Page 17 of Sleigh Rides With St. Nick

Pieter nodded."I believe so.There are three no-shows, but one of them is Loki and you know what he's like."

"Mmm.He'll either not show up at all, or he'll arrive just as we're about to serve dessert and ask why no one waited for him."

"I'll make sure to be ready for damage control," Pieter said.

"There's really no need," I said."You're supposed to be here to enjoy yourself too, it isn't your job to make sure everyone behaves."

He snorted."Except for you this year.I don't think I've seen you like this about someone since Annabelle's mother."

I stiffened, partly because I'd talked about her recently and the pain over the whole situation still lingered within me."Nothing happened between us."

"I know.You held back because you didn't want to take advantage of her, especially after she was sad about Annabelle passing away."

"There could never have been anything between us anyway," I said.

"Perhaps not.But that doesn't change the fact that you're acting the same way about Ivy.What is it about her?"

I looked into the room and spotted where she'd found a spot at the feasting table with her friend."I don't know," I responded.

"You should figure that out.And once you do, don't let another woman slip through your grasp," Pieter said.

That was easier said than done, especially with wanting to make sure she wasn't in breach of her contract.Which made me wonder what could happen between us if that wasn't an obstacle.

Chapter8

IVY

Nick's feast had become unruly within the first hour, and I found myself constantly looking around the room to see who I might recognise.Admittedly, that was mostly because of curiosity, I didn't think it was actually going to be useful information.

"I wish Eloise were here," I murmured.

Laila scoffed and took a sip of her wine."I'm not good enough for you?"

"You know you are," I assured my friend."But Eloise would be able to tell us who all the gods are."

"Oh, well that's an easy fix."Laila pulled out her phone and pretended to take a selfie while secretly taking a photo of the room.

"I don't think you're supposed to do that."

"I'm only sending it to Eloise," she assured me as she typed out the message."Then we'll know who to be shocked about, and who it's okay to drool over."

"I don't think it's okay to drool over anyone," I countered."Last time you did that, you ended up in trouble."

"Not even Nick?"she asked, her large brown eyes filled with agot-youexpression.

I cleared my throat."I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh look, your cloak is crooked, let me fix it for you," she mocked me.

My cheeks flamed with embarrassment."That's not what I sound like."

"Maybe not, but it's what you did.You're totally smitten."

"I'm not," I insisted."I think he's hot in a silver fox way."

"Oh, definitely," Laila agreed."Though he's a bit ageless looking for a silver fox."

I looked over to where Nick was sitting on a throne, his cloak still around him.He was chatting with a couple of the people around him, and I had to agree that there was something ageless about him.It wasn't quite boyish, that definitely couldn't be used to describe him when he was definitely all man.

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