“You were even better,” Wade said honestly. “You had all those people in the palm of your hand.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Mr. Arbogast said, clearing his throat until Wade and Mira reluctantly separated. “In fact, I can’t imagine anyone doing a better job running the Christmas Village. I hope I won’t have to. Mira, I know you’re not a regular Honey Brook employee, but would you be interested in a seasonal position? Managing the Christmas Village from here on out?”
Mira’s mouth fell open. No words came out.
“You don’t have to make a decision right now,” Mrs. Arbogast said quickly. “The Christmas Village is safe, don’t worry. Take a few days to think about what you want. It’s Christmas Eve—go be with your family. Go be with Wade.”
The undecided jaw-drop turned into a slow smile that Wade thought made her look even more beautiful than ever. He didn’t know how that was possible, but it was true.
“That sounds good,” Mira said. “I think I’ll do that.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Mira had promised a huge part of this year’s Christmas Day to her parents, and she didn’t want to disappoint them, especially when this would be their last Christmas in the old house. And Wade was scheduled for lengthy video calls with Petey and his parents that day, too.
But Christmas Eve? Now that the Christmas Village’s future was secure, the rest of Christmas Eve was all theirs.
Maybe next year, Mira thought, they could be together the whole time. They could do Christmas Eve with one set of family and Christmas Day with another, but they wouldn’t have to split up.
Had she really only met Wade this week? She already didn’t want to imagine her life without him—and even more than that, she already felt like she would never have to.
They had decided to spend the night at her place. Wade’s was bigger, but they wanted both cats, and Bigfoot didn’t take well to being transplanted. Fiona, on the other hand, loved playdates: she had bounded out of her carrier and immediately started batting one of Bigfoot’s toys around. She had slowly drawn him out of his shell, and the two had apparently become fast friends.
“I’m sorry I don’t have anything too festive for us tonight,” Mira said to Wade. “Everywhere we go, people have been offering us hot cider or eggnog, and all I can do is beer or Diet Coke.”
“You’ve been run off your feet lately,” Wade said. “I’m not going to judge you for not having stocked up on plum pudding and roast beast. But I did bring something ....”
He motioned to his overnight bag. She hadn’t imagined it having anything more than a change of clothes and a few of Fiona’s toys. What else had he managed to fit in there?
Wade laughed at the obvious curiosity on her face and reached down to the bag. He pulled out an insulated container and unzipped it, showing Mira the chilled bottle of champagne waiting inside.
“Ooh,” Mira said. She could already feel the bubbles rising inside her. She hadn’t had good champagne in years, not since her podcast Patreon had launched and she’d bought a bottle in its honor. “What are we celebrating?”
She went into the kitchen to try to unearth some champagne flutes, which she couldswearshe had also bought with that first rush of Patreon money, so she had her back to Wade and was digging through the cabinets when he said:
“Well, a lot of things, I guess. Christmas. Your new job offer. Saving the Christmas Village. Meeting each other.” He took a deep breath. “On my side ... knowing for sure that you’re the love of my life.”
Mira had known they would talk about this sooner or later, but she hadn’t expected it right now. And something about his exact words—so achingly sincere!—sounded morespecificthan she would have imagined. He wasn’t just saying he loved her. What he was saying felt like so much more than that.
She felt a flicker of what she had when she’d finally understood about shifters. There was something magical here.
Something more than she had ever understood, even in a life stuffed full of romance movies.
She turned around slowly. Wade’s face was full of hope and love, and she was half-tempted not to ask for any clarification at all and instead just pull him down to the kitchen floor. They could figure the rest out later.
But she had to know.
“What do you mean?” she said. “You sound like you ... like you know even more than I know.”
That little confession made Wade’s eyes shine like stars.
“I hope you knew,” he said quietly. “I thought you did. I’m starting to think everyone around us might be able to sense it a little, even.”
“But you can do more than sense it. Youknow.”
“Shifters call people like us ‘true mates,’” Wade said. “Or ‘fated mates.’”
Her whole heart seemed to perk up inside her, Wade’s words hitting it like lightning. “Or soulmates?”
