Page 52 of You Make It Feel like Christmas

M AISIE CLUTCHED HER HANDS in front of her, waiting for Nick’s real estate agent to open the door.

She shivered. So far, no snow, but it definitely felt cold enough.

She didn’t want to be here. Not without him.

Maisie was doing her best not to let her insecurities get the best of her.

Nick would be back in a day or two. He promised.

He wouldn’t change his mind. He hadn’t given up hockey for her or decided to move to Seattle for her.

It just worked out, really freaking well, that she was in the town he wanted to start the next stage of his life in.

With her. She had to keep believing that. She’d slowed her spinning thoughts when the door started to open. Then she lost her breath.

Nick stood in the doorway, wearing dark-gray dress pants, a pale-blue button-up shirt with subtle stripes. His hair was pushed back from his face and he’d trimmed his scruff.

“Hey,” he said.

Almost ten days apart and that was his opener? She launched herself at him, not surprised when he caught her in his arms and swung her around.

“What are you doing here? You said you had to film a commercial,” she squealed, tears filling her eyes.

Nick’s arms convulsed around her. “I did it two days ago. I wanted to surprise you but it took a couple of extra days. God, I missed you.” He set her on her feet and stroked her hair back from her face.

Before she could respond, he dropped his chin, kissed her like they’d declared their love for each other and then spent ten long days apart.

Maisie sank into him, her hands moving up his chest, her fingers curling in the fabric of his shirt.

He pulled away, kissed her again, pulled away, whispering her name, then changed the angle of the kiss, sliding one hand down her puffy jacket, over her ass, pulling her tight against him.

They were both breathing heavily when he lifted his head, his eyes as dazed as her brain felt.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered.

Nick pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. Not without you.”

Maisie grinned, her smile so wide it almost hurt.

Nick moved his hand to the front of her jacket and began unzipping it. She reached out for his buttons but he laughed and swatted her hands away.

“Quit it,” he laughed.

“You started it,” she said, unable to keep the pout from her tone.

Nick leaned in once her coat was unzipped, pushing it off her shoulders, effectively trapping her arms behind her. “And we’ll finish it, later. But not yet. I have plans.” He kissed the tip of her nose.

Curiosity warred with desire but the excited look in his eyes, the energy in his movements, made her want to know what he’d planned.

She’d written a pros and cons list and realized that creating a life with Nick, even if he missed out on some of it, was better than a life without him.

Now that they were in the same space, she couldn’t imagine walking away.

He hung her jacket on the doorknob and took her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed the back of it then turned it and kissed right in the center of her palm. Her heart pulsated dramatically.

“Come on,” he said, leading the way.

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected—nothing, if she was being honest—but it certainly wasn’t the sight that greeted her.

In all of the excitement over seeing his face, she’d forgotten that he’d asked her to look at this house as a place for them to live.

When she’d pulled into the driveway, she’d stared in disbelief.

From the outside, the house was absolutely stunning.

Now, standing in the archway off the foyer, Maisie looked into a great room with dark, laminate flooring, floor-to-ceiling windows on the fire side, a gorgeous white stone fireplace that went up to the high ceilings.

To the left, there were glass doors that led to a veranda and overlooked the Puget Sound.

Even now, the moon reflected off the water in the distance.

To the right, the kitchen took up a fair amount of space, separated from the living area by a large butcher-block island.

But it wasn’t the features or beauty of the house.

It was the round table, dressed in a white table cloth, long taper candles lit on top of it.

Two fancy silver-domed platters sat across from each other and he’d already poured wine for each setting.

On the island, there were more pink, white, and yellow roses than she could ever count.

More candles sat on the built-in shelves next to the glass patio door.

Somehow, music played. It seemed like it was coming from the walls but she couldn’t see any speakers.

Along the mantel, there were three gorgeous black frames, similar to the ones she used for her photographs. But they were empty.

Maisie looked up at Nick, all of her feelings and words trapped inside.

He didn’t seem to mind her inability to formulate coherent speech. Reaching out, he brushed her hair behind her shoulder, trailed his hand down her arm, and took her other hand.

“I didn’t get red roses because they seemed too cliché and these are the colors I saw a lot of in your apartment.”

Maisie shook her head, her throat tight, her heartbeat rapid.

He smiled, like he understood how overwhelmed she was without her saying anything. And maybe he did. Probably better than anyone.

“Lexi helped me out with your favorite dinner. Will’s sisters brought all the flowers and Ethan had a surprising amount of candles to contribute.”

She bit her lip, tears close to escaping.

Nick looked over at the frames then back at Maisie.

