“Well, I don't want a pony,” he told her. He took a deep breath in and stared up. As he stood underneath the glowing sky, more stars started to fall. It was stunningly beautiful.
But he thought that the Milky Way's glow paled in comparison to Molly’s own as she stood right there beside him, with her ingenuity, her kindness, her humor and her ever-present smile all making his heart feel as if it was going to beat right out of his chest.
In that moment, Nicholas knew what he was going to wish for.
Or rather, who he was going to wish for.
Instead of making a proper wish of any kind, Nicholas turned to face Molly with his heart hammering in his chest. His hand went to the back of her hair, his gloves pressing against the bottom of her hat. She smelled of cinnamon sugar.
He held the moment, not wanting to ruin a good thing. He could feel the magic growing between them, his Christmas wish coming to life.
Molly then closed the gap between them, going up on her toes and pressing her lips to his.
Her kiss was better than the best Christmas present he'd ever received.
Her lips were soft and sweet.
She pulled back for a second, her eyes flickering across his face. He grinned, and put his hands to her cheeks, kissing her thoroughly this time. Her tongue gentle yet insistent. Her body molded against his, sharing his warmth as the sky overhead flickered with stars.
If Nicholas were a less logical man, he would’ve assumed that there were sparks flying from them both. He was sure that if someone were driving past them, they might’ve wondered why Nicholas and Molly had wrapped themselves in Christmas lights, not realizing that the glow was emanating from their own, magical connection.
But his nonsensical thoughts came to a stop once Molly pulled away from him.
“What? What’s wrong?” Nicholas’ couldn't seem to think straight. All the blood was gone from his head. All he could think about was kissing her. “Molly, I—”
“One of us has to be the responsible one, Mr. Kerstman.” Molly bit her lower lip as she grinned up at him. “We have a dinner to get to, remember? We're already late.”
“I don't care.” And he kissed her again.
She kissed him back, and for a moment, he wondered just how big the backseat of his car was.
Both of their phones started to ring and they broke from the kiss, but kept their foreheads pressed together. He tried to center himself back on planet Earth, his head feeling somewhere lost in the clouds.
“We should head back,” Molly whispered, but she didn't move. She was breathing hard.
“Right. Yes. You’re absolutely right.” Nicholas sighed and straightened up. He touched her cheek with his gloved hand. “They'll wonder where we are.”
“Yes,” Molly agreed, beaming up at Nicholas. “I'd hate for them to send out a search party.”
Nicholas let out an airy laugh, as he took Molly’s hand into his own. “You know my mother definitely would.”
“Maybe we can come back here. After dinner.” The way she looked at him said that she wanted to do much more than just kiss him under the stars out here. “Or maybe we could go to your place.”
Nicholas' heart trembled. His body heated and he forgot how to breath for a moment at her suggestion. “I think I'd like that, Ms. Molly.”
“You know, you’re the only person who calls me that. Ms. Molly,” she said, carefully making her way back to where the car was parked.
“Good.” Nicholas nodded as he walked beside Molly. This time, he felt like he was walking on air. “I hope that makes me harder to forget.”
“You’re already pretty hard to forget, Nicholas,” she said softly, turning to look at him. “How could I forget a man who turns down a candy cane at Christmastime?”
“Turned down a candy cane? That doesn’t sound like me. That doesn’t sound like something I would do...” Nicholas told her, shaking his head.
“Nicholas, what are you talking about? The first day we met, I offered you a candy cane and you turned it down,” Molly reminded him.
“You’re expecting me to believe that I turned down a candy cane from you? The prettiest girl in the world?” Nicholas scoffed as if he’d been insulted.
“The prettiest girl in the world, huh?” Molly smiled over at Nicholas as they reached the parked car on the grass. “I think I’ll be holding you to that one, Mr. Kerstman.”