Page 23 of Temporary Santa's Knotty Workshop
“Together,” I agreed.
Chapter 13
Willy
“I talked to my brother,” Campbell said it as if it were no big deal. And most of the time it wasn’t, but given he was on a forced vacation, it really was. No wonder he wanted to have the conversation here and not at work.
I looked up at Campbell. We were currently lying on the plush leather sofa that sat in front of the massive fireplace in the living room. Nick’s house was decked out in Christmas… always. It was kinda his brand, and I was loving it.
The workshop was back to working order. We were even ahead of schedule in some departments, which meant no one needed to work overtime.
The roaring fire had been started by Campbell a few hours ago, and it was putting off heat. Despite the warmth, I still lay snuggled against Campbell’s side with Snowdrop at our feet. It could be a hundred degrees and I’d still want to be wrapped in his arms like this.
“I didn’t think talking to him was allowed,” I said.
“Well, I didn’t call him for official Santa reasons. I called him for official brother reasons.” He pressed a kiss to the spot just below my ear. If he kept that up, we weren’t going to be talking for long. Our mouths would be busy doing a whole lot of something else.
“Oh, yeah? What sort of brother reasons?” I twisted to see his face. He was smiling, his cheeks rosy from the fire. Yeah, this conversation was probably going to be short.
“I wanted to let him know that I met the love of my life and that he and I were gonna be together forever.” He nipped at my jawline. “In case you didn’t know… that’s you.”
This time he rubbed his head against my shoulder, tickling me slightly. I’d seen my friends who were mated to shifters doing this, they said it was all about scenting like each other. We weren’t shifters, but having people know he was mine by my smell sounded great to me.
“Oh yeah?”
“And he’s very excited for us. Percy is probably a little put out that he’s hearing about all this from me and not from you.”
I cringed. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t wanted to tell him. I didn’t have brother privileges… or access to how to reach them.
“I’m not allowed to call,” I said.
“He knows. But don’t be surprised if he finds a way to get a hold of you.”
Knowing Percy, he already had a plan and was waiting for morning to execute it.
“I’d like that.” More than like it.
I missed not having my best friend here. I missed not getting into mischief together. I missed not having him to talk to about random things. And I missed not being able to tap into his advice about Campbell. So much had happened since he left, and I had some more news to share, something I hadn’t even mentioned to Campbell. I wasn’t keeping it from him intentionally—or maybe I was, but not without a good reason.
“Nick texted me to let me know that there’s a cabin vacant at the North Pole.” Campbell’s tone had shifted. Was this an invitation? Random gossip? Letting me know his brother was pushing for us to take the next step?
“I’m sure there are lots of vacant cabins. We always have elves moving in and out. We have a whole apartment complex. Weren’t you paying attention when I gave you a tour of the whole place?” I was babbling as I attempted to put my thoughts together. Talking about a home, whether for us now or in the future, was a big deal, and it felt like that was the direction this conversation was taking.
“Not really. I was focused on your ass, mostly.” He gave it a playful smack. He was an ass man. Worked for me.
I slapped at his chest in faux outrage. “Be serious.”
“I am. This particular cabin is a little farther in the woods, where a certain lumberjack might be able to live, but only if his mate would like that. A remote cabin for just the two of us might be nice.” This was it. He was asking me to move in with him.
I hadn’t known how we were going to move forward. He had a life elsewhere and was only here short-term. That life included property he loved and horses. Dropping all of that to come here was a huge deal. But also, me leaving here was a huge deal. I’d known from the moment I realized he was mine and I was his that it would all work out, but logistics kept me from going deeper than that.
“Just the two of us?”
“Well, and Snowdrop, of course.” Campbell tickled my side. “And depending on what the stable hands think about myhorses. I want them to come, but if this isn’t the best place for them, they have a good home where they are boarding.”
Campbell had thought this through. It wasn’t a spontaneous decision. Fate was sure kind to me.
“Do you think anyone else might be there in the future?” I asked.
