Page 10 of Delivered to My Elves

“I just need train or plane tickets, but I can buy those. I’m going to pack up what I need and sell the rest. I can send an email to my boss and get that over with right now.”

While I typed the email, I listened to them making their own plans. They wanted to get the guest room cleaned, and they were planning on what to cook for me and if I didn’t know better, it sounded like they were excited. They were excited to get to the baby making, probably.

I balled my hands into fists and reminded myself that this wasn’t me going to see my mates. They were going to be the fathers of my children.

That and that only.

Sure, there would be friendship and companionship, but who needed love and romance when these two checked off all my boxes, added more boxes I didn’t know I wanted, and checked those off as well?

Not me.

“There,” Aerin said, breaking me out of my spiraling thoughts. “I bought you a ticket for the day after tomorrow. Is that time enough for you to get everything done?”

I felt my cheeks rise in a smile. Goddess, it had been so long since I genuinely smiled or was excited for something. A new start. A new beginning.

A new life.

“That’s perfect. I can’t wait to meet the both of you.”

Chapter Nine

Aerin

I woke up with the sun because how in the world could I sleep when Misty was on her way.

She was beautiful in her pictures, but in person? The pictures didn’t do her justice.

With my hands behind my head, I lay in bed for a few minutes, thinking about her. Her voice echoed in my thoughts, a melodious sound that calmed me even over the video chat.

We’d booked her train tickets for the next day but thinking about it now, we should’ve made the trip ourselves and picked her up. That would’ve been the gentlemanly thing to do. Still, she was an independent woman, and we didn’t want her to think we were being possessive.

Possessive wasn’t really in our agreement.

Still, something inside me stirred. I already liked her and no matter the contract, there would be a connection beyond the parameters of baby making.

A knock at the door stirred me from my overthinking. “What is it, Callon?” I asked since there was no one else in the house.

“Let’s get going. I already called Dorothy to come in and clean this afternoon. We have shopping to do and things to prepare!”

He sounded like an elf, but the ones on the TV assisting Santa, not like our true selves. Humans and television had gotten it so wrong. Well, mostly wrong.

“I’m up. Let me shower, and we can go. Make the list.”

Callon did nothing in this life without a list. And on the off chance we left said list at home, he would drive back to the house and get it, no matter how far along we were on the trip. I’d finallyconvinced him to take a picture of the list or make the list on his phone, but there were times he forgot that as well.

“I already made the list—on my phone before you ask.”

“Good. Then make the coffee. Ten minutes.”

Our guest room hadn’t been touched for a while. Sometimes a friend or one of our siblings would come and visit and stay in there, but the purpose of that room had always been for a bedroom—our mate’s bedroom.

Now it would be Misty’s. She would need somewhere to get away and have her own space.

Especially since we wouldn’t be mated.

Shower completed, I went to the kitchen where Callon already had coffee in a to-go cup and was tapping his toes on the floor.

“Anxious, are we?” I teased, taking a long drag of the coffee. Good thing he didn’t douse it with creamer like his surely was.

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