice boomed through a microphone. “Thank you for your patience.”

Yes! Let’s taxi.

“You’re on an overbooked flight, and we have airline employees to accommodate. I need three volunteers to deplane, or we’ll be forced into a lottery.”

Katie sank further into her seat. “Oh, no you don’t. I haven’t had a vacation in years,” she mumbled.

“No volunteers? I’ll give you $100 airline dollars,” the flight attendant said.

Screw it. Katie pulled her Kindle out. Electronics policy be damned. This plane wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

But the flight attendant spoke again. “Okay, folks, since we didn’t have enough volunteers, we’re required to do a lottery.”

Katie rolled her eyes. Can’t they just get the drama over with? She had nothing to worry about. They never selected a first class passenger.

“Taylor Lawson,” the flight attendant called.

Katie didn’t care. She was in her happy place.

Eliam would settle large dowries on both of Elizabeth’s younger sisters tomorrow. She’d never give him the opportunity to prove that she could count on him, but it didn’t matter. She cared about her sisters more than life, and all he cared about was her happiness.

“Stop! You’re hurting me!” The screams pulled Katie’s attention back to the plane.

She turned toward the sound.

Two security guards dragged a girl—not woman, she couldn’t be more than twenty—by her wrists. The girl sobbed “Please don’t do this. I’ll miss my connecting flight and I haven’t seen my family since school started.”

Other passengers yelled for her to just go, so the guards wouldn’t hurt her.

“No. I haven’t seen my family since August. Please don’t do this. It’s Christmas.”

Katie’s heart sank. The girl the guards dragged looked so much like Nicole had their freshman year when Katie walked petrified into a dorm and a girl with light brown hair bounced off a twin bed in the corner saying, “Dinner is at six. Thank God you moved in today. Now I don’t have to go alone.” And that pretty much sealed their best friendom. So much for her stress-free vacation.

Katie stood. “She can have my seat.”

The flight attendant standing in front of the open partition turned. “Oh. I’m so sorry. I should have closed this. That’s kind of you, but it won’t be necessary.”

Katie stepped into coach. “Hey.”

The guards acted like they didn’t hear her. They still struggled with the girl.

“Hey!” She screamed to be heard over the chaos.

She had a commanding voice. The plane got quieter but the guards weren’t giving up. “Blue shirts. I’m talking to you.”

That got their attention.

“She can have my seat.”

The flight attendant frowned. “But you’re in first class.”

“And it’s paid for. Give her my seat and I’ll get off the plane.”

Two dumbfounded guards stared at each other. One loosened his grip and the other dropped his hands from around the girl’s waist.

The girl ran for Katie.

“Stop! Stop!” the flight attendant yelled.

The girl slammed into Katie and wrapped her arms around her. “Thank you so much.”

Katie wasn’t used to hugs. Especially from strangers. She awkwardly tapped the girl’s shoulders. “You’re welcome. Just let me grab my stuff, and you can sit down.”

Walking back through the jet tunnel someone called behind her, “Ho, ho, ho. That was a nice thing you did.”

“Thank you,” she said without looking back.

“Tell Santa what you want for Christmas.” His voice was baritone but held a musical note of laughter.

She might have spent so much of her time in an operating room that she found her social life lacking the presence of anyone but Nicole, but even she could recognize a cheesy pick up line. And she wasn’t in the mood to be hit on today. This was why she trusted her love life only to Annabella Valaro, her favorite historical romance writer. A Valaro guy would never use such a ridiculous line. Christmas or no. Eliam Manaj would kill someone for trying to pick up Elizabeth in an airport.

She spun around to face the loser. Time to let him have it. She needed to vent after missing her first vacation in five years, and it would probably be her only vacation for another five years. But she came face to face with an actual Santa Claus. Well, a guy in a Santa suit, anyway.

“What’s your Christmas wish?” he asked.

Her real wish? “Eliam Manaj,” she blurted before she realized it.

Santa’s brows knitted together and he shook his head slowly. “Have a private tour of Jamaica, instead.” He handed her a green piece of paper.

She laughed. “Thank you. I appreciate it, but it’s not like I’m going to get another flight on Christmas Eve.”

He shrugged. “The boat leaves from Holiday Island off of Galveston. You have plenty of time to catch it.”

“I don’t even know where that is.”

Santa shrugged. “The address is on the ticket. Don’t worry. You’ll find it.”

It wouldn’t be the white Christmas she’d always dreamed of, but she was tired of spending life trapped in an operating room. And her last case was too much to handle. Mom of twins in an emergency cesarean section. They all died. One baby in dad’s arms. The other, stillborn, removed from the deceased mother.

Reason #222 she’d stick with Eliam for her romantic needs. He wouldn’t die on her.

“Thank you.” She took the pass. She’d go on this tropical cruise. It wouldn’t be much different than a Houston Christmas, but she’d have plenty of Eliam time. If she read her way through enough HEAs, she could easily swagger back to the operating room for another’s day work.