11. Giselle
GISELLE
G iselle stood by the large window, her eyes on the waves rolling in from the ocean.
The steady rhythm of the water calmed her, even as the noise of the party hummed behind her. She never felt comfortable in places like this—crowded with people, chatter filling the air. She wasn’t one for small talk, and being surrounded by colleagues outside of work only made it worse.
She watched the ocean for a long time, letting her mind drift. Addie, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease. Every time Giselle looked at her, Addie was smiling, her warm presence drawing people in as if she’d known them all her life.
Giselle wasn’t surprised, though. Addie seemed to have that effect on people.
Giselle’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the screen: Dr. Nova. Again . Without thinking, she hit the “ignore” button and slipped the phone back into her pocket. She didn’t want to deal with them. Not here, not now.
Her eyes drifted back to Addie, who was talking to a group of colleagues, her smile as bright as ever.
Ember appeared beside her, holding a drink. “Thought you might need one of these.”
Giselle glanced at the drink, hesitating for a second before taking it. “Thanks.”
Ember smiled, her eyes scanning the room for a moment before settling on Giselle again. “You don’t do these kinds of things, do you?”
“Not if I can help it.”
Ember chuckled, leaning against the wall next to her. “I figured.”
They stood in silence for a moment, watching the party. Giselle sipped her drink, grateful for the excuse not to talk. But Ember wasn’t done with her.
“You’ve been watching Addie all night,” Ember said.
Giselle stiffened slightly. “I look at everyone the same.”
Ember laughed softly, shaking her head. “Sure, you do.”
Giselle didn’t respond, keeping her eyes on the waves outside the window.
“You know,” Ember said, “Phoenix Ridge has a way of healing people.”
Giselle didn’t look at her, but her jaw tightened. “Some wounds go too deep.”
Ember raised an eyebrow, her expression thoughtful. “Maybe. But I’ve seen it happen before. We get these fires up in the mountains sometimes. They burn through everything—forests, homes, miles of land. It’s terrifying how they eat up the landscape like it’s nothing.”
Giselle’s gaze flicked to Ember, intrigued despite herself.
“But then,” Ember continued, “the rains come. They pour down on the land for days, and suddenly, the fire’s gone. And months later, everything starts to grow back. The land heals.”
Giselle tilted her head. “Sounds like it’s the rain doing the healing, not the town.”
Ember laughed, for real this time. “Maybe. But sometimes, you just need a little rain to get things started.”
Giselle glanced at her, trying to decide if there was any truth behind Ember’s words. She didn’t believe in healing, not as Ember seemed to. Some scars ran too deep to ever disappear.
Ember clapped her on the shoulder, smiling. “Keep looking at Addie like that, and the rain might come sooner than you think.”
Giselle opened her mouth to deny it again, but Ember had already turned and walked away, disappearing into the crowd. Giselle sighed.
She could handle surgery with a full team watching her every move, but here in a crowd? That was a different challenge. One that Addie didn’t seem to have. Josephine was moving toward her. Giselle rolled her eyes.
Shit .
She didn’t want any more introductions, but Josephine didn’t seem to care. She was approaching with a curvy blonde in a polka-dotted dress. The blonde had a smile draped across her face that Giselle found rather awkward.
She’d say she didn’t like the blonde already, but that would be too presumptuous.
“Giselle, I wanted to introduce you to Dr. Kingston,” Josephine said.
The blonde stepped forward, eyes widening slightly as she took in Giselle’s face. “Wait, aren’t you Dr. Nova’s daughter?”
Giselle stiffened, a tight smile forming on her lips. The woman laughed, apparently not noticing Giselle’s discomfort. “That’s amazing. I can’t believe I get to meet a Nova in the flesh.”
Giselle forced a nod, her hand gripping the edge of the table beside her. She hated being compared to her mother and how people always brought it up as if it defined her. She wasn’t her mother, and she didn’t need to be reminded of her at every turn.
Before the conversation could get more uncomfortable, Josephine smoothly stepped in. “You’re speaking to Giselle Carlisle, one of the best surgeons we have here in Phoenix Ridge.”
The woman blinked, clearly taken aback, before offering an awkward smile. “Right, of course.”
Giselle nodded, grateful for the intervention but still eager to end the conversation. She muttered something polite before excusing herself, stepping away from the group, and heading back to the window.
She peered outside, straining to look at the sky. It was dark; the clouds had rolled in while they were talking. The faint patter of rain began to hit the large windows.
One by one, the guests began to leave, their goodbyes echoing through the house. Giselle saw the people Addie had been talking to wave goodbye as they walked out the door. Addie stood by herself now, her eyes scanning the room, and Giselle quickly looked away, pretending to focus on something else.
She was about to step outside to get some air when she was swarmed by Sophie and Natalie. “Dr. Giselle!” Sophie said, tugging at her sleeve .
Giselle blinked, surprised by the sudden attention. “Hey, girls.”
Natalie joined in, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Do you do surgeries too?”
Giselle glanced between the two girls, unsure how to answer. “Yes, I do.”
Sophie’s face lit up. “That’s so cool! What kind of surgeries?”
