Page 23 of Christmas Kisses
“I just sent Katie back to dip strawberries. That whole station will need to be cleaned up, and the candy from the cases needs to be stored, but otherwise, I’m done.”
“We can finish up here,” Moriah, one of my full-timers said as she came around the corner and started pulling trays from the case. “If you want to lock the front door, we can lock up the rest when we go.”
“You’re sure?” I asked as Micha came around the corner and pulled me to his side.
“She’s been doing this for years longer than you,” he said against my temple as he kissed me there. “She’s sure.”
Moriah’s chuckle agreed with him as she disappeared into the back with her hands full.
“I missed you today,” he said, pulling me against him face-to-face. His lips covered mine in a quick, workplace-acceptable kiss.
“Not my fault you had to work,” I teased.
He chuckled. “Good thing I was home, though. Your moving cube showed up today.”
“It did? It wasn’t supposed to get here for a few more days.”
“Merry Christmas early. You know what this means…”
“What?” I asked, looking up at him. He looked as smug as if he’d just been nominated for an Academy Award for his music score—something I was sure would happen someday.
“Everything you own, except for what you traveled here with, is at my house. Our house. You can be all moved in for Christmas, and I can wake up with you every morning from now on.”
“Spoiler alert: you kinda have been.” We hadn’t been apart for a single night since the day I’d decided I was staying in Majestic Falls, and not for a single moment had I regretted that choice, either.
“Yeah, but I want to know you’re coming home to me every night, or I’m coming home to you if I’ve had to be away. I want to know I’m waking with you in my arms every morning. I…”
“What?” I asked, breathless. He’d been on a roll, and his sudden pause jarred me.
“I was going to wait…until tonight to ask you, but now, here, seems…right.”
“Micha…?”
“I know it hasn’t been long, but we both know this is forever for us. I love you. You love me—”
“I do,” I verified, my heartrate taking off as I guessed where this was heading.
He didn’t loosen his hold on me, didn’t get on one knee. His arms stayed wrapped around me as his forehead tipped to mine. “I’m…pretty sure you know what I’m going to say…”
“Say it.”
“Jessica, I love you with all my heart. Will you marry me?”
Tears filled my eyes, and I nodded. “Yes. Yes!”
He was right. This was the perfect place, where I was surrounded by love and the enduring presence of my grandma. This perfect place was where this love between Micha and I would grow and flourish and become our happily ever after, too.
Epilogue Two
Jessica
Four Years Later…
“Maple, you’ve been retired for five minutes, what are you doing here?” I asked, not bothering to hide my grin as she bustled behind the counter and pulled me into a hug.
“I don’t need an excuse to see my great-grandson,” she said with a sniff. “Where is he?”
“In the playpen,” I told her, hooking my thumb toward the back of the store. “Micha’s trying to get Liam to take a nap.”