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Winter.
A sexy name for a sexy guy.
He even had white-blond hair and sapphire blue eyes that made the name fit him even better.
“You must have to special order your shirts,” Winter said with an amused look.
“Yeah,” she said. “It’s easier in the summer with lighter-weight fabrics and fewer layers. I’m surprised I was able to get dressed at all after I shifted when I hit the ground.”
“Do you remember landing?”
“Not really.” All she could remember was the terror of being caught up in a storm she couldn’t get free of, and then the ground rushing toward her. “I think I shifted mid-landing, which is why I didn’t break a whole bunch of bones. I wish I had my satchel.”
“I’m sorry we didn’t see it. We have a market here. Is there something you need aside from more clothes?”
“I made a gift for my cousins, little carved wooden figures.”
He opened the door to the cafeteria and she told him about the figurines she liked to carve for family and friends, and the owl family she’d made for them. They stepped up to a buffet line set up for lunch, with hot sandwiches, a variety of sides, and a big selection of desserts.
Her sweet tooth went nuts at the sight of the cheesecake, her favorite.
“I’ve never been really creative like that,” he said as he followed behind her and they filled up their trays. He smiled when she picked up two pieces of cheesecake to go with her hot ham and cheese and fries.
“My parents own a restaurant, so my days are mostly spent working there,” she said. They found seats at one of the empty tables and, after getting drinks, settled in. “My grandpa used to whittle. He would sit on the back porch and carve for hours. He gave me my first knife. And in my bedroom, I have several things he carved, including a bear out of a peach pit.”
“That’s really cool,” he said.
She looked at him quietly while she ate a few bites of the best ham and cheese she’d ever had, and then she said, “What kind of shifter are you?”
“Polar bear.”
Her eyes widened. “Really? So you’re a winter animal and your name is Winter?”
“My parents have an interesting sense of humor.”
“I like it. I asked why my parents named me True, and my mom said she was reading a book and it was the heroine’s name.”
He told her about his polar bear clan in Arctic Springs, Pennsylvania, and she told him about her home in North Dakota. Shifters were welcome in Northernmost, but only if they were working for Santa. Because shifters weren’t magical, she’d never had a reason to be there, and if it weren’t for the storm that blew her off course, she likely would never have met him.
Which just told her how strange fate could be, and how timing really was everything.
When the meal was over, they went for a walk around the main building, which housed Santa’s office and his staff, who were busy with the naughty and nice lists; the security team offices; the cafeteria and market; and the underground living quarters of the Guardians, each group having their own suite of apartments and communal living area.
They talked about everything except the fact they were truemates.
She knew she’d uttered it spontaneously when she woke up in the infirmary, and he’d agreed, but after that, it hadn’t been brought up again. But the word was banging around in her mind, a constant poke from her owl at her subconscious.
Truemate.
How did True even begin to broach the subject again?
Hey, sexy, let’s head down to your place to make things official, followed by a suggestive eyebrow waggle.
Yeah, no.
Her owl hooted in her head like it was a perfectly good plan. True might have been feeling impulsive when she woke up, but at the moment, she was all shy hesitation.
They walked in comfortable silence for a little while longer, and as they passed through the market once more, the windows rattled from the storm still raging outside, making her skin prickle.
