Page 56 of Just for the Holidays

Teddy positions Nichol at the center of the shop, covering his eyes with both hands.

Katie and Anthony are bracketing the new coffee bar, holding a sheet up to cover the wall behind it, keeping still and quiet, but Max lets out a giggle, hiding both arms behind his back.

“Max?” Nichol queries.

The boy chuckles louder, covering his face.

“Okay.” Teddy pulls his palms away from Nichol’s eyes. “Surprise.”

Nichol pries his drowsy eyelids open, having had no coffee yet this morning.

Anthony and Katie let the sheet drop to the floor, and stand back, smiling. Antony grabs giggly Max and pulls him aside.

A big rustic wooden sign is mounted to the wall. Hand-painted lettering in pink, turquoise, and white, spells out “Lucky Nichol’s Brew Bar at Buttercup Confections."

Nichol’s eyes squint, taking it in, and his mouth curls into a wide smile. “What’s this?”

Anthony nudges Max forward, who beams proudly and presents a bouquet of wildflowers.

“I had it made, shortly after you created the concept,” Teddy says.

Nichol’s eyes gleam and he turns to Teddy, leaning in to kiss his cheek.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s amazing,” Nichol gushes and he admires the sign blissfully.

“Put your bag down.” Teddy slips the strap off Nichol’s shoulder and sets the bag down beside the counter. “I have one more thing to show you.”

He weaves his fingers with Nichol’s again and leads the way out the door.

“Where are we going?” Nichol asks.

“You'll see, just follow me.”

They walk the sidewalk, down the block and around the corner, behind the row of buildings along Main Street and Teddy stops at a door, next to Gretchen’s bar. He gathers keys from his pocket and twists the knob open, pulling Nichol inside a narrow staircase.

They climb two stories, until they’ve reached a landing at the top of the building. Light pours in through a large paned window, on the brick wall, next to an old steel pocket-door, that slides on a rail and opens into a large industrial space.

A kitchenette sits to the left, lining the exposed brick wall with two more paned windows, matching the one in the hall, shedding golden sunlight into the room. The futon from the bakery office is in the center of the space, facing a modest screen television and bracketed by two new recliners, with a wood-framed canopy bed tucked into a far corner and draped in white linens.

“What is this place?” Nichol’s eyes float around the studio, gazing up at high ceilings with exposed beams and then the plank wood floors, dinged with age but freshly varnished and sheen with warm sunlight.

“My new apartment.” Teddy beams. “Gretchen offered it to me a while back, and now the bakery is doing well again, I can afford it.”

“It’s amazing.” Nichol is in awe.

“Ours… If you're interested?” Teddy swallows the lump in his throat and waits nervously for Nichol’s reaction.

Nichol’s pupils dilate and he stares at Teddy, silently, then grins. “Of course I’m interested.”

Teddy exhales, cupping Nichol’s jaw with both hands, leaning forward, and pressing their lips together. “I was hoping you would say that,” he says, between pecks.

Nichol’s face wrinkles.

“What’s the matter?” Teddy worries.

“You did so much.”

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