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Three days until Christmas
When Matteo got home in the middle of the night after a long evening working at Kai’s, he was surprised to find Torkel sitting on the landing outside his door. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to your sister’s. Don’t trust me with the ring?” He meant it in jest, but Torkel didn’t crack a smile as he stood. Not that that was unusual.
“I thought you could use some help with the Christmas baskets.” Torkel paused. “I told my sister I’d see her for New Year’s.”
Matteo was a bit overcome. He knew that “help with the Christmas baskets” was code for the fact that Torkel was worried about him and was here to check on him. It wasn’t often that people did things like that for him. It was usually the other way around. “I could use some help with the Christmas baskets, actually.” Though what he meant was that he could use some friendly company. He held up the bag he was carrying. “There’s a goose in here. And there are a dozen more in my car. We needed to makeroom in the industrial fridge in Kai’s workshop for other things, so I need to somehow fit these in my refrigerator.”
After they’d fetched the geese, and Matteo had set Torkel to work on stuffing gift cards into envelopes, Matteo allowed himself to be interrogated. In fact, he set himself up. “I’m behind on the baskets because I’ve been spending so much time with the American management consultant.”
“I thought she was here to overhaul Morneau.”
“She is. But things have become... complicated.”
“Ah. I see.”
“Personally, I mean. Things have become complicated personally.” Though lord knew, things had become complicated on the Morneau front, too.
“I got that.”
“Yes, well...” He had absolutely no idea what to say next, even though he’d started this conversation.
“You’ve fallen in love with her.”
“What? No! We’re merely...” He couldn’t say it. It sounded so tawdry. “We’re merely enjoying each other’s company.”
“Are you enjoying each other’s company horizontally?”
Matteo feared his blush answered for him.
Torkel chuckled.
“It’s nothing to worry about. It’s a very straightforward arrangement. She’s only here a few more days.”
“If it’s nothing to worry about, why do you seem so worried?”
Matteo dropped the length of ribbon he’d been fashioning into a bow and let his head fall into his hands.
“Youhavefallen in love with her, haven’t you?”
He opened his fingers and answered through them. “I didn’t mean to.”
Torkel laughed, a great big belly laugh. “Well, one never does.”
“What do I do?”
“I think you should tell her.”
“But what good will that do? She lives in New York. She’s going home in a matter of days.”
“Daniela lived in New York,” he said, “and guess what? She and Max just got engaged.”
“That’s wonderful news.” It was, even if it made him... well, it made him jealous, truth be told. The idea of finding your person, the one you wanted to spend your entire life with, seemed like something that happened to other people. “It’s different for them. Daniela and Max are both portable. Ms. Delaney is excessively—admirably—devoted to her job, and that job is in New York.”
“You could go to New York. Nothing to say you can’t makeyourselfportable.”
“And abandon Eldovia? Never.”
That stopped Torkel. He knew the depths of Matteo’s devotion to the country.