“It doesn’t have to be this house. I don’t actually care where we live, as long as we’re together.

But this house is pretty fantastic. Those frames are supposed to be symbolic.

They’re empty because I don’t really know what’s next but I know I want it to be with you.

I want us to fill those frames together with moments we make, moments you capture.

I love you, Maisie. I never imagined feeling this way about anyone.

Especially in the midst of feeling so out of touch with everything else in my life.

You ground me and remind me of what’s important.

I don’t know what I’ll do professionally, though I have some options I want to talk to you about.

But, personally, I know exactly what I want and it’s really fucking simple. You. I want you, Maisie Smart.”

She sucked in a breath, feeling unsteady.

“I want you, too, Nick. I know sometimes it will be hard, with you traveling for the broadcasting job or needing to go back for previous commitments and I’ll admit, I struggled this week with you extending your stay there, but you’re everything to me and we’ll make it work. I love you.”

He leaned in. “I didn’t take the job, Maisie. It wasn’t the right fit. There will be lots of professional opportunities for me down the line. Somewhere here, closer to home where I don’t have to be away from you for days at a time.”

It seemed too good to be true. But then, so did he. “Are you sure?”

Nick pulled her close and it steadied her completely.

“I’m so sure. I’m sure about retiring, being here, loving you.

And I’m sure that one day, a bit further down the road, I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life showing you how lucky I feel to have you love me back.

I’ll give you anything you want. I’ll always do my best to make you happy and to be the one you turn to when you’re sad.

I know you were sad because of me this week and I hated it.

But I wanted to do this for you because you spend your life capturing other peoples’ perfect moments, and I want to be the one who creates perfect moments for you. ”

Maisie brought one hand to her mouth, tried to settle her heart rate with slow breaths.

Nick looked at her, so much love shining in his eyes, she could feel it.

Like when she knew she had the perfect shot.

When that happened, she could see the way the photograph would turn out, the beauty that would unravel once she printed it.

And right now, she could see that the future they had laid out in front of them was going to be magic.

“Say something,” he whispered.

Maisie stepped into him. “I fell in love with you the minute I looked at you. I might not have realized it until a couple of weeks ago, but now I know. I took a photo of you that first night. You were standing by the bar, nursing a drink. You were watching Hailey and Wes dance and there was something in your gaze, in the set of your jaw, that drew me and I couldn’t look away.

I knew then that I could look at you for the rest of my life and never get tired of the view. ”

Nick pulled her close, kissed her. “Bet I realized I was in love before you admitted it to yourself.”

Maisie tipped her head back with a laugh. “You know it doesn’t bode well for us that we’re both so competitive, right?”

Nick locked his arms around her waist. “I disagree. It means we’ll always push to be the best version of ourselves, to be what the other person needs. It means we won’t give up when it’s tough because we know the other person won’t.”

She nodded, resting her hands on his shoulders. “Good points. But you have no proof that you admitted to falling first so it’s a moot point.”

Nick dropped his hands and stepped away, making Maisie’s brow furrow. “I knew you’d say that,” he said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. He touched the screen, moved his finger, and then turned it so she could see the screen.

“What is this?” She kept looking at him, not the screen.

“It’s the promise I wrote after you left my sister’s. Colt said he’d never seen me like that and tried to calm me down. He suggested I write my feelings on a piece of paper, so I did and I gave it to him.”

A smile hovered on her lips. Maisie leaned in to see the screen. It was a scrap of paper with quickly written words. She squinted; the writing was slanted and sloppy.

I’ve never felt this way. I’m in love with Maisie and I don’t know what to do with all of these feelings.

I was an idiot to walk away from her the first time and I won’t make that mistake again.

I’ve never believed there was someone for everyone but Maisie is it for me. I’m completely in love with her.

Nick

Tears blurred her vision as she looked up at Nick. “You wrote this before you came to see me?”

Nick tucked his phone away, reaching out to bring Maisie back into his arms. “Yeah. He was right. It helped to write it out. Once I did, I knew that whatever other choices I made, retiring or not retiring, getting traded or bought out, you were part of it. You’re part of me.”

Nick swiped his thumb over her cheek gently, trying to stop the tears. “I love you. If that’s all I’m certain of right this minute, that and the fact that you’re it for me, is that enough?”

Maisie went up on her tiptoes. “I love you. And as to whether or not it’s enough? It’s more than enough. You’re more than enough. So much more. You’re everything.”

Nick scooped her up so she was pressed against him, her feet off the ground, as they kissed each other. The candles flickered around them and their dinner grew cold but neither of them cared. They had everything they wanted in their grasp and neither of them would let go.