Page 50 of Knot My Secret Santa

Everyone laughed and cheered at hearing my mom’s exclamation. Noelle was chatting away as she brought Nathaniel our way. “Guess what Santa brought us this year, Avery? The best boss ever!”

“Thank you so much, Nate. This is a wonderful surprise.” My mom walked over and hugged him. She actually hugged him, and he let her, smiling broadly. Damn, he was so handsome in his sleek black coat and long blue scarf. He looked at me over my mom’s shoulder, and a gigantic storm was waging his gorgeous gray eyes.

I wanted to simultaneously throw myself into his arms and run away to hide in the attic. Nothing in me had been ready for this. I still hadn’t moved an inch.

The ache of missing him tightened like a noose around my throat, and I couldn’t speak.

“You’re welcome, Eve. Noelle told me that I didn’t need to bring anything for dinner tomorrow, but I hate turning up anywhere empty-handed. So when a friend mentioned they had a friend who was in charge of the reindeer they have down on Snowflake Lane, I convinced Chad here,” he motioned to the man in the parka, who grinned. “To make a pit stop before he took the animals home to his farm this evening.”

“Best. Boss. Ever,” Noelle repeated. She tugged on the reindeer’s reins and clucked her tongue. “Come along, Heracles. I want to take a picture of you with the snowmen. They have yummy carrot noses!” As she walked away, she yelled back. “Nate, you’re staying for pizza whether you like it or not. Chad, you’re welcome to stay too.”

Zena trotted after Heracles with the wreath in her mouth and Chad hurried after them. My mom laughed and took my hand. “Come on, Avery. Let’s take some pictures before they eat everything.”

“If I could have a word with Avery for a moment, please.” Nathaniel was all manners, but I could feel the Alpha in him reaching out to me, demanding I submit and be his forever. And I wanted it. I wanted to give in so badly.

“Sure.” Mom glanced between us, questions in her eyes, but her smile didn’t falter if she sensed anything. And if she couldn’t sense the extreme tension between us, then the pungent scent of reindeer had really gone to her head.

I almost protested that they couldn’t leave an unclaimed Omega alone with an Alpha, but who was I kidding? We weren’t alone nor was I unclaimed.

Once my mom was out of earshot, Nathaniel stepped closer. “Avery,” he reached for me, hands closing into fists as he seemed to struggle to keep himself back. “Is there somewhere we can talk alone?”

I folded my arms, trying my damnedest to look angry and unmoved. Not that I think I succeeded. I wanted to burst out in tears and kiss him so hard we became one. I didn’t trust myself to say anything, so I just lifted my chin with a huff. Or maybe more of a hiccup hiding my oncoming emotional breakdown.

“I’m fine talking right here if you are. There’s nothing I need to hide.” His voice didn’t shake. Confidence radiated from every word. “I want you, your family, and the world to know that I love you and can’t live without you.”

My eyes bulged out of their sockets. Did he just say that where everyone could hear him? I stumbled back into the foyer, my breaths coming fast. “What are you doing?”

Nathaniel stepped up the front steps and leaned against the door frame. He looked calm and gorgeous. “I think it’s clear. I’m here to publicly announce you’re mine. I’ve already asked your father earlier today if I may do so—”

“What?” I was nearly shrieking. He talked to my dad? My legs wobbled, barely holding me up.

“I wanted to do this right. I asked his permission. Do you want to know what he said?” His lips quirked up with a smile. I was internally freaking out but nodded. “He said that I didn’t need his permission, I needed yours. That in the Bell household, they don’t treat you differently because you’re an Omega. If we want to be together, that’s your choice, and no one will stand in our way. He has no problem that I’m your boss because he trusts you will do the right thing for you. His words exactly.”

That did sound like my father. Dad had known all day and not said a word to me. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Not only had he known, but he said he trusted me. I loved my dad so much.

On top of that, Nathaniel had asked permission. He braved what could have easily been a lawsuit for me. He could have lost everything if my dad were a different sort of man.

Retrieving a tissue from the small table in the foyer, Nathaniel came over to gently wipe away my tears. “I’m sorry for being selfish. I can’t help wanting you all for myself.” He caressed my cheek, gazing at me with those dreamy eyes. “There’s still part of me that wants to steal you away and keep you all for my own. But one of the things I love about you is that you care about your family so much, about your friends, our clients, the world. You give so much of yourself to others, I am left in awe of your generosity. You’re a giver. It’s who you are down to your core, and I need to accept that means sharing you.”

I blinked slowly, feeling like I was in a dream. He saw me, the real me. I took in a shaky breath. “I was being selfish too.” All that time we had spent together sneaking around and canceling so many plans. I could blame my heat, but no, I’d wanted to be with him. I still wanted it. He wasn’t the only one to blame. “We’d have to come clean with the whole truth. I can’t stand any more secrets. That means at work and everything.”

“With you by my side, we can face anything together.”

Could this really work? I desperately wanted to try. The panic and fear which had woven around me had unraveled with his touch and his words. My dad trusted me. I had to have faith that the rest of my family would too.

Nathaniel bent his head and kissed me tenderly. I whimpered against his mouth. A world which had been totally off its axis the past few days suddenly righted itself, and I melted against him. “Yes,” I murmured. “Yes, I want to do this. I love you and was miserable without you.”

He kissed me harder, his embrace tightening. “I love you and missed you too. I tried to be patient, hoping you would come back to me, but I realized I had to be willing to change and take that first step. I almost went all caveman, throwing you over my shoulder and taking you back to the nest, but that wasn’t the right way for you either. Me coming to your family, me willing to share your love, that was the right path.”

Every word was the truth. I wouldn’t have come back to him on my own. I would have stubbornly suffered in silence. And if he tried to whisk me away again, I would have fought him. We would have never been happy. Asking my dad, that was scary, but I loved he did that. And coming on Christmas Eve where my family surrounded me, that was the right way.

“I love you so much.” I was never going to let him go now.

“Though later tonight,” he whispered near my ear and kissed my neck. “I won’t be held responsible if I do go a little caveman on you.”

I giggled, a fire igniting between my legs. Oh yes. “I think I might encourage it.”

Kissing me again, his nose nudged mine. “I think maybe we need to go out and let your family know. I’ve been invited to stay for pizza, and since I’m not letting you out of my arms, we’re going to have to tell them.”

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