Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty (Festive Flames)
Holly, Jolly, and Oh So Naughty: Chapter 33

It wouldn’t be Evergreen Falls without a burst of snowfall ten minutes after the weatherman assures everyone that it will be clear skies for New Year’s.

I walk hand in hand with Emma through town, watching the snow fall gently around us. It catches on my coat and melts into the fabric while Emma dances slightly and does her best to catch the snow with her mitten-clad hands.

James walks a few feet behind us, busy on a phone call with his lawyer.

It’s insane how busy this past week has been, and yet at the same time, it feels like no time at all has passed. As we walk toward the inn for the New Year’s Eve celebration, my mind replays the events of how we even ended up here.

James’s show of love at the town square was the most romantic thing that has ever happened to me, and the sight of him under those lights remains in my mind like a picture-perfect postcard. We have a long way to go in terms of fully trusting one another, given everything we have been through, but we’re making a good start.

What matters most to me is Emma, and James has doted on her every second. She’s taken the news well that he’s her father, but I’m braced just in case that changes. If it does, I know we will tackle it together. A few months ago, I never could have imagined such a perfect end to the year. The auction was a roaring success, the free clinic was funded, and James came back to me with a promise to stay.

A promise I believe.

My heart is full and each step is like walking on air. Nothing can take this smile from my face.

“Look, Mommy!” Emma yells excitedly as we reach the inn. She’s managed to catch a large snowflake in her hand and for a few seconds, it remains perfectly in shape. Then, the warmth from her mitten causes it to melt and it vanishes into nothing.

“Aww.” Emma pouts, dejected, then she flashes me a bright smile and goes right back to trying to catch another.

“Alright!” James puffs out his cheeks and jogs to catch up with us. When he reaches me, he slides his arm around my waist and pulls me close, planting a cold-lipped kiss on my equally cold cheek.

“All sorted?” I ask, patting his cheek with my other hand.

“Yup. I have to pay my lawyer a chunk more for making him work on New Year’s Eve, but it’s worth it. The trust fund for Emma is set up, and both your names are written into my portion of the estate.”

After returning from lunch with his mother, James had the idea. Something about their discussion had prompted him to immediately make sure that Emma and I would be taken care of in the event anything happened to him. It was an incredibly sweet gesture, and a small part of me rests easy knowing that Emma has something waiting for her.

That kind of security for my daughter is priceless.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind.” I chuckle softly. “I’d work New Year’s Eve for half of what you pay him.”

“But then who would come with me to this super-cool party, huh?” James leans in close, and our frost-bitten noses brush against one another. He claims another kiss, and I’d linger if not for Emma slipping free of my grasp.

“Grandma!” She runs full pelt across the snow toward the inn where my mother stands, holding the door open.

“Munchkin!” Upon arrival, she scoops Emma up into her arms and they spin together as Emma immediately begins to tell her, in great detail, about every snowflake she caught on the way here.

“There’s one more thing,” James says as we wander after Emma.

“A good thing?” I ask.

“Yup. I’ve set up a fund for the clinic too.”

“What?” I stop dead in the snow. “What kind of fund?”

“A charitable one. It will be placed on donation lists for anyone eager to make themselves look good by donating to a clinic.”

“Oh, my God!” Leaping upward, I throw my arms around his shoulders and hug him close. “That’s amazing!”

“You don’t mind?” He laughs, cuddling me back.

“Hell no! If some rich tosspot wants to make themselves feel better by donating a crap-ton to our clinic, then I’ll happily accept their money. It will help people. That’s all that matters.”

“I knew you’d be happy.” James grins. He kisses me slowly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear as he does so.

“Thank you.”

With a final kiss, we head inside to the New Year’s party that’s already in full swing. Emma runs off to play with her friends, and my dad presses drinks into both of our hands, assuring us that a room has been set up for us whenever we decide to crash.

Most of the town is here, squashed into the event hall, and everyone is in good spirits. Alcohol flows, music fills the air, and we all dance while sharing stories about the year. I pass Amelia, who has her lips locked onto a handsome man whose name I will replace out later. She waggles her brows at me in greeting and then resumes kissing the face off her date. Everyone else we pass talks about James’s presentation in the square, telling us that we make such a beautiful couple.

