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She runs her fingers through his hair as his eyes close. ‘About what?’
‘Anything. Don't like this part...’
Scarlett only manages two sentences of meaningless work gossip, before he drops off. ‘Goodnight, Nick. I love you.’
The words come out before she realises she’s saying them. But it’s the truth. She’s in love with him.
She closes her eyes and snuggles up against him, hoping he doesn't leave her waiting for too long.
26
Scarlett shuts downthe laptop and turns to peer into the bedroom next door. Nick is still asleep in the bed behind her. It’s the second of January. Nine long days and he hasn’t stirred. She’s worried sick. He’s had no food. No water. Nothing at all.
‘Are you sure—’
Damon opens his eyes, but doesn't lift his head off the back of the couch. He’d been taking a power nap as he put it, for the last hour. He’s not fooling her for a minute. Damon hasn’t left Nick’s room for longer than a few hours since his friend fell asleep.
‘How many times? This. Is. Normal. He’ll wake when he’s ready. Then he’ll eat like a fucking horse. This damn place is keeping him alive. It needs him as much as he needs it. They’re linked.’ He goes quiet for a minute, then lifts his head to look at her. ‘I promise he’ll be fine.’
The new Sandman, Rocco, knocks on the door and steps inside the room, looking at Nick through the bedroom door briefly, before smiling at Scarlett. ‘Eve asked me to give you these reports.’
‘Thanks. You can pop them on the table. I’ll get to them after lunch.’ Who knew being Santa involved so much paperwork. After two days here she’d finally said enough is enough, and begged Eve to give her something to do. If she had to sit in his suite and just stare at him asleep, she was quite likely going to drive herself insane.
Rocco does as he’s asked, then waves, before leaving the room again. She really likes the new Sandman. Reve’s replacement seems to be genuinely lovely. He’s taken to his new role like a duck to water. And it’s kind of nice to have someone else relatively new to this world, to talk to. He’s still coming to grips with certain aspects himself, so they’ve been helping each other out over the last nine days.
‘You should go for a walk. I’ll stay with him.’
‘I’m fine, Damon.’
‘I wasn’t making a request. You need fresh air. Now you either walk out yourself, or I’ll send you out there, my way.’
‘Fine!’ She’s not really pissed off with him. She could do with a break, but she hates leaving Nick. She doesn’t want him to wake up without her here.
‘I swear I’ll come and get you, if he even begins coming to.’
‘Thanks. Make sure you do.’ She takes her coat, hat, and scarf from the cupboard and wanders through the workshop, saying hello to anyone she passes. Tensions have certainly dissipated in the last few days. She’s Santa’s girlfriend. It’s up to her to make sure she fits into their world, without disrupting it. Nick had saved a lot of the workers from a life living rough on the streets. This was their home long before she came on the scene. She has no intention of messing things up for anyone.
