Page 80 of What Happens This Christmas
If it was, then at least I’d enjoyed it while it lasted. That was something I was learning to do more and more lately.
Opening my eyes carefully, slowly, I also lifted my head. It wasn’t a dream, and if it was, then I hadn’t woken up, and I didn’t ever want to. I’d gladly stay stuck in this one for the rest of my life. Spending all eternity with Nick Crane grinning down at me.
I blinked up at him with wonder, and he cocked a brow. “Ice got your tongue?”
More frozen hot chocolate jokes.I moved at warp speed, getting up and eating the distance between us. Then I slowed down a bit, having to make sure. “What are you doing here?” I asked cautiously, my eyes scanning him.
He was wearing dark jeans, a sweater, a scarf, and a jacket. His suave demeanor and charming flair weren’t things that could be left unnoticed. He had one hand in his pocket, his thumb sticking out, coolly. I allowed my gaze to meet his face. He was sporting a handsome and confident grin that said he came here to get what was his. My heart sank, hoping that was the case and not wishful thinking on my part. Even his blue eyes were burning bright. So bright that I may have benefited from sunglasses.
“Eloise told me where I could find you,” he finally answered. His gruff tone mixed with the way the lighting accentuated his unmatched features made me feel lightheaded.
I bit down on the corner of my lower lip. “Did she?” I owed her one. Or a hundred.
He nodded, sweeping strands of hair from my face and tucking them behind my ear comfortably. “You wore your hair down.”
I shrugged, trying to make it out to be no big deal. I saw the appeal to it, that was all.
His expression turned serious, and he stiffened. “It’s not for the best.”What?“When you left that note, I thought it was for the best foryou, so I let it be. I was going to walk away from all of this, from you, so that you could find happiness, even if that happiness wasn’t with me any longer.”
“No, I could never be happy.” I reached up and placed a hand on his cheek, needing to feel his warmth. “Not without you. Don’t you understand, Nick? You, you’re my happiness. Being with you makes me happy.” Our eyes met and we connected like he was a bridge, and I was a heart-shaped lock.
“Why did you come to the pub?”
“Nick—”
“I need to know.”
“I didn’t have a valid reason other than wanting to see you.”
“That sounds pretty damn valid to me.”
I sighed, licking my lips as I decided to be completely vulnerable with him. It was what he deserved and what we needed. At this point, I had nothing left to lose. “I wanted you to know that I support you in whatever you choose to do, however you decide to spend your time. I’m in your corner, Nick, always.”
“I know that.” His eyes glowed with sincerity. “I’ve always known that.”
I rested my hand on his chest, resisting the urge to clutch his shirt in a desperate attempt to hold on to him in case he rethought things and wanted to turn around. “Then why—”
“The divorce?” He tilted my face up, his thumb and forefinger sending unsolicited jolts of electricity through my body. If I wasn’t careful, I might start a fire with the intensity of it. “I made a mistake, Candy. A terrible mistake, and I’d like to remedy it, if that’s okay with you.”
My lips trembled. I wanted that. He had no idea just how badly, to be honest. I only had one question, and I hated myself for even asking it. But I couldn’t handle having him one minute and losing him the next. It would be too much. “How? We’ve been through so much. I saw you with Goose—”
Shaking his head repeatedly, he insisted, “That was nothing more than my mother’s lame attempt at trying to set me up with a woman who couldn’t be more wrong for me.” We were a breath away from one another, and my eyes involuntarily fell to his lips. “She means nothing to me. I didn’t even remember her until she jogged my memory. You have to believe me.”
That had my gaze snapping back to his. “Of course I believe you.”
He dropped his hand and didn’t hesitate in making his next move. He lowered to one knee and shoved his hand in the front pocket of his jeans, seconds later pulling out two rings.My rings.“These belong on your finger, and I don’t want to see them come off ever again.” He narrowed his eyes, but a smile was dancing on his lips. “Do you understand me?”
I suppressed my own grin, nodding like my life depended on it. In some ways, it did. Because Nick was the best part of my life. “I’ll never take them off,” I assured him, holding out my hand for him to slip them back on.
When he did, my pulse quickened at the light touch. He ignited something in me that had been dormant for a while. I didn’t want to allow that to happen again. I mean, how could I when I had a man like him who cared for me?
I didn’t wait for him to stand up, decidedly getting down on one knee too so we were both kneeling in my new official favorite place on earth.
My heart rioted as he cupped either side of my face and claimed my lips with his. He tasted like cinnamon and…bourbon. It was a lethal combination when we were speaking interms of Nick, though, because I didn’t think I’d ever have my fill of my husband. A mere taste would never be enough. But it would have to do. For now…
When we broke apart, he was grinning, and I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me. I had never felt more comfortable or more at peace than I did now. With every breath I took, it was as though I could feel my heart exploding, like it had been stuck in a gilded cage for too long, and it was finally free.
To love.
