16. Hernan

Chapter 16

Hernan

Waking up with Merry in my arms and falling asleep with him by my side was everything. He lit up my world and made it… well, merry.

The Christmas festival was almost here, and that meant there was a ton to do. Normally, that would be fine—I enjoyed it and really appreciated how it helped my bottom line. But this year, with Merry here, a huge part of me just wanted to spend every waking second with him, focusing on nothing but each other.

He, on the other hand, was in his element. He absolutely loved getting ready for the festival. He was the organizational king, and given his expertise in all things Christmas, he had tips and tricks to make this event exponentially better than it had ever been before—and it was always pretty fabulous.

His idea for the snow globes led to other ideas, some of which were simple modifications of things we’d always done. We always had a cookie walk as part of the festivities. But this year, we were having a cookie walk and cookie-decorating stations. People who wanted to decorate cookies for their families—without having to go through the process of making their own dough, cutting out shapes, and freezing them—the so-called “un-fun” parts—could pre-order however many cookies they wanted to decorate. All the supplies would be ready and waiting.

Wilson, the town expert on all things cookie decorating, was even running tutorials throughout the day so people could learn new techniques. It wasn’t a huge change, nothing drastic that would make people wonder what was going on, but it was going to make everything better.

“What are you thinking?” His arms wrapped around me from behind as I was doing inventory, making sure I had everything I needed. It was hardly the funnest part of my job, but it was a necessary one.

“Hey,” I said, turning around in his arms and kissing him, unable to resist the temptation of his sweet lips. “I’m almost done here. What’s on your list?”

He rattled off the 4,000 bazillion things he’d already accomplished for the day in his quest to get everything ready, and his to-do list was dwindling down to practically nothing.

“You’re amazing.” I kissed him.

“No, this is just what I love.” It was true he loved it, but it was equally true that he excelled at it.

“I only have to pick up the order from the craft store that came in, and then I’m done for the day.” He’d managed to get some items in bulk that we needed for the snow globes.

“I was thinking,” he said hesitantly, “maybe we could go out and grab a bite to eat.”

His wording felt a little off, and I couldn’t quite figure out why. It was almost like he was worried.

“What’s going on?” I cupped his cheek.

“I don’t know how to do this.”

I was pretty sure there was nothing he didn’t know how to do. “Do what?”

“Well, I heard humans like dates, so I thought I would ask you on a date. But it sounded like I was asking you to buy me things, so that didn’t work out.”

Oh, sweet Merry.

“First of all, I’m not human. But I do like dates and would especially love one with you.” I pressed my forehead to his. “And, also, you didn’t sound like you were asking me to buy you things.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really. I think it’s sweet that you want to go on a date. Did you have something in mind?”

He scrunched up his nose in that adorable way he had. “We could go to lunch or… some people talking about Christmas Candy Land.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant, and when I asked him, he pulled out his phone and showed me an event page. A few towns over, one of the community kitchens was hosting a candy-making class for Christmas.

“Looks like tonight is candy canes.”

“I’ve never made candy canes.” Or any other kind of candy. “It sounds fun.”

After picking up the supplies, we grabbed a bite to eat on our way out of town after reserving the last two spots in the class.

It was soooo much fun, but it very much was not a beginner’s class. Not even close. And it was dangerous in a way I hadn’t expected. I had no idea candy was so complicated and temperature-sensitive. I guess I thought it was just mixed like cookie dough, poured into a mold, and done. But no—there was science involved. And heat.

My dragon loved it and kept reminding me that he could do better. He probably could, but not in a room full of humans.

Maybe next year we can make it with our mate, just us, I promised him.

The idea of a “next year” sounded pretty fabulous. I still didn’t know where we’d be—if Merry would stay here, or if he’d want me to go there. We hadn’t had a serious conversation about it yet. We were just enjoying our new bond. But one thing I knew, was that there would be a next year, and one after that and another after that.

“Your candy cane looks… not candy-cane-shaped,” Merry teased.

I looked at mine. It was definitely not.

“That’s fine.” He shoulder bumped me. “Next year, I’ll do the forming, and you do the heating.”

“Wait, can you…” I trailed off, staring at him.

He looked at me with a grin.

“Did you hear what I was thinking?”

“Hear it? No, but you say a lot with your eyes.” He leaned in close and whispered only for my ears. “Do dragon mates hear each other’s thoughts?”

“I thought maybe it was an elf thing,” I whispered back. “But I like this better. It means you were looking at me.”

“You’re hard to ignore.” As was he.

The instructor had us set our best candy creation on the table and the class voted on the best candy cane. As a shock to no one, Merry came in first. He was Christmas magic wrapped in holiday cheer, and somehow, I got to call him mine.