Page 22 of Temporary Santa's Knotty Workshop
“It can’t be that simple,” I said.
“It really is.”
“What if he doesn’t actually want me?” I voiced my biggest fear.
“Well, then you pick up the pieces of your heart and move on.”
I scoffed. “Like it’s that easy.”
“It’s love,” Nick said. “Ain’t nothing easy about it. That’s why you have to take a chance. Go to him. Talk to him. The workshop can wait. The deadlines will be fine as soon as the two of you talk it through.”
Please let that be true. Because I didn’t think I could forgive myself if I ruined Christmas for all the naughty men and women on our good list.
“That’s really not that helpful.” I needed an action plan.
Nick laughed. “Well, that’s life. All right, now you’re mooching in on my vacation time, so go straighten out your shit and then make sure to leave me something extra special under the tree.”
“I don’t think you get a gift, Santa.”
“Of course I do. Only my gift is right here, asleep in my arms and snuggled right next to me. You can have this gift too, Campbell. You just gotta give it a try.”
I hung up the phone.
Almost immediately, I received a text message, an image Nick had just taken with his young son, Willy, asleep in his arms with his mate next to him.
I could have that, too. I just needed to put myself out there.
I grabbed Snowdrop’s leash. “C’mon, pup, we’re going to get our elf.”
She followed closely on my heels as we trudged through the snow back to the workshop. I marched to Nick’s office and pulled open the door. Willy stood there, his eyes wide, shoulders tense. He had his phone in his hand.
“I was just about to call you. Everything is falling apart.”
I marched across the room, took his phone from his hand, and threw it onto the desk. I gripped his shoulders and closed my lips over his, giving him a hard kiss.
“I love you, Elf Willy.”
“What? Campbell, we don’t have time—”
“We do. We do have to talk about this. We do have time to sort this out. I don’t know what the future will look like, where we’ll live, how it’s all going to work. I just know that I’m not going home with Snowdrop without you. I love you. My puppy loves you. My horses will probably love you, too. This wasn’t a fling. It wasn’t for fun. I mean, it was fun, but it wasn’t just for fun. I’m in this with you. Forever.”
I was talking a mile a minute, and I’d have been amazed if Willy managed to catch most of that. But also, I was afraid if I stopped, if I saw the look in his eyes, I might forget all that needed to be said and hug him close. Hugs were great, but we needed words to communicate this time.
Willy ran a hand through his hair. “Why don’t we talk about this once the season is over?”
I shook his head. “There’s no Christmas season for me without you. You’re the Christmas magic for me.”
Willy softened, his shoulders loosening. “We just met. This is all so new.”
“It is new, and wonderful, and everything I ever dreamed of. We can make this work, even if we don’t figure it all out right now, you just have to know that I love you and I’m in this.”
He sank into my arms. “I love you, too. So much it scares me.”
His phone pinged then, breaking the moment. I’d tell him to ignore it, but we were in the middle of a crisis. He picked it up and looked at the screen. His eyes narrowed. “The lube station is all clean, everything came out working perfectly. That’s crazy cause it usually takes a whole day. And Chester found extra stock of ropes, so all the ones we had to scrap today can be replaced. I thought we checked the inventory already?”
I shrugged. “Christmas magic?”
Willy leaned against me until I was practically holding him. “We should go make sure the workshop is functioning. Then we can go home. Together.”
