She had never petted one and felt its bristly fur beneath her hand.
It wiped out the part of her brain that was capable of irony. All she could do was marvel at the unbelievable majesty of the wild creature before her.
... Of course, she was also a cat owner. Right now, living in her home and sleeping on top of her head at night, was an animal that was basically just a slightly smaller lion. She was used to looking at something built for power and might and cooing over it and singing it silly songs.
So in a way, she was prepared for this. She knew how to react to polar bear Wade once the initial awe started to pass.
She wrapped her arms around him, even though his shoulders were so wide she couldn’t manage a full embrace.
“You areso cute,” Mira breathed. “You have the most adorable black button eyes I’ve ever seen. You are a teddy bear of a polar bear. You areunbelievable.”
She wished that Wade didn’t leave his Santa hat at Honey Brook. She could put it on top of his polar bear’s head. The red would really pop against the white of his fur.
Wade didn’t seem to mind that she found his polar bear as adorable as she did impressive. She had to make herself stop eventually, though. As much as she liked this form, Wade’s human one had the edge—and several definite advantages.
She let herself nuzzle into Wade’s fur one more time, giving him a tight hug, and then said, “You can change back now.”
She was still getting used to how incredibly fast those shifts happened. She’d barely finished telling Wade to change back when her arms were around him instead.
Even better.
“Amazing,” she said contentedly.
It came out even raspier than before, but that was okay. It didn’t matter that her voice was completely shot now. They were about to officially move on to the part of the night that wouldn’t require much talking. From here on out, she could let her reactions speak for themselves.
She let her hands stray back into Wade’s hair.
“Anything else you need to tell me?” she said, whispering so that this last bit would be easier on her throat. “Any other big revelations?”
She meant it as a joke, but there was a strange flicker of light in Wade’s eyes. A combination of amusement and ... longing?
“There is, actually,” he said, kissing her forehead and then the bridge of her nose. “But I think it can wait until you’re in better shape to have a real conversation. It’s a good revelation. I think it is, anyway.”
Mira squinted at him, a sudden suspicion dawning. “You’re not .... Okay, don’t laugh at me, but you’re not the real Santa or anything, are you?”
Wade didn’tentirelymanage to suppress his laughter, but she would give him credit for trying: only the tiniest, most strangled chuckle was audible through his pressed-together lips.
“I had to ask!” Mira said. “You know that’s exactly how this story could go. And you’ve already made me believe in magic.”
“I promise I’m not the real Santa. And that as far as I know, there’snota real Santa.” He paused for a second, tilting his head like he was listening to some distant radio signal being piped in, and then added, “My polar bear wants to tell you that since it’s an Arctic animal, it feels like it would have noticed Santaby now if he were real. Please disregard the fact that since I’ve never been to the North Pole, it hasn’t either. It’s feeling pretty confident anyway.”
“I’m sure it would know,” Mira said loyally. But as fiendishly cute as Wade’s polar bear was, right now her mind was on something else. “All right, if it’s not Santa-related, I can wait to find out what your other big surprise is. But I don’t want to wait for everything.”
She rested her hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her palm. The way it sped up told her he knew exactly what she was talking about—and that he agreed.
He leaned down and kissed her again. This time, they didn’t stop.
The only thing she didn’t know was how they would get up off the floor. She couldn’t imagine breaking away from his kiss again, not for something as obviously trivial as standing up, but on the other hand, theydidneed to get to the bedroom at some point ... right?
Never mind, she thought in a daze, as one of Wade’s hands landed on her bare thigh and pushed her sweater dress up higher.The floor is good. The floor is great.
Who needed beds?
Wade, apparently, but he had the solution in hand. Instead of stopping everything to ask her to stand up, he simply swept her off her feet—literally. He carried her over the threshold like a bride, and the desperate kissing never stopped for even a second.
Mira had never been picked up like that before. She’d always thought of herself as—to put it gently—sturdy. Curvy. Wade made her feel almost weightless.
Maybe because I’m so happy I could float up off the floor all on my own.