Giselle shifted, trying to find the simplest way to explain. “I work on hearts mostly. I fix them when they’re not working right.”
Natalie’s mouth dropped open. “You fix hearts? Like with tools and stuff?”
Giselle smiled despite herself. “Yes, with tools. And stuff.”
The girls exchanged excited looks before bombarding her with more questions.
What kind of tools did she use? Was it scary?
Did people ever wake up during surgery? As the questions poured in, Giselle found herself surprisingly engaged.
The kids’ enthusiasm was infectious, and though she hadn’t expected to enjoy their company, she found herself answering each question with more detail than she usually offered in conversations like these.
Still, now and then, her eyes darted in Addie’s direction. Addie had moved to the side of the room, watching the kids with a small smile on her face. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Giselle quickly looked away, her chest tightening in a way that made her uncomfortable.
She returned her attention to Sophie and Natalie, but the awareness of Addie’s presence lingered, pulling at her thoughts even as she tried to focus on the conversation in front of her.
The storm outside was growing stronger, but inside the house, everything felt strangely still—except, of course, when she glanced at Addie.
The rain had picked up, hammering against the windows in thick, steady sheets.
Giselle glanced outside, the sky now completely dark and the storm in full swing.
She checked the time, but just as she was about to mention leaving, Josephine appeared, smiling as if she knew what Giselle was about to say.
“It’s too bad out there to drive,” Josephine said, casually wiping her hands on a towel. “You’re stuck here for the night. The storm’s not letting up anytime soon. ”
Giselle shifted uncomfortably. “I really should?—”
But Josephine interrupted her. “Do me a favor. Take the girls upstairs and make sure they didn’t turn their room upside down. Ember and I are going to tidy up down here.” She gave her a small smile, already turning back to the dishes.
Giselle opened her mouth to protest, but Sophie and Natalie tugged at her sleeves and pulled her toward the stairs before she could say anything more. She sighed, resigned to her fate, and let them lead her up to the room.
The upstairs hallway was quiet, the sound of the rain muffled as they moved away from the main living area. When they reached Natalie’s room, Giselle couldn’t help but pause at the door. The room was large and elegant, with a high ceiling and wide windows overlooking the storm-tossed waves outside.
The soft lighting gave everything a warm glow, and the walls were painted a calming shade of gray. It was clear that Ember and Josephine had spared no expense. Everything looked tasteful—classy, even—but with just the right number of personal touches to make it feel lived in.
The room itself was mostly neat, but there were toys scattered across the floor and a few pillows had been tossed haphazardly onto the bed.
A small bookshelf by the window was half-emptied, with books stacked in uneven piles on the floor.
A stuffed animal lay on the rug, abandoned in the middle of what looked like a small pillow fort the girls had been building earlier.
Sophie and Natalie ran ahead, laughing as they plopped onto the bed, kicking more pillows off in the process. Giselle stood by the door, watching as they began to rearrange the pillows into what was clearly meant to be a castle of some kind.
“You two really made a mess,” Giselle said, her arms crossed.
Natalie shrugged, a grin on her face. “We’re not done yet.”
Giselle raised an eyebrow. “Josephine asked me to make sure you didn’t destroy the place.”
Sophie giggled as she grabbed another pillow. “We didn’t destroy it. We just…redecorated. ”
She was just like Addie, Giselle thought—the same eyes, the same smile, the same lively tone when they were feeling chatty.
Giselle sighed and walked farther into the room. She picked up one of the books on the floor, glancing at the cover before setting it neatly back on the shelf. “You need to clean up.”
Natalie pouted. “But we’re still playing.”
Sophie jumped onto the bed, pulling the blankets into their fort. “Just a little longer?”
Giselle felt a faint tug of amusement at their pleading faces, but she kept her expression neutral. “Five more minutes. After that, you clean.”
The girls squealed with excitement, immediately resuming their fort-building.
Giselle sat down on the edge of the bed, watching them as they scrambled to finish their creation.
Despite herself, she found their enthusiasm infectious.
The room might have been a bit of a mess, but it was the kind of mess that came from creativity, from the simple joy of being a child.
As the girls worked, Giselle’s eyes drifted to the window, watching the storm continue outside. It was strange, being here, surrounded by warmth and laughter while the weather raged just beyond the glass. Strange, too, how much her mind kept circling back to Addie, who was still downstairs.
“Done!” Natalie declared, snapping Giselle out of her thoughts. The girls stepped back, admiring their pillow fort.
Giselle glanced at it, impressed despite herself. “Not bad.”
Sophie beamed at the praise, but Natalie’s grin quickly turned mischievous. “You should help us build another one.”
Giselle shook her head, standing up. “Not a chance. Time’s up.”
The girls groaned, but started to pick up their toys and books.
Giselle bent down to grab a few pillows and stack them neatly by the bed.
Despite her earlier reluctance, she found herself enjoying the quiet, simple task of putting the room back in order.
It was a welcome distraction from everything else.
As the girls cleaned up, Giselle stole one last glance out the window. The storm still raged, but inside, things felt calm. Maybe even peaceful.