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“At work. But they don’t talk anymore. But Renzo is really, really sad. All the time. And he’s the best brother anyone could ever have. He’s lonely, but he takes care of me, and he takes care of Camilla, too, when she’s working too much. He picks me up from my job, and he chops wood for my fire every day.”
Emil nodded, his heart threatening to beat straight out of his chest. “He sounds wonderful.”
Matty sighed. “I don’t know if you have any Santa magic, but if you do, maybe you could find a boyfriend for him.”
“I don’t know if I have that kind of power, but I can tell you that people like your brother usually get all the good things they deserve. Sometimes it’s just necessary to be patient.”
“I’m pretty bad at that,” Matty said. “Renzo tells me that every day.”
Emil burst into laughter. God, was Renzo there? He wanted to look around so badly, but he wasn’t brave enough. “I’m not great at it either, but maybe we can both try together this year.”
“Okay. Thanks for letting me see you. I know I’m too big for Santa.”
“No one’s too big for Santa,” Emil said with a frown. Had someone told him that? Had Renzo? He doubted it, considering what Matty had said about his brother.
Matty scoffed. “My brother says that to me too, but I know better. I’m not a little kid, even if I kind of look like one. But I’m not. I promise.”
“I believe you, but you know that adults are allowed to have a little magic too, right? Even if we don’t get as much as we used to.”
Matty nodded, then stood up. “Have a good Christmas, Santa.”
Emil waved him off, and it was only as Matty was walking away that he finally caught sight of a familiar person leaning on the faux-wood railing for the reindeer paddock. Their eyes locked, and for a moment, Emil panicked.
But seconds later, Renzo slung his arm around his brother, and the pair of them disappeared into the crowd.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Emil stayedin a half fog for the remaining kids, but he was happy to blame it all on exhaustion, which the staff readily accepted. The moment he was freed, he tore out of the costume and used a couple of aloe wipes on his face until the burn from the synthetic beard faded.
He was still a little pink around his jaw, but he looked like himself again, and that was more of a relief than anything.
“Knock, knock,” Dahlia called out. “Are you naked?”
“Dressed,” Emil called out.
She appeared a second later with a bottle of water, which he took happily and cracked open the top. “You were a hit. My boss is already asking about next year?—”
“Fuck no,” Emil said before she could go on. He swiped the back of his hand over his mouth, then killed the rest of the water before speaking again. “I love you. I can honestly say you are one of the few people in my life I’d do almost anything for. But never again.”
She shrugged. “Not more than I expected.” She stepped forward and rose onto her toes, tugging him down so she could kiss his cheeks. “I really owe you.”
“You don’t,” Emil said. He blinked, and for a single second, he saw Renzo behind his closed eyelids. “Fucking hell.”
Dahlia lifted he brows. “What happened?”
“Remember a few weeks ago when I was a hot mess?”
“Right before you started therapy?” she guessed.
She had it in one. Leaving Renzo’s had motivated him to make his appointment with Sarah and to leave the hotel. But he had been a mess right after he’d left Renzo. He felt oddly heartbroken walking away in spite of the fact that he knew it was for the best, and he’d spent at least a dozen nights opening and closing a text thread before losing his nerve.
“So…there was this guy.”
Dahlia groaned, lips thinning. “I knew it. I called it, and you lied to my face.”
“I wasn’t ready to talk about it,” Emil defended, hugging his arms around his middle. “It happened out of nowhere.”
Dahlia’s eyes narrowed. “Did he hurt you?”
