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Kai looked down at their joined hands—Matteo had retaken Cara’s hand on the way in and was still holding it—and said, “Ah.”
“But you know I’d never miss tonight,” Matteo said. “What’s left?”
“I was about to add the geese to the baskets that are getting them, then we’re ready to go.”
Cara was amazed. She had so many questions, but she started with “Why doesn’t everyone get a goose?”
“When we started, the baskets were for people in poverty, people who needed material help. That’s still a large proportion of the baskets, but some people are on the list because they’re lonely, or otherwise in need of help that isn’t food-related.”
“They’re people who need a little Christmas magic,” Cara said. People like her.
Matteo winked at her.
“And some people are vegetarians,” Kai said, handing Cara a box that she was pretty sure was some kind of Tofurkey-style vegetarian roast even though she couldn’t read the German label. “See those baskets over there with the silver ribbons? Those all need one of these.”
Gathering that she was being unceremoniously put to work—and happy to help—Cara stuffed baskets with fake meat. And after that, she helped check the baskets against a list the men had.
“This isexactlylike Santa,” she said to Matteo. “You have a list and you’re checking it twice.” He rolled his eyes affectionately, and they all got to work loading a cargo van that was parked outside the workshop.
They spent the next few hours delivering baskets. It felt like they were doing something important. Matteo told her a bit about some of the families that occupied the houses they were visiting. Kai even got into the spirit of the thing. He wasn’t exactly chatty, but he answered her questions about some of his handmade treasures that had gone in the boxes, and he and Matteo occasionally traded dry witticisms.
In her ball gown, spending the night delivering Santa baskets: this was not how Cara had ever imagined her trip to Eldovia ending. She probably looked like she was starring in a montage in one of those stupid Hallmark movies.
She felt like it, too.
When they pulled up to Kai’s cabin just before dawn, Matteo said, “Thank you for another good year.” Kai nodded and made to get out, but Matteo continued. “We can discuss it later, but I need to tell you that I won’t be here next year.” Kai raised his eyebrows questioningly, and Cara could feel herself doing the same thing. It was impossible to imagine Matteo bailing on his Santa duties. “The king has appointed me ambassador to the United Nations. I’m moving to New York.”
Cara shrieked, and she was not a shrieker.
Kai cracked a small smile, and said, “Well. Congratulations.” From him that seemed like the equivalent of a ticker tape parade.
“I think we should enlist Imogen to replace me,” Matteo said.
Kai made a vague noise that was hard to interpret and said, “We’ll talk later.”
“Merry Christmas!” she called after Kai, and when she and Matteo were alone again in the car, she shrieked again. “UN ambassador?Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?”
He shrugged as he put the car into gear. “I thought we’d agreed to talk about it later.”
“Well, it’s later, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. So let’s go home and hash out all the details. We canget out our calendars. Perhaps you can even write a report on the logistics associated with the launch of our relationship and my transatlantic move.”
“Well...” When he put it that way, perhaps they didn’t need to talk about it right away.
“I am teasing. Of course we can talk about whatever you want, whenever you want. I want you to know that I’m delighted to be moving to New York for a job that excites me, but I’m even more excited that I’ll be where you are—where you are at least some of the time. I’m happy to go as fast or as slow as you like. This is new for me, too.” He grabbed her hand. It was starting to feel normal. “Let’s go home and hash out all the details.”
“Actually, maybe we can hash out the details tomorrow morning.”
“I think it is tomorrow morning,” he said.
“Maybe we can hash out the details this afternoon.”
“When do you fly back to New York?”
“Tonight. A red-eye out of Zurich. Do you want to come?”
“Yes.”
