Page 19 of Temporary Santa's Knotty Workshop
I woke up later than normal to a nearly empty bed. Snowdrop, who had managed to get up beside me and had snuggled up close. I’d expected to find my little elf Willy. Maybe expected wasn’t the right word—I’d hoped, dreamed, wished.
Disappointment flooded me as I sat up and looked around. A small part of me believed that he’d simply gotten up before me, despite the spot being filled with a sound asleep pup.
The spot where he should have been was cold and the room empty. Even with Snowdrop by my side, I felt alone. I looked around for a note. In movies there was always a note. But this wasn’t a movie. There was no note.
I checked the schedule. He was on shift this morning, which meant he was at work. That gave him a reason to be gone, but why no note? Did he regret last night? Sugar plum fairies, I hoped not.
I suppose I could’ve used my position to pick a day for our date where he didn’t have to go in early the next day. I hadn’t been smart enough for that. I was kicking myself now, because the date had gone so incredibly that I wanted it to last through today.
Would he have wanted that? For all I knew he regretted our night together. It was one thing to get lost in the moment, another to look back on it and feel like you’d made the best decision.
He had had a lot of fun on our date. I know that he did. I had as well. If it was up to me, elf Willy would never, ever leave my side. Which, of course, was unreasonable and also a whole lot for me to process. I’d never felt anything close to what I was feeling for him. It was a lot.
And even if he felt close to what I did, it was hardly as easy as that.
Willy had a career. I had a cabin and horses that I needed to worry about. Then again, surely my brother wouldn’t mind if I moved to the workshop with him. Willy and I could build our own little cabin. He could continue working. I could do whatever the heck Nick needed around here.
Perhaps I shouldn’t count my chickens before they hatched, though, considering that what I thought was the start to our happily ever after had resulted in me waking up alone. Not so much as a goodbye to be had.
I wasn’t scheduled to do a walk around the workshop today, and though I had been following Willy’s schedule to the letter, it wasn’t mandatory that I did. Today I was going to deviate from it. The list could wait. My mate could not.
After taking Snowdrop out for a quick walk, I dressed in a pair of my brother’s red pants with the candy-cane-striped suspenders. I was getting used to wearing his clothes. They were quite comfy despite being far too bright for my normal taste. The pants would not hold up well to chopping wood in the forest, but I looked good in them, and I could see them helping me go viral.
Skipping my normal stop at the bakery, I headed straight to the workshop. I had an elf to find.
I smiled at the elves who were working diligently on packaging up different whips and chains and nipple clamps while I walked through the workshop. The place operated like a well-oiled machine.
“Merith, have you seen Willy around? Do you know where he’s scheduled to be today?” I asked, hoping I sounded like I was asking a random work question and not pining for the sexy elf.
She stopped what she was doing. “I’m not sure. He could be in wrapping. We had a weird issue with the bow maker earlier this morning.”
There was a bow maker? Of course there was.
“We had to get someone from the ropes department to untangle it,” she said.
“They are fantastic with knots.” I grinned and winked.
Merith blushed.
“Campbell, it’s so good to see you in the workshop. Do you think you could help me with something?” A warm hand landed on my forearm.
My skin crawled at the touch, though, because it wasn’t Willy. Instead, I found Chester there batting his eyes at me. Chester needed to learn some boundaries.
“Oh, I suppose I can help with something.” I fought the urge to take three steps back. “What do you need? Honestly, we should probably find Willy, though, he would be more helpful than I will.”
“Well, I think some of these whips need to be tested, don’t you?” He placed a flogger into my hand, looked at me suggestively.
“What’s going on here?” Willy asked, arms crossed over his chest. “Chester, you’re not even scheduled to work on Whipsy Lane today. You’re supposed to be on Dildo Row packaging anal beads.”
Willy was mad. Was it at me? Chester? Both of us? Of all the times for him to walk in.
Chester rolled his eyes. “Candy canes, Willy! Why do you gotta take everything so seriously? Campbell was just trying to help.”
He squeezed my forearm. I yanked it away, not bothering to hide my disdain.
“Willy, just the elf I was looking to find,” I said, turning to give him my full attention.
“I’m busy.” He turned his head and walked away.
