Page 37 of The Selkie Santa

“He’s taken, Toby,” Gran sighed. “We won’t hold you to that, Noah. But we do hope you’ll come and visit us with Harper, some time in between.”

“I sure will, if I’m invited.”

“Consider it an open invite. Now, off you hop, you two lovebirds. Shoo, shoo, go enjoy your Christmas.”

Harper frowned. “Aren’t I supposed to be cooking Christmas lunch for the residents?”

“Oh gosh!” Eleanor’s hand fluttered to her hair. “I forgot to say, darling, Jasper our cook is coming back. Biff apologized to him over the jam drop incident. Didn’t you Biff?”

Biff shrugged. “Kind of.”

Harper had to hide a smile. After Biff’s descent into unbridled merriment yesterday, things were pretty much back to normal.

No smile in sight.

“Anyhow,” Gran said, “they’ve made peace, spirit of Christmas and all, and so Jasper is taking back the reins. I honestly think he missed us all. I even think he missed Biff.”

Biff shuffled in their chair, the idea that someone missed them obviously too uncomfortable to acknowledge.

“Don’t be upset darling,” Eleanor told Harper. “I know how much you wanted to cook for us all.”

Harper wasn’t upset—in fact, she could hardly hide her smile. If she didn’t have to cook all day tomorrow, well, that meant… waking up in bed with Noah, making mad passionate love with Noah. It would also mean Christmas lunch with his mom and… eek, Wyatt and Dina.

Noah had been so disappointed that she wasn’t going to be at his side. But now, they’d be together for their first Christmas as a couple.

She reached out and squeezed his hand and he squeezed hers back, sending her such a look of love that it was good they were seated, because her bones practically melted.

When they left the meeting room, Biff mumbled, “Merry Christmas,” as if it was the gloomiest thing ever, then scurried off. When the goblin was halfway along the path, they turned and came back. After a moment of shuffling their feet, they leaned in and gave Harper an awkward hug. Biff then shot out a calloused hand and, without looking Noah in the eye, mumbled, “Thanks for making me smile.” Then shot off at speed down the path toward the café.

“I think you just received the biggest compliment of your life.” Harper laughed.

“I should have bottled it.”

“Biff’s probably happy Jasper’s coming back. Gran told me they have a real love hate relationship. I guess they’ll fall out again at some stage.” Harper sighed. “But let’s hope it lasts until after Christmas.” She cocked her head. “So, um, talking of Christmas, can I invite myself to Christmas lunch?”

“Oh babe, you’re the one I want to spend Christmas with more than anyone.”

“And it won’t be awkward? You know, with Dina and Wyatt there.”

“Not for me. It’ll be like the year before last,” Noah said. “When I was with Dina, and you were with Wyatt. When, according to Wyatt, I was eye fucking you across the turkey.”

Harper looked at him incredulously. “What?”

Noah dropped a tender kiss on her head as they walked back to her little cottage. “Yep, he reckons we’ve been doing it for years.”

“I guess that’s true. Seems like the only ones who couldn’t work that out were you and me. But now we don’t have to, because we can do the real thing.”

They’d reached the gate of her cottage by now and stopped, still holding hands.

“You offering, babe?”

“Well, I guess I won’t have the cottage for much longer... And my bed at Sweet Clams is a lot squeezier.”

“I could get a bigger boat. With a bigger bed.”

She sighed, and shivered as snow began to fall softly around them.

“I guess we have plenty of time to work all that out. Right now, I need you to come inside and warm my toes.”

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