Page 32 of Santa & His Elf

“We are.”

Cupping his belly, Pepper stares down in awe. “There’s a baby growing in there.”

I cover his hand with my much bigger one and kiss his temple. “Yes, sweetheart, we’re going to be parents.”

A lone tear treks down Pepper’s cheek, and he dashes it away. “Dads,” he mutters.

Yes.

Dads.

eleven

?. . .?

Christmas Eve

Pepper

Twirling in the full-length antique-gold mirror in Santa’s suit closet in the workshop, I tug on the red lapels of my fabulous outfit designed specifically for me for our journey into the real world. The elves hooked me up with my crushed red velvet suit jacket and easily removable red-and-green striped pants. It wouldn’t be complete without the over-popularized, jingly elf shoes. I asked for them. Most of us wear regular clothes at the North Pole. Jolly, Christmas-themed, sure, but we don’t usually wear jingle bell slippers with a curled toe or anything else you see in the Christmas movies made by Hollywood.

Lumbering in from the bathroom, Nick looks like an entirely different person as he fixes the sash around his round, holly, jolly waist. He looks every bit like Santa—white hair, a long beard, rosy cheeks, and a full-figured Dad Bod, which I find to be just as sexy as his fit frame.

Loving his new look, I whistle, and he blushes. “You don’t have to pretend you like this.” Frowning, Nick rubs his belly, which is far larger than my tiny baby bump.

Turning to the side, I rub my stomach and push it out for show. “You don’t have to pretend you like this,” I tease, knowing I could be the size of a house, and he’d still want me.

Head shaking, Nick lifts the weight of his new belly, which started growing a week ago. It’s been an adjustment, but the elves, having dealt with this for centuries, have been on top of it. Each day, they deliver a new outfit, and each day, Nick grows more and more uncomfortable in his widening skin.

“I can’t see my cock,” he grouses, attempting and failing to look over his stomach.

“But I can, so that’s all that matters.” I wink and waggle my brows suggestively. Not buying into my flirtation, my poor husband scowls at me. I get it. This is new for us. To wake up and look in the mirror each morning and see someone you don’t recognize reflected at you has to be off-putting. Next year, once we’ve got a full year of running the Pole together, things should go smoother for everyone involved.

Wanting him to be excited about his first time in the sleigh and delivering presents to children all over the world, I link my arm through his and rub my cheek against his bicep.

Nick sighs. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I pat his arm in reassurance. “This has been a lot. Just think, you get to break and enter millions of homes tonight.” I snicker.

“Pepper. That’s not funny.”

“It kind of is.” I chuckle.

“What if I miss a house?”

Ah, yes, the same concern he’s voiced a dozen times this month.

“The girls won’t let you… and you checked the list twice. You won’t miss a house,” I reassure, having more faith in him than he does himself.

Peering down at me, my bearded man smiles. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but it’s there, and that’s a win. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

I wrinkle my nose at him playfully. “Me either. But you have me, and we don’t have much time.” Tugging Santa toward the door, I gesture for him to go first, as tradition.

Nick expels a heavy breath, looks down at me a final time, and exits his dressing room.

A chorus of cheers rings through the festive, two-story barn as Christmas music plays in the background. Walking to the middle of the dirt-covered floor, Nick waves to his elves as they line the outer walls. Others watch from the barn loft behind the handcrafted banister wrapped in evergreen garland and white twinkle lights. Giving him space, I wait off to the side as Nick expresses his sincere gratitude for all the elves’ hard work. As my husband finishes his speech, smiles erupt, and Christmas magic glitters. I even catch a few elves blotting their eyes with handkerchiefs.

Rubbing my growing belly to keep my hands busy, pride warms my heart.

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