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‘I can’t help it. It’s what I do.’ She checks her phone and wallet are in her bag, then hugs Dani. ‘Okay, so wish me luck.’
‘You don’t need luck. He’ll come, then he’ll make you come,’ she adds, laughing at her own joke.
‘Oh you are so funny,’ Scarlett says as she climbs into her car. ‘I’ll let you know what happens.’
‘You better,’ Dani says, closing the door.
Scarlett pulls out of the car park and heads in the direction of the cabin. She told Dani she’d contacted Nick last week, but in truth, she hadn’t. In fact, she hadn’t even written the all important letter yet. The dozens of drafts are still in her bag.
She doesn’t know why, but she really wants to send it tonight from the cottage. Christmas is still a week away. There’s plenty of time for him to get the letter. At least, she hopes there is. Damon hadn’t been too forthcoming on the details.
She’s going to remain positive though. Or at least as positive as she can be, given she’s going to contact a man by burning a letter!
If it was possibleto explode with excitement, Scarlett would be splattered all over the walls of her cottage. She’s spent dozens of Christmas’ here, but this time it’s different.
This time she had carefully unpacked all of the decorations Nick created last year, hanging them all over the cottage. While she worked, Christmas music played in the background, and the smell of roasted chestnuts filled the air.
She was going all out, throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the preparations. After what happened last year, it would be a little hypocritical to think there was no point decorating. Three days with Santa had made her see the holiday differently.
And he’s also part of the reason she’s gone to town this year.
Nick had burst into her life this time last year, and turned it on its head. Or had tomorrow night, last year, to be exact.
There hadn’t been any contact between them for the year, but she wasn’t expecting there to be.
Okay, so maybe that’s not really true. She had hoped he’d reach out to her, but he hadn’t.
She had to keep reminding herself he’s Santa. It’s not like he’s a regular guy with a regular job. He was probably up to his neck in demons, or Púca, or whatever else is thrown at the team. And it’s not like they had made any plans. Quite the opposite in fact.
They’d said goodbye. As in forever goodbye.
Scarlett pours herself a glass of wine and sits on the floor by the fire. She looks down at the letter in her hands. It’s addressed to Santa with Nick’s name underneath. She hadn’t written a letter to Santa since she was a child. But there was no other way of getting in touch with him. This was the only way of telling him what she wants for Christmas.
She wants Nick.
Nothing else.
One year without him, and she’s never been more sure of anything in her life. She wants to be with him. As completely ridiculous as it sounds, the last year without him had felt empty. Boring. Lonely. She’d dated, or at least tried to. It wasn’t their fault, but after being with Nick, how could anyone else even begin to measure up?
And that was before she even considered anything sexual.
But a year is a long time. Nick could have found someone else in that time. Right now he could be sitting by someone else’s fire. He could be showing someone else what his hands, his mouth, and other parts of his body could do.
She shakes those thoughts from her mind. Damon wouldn’t have come to see her if that were the case. It hadn’t stopped months of those thoughts, mixed with more unsettling ones, like him being injured fighting, or worse.
The letter in her hand must be the hundredth draft at least. She lost count of the number of previous versions she’d penned over the last few weeks. She didn’t want to say too much, in case one of his workers read the letter, before passing it to him. Maybe he didn’t even read the letters himself any longer?
She presses the back of the envelope, making sure the seal is secure, before kissing it and throwing it into the fire. ‘I really hope you get this, Nick.’ She watches as it burns, the smoke disappearing up the chimney.
As the last bansheefalls to the ground, Nick straightens and looks around the room as he catches his breath. He’d taken down twelve banshees. Not too bad.
‘We good?’ he asks, waiting for the responses from the rest of the team. One by one, they call in. Everyone on their side is alive and still standing. The other side didn’t fare so well. But that was the plan.
He spits out a mouthful of blood then wipes his face. ‘Would you look at the state of you,’ Hunter says as he enters the room. ‘I don’t even think I’d want to shag you right now. You bathe in their blood or something?’
Nick looks down at his t-shirt and grimaces. Hunter may have a point. ‘It wasn’t intentional. How the fuck did you manage to stay clean?’
‘I don’t go into a fight swinging a sword all over the place. I have a bit more finesse.’
