Santa Daddy, I’m Not the One

14

LANDON

S omeone was staring at me. I felt it even though my eyes were closed, and I had a pretty good idea who it was. I’d caught him doing it too often. Smiling, I opened my eyes and found the familiar sight of Nils watching me from his place next to me in bed.

I giggled and covered my face with my hands. “Stop it,” I teased. “It’s creepy the way you watch me every day. Why are you always watching me while I’m sleeping?”

He caught my hands and pulled them away from my face to kiss them. He smiled, a tender look that made my insides melt. “I have to make sure you’re okay.” The intensity in his low voice sent shivers down my spine. “You’ll just have to deal with it because I have no intention of stopping.”

I made a face at him, but the truth was, I didn’t mind. Not really. After everything that had happened, waking up to his watchful presence was more comforting than creepy. “I’m good.” I sat up and stretched. “See? Alive and kicking.”

He chuckled, then leaned in and kissed me, a slow, loving kiss that spoke volumes. I’d never had anyone love me, and it felt electrifying coming from this man. I was even more grateful for it since he’d explained to me everything Frostheart had done to rip us apart.

I almost didn’t experience his love.

Throwing a leg over his hip, I deepened the kiss, gently tracing the muscles of his back. Nils responded in kind, tightening his grip on me as our bodies pressed together. His hands traveled downward and teased the skin on my lower back. I gasped against his mouth.

A knock on the door broke the moment. Nils pulled away, a sigh of regret escaping his lips, and rested his forehead against mine. “It seems we won’t get any privacy this morning,” he murmured. “Who is it?”

“It’s Eirik. Some of the elders are here.”

Nils’s frown deepened. “What are they doing here?” he muttered, more to himself than to me. I sensed the tension in him, the lingering disappointment and hurt from the night of the tree.

I touched his arm lightly. “Be nice.” I tried to infuse my voice with a bit of humor. “You eventually have to forgive everyone, right? They did nothing wrong.”

He looked down at me, his gaze softening. “They were willing to let you die,” he whispered.

I knew how much it had hurt him, the choice he’d been forced to make, the anger and betrayal he must have felt. But holding on to that anger wouldn’t do either of us any good. “It worked out, and we have to move on. Forgive and let live, right?”

He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded, a reluctant agreement.

“Sir?” Eirik called.

“I’ll see them. Let me get dressed.”

“Actually, they requested to speak to Landon, not you.”

Both Nils and I were taken aback. “Me?” I asked. “Why?”

“I’m not sure, but they seemed quite insistent.”

Nils’s gaze returned to me, a storm of emotions swirling in his eyes. “You don’t have to see them if you don’t want to,” he said, protective as always.

I shook my head, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to them.”

We quickly got dressed, the mood still light despite the unexpected visit. Nils’s protective aura enveloped me, his concern palpable, but I was determined to face whatever the elders wanted to discuss. As we walked to the meeting room, I squeezed his hand, a silent message of reassurance.

When we entered, the elders stood in a semicircle, their faces etched with seriousness. I took a deep breath and stepped forward to meet them halfway.

“Elders,” Nils greeted them. “You wished to speak with us?”

Elder Baelis shifted toward us, his eyes softening. “Landon, we’ve come on behalf of the town to apologize,” he said in a slightly trembling voice. “The night of the tree… we were afraid, consumed by fear for our town. But that does not excuse our behavior toward you. We were willing to sacrifice you, and that was selfish of us.”

Another elder, a woman named Cressa, nodded in agreement. “We acted out of fear, and that almost cost you your life. It’s something we deeply regret.”

Nils stiffened beside me, but I placed a hand on his arm, urging him to listen. “It’s okay. I understand why you did it. Fear makes us do things we wouldn’t normally consider. But I’m here, and I’m okay. That’s what matters.”

The room was silent, the weight of the words hanging in the air. Then Elder Baelis spoke again. “Nils, we owe you an apology. We know how much Landon means to you, yet we pressured you to choose the town over him. It was unfair, and for that, we have deep regret.”

Nils looked at them, his gaze intense. “Your fear put Landon’s life in danger, but I understand your concern for the town. It’s your home, as it is mine.”

Tension simmered between them, the unspoken words and emotions that had been stirred up by the events of that night. But as I looked at the elders, their eyes showed genuine remorse, the desire to make amends.

“Let’s put it behind us,” I said. “What happened, happened. We can’t change it. But we can move forward together and be better people for it.”

A collective exhale seemed to sweep through the room. Elder Baelis nodded, a small smile breaking through his solemn expression. “Thank you, Landon. Your forgiveness means more than you know, and it shows us what’s truly in your heart. Our Santa could not have found himself a better mate.”

Nils’s stiff posture relaxed a little. “You’re right. I couldn’t, so I will always protect him. Frostheart was able to prey on our weaknesses, but we need to work together and trust each other. He’s still out there, waiting for another opportunity to strike.”

As the meeting drew to a close, a sense of closure, a healing of the rift that had formed that night, settled over me. We had all been tested, pushed to our limits, but we had come through it. And now, standing next to Nils, his hand warm in mine, I felt a sense of hope for the future, a belief that together, we could face anything.

“What do you want to do now?” Nils asked when we were alone.

“Play with the reindeer!”

“Landon.”

He sounded all too serious. I raised my head. “Hmm?”

“The Yuletide Crossing is in two days.”

Oh. The gravity of his words sank in. “The Yuletide Crossing,” I said. Was it time already? Since I’d arrived in Twinkle Glen, I’d been waiting for this day to come so I could return home, but the thought of leaving Nils left a lump in my throat.

“Yes.”

Did he want me to stay?

“I don’t want to leave,” I blurted out. “I know when I just came here, I was desperate to go back, to live my old life, but now…” I gripped his hand and squeezed. “All I want to do is spend the rest of my life with you.”

“You don’t want to go back?”

I shook my head. “I want to stay with you.”

“But what about everything you have…your house…the store…money.”

“None of it matters without you.”

Nils picked me up with a laugh and twirled me around, his eyes shining. “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

I laughed, wrapping my arms around his neck. “I love you.”