The crowd went wild with applause, but Nicholas couldn’t care less what the audience thought of him.
Once more, he found himself focused on the opinion of one Molly Carmichael. His heart stalled in his chest as he waited for her to respond to his gesture.
“Molly.” Nicholas stepped closer towards her, reaching out for her waist. “Is it alright if I stay? For a few more days?”
“You can stay for a few more days. You could stay forever if you wanted,” she told him, her hands coming to rest on his chest. “Whatever works best for your schedule, Mr. Kerstman.”
“Forever, huh? Yeah, I’ll definitely have to check in with Luke about that,” Nicholas said with a grin. And then he kissed her.
The watching crowd went into a frenzy, with cheers and hollers creating an almost deafening roar in the middle of the town square.
“You getting this? Tell me you’re getting this!” Mr. Tony pointed at a few cameras before he directed a finger back at Nicholas and Molly. “This is Christmas TV gold, baby!”
“I was right! Oh my gosh! I was right!” Hannah was jumping up and down on the stage. “I knew I was right! I knew it! I knew it! You two are totally getting married! I totally called it!”
Molly pulled away from their kiss, now looking up at Nicholas with a happy, dazed expression. “Wait. Are you seriously going to turn down a million dollars just to be with me? That sounds like a bad business decision.”
“Well, one man’s bad business decision is another man’s good life decision,” he replied. “And you, Molly Carmichael, are an amazing life decision.”
“What? Nicholas, that didn’t really make any sense.” She shook her head, smiling at him.
“I know, I know it didn’t make any sense. Give me a break. I’m still recovering from my impromptu 5K run through town,” he told her. There was a cramp already forming in his left thigh. “I probably won’t be able to move in the morning, either. I didn’t stretch at all before I took off. And I left Luke there, all by himself, in the middle of the road—”
“I’m happy you came back for me,” Molly interrupted him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek “Even if it costs you a million bucks.”
“It would’ve cost me even more to not come back for you, Ms. Molly. And that wasn’t a price that I was willing to pay.” Nicholas tipped his head to kiss Molly again, but this time he felt Mr. Tony prodding him with a finger to his back.
“Hey! Lay off the kissing! We have families watching this channel, too!”
“Right, right.” Nicholas held onto Molly’s hand, moving them both to the side of the stage. “I keep forgetting we’re on TV. I didn’t exactly plan for our first ‘I love yous’ to be televised.”
“Yeah, but at least this way, you can’t take it back.” Molly stuck out her tongue at him, but happily followed Nicholas’ off the stage.
“Oh, I’m never going to take it back. You’re going to have to put up with me for a very, very,
very long time,” Nicholas told her, pulling Molly to him in the shadow of the stage.
“I bet you five bucks you get tired of me before I get tired of you,” Molly said with a grin.
“Five bucks? You think I have five bucks to spare right now?” he asked, waving a hand in the air. “Ms. Molly, I just lost one million dollars. Please, have mercy on my bank account.”
Molly’s laughter floated through the air, and she wrapped her arms around his neck again, gazing up at him with love in her eyes. “I really do love you, Nicholas Kerstman.”
“And I really love you, too, Molly Carmichael.”
And he kissed her.
Epilogue
2 years later...
It was going to be the best Christmas ever.
Three days before Christmas and Nicholas couldn't think of a time he'd been happier. Last year, he'd married Molly on Christmas Eve. This year, he hoped they could just enjoy their Christmas together in their new home. They'd purchased the small house in town that Molly had always secretly loved. Things were going exactly to plan.
Nicholas hoped for a quiet Christmas this year, and it looked like he might get it.
“I can't believe you ate that,” Nicholas said, glancing over at his wife and shaking his head. “Two breakfast hot dogs. Where did you even come up with the idea for them?”