Chapter 38
HOLIDAY
Iturn around from switching off the light and freeze when I see Lucas on one knee in front of the Christmas tree.
Time stops.
My heart stops.
Everything stops.
In his hands, he’s holding a small velvet box, and inside sits a ring, sparkling in the firelight. It’s a round diamond on a delicate gold band—simple and timeless and absolutely breathtaking. It’s the exact ring I told him I’d want if anyone were to ever propose to me.
My knees go weak, and I have to steady myself.
“Lucas,” I breathe out, my hand flying to my mouth.
“Hi.” He’s grinning at me, wearing a sexy expression.
“Hi,” I manage to choke out.
This is happening.
This is really happening.
“So, I have something to ask you.” His voice is rough with emotion, but there’s that playful edge that I adore.
A surprised laugh bursts out of me even as I start trembling.
“I’ve been in love with you since we were literal kids.
” Lucas takes a shaky breath. “Since I kissed you under Mawmaw’s mistletoe when we were sixteen.
Since you held my hand at the lake. Since the time at the carnival when you tried to get me to touch your boob.
Since July Fourth, when we gave each other everything that we were. ”
I can barely breathe as tears stream down my cheeks.
This man. This beautiful, incredible man.
“I stayed in love with you when you left. Every day you were gone, I wondered if you were happy, if you were safe, if you ever thought about me. When you came back broken, I promised myself that I’d help put you back together.
That I wouldn’t let you be the girl who got away and haunted me for my entire existence.
” His voice cracks, and he takes in another breath.
“You choosing me was the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. And I want to keep choosing you, too. Every single day for the rest of my life.”
I can’t help but sniffle as I wipe my tears away.
“I want to keep conserving water with you. I want to have babies with you and teach them how to cut down Christmas trees and make gingerbread houses. I want to sit on our porch and watch the seasons change. I want to bake cookies with you when we’re eighty. I want a lifetime with you, Holiday.”
He looks up at me with so much emotion in his green eyes that it steals what’s left of my breath completely away.
“I want to have as much fun growing old with you as I had growing up with you.” He smiles, giving me that dimple.
“I want fifty more years of arguing about who crushed harder or who loves the other more. I want to laugh until we can’t breathe and make love until we’re too tired to move.
I want every ordinary weekday and every big milestone.
I want all of it. And I promise to always make you laugh, even when you’re mad.
I promise to support every single one of your dreams. I want you exactly as you are, and I will never, ever try to change you.
And I promise to never let a day go by without showing you how much you mean to me. ”
He pulls the ring from the box with shaking hands and holds it up.
“Holiday Patterson, will you please marry me? Will you be my wife and let me spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you make me?”
I try to speak but no sound comes out.
My throat is too tight.
This is Lucas asking me to be his forever.
The boy I’ve always loved is on one knee, asking me to marry him. I feel like I’m dreaming.
I drop to my knees in front of him so we’re face-to-face, both of us shaking with happiness.
“Yes,” I choke out. “Yes, Lucas! Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!”
His hands tremble from adrenaline as he slides the ring onto my finger.
I hold out my hand, watching it sparkle and send little rainbows dancing across the room.
“This is exactly how I dreamed it would be,” I say, unable to look away from the gem.
“I bought it fifteen years ago.” He wipes moisture from my cheeks with his thumbs.
“What?” I ask.
He nods. “Yeah.”
More tears stream down my face. “This is exactly how I dreamed it, too.”
I laugh through the emotion overwhelming me. “You were going to propose to me back then?”
“Yes.” He cups my face in his hands. “You were always supposed to be my wife.”
“I really, really like the sound of that,” I confess.
Our lips crash together, and it’s full of love and promise.
He takes my hand and we stand. He places his other hand on my waist and we sway back and forth, dancing without music.
I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes, letting myself live in this moment. The fire crackles beside us, and the tree lights twinkle. I’ve never felt more complete in my life.
“I love you so much,” he whispers against my hair.
