“What? I did laundry yesterday while you were working.”
“It’s called a dryer, Uriel.”
Uriel’s heart stopped. He had to sit down on the bed.
Joe ran over to him. “What? What’s wrong? Are you having a heart attack?”
“You…you…it’s not funny to edge me about this, Joe.”
“Edge you about what? I’m not edging anything.”
Uriel couldn’t breathe. He leaned over and put his head between his knees.
“Oh magical Yule Lad magic of yore, please show me what I’ve done to break my mate of yester…more. Or something else that rhymes.”
Uriel raised his head. “What are you doing?”
“Communicating with the spirit of your magic. Obviously.”
“One, that’s not how it works.”
Joe’s snort of disbelief was less than attractive. He seemed to agree considering the look of disgust that crossed his face. He’d probably sucked something up into his brain. At least that would explain….
No, Uriel couldn’t even think about it.
“I’m a little stuffy,” Joe said. “I hope I’m not allergic to you. Also, how do you thinkEdging the Elfmagically appeared? I thought my spell poem was pretty spectacular, and since it worked, the proof is in the book. Oh, andSeducing Santais on preorder. In case you were wondering. Wait, you said one. What’s two?”
Uriel patted the bed beside him. “We need to talk.”
“You can’t break up with me.”
“There is only one thing that will possibly cause our relationship to end, Joe. One teeny tiny thing. If you ever put my sweaters in a dryer—”
“Wait, did you just have a nervous breakdown over laundry?”
“No, I had a nervous breakdown at the idea of you putting my gloriously curated collection of cashmere and cable knit in the dryer.”
“Curated collection of cashmere and cable knit? You did that on purpose.”
“I did.”
“Wow, you’re serious about the sweaters. Then again, you have the most perfect sweaters in existence, so it makes sense. Deal. In fact, I agree to never partake in the laundry in our relationship, so you’ll never have to worry about this again.”
“You’re trying to trick me into using my veto, but it’s not my turn. I kindly accept your offer, and in return I’ll happily let you clean the kitchen and bathroom. A fair exchange.”
“Ve…oh no. You…I….”
Uriel couldn’t stop grinning. He shimmied into the soft undershirt and stared down at himself. Neon green tights and matching long-sleeved thermal thing that was probably supposed to keep him warm or sweat-free or some other ridiculous claim. “I look like the grinch.”
Joe snorted. “You kind of do.”
“Let’s finish this. If we’re late, Linus will guilt trip you into another shift at the parade. I promise you, Joe, this will be my only shift.”
“Oh sweet summer child,” Joe said.
He laughed and left the room with the remainder of his costume.
“Wait…what? Joe. Come back here.”
