EPILOGUE
Max
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One year later
The sound of arguing drifted down to him as Max climbed the stairs, emerging from his basement bakery and wandering down the hall into the kitchen.
Before he could step foot inside, the door swung open and Lucy appeared looking slightly flustered.
She was even more beautiful now than on the day they met.
Perhaps it was due to the fact that they were now married and Max knew she was well and truly his for the rest of their lives, but something about her practically glowed even through the somewhat panicked look on her face.
Memories of the day they tied the knot flooded back as he made his way toward her.
While it might have been more practical to get married during the warmer months of summer, Max and Lucy were far too keen to make things official and got married just after the New Year.
They held their ceremony at the Inn, his family, Louis, and more visibly pregnant Hailey in attendance for him and at least a dozen of the townspeople there to celebrate with Lucy.
They held an open house after and anyone who hadn’t been in attendance that morning made their way to the Inn, offering congratulations, gifts, and taking one of the many ginger biscuits cut in the shape of wedding bells that the pair had baked previously.
It might have been silly to offer that as a wedding favor, but they were part of the reason Max and Lucy had bonded in the first place, so they decided it was very appropriate.
Since getting married, he and Lucy worked on transforming the basement into a semi-commercial kitchen for him.
It took many months, but eventually they accomplished what they had set out to do.
Now, Max baked breads and pastries for the guests at the Inn, for the local farmers’ markets, and even a few of the new restaurants in town.
Lucy had mentioned the town liked to take care of its own, and as that now included him, he shouldn’t have been surprised everyone rallied to help him grow the addition to their business.
Everyone had been so welcoming and inclusive that Max wasn’t sure he would ever be able to properly thank them, but he tried every day by pouring all of his gratitude to the town and love for his wife into his baking.
From the distressed look on Lucy’s face, she could use a little of that love right now.
“What’s the matter, love?” he asked, leaning down to kiss her temple and noticing she was twisting her fingers together.
Lucy peeked over her shoulder and waved him down to her.
“Are they always like that?” she whispered as the sounds of Louis and Hailey’s bickering reached his ears.
If he was translating the rapid-fire French words correctly, they were arguing over who would make the yule log cake with Louis insisting that, because it is a French tradition, he should be the one to make it.
Max chuckled and pulled his wife into his arms. “No, sometimes they actually fight,” he told her, smiling when she looked up at him with wide eyes. “Remind me to tell you more of the story of how they met sometime soon. That will clear things right up.”
Lucy looked doubtful, but nodded nonetheless.
“I just hope they don’t wake the baby,” she confessed.
Her eyes flicked over to the stairs where, up in Louis and Hailey’s guestroom, a sleeping baby Mercedes slept soundly, no doubt catching up on sleep after experiencing jet lag after arriving just a day earlier.
Max was happy to have his friends with him for the holidays this year, but he hoped they would figure out a solution to their argument sooner rather than later if only to ease the concerned expression on Lucy’s face.
As if his wish had been granted, the sounds coming from the kitchen stopped and Max peeked his head in, pulling back abruptly when he saw Louis had moved his wife to the counter and sealed his lips against hers.
“Well, that’s one way to solve a problem. ”
Lucy’s head popped in for a second, only to pull back as she started giggling at what she had witnessed. “Is that a French thing, do you think? Kissing someone to stop them from arguing with you,” she asked when she came back into the hall.
Max snorted and shook his head. “No. I think more of a Louis and Hailey thing.” Grabbing onto Lucy’s hand, he led her down the hall and out into the family room that had once again been decked out in all things Christmas for the season.
“How about we let them finish their discussion while we enjoy ourselves by the fire?”
The cheeks of Lucy’s face blushed fiercely.
Max was certain she was thinking the same thing he was, how they had made love there last year, and subsequently many more times after as long as there were no guests at the Inn.
“Not that, love, though definitely after the holiday visitors take their leave. For now, I just want you to relax before the big event tomorrow.”
Lucy smiled shyly at him, her hand slipping down to the pocket of the holly and ivy apron she was wearing and patting it lightly.
“I love that idea, but I think I need to show you something first.” Walking him over to the ginger cottage replica he had made and currently sat on the reception desk, she pointed down at the two figures who stood in the front. “There’s something missing.”
Max followed her gaze and inspected the mini versions of him and Lucy. Other than the fact that he hadn’t bothered to give himself a pair of icing shoes, he saw nothing wrong with either biscuit. “I don’t see it,” he told her.
When he glanced to the side, he saw Lucy smile shakily at him before reaching into her apron and pulling out another biscuit. “There needed to be a little addition,” she breathed out.
When the shape of the small biscuit that sat in front of the two little ginger people registered, Max nearly jumped out of his skin with excitement.
Lucy had iced the small ginger buggy with a date about seven months into the future.
Turning back to the woman he loved, he saw her smiling hesitantly at him, and he couldn’t help but beam at her.
“Truly?” he asked. When her head bobbed happily, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, pouring all the happiness he felt in that moment into it.
When he finally pulled back, breathless and his heart swelling to a size he’d not thought possible, he leaned his forehead against hers. “Thank you, my darling.”
Lucy smiled, her arms clutching onto his. “Why are you thanking me?” she asked with a light laugh. “You were there, too.”
Max chuckled and stroked his fingers through her hair. “Yes, I remember, but I was thanking you for giving me yet another wonderful Christmas present. Last year it was you,” he said, kissing her lips and resting his hand on her still flat stomach. “And this year it is our little one.”
Lucy placed her hand over his. “You’ve given me the same two gifts, my love. I can’t wait to see what wonderful surprise we get next year.”
“Neither can I,” he agreed. He would forever be grateful for the storm that had brought him to Lucy.
The storm that had made his dreams of a wintery English countryside filled with love and laughter come to fruition, just as he would always be grateful for Lucy as well as the child she now carried, knowing the rest of their lives would be full of wonderful surprises.