Finally reaching Bal, I gave a final heave of my chest, glaring up at him. Using my best teacher's voice, I said, “Your office. Now.”
He didn’t question me, just followed silently. His legs, so much longer than mine, ate up the distance, and he passed me, heading down the hallway where I knew his office was located. I found him holding the door open for me, which was…an unexpected and sweet gesture.
“Thank you.” I moved past him, the wheels of my suitcase scraping behind me. He shut the door, then leaned against it, eyeing me warily.
Leaning against his desk, I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m going to kill my brother.”
Bal snorted. “I say that about five times a day. That I’m going to kill your brother, not my brother. I generally like my brothers. Most of them, well, not Birch. The younger ones I’m still on the fence about. What’s little Mr. Sunshine done now?”
“He canceled my reservation at the inn.”
Bal shrugged, “Okay, and? Just get another room. It’s called adulting, Kendrick.”
My face did some weird contortion, before my lips finally settled into a grimace, and then I flipped him off just because. “Why didn’t I think of that? Fuck you and your condescending adulting bullshit. There are no rooms available because of his stupid gingerbread contest. None. Not one. Believe me, I asked.”
Bal rubbed his cheek with one finger. “Why did he cancel your room?”
“The gossip around the village is because he figured I didn’t need it anymore, since you and I are–” I waved a hand between us, “you know.”
Bal blinked. “You know? I don’t know. We are what?”
Eyes wide, I hissed, “Together! Like together together. Sleeping together.” When he still stared at me with blank silver eyes, I added dryly, “Fucking.”
“Ohhhhh!”
Really, there was no need for Bal to look that horrified at the thought. As omegas went, he could do worse than me. I mean, no one even wanted to put up with his grumpy assbutme.
Nope, still pretending, remember? Get through Christmas and then you will quietly break up. You aren’t putting up with anyone’s grumpy ass. Not even one as fine as Bal’s.
Or for one who kissed as good as he did.
Yeah, I might still be dreaming about our kiss under the mistletoe. And the quick, small kisses that had followed at Thanksgiving.
Occasionally. When I was bored.
“Took you long enough,” I muttered, flopping down in his empty desk chair, and spinning it with a shove of my foot on the floor.
“Okay, well, you can just stay with–”
“I can’t stay at Nik and Keegan’s,” I reminded him. “They have no extra room. Kacey has a toddler bed, Keiran is in a crib, and Mom and Dad are on their magical pull-out sofa. Oliver andKris have some bigwigs staying with them, who are here for the stupid–”
“Gingerbread contest,” Bal supplied unhelpfully. “They have the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy, so that fills up their extra rooms. And they both come with security so that takes the couches.”
Stopping the spinning chair, I stared at him. “Wait. Both the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy have security teams? Huh. Does Nik have a security team?”
Bal gave me an irritated look. “Of course he does. He’s The Santa. He’s literally the top guy. You just don’t see them because they are very discrete and good at their jobs.”
“Huh.” They really must be good at their jobs because in all the years I’d been visiting here, I wouldn’t have been able to point one of them out. “I’m going to have to sleep in the reindeer barn, aren’t I? Fuck. Vixen hates me. She hates Keegan so I’m guilty by association and DNA.”
Bal chuckled, “She doesn’t hate you. She just is unnaturally attached to Nik. And you aren’t going to have to sleep with the reindeer. I was trying to tell you, before you started whining about there being no beds–candy canes, it was like listening to that fucking thief Goldilocks carry on–that you can stay at my place. With me. It’s what everyone expects anyway, right? What people do when they are dating?”
I stared at him, mouth agape. “One, do you actually know Goldilocks? Like she’s real and not just a made-up story? Wait, I’m sitting in Santa’s Village, fake dating Santa’s head elf, because my brother is married to The Santa. Of course you fucking know Goldilocks. And two, I thought you had a one bedroom.”
“I do,” he nodded, running a hand through his long, silver hair.
Mesmerized, I watched his fingers slide through the strands like silk. I had touched his hair when he had kissed me, and it was the softest thing I had ever felt. A pang of jealousy at his fingers hit me, and I had to shake myself. What was wrong with me? I was jealous of his fingers? Stroking his hair? I needed to get a grip on myself and fast.
“I can’t magically make my house bigger, like Nik, but you can take the bed,” Balfour told me softly. “I’ll sleep on the couch.” He held up his hands, “I promise, no funny business. Besides, it will sell them on the idea that we really are dating.” He scowled, his brows knitted together, causing frown lines across his brow, “I think Nik is onto us. Or he strongly suspects we are lying. Iknowhe made that mistletoe appear at Thanksgiving.”