“I love you, too.” I pull back to look up at him. “This has been the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”
He spins me around. “Big agree.”
We sway like that for a few more minutes, just holding each other, both of us smiling and laughing.
As his hands slide down to my hips, the energy shifts.
The playfulness melts into something hotter and more urgent.
“Take me upstairs,” I whisper against his mouth.
He doesn’t need to be told twice. Lucas carries me up the stairs to our bedroom. He flicks on the bedside lamp and golden light fills the room.
For a moment, we just stand there looking at each other. Then he slowly pulls my sweater over my head. I reach for his shirt, and we undress each other piece by piece until we’re both naked.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says, his voice full of want.
“So are you.”
He guides me to the bed, and I pull him down with me. His weight settles over me, and I wrap my legs around his waist.
Our eyes stay locked on each other, and it feels different when he slides deep inside me.
It’s more intense, full of emotion, like we’re sealing this promise between us.
He lowers his forehead to mine, our noses brushing, our breath tangled in the same small space.
We just look at each other, every second stretching longer until the whole world seems to fit between our hearts as he thrusts deeper inside me.
The kiss that follows isn’t rushed. It’s like we’ve waited our whole lives for this one chance. Every place his hands touch feels like a promise for our time ahead.
Everything around us fades away. It’s only us, finally letting go of all the years that kept us apart.
When we move together, it isn’t about need. It’s about finding home. It’s about forgiveness and having the kind of love that can survive everything.
Lucas whispers my name like a prayer. All I can do is hold him tighter, afraid that if I let go, the moment will disappear.
We make love until we’re both trembling and shaking with satisfaction. Lucas collapses beside me and pulls me into his arms. We lie there tangled together, breathing hard, staring upward.
“Can we add glow-in-the-dark stars to your ceiling?”
He shifts to his side and grins, pulling me closer so he can steal a kiss. “Absolutely.”
We stay wrapped in each other’s arms, hearts pounding, our bodies sticking together. The firelight from the fireplace in the bedroom dances against the ring on my finger, scattering sparks across the room like tiny stars.
He strokes my hair and breathes against my temple. “Merry Christmas, HoHo.”
“Merry Christmas, my fiancé.”
“Oh, I love the sound of that,” he says, leaning forward to kiss my shoulder.
“Really? Just wait until you’re my husband.”
“I can’t wait,” he admits. “Because honestly, I’d marry you right now if I could.”
“What about the Fourth of July?” I smile against his lips. “Make it super special.”
“Love the sound of that,” he says as I trace his jaw with my lips.
I rest my head on his chest and close my eyes as he draws circles on my back.
All the pieces of my life have finally clicked into place.
“I can’t wait to see everyone’s faces when we tell them,” I say. “Mawmaw is going to lose her mind.”
“They all will.” Lucas chuckles. “Let’s tell them tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.” I let myself live in this moment with him, memorizing the way his strong arms feel around me. “Lucas?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“Thank you for waiting for me and never giving up on us. Thank you for accepting me and loving me exactly as I am.” My voice gets thick with emotion. “And for asking me to marry you.”
“You don’t have to thank me for any of that,” he says as he keeps holding on to me. “Being with you has always been the easiest choice I’ve ever made, and the only thing I’ve ever wanted. You make everything in my life better.”
I press a kiss to his chest. “Good night, future hubby.”
“Good night, Peaches.”
I snuggle into his arms and let my eyes drift closed. His breathing evens out, and I know he’s close to sleep.
But I stay awake a little longer, just taking in how right this feels.
I’m marrying Lucas Jolly. The boy I fell in love with at sixteen. The man who waited years for me. The person who makes me laugh and challenges me and accepts me unconditionally.
This is what happiness feels like. It’s not a big city or a fancy career or a prestigious partnership.
The magic of Merryville brought me back, and there is no other place I’d rather be.
Lucas is my home.
Lucas is my future.
And he’s my proof that wishes upon stars come true, too.