Amour Amour (Aerial Ethereal #1)(109)

“She’s not happy about it,” Nikolai replies. “This is actually the only year she hasn’t complained. Though it’s more because of you than suddenly not caring.” Our breath smokes the air. “She’s auditioning in January too.”

I frown. “What?”

“For Noctis,” he clarifies, stone-faced and brick-walled. “She landed the full-in, full-out last night, and she’s been able to repeat it just as well.”

“That’s great,” I say, trying to be happy for her. She’s accomplishing her dreams. She worked hard for it, but…I know if she leaves on a traveling circus show, I won’t ever see her again. You won’t see her if you leave too, Thora.

Right.

My stay here may be temporary as well.

I strain my neck to look up at him. If I miss Katya, his feelings have to be stronger. “What are the odds she’ll make it?” I ask him.

“High.” He stops by a towering lopsided tree, to keep some distance between us and his sister while we talk. “She’s wanted to be with them since the day she left, so this is good.” He nods like he’s trying to convince himself.

“And you’ll still have Luka and Timo here.”

His brows harden, and his darker gaze falls to me. “Luka has been working on a new discipline. There’s a good chance they’ll either put him in Somnio or Infini soon. He has better use there than as a porter.”

I digest this. “So that leaves you with Timo—”

“Kat! I found a winner!” Timo rounds the corner, his fingers cupped to his mouth as he yells. His pink fingers are exposed from his cut-off gloves.

Katya spins on her heels. “Is it big?!”

Timo snorts. “Who do you think I am? It’s the biggest one in this place.”

Nikolai makes a noise that sounds close to a groan. I can tell he’s picturing himself carrying the tree into the hotel. “You were saying about Timo?” he asks me.

I rub his back, trying not to smile too much. He loves his little brother, despite the irritations. “Sorry,” I apologize with a grimace. “In my defense, I had no idea Timo would want the largest tree.”

“He lives his life in excess,” Nikolai reminds me. “He wants the biggest, grandest everything. And he’ll take too much enjoyment watching me lug the fucking thing inside.”

After Thanksgiving though, their relationship is much better. They haven’t had a drag-out screaming match since then. Now when they poke jabs at each other, they’re the friendly kind, not the ones with undercut, hurt feelings.

I look up at him again. Masculine, his hair disheveled in the wind. His jaw unshaven. His eyes piercingly gray. The moment he meets my ogling gaze, his lips curve up. “You’re supposed to stare at me like I’m a devil, not a god.”

Wittier words actually come to me, my face lighting before I say, “I think you’ve always been both.”

Nikolai clasps me by the waist and draws me behind the crooked tree, large enough to conceal us from the gravel pathway. It’s too hard to hide my smile or stop my heart from racing. I just travel with the feelings.

Nik lifts me up around his waist, so my lips align more with his, and he kisses me deeply, slowly, his hand warming the back of my neck.

And then my phone buzzes in my army-green cargo jacket. I break our lips apart. “…it could be my mom.” Though if she could see me now, legs wrapped around a six-foot-five acrobat’s waist, I wonder what she’d say.

“Tell her I said hi,” Nikolai says. He needs to be liked by my parents if we ever want to make this long-term. He knows how much they mean to me.

“Sure…” I trail off as I check the caller ID: SHAY. “Or maybe not.” I hesitate to answer, on account of Shay and Nikolai fighting that one time. I never mention Shay to him. Or vice versa.

Nikolai sees the screen and reads my body language. “Take it.”

“You sure?” I frown.

He still has me in his arms, and his hold tightens like he doesn’t want to set me down yet. “As much as I dislike him, I’m not going to ruin your friendship.”

My shoulders rise, less anxiety. I mouth, thank you, right before I put the phone to my ear.

“I can’t believe I’m not spending Christmas with you,” are Shay’s first words. “Who’s going to build a stupid igloo with me?”

I’m not sure if Nikolai can hear Shay’s voice on the line, but he gently places me on my feet. It puts a pain in my chest, but I try to ignore it. “We’ve never built a whole igloo,” I remind him. It always takes too long and it always gets too cold.

“Even if it doesn’t have a roof, it’s still an igloo.”

“Are you sure about that? I think it’d be considered a wall.”

He groans. “You’re making me want to do a Google search and that just takes too much energy.” He lets out a real yawn, actually tired. “But seriously, I called because I have some good news.”

“What about?” I watch Nikolai take a few steps away from me, scanning the rest of the trees from afar. He keeps glancing back though, too interested in the conversation to leave altogether.

“You’re going to see me soon.”

I smile. “You’re coming to visit?” I try to block out what happened last time he stopped by.