To my surprise, James’s mother is here. I hadn’t expected her to accept my invitation, but seeing her amid the townsfolk, she really does stand out. But she has a drink in her hand and a smile on her face, and while she has a lot of making up to do for both of us, James assures me that giving her a chance is the right thing to do. But she only gets one. Given what happened to his father, I support him, and we greet her warmly as we pass.

Two dances later, we run into Margret who scolds James slightly for adding years to her face when she wasn’t sure if he would come back or not. James promises to make it all up to her next year.

We drink and we dance, sometimes with Emma and sometimes by ourselves. James has as much coordination on the dancefloor as he does on the ice, but his heart is in it and we laugh together all night long.

This is my happily ever after.

On one particular twirl, James sends me out from his body, and I close my eyes, soaking up the atmosphere and the warmth of James’s hand entangled with my own.

But when I spin back, my heart screeches to a halt.

James is no longer standing. Instead, he kneels in the doorway next to us right under a fat clump of mistletoe, and something huge sparkles in his eyes.

“Marry me, Lily.”

The crowd around us goes deathly silent as more and more people notice James down on one knee. Emma squeals in delight and is immediately scooped up by my father.

“Marry me,” James repeats as I stare at him, rooted to the floor in absolute shock. “I know it’s fast. In fact, it might feel insanely fast, but I have loved you for seven years, and I have missed so much. Too much. All that wasted time is time I am desperate to make up for, and I swear to you, I will. I will spend every single day loving you, Lily. And loving Emma. And I will make sure you know it, every single day.”

I can’t breathe. My heart beats so wildly, it’s like roaring in my ears, and I clutch at my chest.

“So marry me,” James says with tears sparkling in his eyes. “Do me the incredible honor of becoming my wife.”

Is this real? I almost want to pinch myself, but I’m too scared to move in case this is some odd dream.

The room is silent, and James stares up at me with such open, honest hope in his eyes.

“Yes!” I gasp as tears flood my eyes and my heart pounds like a drum. “A thousand times, yes!”

Trembling, I hold out my hand as cheers of delight rise from the crowd behind me. James slides the sparkling ring onto my finger, then he surges up and gathers me in his arms, spinning me around as he peppers kisses all over my face.

There’s no doubt here. He is the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, and while I’d never given much thought to marriage, I’m never more sure of anything than saying yes in that moment.

We kiss repeatedly as he spins me around, and then, just outside the windows, the dark night sky explodes with colors as multiple fireworks race into the sky and explode.

“A little early!” I hear my dad laughing in the crowd.

I don’t care. The explosions of color dance across James’s face as he kisses me deeply, cradling my face like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever held. We’re joined a few seconds later by Emma who comes flying through the crowd and tackles our legs.

“Yay!” she yells. “Mommy and Daddy together!”

James scoops her up into his arms and balances her against his hip, then he slides his other hand around my waist and repeatedly kisses my cheek.

I’m about to speak, but out of the crowd melts his mother, and a pulse of apprehension tightens across my shoulders. I brace for whatever she has to say.

“You make a beautiful couple,” she says with a small smile. Then she takes my hand, pressing a small, cold object into my palm. As she releases me, I spot a small gold brooch with their family name woven across the plaque.

“Welcome to the family, Lily.”

It’s a small gesture at the start of a very long road to forgiveness, so I smile at her the best I can.

“Thank you. I appreciate this a lot.”

She nods and disappears back into the crowd as James moves us closer to the window. Together, we watch the too-early fireworks display light up the night sky.

“I love you, Lily,” James says, kissing my cheek again and again.

“I love you too.”

“And I love you!” James buries his face in Emma’s neck, making her squeal and giggle.

“I promise we will never be apart again,” he says, and I turn to look him in the eyes.

“You promise?”

“I promise,” he swears. “This is the first of a lifetime of Christmases and New Years together. Until we’re old and gray.”

I cup his face and bring him into a deep, slow kiss as my heart overflows with love.

Until we are old and gray.