Page 66 of Complete Me

“Almost isn’t completely done.”

He deflates. “I know.” With a dramatic sigh he kisses me. “Thank you for being the voice of reason.”

“Anytime.”

We walk Xander to the door, where there’re more kisses and hugs, and while I love giving my partners what they need, I’m feeling a bit raw after an evening with so many people.

Bjorn shuts the door, and I heave a sigh of relief. It’s just the two of us now. He turns, smirk firmly in place, and waggles his eyebrows at me. “Alone at last. And it’s still early.” He hooks a finger into my waistband and tugs gently. “Whatever shall we do?”

I lace our fingers together and give a gentle tug. “I’m sure we can think of something.”

23

Kaino

I lead Bjorn back into the living room, and Pita jumps up from his dog bed by the fireplace, eager to be part of whatever we’re doing. “So, Erik calls Jules elskling. What does it mean?”

“It’s kind of like sweetheart or darling. My grandfather called my grandmother elskling.” Bjorn studies my face. “Do you like it? I can call you that if you want.”

The idea has my cheeks warming. I’ve never been given a pet name before. Not even from Bjorn the first time we tried dating. “Wouldn’t that be confusing since Erik calls Jules that?” Is it foolish to want my own term of endearment? It is. And yet, I’m pushing for it.

We stop in front of the couch, and Pita looks hopefully at Bjorn. “No. Go lie down in your bed.” He points to a comfortable-looking circle bed by the fireplace. “Jules has spoiled you enough tonight.” Pita dutifully trots off and flops down with a huff. We sit, and although I can tell Bjorn wants to hold my hand or snuggle, he doesn’t, and I’m grateful. “Okay, so no elskling for you. How about mitt hjerte, which means my heart? Or solstråle? That means sunshine. Kjære and vennen mean dear or darling and are the closest equivalents to our babe or hon. Do you like any of those?”

I like them all. But picking one for myself feels very similar to someone giving themselves a sign name or a nickname and telling everyone to use it. It’s awkward and cringe. Shrugging as if I don’t care, I put the decision back on him. “Whatever. You can just use my name.”

Thankfully, he ignores that. “Calling you my heart would be appropriate, except that’s both you and Xander, so that won’t work.” My own heart hammers in my chest. I’m his heart? Xander and I are? I stare into his eyes, suddenly at a loss for words. “And no offense, but sunshine isn’t really you.” He’s not wrong, but his grin is teasing, and I manage a smile through my shock. “So, I think vennen is the best. You are very dear to me, and my darling, my sweetheart. My babe. And that’s what I call Xander in English. What do you think? Vennen? Or should I say, what do you think, vennen? Do you like it?”

He’s obviously very proud of his play on words, so I roll my eyes at him. But I can’t hide my grin. “It’s fine.” The twinkle in Bjorn’s eyes tells me he knows it’s more than fine with me.

“So, vennen”—he takes my hand and kisses my knuckles—“did you want to sit here on the couch, or should we go upstairs early?”

“How about we talk, just the two of us?”

Bjorn pulls back, watching me closely. “That sounds ominous. Everything okay?” He’s trying to keep his voice light, but I can hear the worry.

“Between you and me? And you, me, and Xander? Yes. As far as I’m concerned, we’re wonderful.”

He relaxes, sighing with relief. “You had me a little worried. And confused. We were just talking about terms of endearment, and then suddenly you wanted to talk.” He grins and shakes his head. “Don’t stress me out like that.”

“Sorry. And what I’d like to talk about is exactly that. Specifically, the way you handle stress.”

He sighs and drops his head on the back of the sofa. “Yeah, I know. I could have handled telling everyone about us better.”

“True. But it’s not just that. Your way of dealing with stress is dad jokes and organizing everyone and everything within an inch of their lives. In moderation, organization is a great coping mechanism.”

Bjorn is already nodding. “But I go overboard.”

“Yes. It’s understandable, given your family’s history and how young you were when you were forced to take on parenting your siblings.”

Bjorn frowns. “I wasn’t forced. I wanted to do it. I wanted to keep us together.”

“You’re right. I apologize for my poor word choice. But you need new coping methods, or you’ll never fully repair your relationship with Gunnar. You might end up damaging it or your other relationships.” His eyes dart to mine, worry plainly visible. He understands that I’m referring to what he, Xander and I are building. “Everyone in your life is a grown adult and fully capable of organizing their own things. If we need help, we’ll ask.”

“But the dad jokes can stay?”

I raise my eyebrows at him. “Really?”

He groans and rubs his eyes. “Fine. But I can’t seem to help myself on either count. And in my defense, thinking about Jocelin moving had me remembering when Gunnar and Astrid moved out and Erik left for Arizona. All of that was pure chaos. There are a lot of steps involved in changing residences, and things can go wrong at any stage.”

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