Page 56 of Sweet Christmas Wish
“We’re all excited to have you back for a visit,” Will said and Sarah nodded her agreement.
“Spoken like a true resident of Snowy Pine Ridge.”
“Well,” Will said, looking down at Sarah and smiling softly. “I will officially be a true resident here again as soon as I get my things from New Jersey and tie up loose ends there.”
“Hey, I think it’s wonderful,” Michelle replied. “Okay, are we walking over to the mansion or carpooling?”
“I vote walking,” Kyle chimed in. “There’s nothing like a moonlight walk in the snow.”
“Agreed,” Will replied. “Shall we?”
Sarah tucked her hand into Will’s, following Michelle and Kyle outside the bakery and into the winter wonderland outside. They waited while she locked the door behind them, then set off down the snowy avenue toward the Spielman mansion. As they walked, admiring the beauty around them, Sarah couldn’t help but wonder what Michelle would think if she knew that Will’s original reason for coming to Snowy Pine Ridge in the first place had been to see her and perhaps rekindle what they’d had in high school. Even as she wondered about it, she let the worry slide away. All had worked out the way it was supposed to, and both she and her sister were happy in their relationships. It was time once and for all to let the worries about her and Will being together slide away.
As if on cue, Will squeezed her hand. “It’s okay,” he whispered, low enough that Michelle and Kyle, walking up ahead of them, couldn’t hear.
Sarah looked up at him, her eyes bright. “I know,” she replied, and she meant it. “Everything is more than okay, it’s wonderful.”
“Especially because you’re here with me.”
Sarah grinned like a schoolgirl at that, but she didn’t care. She didn’t think she would ever get tired of hearing Will say sweet things to her.
The mansion appeared up ahead a few minutes later, all decked out in swooping pine garlands and twinkle lights. Candles burned in the windows, illuminating the grandeur of the mansion, surrounded as it was by gently sloping snowy hills. As they trooped up the steps, soft music wafted out of the house to greet them. Inside, the mansion was full of all their friends, as well as the scent of pine and baked goods. Everything was the delightful sort of chaos that made the holidays the most wonderful time of the year.
“Hey, you all made it!” Lacy called, hurrying over to greet them, a glass of champagne in hand. “You must be Michelle,” she said, turning to greet Sarah’s sister.
“And you must be Lacy,” Michelle replied with a smile. “Thank you so much for putting this together. Everything looks unbelievably gorgeous.”
“The mansion does most of the work.”
“And you made the mansion beautiful again,” Sarah pointed out, taking off her coat.
Lacy waved that away, but Sarah could tell she was pleased. Lacy led them to the small room where they could lay out their coats and then invited them to mingle in the party. Will and Kyle made a beeline for the banquet table laid out with food catered from Frosty’s Shack, and Michelle and Sarah grabbed glasses of champagne, swaying softly to the music as they caught up on each other’s lives.
An hour or so later, Michelle drifted off to find Kyle and Sarah, a bit overwhelmed with all of the holiday chaos, sought refuge on one of the beautiful balconies outside. A moment later, the door opened behind her and Will slipped outside to stand beside her.
“Am I interrupting?” he asked.
Sarah shook her head, shivering a little. Will shrugged off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. She snuggled into it, inhaling his scent and feeling even warmer because of the sweetness of his gesture. A light snow began to fall, all glistening puffy white flakes that made the moment even more perfect. Sarah looked up into Will’s eyes, noticing how the flakes began to gather on his hair and shoulders.
“I’m so glad you came back to Snowy Pine Ridge,” Sarah murmured, taking his hands in hers and holding them to her chest. “You were exactly the change I was looking for in my life, even if I didn’t know it yet.”
“I’m glad I came back too.”
“I mean, you did come back for Michelle…”
“That’s what I thought too, but I found the right woman for me,” he said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “We’ve got the most exciting chapter opening up before us. I can’t wait to build our dreams for the bakery together.”
“I can’t wait, either,” she replied, reaching up on her tiptoes to press a gentle kiss to his lips.
“You know,” he said, taking her into his arms and pulling her close, “our bakery is aptly named.”
“How so?”
“Sweet Thing? I think it’s named after you.”
Sarah rolled her eyes at the cheesiness of his comment, even as it sent a warmth through her. “Maybe it’s actually named after what we have together.”
“I like that.”
Sarah pulled back enough to look up into his eyes. “I like that too.”
He held up an imaginary glass of champagne. “Let’s toast to our future.”
She laughed, pretending to clink a glass against his.
“To our future,” she repeated, then pressed her lips to his as the snow began to fall harder around them, making her feel like their perfect moment was enshrined in a snow globe. She closed her eyes, savoring the feel of his lips on hers, knowing this was just the beginning.
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