Three hours later, the snow is four inches thick on the ground, and my living room is trash-free.
Several trash bags sit by the front door ready to be taken outside.
I’ve scrubbed as many stains from the furniture as I can, wiped down and disinfected every surface within reach, vacuumed and dusted, and I found a stash of cash hidden inside a hole in the couch.
All those times Caleb lied through his teeth about having no money when he had five hundred dollars stashed.
Asshole.
Wiping a bead of sweat from my brow, I glance around the living room with a satisfied smile.
The place is almost unrecognizable in the best way.
Next is the kitchen.
As I walk through, stifling a yawn, my phone bursts into life and Xander’s face flashes up on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Hi, darling,” Xander says, and my heart flutters rapidly in my chest. “How is the cleaning going?”
Every time he calls me darling, I melt a little bit more. Leaning against the kitchen counter, I gaze outside at the beautifully crisp white world. “It’s going. Took me three hours to clean up the living room. Is that gross?”
“Given how you’ve described living with Caleb, I’m not surprised,” Xander replies. “I’m about to go in for surgery, but I wanted to check in on you and hear your voice.”
“Careful, Xander. That’s bordering on sickly romantic,” I say as my lips pull into a warm smile.
“Are you against sickly romantic?”
“Only when you’re not here to do any kind of follow-up.”
“I would be there if I could,” he says. “Don’t stay too long.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“No, I’m worried about my cats as they’ve grown attached to you.”
“Wait, really?” My stomach tightens faintly.
Xander chuckles. “Of course not, but if I can’t be sweet without follow up then I guess I’ll just have to keep our phone conversations strictly business.”
Relief floods through me so fast that my cheeks warm. “I mean, anticipation is part of the fun, right?”
“Indeed.” Another voice rises up distantly and Xander grunts. “They’re waiting for me. Call me when you’re done?”
“Even if you’re still in surgery?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. See ya.”
The kitchen grows a little colder once the call ends.
I hug the device to my chest and chew on the corner of my mouth, replaying our activities in the on-call room in my mind.
How no one found us is beyond me because Xander fucked so hard that the entire hospital must have heard us.
My core tightens faintly at the memory of his being inside me. It was everything I’d dreamed of and yet so much more.
