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She found an empty seat near Sarah and a few other nurses she recognized. They were deep in conversation, but as she joined them their voices quieted, their eyes darting between her and the door as if anticipating something.
Addie took a steady breath, ignoring the side glances. She was here for a quiet meal, and she wasn’t about to let cafeteria gossip disrupt that.
She hadn’t even taken her first bite when the door opened and Giselle walked in, scanning the room briefly before heading to the coffee station.
Addie’s eyes lifted instinctively, their gazes meeting, and for a brief moment, Giselle’s usual stoic expression softened into a small smile as she nodded in Addie’s direction. It was subtle, almost reserved, butAddie caught it, and something inside her warmed.
Then, just as quickly, Giselle took her coffee and exited the cafeteria without another look back.
Sarah glanced at Addie with a smirk, though she didn’t say a word. Addie raised an eyebrow. “Alright. What’s that look for?”
Sarah shrugged, trying to hold back a grin. “Nothing, really. She’s just beautiful, that’s all.”
Addie fought to keep her expression remain neutral, though her stomach flipped slightly. “Is that all?” she asked. She could sense the curiosity radiating off of Sarah and the other nurses.
Sarah’s smirk didn’t waver. “Okay, okay. Maybe there’s a little more to it.” She leaned in. “It’s just that—well, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that the whole hospital’s been watching this. The ice queen is finally warming up to someone. Toyou.” Her eyes sparkled, almost teasingly.
Addie’s face softened, but she shook her head.
“Let’s not call her that,” she said simply, aware of how that label had never quite fitGiselle, even if others seemed convinced it did. The nickname didn’t capture her in the slightest, and it felt wrong to hear it.
Sarah looked genuinely taken aback, and the other nurses quickly murmured their apologies. “Fair point, Addie,” Sarah said, glancing down. “I didn’t mean anything by it. But honestly, it’s Phoenix Ridge.”
“Phoenix Ridge?” Addie repeated, not sure where this was going.
“Yeah, this place…I don’t know, it’s like it has this way of bringing people together. My parents, for one.” She gave her a small smile. “They met here, and now they’ve been together for twenty years. They had nothing before they met. My mom…she’d just gone through a rough time, and they bumped into each other randomly at the bar on Highland. They both say it was like magic, you know?”
Addie blinked, slightly taken aback. It sounded enough like her own moms’ story that it shifted something in her understanding of Phoenix Ridge. She hadn’t thought much about the town’s reputation, or this supposed “magic” it held for others.
Sarah’s eyes held a soft warmth as she continued, “Look, I’m not saying everyonebelieves it. But Phoenix Ridge? It’s different. It brings people together.”
Addie gave a small chuckle. “I don’t know about magic, Sarah. I just know we’re here to do our work and help people.”
Sarah shrugged, but there was a knowing look in her eyes, as if she didn’t quite believe Addie’s attempt to brush it off.
“Sure, if you say so.”
Addie offered a polite smile, excusing herself as she took her tray and stood, trying to ignore the nagging feeling Sarah’s words left behind.
She didn’t believe in magic, but the way she felt around Giselle—the quiet exchanges, the moments of warmth that contradicted every story she’d heard about Giselle’s icy persona—stirred something she couldn’t quite dismiss.
Addie sighed. She’d figure this out, somehow.
17
GISELLE
Giselle sat at her desk, her fingers tapping idly against the papers she’d been avoiding.
Against her will, her thoughts kept slipping back to the night at Josephine’s house. She should’ve moved on by now—work demanded it—but no amount of patient files or review notes could clear that night from her mind.
She adjusted a stack of papers, moving them from one side of her desk to the other, her gaze distant. The memories kept creeping back in—the softness in Addie’s expression, the way her hair fell loose around her shoulders, the warmth of her smile.
Giselle glanced at the empty chair across from her desk, half-expecting Addie to be there. But of course, she wasn’t. It’d only been an hour or two since she’d seen her last, yet it felt like years had passed.
The clock on the wall ticked steadily, mocking her inability to stay focused. Giselle leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. She glanced at her coffee, untouched and now cold.
Reaching for her phone, she nearly jumped when it lit up with an incoming call:Mom. The phone buzzed insistently as the name flashed on the screen. She stared at it, her finger hovering over the answer button, but something in her hesitated.