Page 28 of The Selkie Santa

They chatted for a while, and Wyatt showed him the cradle he’d been making in the woodwork room, then Noah made to leave. But in the yard, he hesitated. It was time to fess up to his own piece of news.

He held his breath. Wyatt had taken a while to get over Harper, but hopefully now… if he truly had feelings for Dina.

“I need to tell you mate, I’m thinking of asking Harper out.”

Wyatt cocked his head. “Well, that’s no surprise, you two have been eye-fucking each other for years.”

“Eye-fucking?”

“Yeah, you know, you’d fuck each other with your eyes all the time. Man, it made me so mad when I was with Harper—I always knew she really wanted you, not me. And then after we split, I guess I got in the way a bit, didn’t I, with all my shenanigans.”

“Yep. I guess.”

“I was dead jealous. Not only because Harper’s a great girl, but… ah fuck, I’ve always been jealous of you, Noah. You’re cleverer and brighter and an all-round better person.”

“Ah, bullshit, that’s not true.” Hell, Wyatt could read, for starters.

“Anyway, whatever. You’ve got my blessing. I know I’m with the right woman now. Me and Dina just get each other. We were soul mates the whole time, and we couldn’t even see what was right in front of us. Funny how things end up.”

His heart suddenly lighter, Noah put his arms round his brother’s shoulders and gave him a big slap on the back.

“I’ll see you on Christmas Day, then,” Wyatt said. “We get a whole day leave pass.”

Noah nodded. “Great, we’ll have Christmas lunch on my boat. Bring Dina.”

Wyatt’s face lit up. “That’ll be legit fantastic. I’ll call Mom and tell her today.”

“Cool, mate. And you know I support you with this, right?”

The two selkies gripped hands and looked steadily into each other’s eyes.

“And Noah, good luck with Harper. She’s the perfect woman for you.”

“I know.”

As Noah left, he realized that in their own ways, both he and Wyatt had gotten it wrong. Noah had always been the good selkie, Wyatt the bad selkie.

They needed to redress the balance. Not that Noah would ever be able to behave badly. He had too much of a conscience.

Except…

He recalled what a bad selkie he’d been last night with Harper. The wicked dirty words he’d gritted out as she came apart spectacularly for his mouth, his thrusting fingers.

Noah grinned, adjusting his pants, which were suddenly getting hellish tight.

Yeah, he’d been a bad selkie last night.

And he intended to be again. Very soon.

CHAPTER 9

Harper was in the Monsters of Mercy office photocopying the lines for the pantomime when she heard Eleanor’s stick tapping on the polished wooden floorboards behind her.

“What a lovely young man.” Her gran’s voice was suddenly right at her elbow.

“Who?” Harper asked, grabbing the stapler.

“This year’s Santa.” Harper glanced at Gran, who smirked. “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed how handsome he is.”

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