The Mistletoe Experiment by Serena Yates

he didn"t end up
    having to limp toward the gazebo on the day of the wedding.
    How embarrassing would that be? He had a little over three
    weeks to recover, so he"d just have to make sure any
    residual problems were dealt with before then.
    As soon as they"d emerged from the plane, Magnus
    opened his now-functional cell phone and called Lance.
    “Hey, Magnus.” Lance sounded so much better than this
    morning.
    “ Hallå älskling !” Magnus leaned back in his wheelchair
    and closed his eyes so he could focus on Lance"s voice.
    “Almost there, just one more flight to go.”
    “I can"t wait to see you again.” Lance cleared his throat.
    “Thanks for calling me. At least now I know you made the
    flight.”
    “Not being on the flight wasn"t an option.” He"d almost
    missed it thanks to some issue with the paperwork, but
    there was no point in telling Lance. “How is Jakob?”
    “He was devastated when I told him, but he"s okay now.
    He told me to tell you he loves you very much and wants you
    home with us as soon as possible.” Lance paused. “We both
    do.”
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    “I know. Me too.” Magnus swallowed the lump in his
    throat. Only a few more hours and he"d be able to hold them
    in his arms again.
    “Ragnor offered to take care of him today while I
    organized everything, and Jakob agreed.” Lance laughed. “He
    said it was better than staying with his grandparents
    because he likes the stories Ragnor makes up for him.”
    “It"s good to have your own neighborhood children"s
    writer around the corner, isn"t it?” Magnus grinned.
    All the initial jealousy Magnus had felt about Lance
    getting along so well with their neighbor had vanished once
    said neighbor had understood the parameters of their
    relationship. Magnus had grown to like him a lot, and was
    grateful the man had been around to help Lance through
    this situation.
    “It"s wonderful.” Lance took a deep breath. “I may have
    annoyed your boss today.”
    “He"s only my soon-to-be-ex-boss, so don"t worry about
    it.” Magnus was intrigued. “What did you do to annoy him?”
    “I pestered him about the university"s alliance with the
    hospital you"re going to go to.” Lance sighed. “I checked with
    them to make sure I"d be able to stay in the same room with
    you tonight, and even after I explained the somewhat
    unusual circumstances, they told me that they couldn"t
    confirm you"d be there, and that it wasn"t policy to let
    unrelated people stay beyond visiting hours.”
    “What?” Which century did these administrators live in?
    “We"re going to be married in three weeks, doesn"t that
    count?”
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    “Apparently not.” Lance chuckled. “Not that this stopped
    me. I talked to your boss, and told him what a disgrace it
    was in the first place, especially after you got hurt doing
    your job for them. Then I asked if there was anything he
    could do.”
    “Was there?” If not, he"d take matters into his own
    hands once he arrived, and would sue the university for
    inhumane treatment of employees and family.
    “There was. He called me back half an hour later, telling
    me that everything had been arranged. Reception has been
    informed, and the director of patient relations is on standby
    in case there are any issues.” Lance"s triumphant grin was
    clear even through the phone line.
    “Well done, Lance.” His älskling had come a long way
    since they"d met a year and a half ago.
    They chatted a little more, then ended the call with
    promises to see each other soon. It couldn"t be soon enough
    as far as he was concerned.
    The rest of the two-hour layover in Oslo felt much longer
    than it actually was. Being pushed around in a wheelchair
    was no fun, but walking wasn"t really an alternative if he
    didn"t want to make his leg worse. At least they were able to
    have some semi-decent food, better than the soggy
    sandwiches the airline had offered. Lance"s cooking it