PAPER STARS: An Ordinary Magic Story(6)

Maybe Jean was right. Christmas was romantic.

“…tell Spud I miss him, okay?”

Reality slammed back into place with the smell of grease, ketchup, and wet coats mixed with the overly-loud dinner crowd.

A Christmas song I despised, sung by rodents who should not have gotten their own movie, much less a sequel, added to the noise.

The demon across the table from me grinned like a fool and sighed happily, enjoying my emotional whiplash.

“Spud,” I said in the most blasé tone I owned.

“Spud.” Was that a hint of laughter in his voice? Was Ryder teasing me?

“Your dog.”

“Last I knew.”

“Tell your dog, you miss him. Your dog.”

“Yes. Because I do. Oh, and there’s one more thing.”

Pause. Maybe for dramatic effect, maybe for navigating a tricky spot in whatever road he was driving.

“Tell Spud that I love him.”

Really? I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it.

Was he pranking me? Had Jean called him behind my back and told him about our conversation?

I knew Ryder loved me, because he’d proved it over and over again with his actions.

But Jean had gotten that stupid “L” word stuck in my head and then Bathin had been all over it, and now I wanted to hear it, dammit.

I wanted my Christmas romance.

Bathin snorted.

I scowled at him. “Stop reading my mind.”

“Stop being so entertaining.”

I imagined throwing him in a dungeon with a thousand hungry rats.

“Promises, promises. And now I’m suddenly famished. I need pie.”

He wandered off to sweet talk the waitress out of a free slice, something at which he was surprisingly adept.

“Delaney?” Ryder’s voice brought me back to the conversation.

There was no need for me to get upset about him teasing me. There was no reason for me to be annoyed that he was more emotionally open with his dog than with me.

I could be calm. I could be happy that he was coming home in time for the holidays.

Who needed the “L” word? Nobody. Who needed Christmas romance? Not me.

Take that, Jean.

Also? Two could play this game.

“You’ll be glad to know I’ve already told Spud I love him more than you do. And guess who he believes? Me. I didn’t want to break it to you over the phone, but ever since I’ve been taking Spud on walks, feeding him bacon, bringing him a dragon to wrestle with, he’s made it pretty clear he loves me best now.”

“A…did you say dragon?”

“By the way, you’ll need new curtains. The dragon likes fabric. And there’s a strong possibility Spud won’t even recognize you by the time you get back. Why, just the other day he was staring at your picture and growling.”

“Delaney.” He coughed to smother a laugh. “Are you okay?”

“I’m just fine. I’m just great.”

“Mmmm-hmm. You sound great.” His voice dropped into that sexy burr that made my mouth water.

I bit the corner of my lip and waited for my stupid heart to stop fluttering for him. Waited for the butterflies in my stomach to get the message that there would be no takeoffs today. All flights were grounded.

“Don’t,” I whispered.

“Don’t what?” Sexy voice. Sexy man.

I closed my eyes and could almost feel his arms wrapping around me, his body hard and heated against mine.

I could almost feel his breath ghosting across my cheek to my lips, where he would pause, thumbs framing my mouth before he pressed a kiss exactly where he wanted it.

How could I miss him so much when he’d only been gone for a couple months?

Hearts were confusing.

I might have made a little sound.

“Don’t think I’m not missing you,” he rumbled. “I can’t sleep at night. You’re all I think about. And every time I hear your voice…I just want to turn the project over to some other company, pack it all up, and come home.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Who knew one word could make everything seem better?

I opened my eyes and stared at my cup while the Hula Hoop-obsessed rodents sang me back to the here and now.

It was almost Christmas. Songs were playing, people were laughing. That lift of kindness and hope and nostalgia filled the air, thicker than the scents of cinnamon and peppermint.

Bright lights blinked along the edges of windows and silvery snowflakes hung glittering from the ceiling.

“I’ll be there,” he said. “Soon.” Promising me. Promising himself.

“We’ll talk. Okay, Delaney? We’ll really talk. Because I have things to say to you. Important things I need you to know. About us. Things I’ve been thinking a lot about.”

“Okay.” Even I heard how soft my voice had gone.

He made a frustrated sound. “I need to say them when I can see your eyes. When I can feel your heartbeat.”

“Okay.” He was coming home. That was good. That was enough. “I miss you like I miss the stars in the sky.”

“Aw,” Bathin whispered as he settled down with half an apple pie. “Stars. How poetic. Most people only aim for the moon.”