Santa Soldier Bear - Meg Ripley Page 0,45
November, but by the time Christmas came and went, most of it lost its magic.
Amar stepped into the room. “Melody, I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to tell you how wonderful everything looked.”
“You already told me that when I put it all up a month ago,” she said with a smile as she adjusted one of the tree’s baubles. “I’ll give it another day or two, but then I’ll get it all put up in the attic.”
His dark eyes grew serious at the suggestion. “Don’t you dare! There are plenty of hands here to help you, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“Okay, okay. You do have a point on the heavy lifting. But,” she leveled her gaze at him and tried her best to look authoritative, “I’ll personally be in charge of getting all the delicates wrapped and put away. I don’t trust any of you brutes to do it correctly.”
He put his hands in the air. “Wouldn’t dream of it!” Amar hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. Melody didn’t think he meant to, but she caught his eyes flick to her stomach and then away again. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. “I also just wanted you to know…I mean…anything you might need, we’re here for you. All of us.”
“Thank you. I know, and I appreciate it.”
“And I’m sorry.”
She’d just been turning back to the tree, but she flicked her head back around to look at him. “What do you mean?”
Amar shrugged. “I was the one who asked Roman to come here in the first place. We’ve always been good friends, and even though I knew he wasn’t perfect, I genuinely didn’t think there would be any problems. I just feel like there was something more I could’ve done, and I don’t want you to be in a bad situation because of it.”
Melody rested her hand on his arm. Amar was a formidable Alpha, a true dragon at heart who didn’t get sappy about anything. It tickled her to see him show a little bit of his softer side, but she knew he was being very sincere about this. She owed it to him to return the favor. “Amar, don’t be sorry, and don’t feel like any of this is your fault. It hurts to think of Roman, and I can’t help but think about him constantly, knowing that I’m carrying his child. It’s just something I’m going to have to work through, and I know I will.”
“Have you told him yet?”
Melody shook her head. “No. I wanted to give myself a little time to get used to it, to be able to find all the right words. I’ll do it soon, though. After Christmas.”
“Okay,” Amar said with a nod. “I know it’s not really my business, but he’d be devastated if he didn’t know.”
Melody wasn’t so sure about that. She was willing to gamble that Roman would be scared or maybe even angry when he found out. The one thing she had to make sure of was that, no matter how she felt or how he acted, she wouldn’t try to pull any sort of commitment out of him. “Don’t worry. I’ll do it.”
“Thanks. Katalin and I are planning to have dinner out later on tonight if you’d like to join us.”
“That’s all right.” Melody knew how much the two of them were in love. She didn’t want to spoil their holiday together, nor was she sure she could stomach all that romance right in front of her. “I’ve got some other things I’m going to take care of.”
Amar looked doubtful, but he turned and headed out of the room.
Melody ran her fingers over the strand of garland on the mantel and straightened the stockings hung in front of the fireplace. Most of them were just for show, but Gabe and Emersyn had weighted Lucas’s down with snacks, fruit, and little toys. He would be eating out of that overgrown sock for a couple of weeks, at least.
On an impulse, Melody returned to the tree. She took down a miniature stocking ornament and brought it back over to the mantel, hanging it on top of hers. It was so tiny that it looked silly compared to the rest, but she knew what it meant.
A heavy, urgent knock sounded at the front door. Melody’s instincts turned on high, her snow leopard at the ready as she crossed the room, wondering what kind of drama would be on the other side of the door this