Page 105 of Kiss the Girl
His forehead smoothed, a relieved smile spreading across his face. He walked over to me, his hands out, and pulled me to my feet. “This next part needs to happen over here.”
He led me to a sprig of mistletoe over the doorway—not one of our usual decorations. I shot a look at my mom who only grinned.
Excited whispers sounded behind us, but they barely registered as Noah drew me beneath the mistletoe, his eyes reflecting his hopeful smile.
“Grace Winters, I love you like crazy.” My heart did harder flips than I’d ever done in cheer. “That didn’t start under Miss Lily’s mistletoe,” he said. “I think it happened when you wobbled away from me at Brooke and Ian’s party. But that first kiss sealed it. Will you give me the chance to come to Charleston and prove to you that you’ll be my first, last, and everything for the rest of our lives?”
I smiled up at him, and let everything I was feeling show on my face. “I love you too, Noah. And I can’t wait to show you Charleston.”
The rest of the room erupted in cheers, but I heard Evie’s clear voice piping over everyone’s.
“Unc! Kiss the girl!”
And he did.
Epilogue
Grace
“Hurry up, Evie! We don’t want to miss Santa!”
“Coming, Toodles! I just need to make sure Jinx is okay!”
I smiled at my honorary niece. She and Paige had been living upstairs in my old apartment for a year, but she’d made herself right at home in my parents’ house too.
Noah and I had driven in from Charleston yesterday, arriving at almost the exact same time as Tabitha and her fiancé did from New York.
We’d spent an evening of happy chaos in my parents’ living room, talking so loudly no one could hear Elf playing—the movie we were all supposedly watching—except for when we all yelled along with the lines we knew and then went back to talking.
Today we’d spent decorating the Christmas tree and making Danish ebelskiver under Tabitha’s supervision in the kitchen where she drove all of us crazy except for Evie, who, in Tabitha’s book, could apparently do no wrong.
“I think I’m going to like Christmas Town more as a civilian,” Noah said, coming up behind me to slide his arms around my waist.
I leaned back against his chest. “Oh, I don’t know. It was pretty great working on the booth with you last year.”
He gave a murmur of agreement. “Still, I think I’d rather walk around holding mittens with you and not worrying about a single thing except what to eat first.”
“Ready,” Evie announced. “Let’s get Mama.”
Tabitha was already at the parade route holding spots for us, so we just needed to meet up with my parents and Paige at the store and walk over to wait for Santa.
We found Tabitha right next to the dais where the mayor and Santa would throw the switch to light Christmas Town. Normally, we took our places a block further down. “Why so close this year?” I asked.
“Just wanted an extra good view, that’s all.”
“Yeah, because—” Evie started to say something, but Paige cut her off by wrapping a scarf around her neck. “You need to make sure you stay warm, Evie. It’s cold tonight.”
I smiled as the marching band approached. They were winding down “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and Evie was already jittering impatiently in place. As a second-year Christmas Town veteran, she knew their next song would be the anthem announcing the main event.
“It’s almost time,” she practically shouted up at Noah who was nearly as antsy as Evie, peering down Main Street to watch the band.
A roar went up from the parade crowd when the opening notes of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” sounded, and I grinned as my family cheered along with everyone else. An extra bit of magic wove through this year, a fullness warming my insides more than thick sweaters and hot cocoa ever could. I sniffed when the happiness threatened to leak out as tears, and Noah looked down at me.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“It’s perfect.”
“Almost,” he said, smiling. “Just wait until Santa gets here.”
