Page 36 of Santa & His Elf
The rest of the night is much the same—a blur of excitement and deliveries.
By the time all the presents are under their trees and we return to the Pole, sleepiness finally sets in.
Landing outside the barn, elves rush to the sleigh to unfasten the reindeer so they can return to their bays to rest.
Nick captures my hand and brings it to his lips. “I love you. Thank you for being here. Merry Christmas, Pepper.” Reaching into his sack, Nick pulls out a small box and perches it on my knee.
“Merry Christmas, Santa,” I breathe as he releases me to open the gift. Inside are two simple gold bands with a small, single red stone in the center of each. The wordmineis etched on one andhisis etched on the other. “What’s this?”
“Our wedding bands. Since we didn’t formally get married, I figured we could at least wear the rings.”
My heart hammers wildly in my chest. “Awe. Nick. This is…”
“Perfect. I know.”
Yes. Perfect. That’s exactly it.
Picking themineband from the box, Nick takes my hand and slides it onto my left ring finger. “Thank you for being mine.”
Not knowing what to say as emotions clog my throat, I nod and nod and nod like a bobblehead doll as I claim thehisring for Nick. Considering his Santa frame, sliding it into place proves easier than I expect. When I open my mouth to ask why it fits, Nick explains, “I had the elves imbue the stones with Christmas magic. This way, our rings will always fit. Even when I’m like this.” He gestures to his white hair and beard, then flexes his much thicker and, dare I say, sexier fingers. The things they’ve done to my body this week have been toe-curling incredible.
“Or when I get further along,” I add, knowing pregnancy always adds weight. I’ve only gained two pounds since we found out, but I’m not far along yet. It’s only a matter of time before I’m waddling everywhere and need to pee every thirty seconds. At least, that’s what all the pregnancy books seem to say.
Nick smiles at my ring and his before he leans in, kisses the side of my mouth, and cups my belly. “Let’s get home so we can rest and properly celebrate.” He winks, and I swoon at his perfect blend of sweet, naughty, and thoughtfulness wrapped in such a package. Not having dated anyone before him, I don’t have any relationship experience, but I’ve seen how my parents and other couples interact, and Nick doesn’t disappoint. He’s the perfect partner.
“We’re going to my parents in the afternoon, right?” I ask because they invited us weeks ago, and I don’t want to disappoint them.
“Absolutely. After you open all the presents under our tree, and we have breakfast together.”
“Nick.” I sigh, overwhelmed with gratitude. I can’t believe he did that. We said no presents. We live in the North Pole. Sure, the elves celebrate Christmas like the rest of theworld. We have a festival in the square. It’s tradition. But this is too much. We have each other. That’s enough. These rings are more than enough.
“What?” Shrugging a single shoulder, Nick blushes and pecks my cheek. “Can’t a man spoil his elf?” he asks, leaning down to quickly kiss my belly. He seems to do it a lot these days, not wanting to leave our child out.
Lunging at my husband, I wrap my arms around his neck, and he pulls me into his lap. “I love you.” Smiling, I look into his eyes.
“And I love you more, Pepper Claus. Now let’s go home.” Lifting me in his arms like in a romance movie, Nick carries me into the snow and over to our smaller sleigh outfitted with Ricky, one of our other reindeer, just as the sun peeks over the horizon.
Yes.
Let’s go home.
Together.
Merry Christmas.
epilogue
?. . .?
Pepper
Stepping beside my husband, I attempt to slide in front of him to take charge of his messy predicament, but Nick shoos me away, determined to get this right.
“He’s got it, Pepper,” Holly, my sister-in-law, defends from the rocking chair in the corner of our bedroom. “Just give him time.”
Fine.
I know I should be patient, but Nick has a workshop to run, not baby duties. He’s supposed to return to work today after taking four weeks off to stay home and help me with Aster, our daughter, who’s the spitting image of me, according to my husband—black hair, greenish eyes, rosy cheeks, pouty lips, and the pointy ears that remind me of Holly. Speaking of my sister-in-law, she returned to the Pole a month before I was due, and much to Nick’s dismay, we tookan instant liking to each other, making it two against one most days. It’s nice having another person in the house.
