I cupped his nape. “Hang on there. I’m not done.” I disengaged myself, my heart pounding.
He became so still. “There’s a condition, isn’t there?”
“Yes. And this one might be a game-changer.” I’d thought about it long and hard, and there was only one way I would go ahead with this.
“Is it your job?”
I snorted. “Hell no. I was about to take early retirement anyway. My old boss has already left the company, and my new boss is a snot-nosed little asshole. No, my condition is… We have to let someone else in on the secret.”
He stared at me, his eyes perplexed, and then he sighed. “Your brother.”
I nodded. “I can’t just walk away, leaving them with so many questions. I can’t tell them ‘By the way, you’re never going to see me again except once a year on Christmas Eve.’ I can’t tell them they’re not going to be able to call me, or see me on their phones.”
“I understand.”
“I haven’t finished.” Throughout the past year, I’d kept coming back to one persistent thought. I fought to breathe evenly. “You wanna know what’s been the hardest pill to swallow about all this? The knowledge that someday, all my family will be dead, and there I’ll be, alive and living with you in a magical realm. And when that day comes, I’m not sure how I’ll face it.IfI can face it.”
He held my face in his hands. “Then focus on this. You will get to see Ben’s children grow to adults. Have children of their own. Grandchildren. You will watch over generations to come. You cancarefor generations to come. Because you’ll work with me to provide for them. To ensure their happiness.” Then he sighed. “But I do understand about being unable to simply walk away.”
My heart was still racing. “So I guess what I’m asking is… Will you? Will you let me tell Ben where I’ll be going, and who you are?”
Please say yes.
He cocked his head. “Does he get to tell his family?”
I’d thought about that too. I shook my head. “Only him. I know he’ll want to tell Layla, but I’m not sure if she would be able to keep that secret. I’m not even surehecan. But I have to try.”
Nicholas bit his lip. “Where is he now?”
“It’s what time in Germany right now?” I knew he’d have that information at his fingertips.
“Six a.m.”
“And it’s Christmas morning.” I stared at him. “Then I can tell him?”
Nicholas smiled. “Wecan tell him. And we’re going there right now.”
I stared. “But… I thought no one can see you?”
“I’m going to make surehecan. It’s the only way he’ll believe you.”
“But… he’ll be getting up soon, because in a few hours he’ll be on duty at the base. That means Layla and the kids will be there too.”
“Don’t worry. They won’t know I’m there. Only Ben.” Nicholas smiled. “Didyourparents ever know I was around?”
He had a point.
“This isn’t going to be easy, you know that, don’t you? He’s fifty-one. He’s going to require a lot of proof. And even then, he might not accept it.”
“What if he doesn’t?” He studied me. “Will that alter your decision?”
“No, but it’ll make subsequent Christmas Eves a little awkward.” I kissed him on the lips. “We have to try.”
Ben’s life was about to change too.
I blinked. We were standing in Ben’s living room. It was still dark—the sun wouldn’t be up for a couple of hours—and all was quiet. In the corner of the room stood the Christmas tree, its boughs heavy with ornaments and tinsel.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” I muttered.