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She nodded, biting her lip, tears welling in her eyes.
I couldn’t handle the sight of her distress. It tugged at my heart strings. “Come here, sweetheart.” I reached out my arm wide in a gesture of comfort and security.
This time she came to me, snuggling into my body like I wanted her to.
“Okay, now, when you’re ready, tell me what’s wrong. I’m sure there isn’t much that we can’t overcome together as long as we keep the lines of communication open and listen to our hearts.” This gorgeous woman was my fated lover, surely her worries were nothing to fall apart over. Perhaps it was something inconsequential about her job or her parents...
Jaydy took a steadying breath and began to speak. “It’s just, you seem to be entirely certain about the rightness of us being together, but for me...? Well, if I’m being completely honest? I’m worried and I’m scared.”
My chest tightened but I reasoned that it was only natural she felt uncertain. “Well, that makes sense.”
“It does?” she asked, lifting her beautiful face to stare up at me.
I chuckled to relieve some of the tension in the room. “Well, of course. I’ve known for decades about the mythology surrounding being a Santa. This is all still very new to you.”
“So, you’re used to the idea that I’m... well, that you think...?” Her voice trembled, almost breaking on a whisper.
I filled in the words for her. “That you’re my fated Mrs. Claus? Yes, I am. I’m used to the idea. And I’m certain I’m right.”
She pushed herself up again so she could more easily look at me to talk but didn’t move far.
I slid my hand over her thigh to keep her close and maintain the precious contact between us that I never wanted to be rid of.
“But how?” she asked.
I shrugged with a lop-sided grin.
She pushed against my naked chest. “That doesn’t help, Nicky!”
I laughed, and I didn’t really mean to, but I couldn’t help it. “Well, for one, you did exactly what I’ve always been told you’d do. You literally turned up here looking forme. That’s never happened before. Not once.”
Her cheeks turned rosy, and she rolled her eyes, flustered. “But I didn’t know it was going to happen,” she argued. “Everything just kind of happened, one event triggering another—like a line of dominoes.”
“In this case, intent isn’t the be all and end all,” I said. “Fate is about things happening the way they’re supposed to, whether we fully understand it or not.”
She nodded, but the worry lines continued to crease her forehead. “So, you think this is all cosmically meant to be? That I’m meant to just... quit my job? Move up here? And be... what? A housewife? A seasonal figurehead? A part of a children’s fairy tale?”
Her tone of voice changed. She sounded stressed and more than a little abrasive—almost hostile.
“I thought you said you could do your job from anywhere?” I offered, reminding her of what she’d told me earlier. “Is a tree-change such a bad idea?”
Jaydy flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “Yeah, I did say that. But we’ve only known each othertwo days. This is extremely sudden. Wouldn’t it be a little wiser to take our time before committing to any long-term plans?”
I frowned, not liking where this conversation was leading now. “What are you saying exactly?” I withdrew my hand, feeling instantly wounded, and casually rearranged the blankets in my lap.
“I’m not sure, exactly,” Jaydy said, biting her lip again. “I just... think I need time to process all of this. It’s just happening so fast.”
I didn’t see the problem with that. It sounded reasonable, so I kept my mouth shut.
She went on. “You know, I mean, you said that you’ve had time to get all of this right in your mind? I probably need the same thing, a bit more time, that’s all. This has been a bloody whirlwind.”
“So, what do you suggest?” I asked her, my worry slowly curdling to anger in my gut and souring my mood.
“Well, I have a few days off work still,” she said. “So maybe you could show me around some more? Tell me about what it would really be like to live all the way out here with you?”
I merely nodded so I didn’t say something I’d regret. What was she expecting? A list and a map? A detailed blow-by-blow of the pros and cons of this magical meeting of fate? “And then what?” I asked. “After the few days you have off work are over?”
“Well, I could go back to Salem and maybe visit on weekends and things, couldn’t I?” Jaydy reasoned; a hint of hope clear in her tone. “Could you come visit me, maybe sometimes? Is that allowed? Can you leave the North Pole?”
