Page 57 of Here Comes Santa Paws

“Do you think you’d get promoted at your current job?”

He shook his head. “Our PT director won’t leave until she retires, and that’s at least a decade away.”

I hummed. “I get it. I lucked out with my predecessor retiring. Otherwise, I’m not sure what I would’ve done.” I tried to not let resignation leak into my voice. “It sounds perfect.”

Nutcracker sniffed the tree where Carol peed, then marked it himself. I could’ve sworn Carol rolled her eyes.

As Roman told me more about the position, I waited for him to say he was second-guessing the position or point out some major flaw.

Nothing came.

“What’s the next step?”

“I’m waiting to hear back. They said they had interviews all week and they’d let me know if I was progressing. It’s a long shot.”

I appreciated the bone he was throwing, but we both knew that if he’d gotten an interview for this position, it was only a matter of time until he got more. If he was feeling itchy enough to start applying, there was nothing I could do to make him stay. Not that I’d even want to. Why would I cage a bird who wanted to fly free? I’d rather know Roman was elsewhere and happy than miserable in Christmas Falls.

Yeah, right. I’ll be devastated if he leaves.

It was time to accept that Roman and Christmas Falls didn’t mix. Not long-term anyway. The best I could do was enjoy the time we had left, however long that was.

“Good luck, Roman. They’d be foolish not to hire you.”

Roman’s eyes widened. “Yeah?”

“Of course.” I smiled. It wasn’t as much of a struggle that time. “It makes me sad to think about you moving away, but I also care enough about you to want you to be happy.” I might not want to admit the extent of my feelings, but I needed him to know how important he was.

Roman’s steps faltered, but he caught himself. I didn’t want him to feel compelled to return a sentiment he didn’t mean, or worse, say nothing, so I changed the subject.

“Carol’s doing great. Notice how she’s letting Nutcracker walk with her now?”

Nutcracker looked back at us, tongue hanging out with a doggie smile.

Roman opened and closed his mouth, then nodded. “It’s great.”

“Itis. I know you’re new to having a pet”—I held up my free hand—“fosteringa pet,” I said before he could protest.

I noted he hadn’t opened his mouth to do so. Interesting. “But this shows her progress. You make her feel safe, Roman.” He made me feel safe too. “Because of that, she’s opening up to Nutcracker. You’ve done well.”

I suspected the pink in Roman’s cheeks was from more than the cold evening air.

“We should celebrate.”

Roman arched an eyebrow as a smile played on his lips. “How do you want to celebrate?”

“Got plans on Saturday?”

“No,” he said hesitantly.

I ignored the suspicion in his tone. “Good. Want to join me at the Brew and Cider Festival? I know you hate all the festival stuff, but I was thinking of going. It would be more fun with you there.”

“Just when I was about to come up with an excuse, you add the extra thing that convinces me to say yes. It’s an annoying gift you have.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. I didn’t mention the Santa Crawl through the local pubs that happened the same evening. I’d throw out the idea after a beer or two.

We rounded the corner on Roman’s side of the duplex. As we approached, I noticed a wreath on his door. I turned my head toward him so fast I nearly sprained something.

“Don’t say a word.”

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