Page 31 of Holding Holly

She laughs. “Okay, that’s sweet. I guess they’re allowed to look a little strange. But since all of my wishes came true, I’m not going to bother wasting a space.”

There’s a lull in the lineup of people, so I take her hand, standing directly in front of the tree, right at the spot where I accidentally wished for her last year.

The second I pull the ring box from my pocket, Holly claps her hands to her mouth, her face covered by the purple mittens my Mom knit for her. I drop to one knee as people start whipping out phones around us to take photos. I hear a real camera shutter click from Calvin, the professional photographer I hired.

“Holly, I make a point of telling you every day that you are the love of my life. But just in case you ever forget for a second, you’ll always have this ring to remind you.” I pop open the box, and she squeals when she sees the large but elegantly simple diamond flanked by two small emeralds.

“Holly, I promise to keep you in shelter, laughter, love…and food…for all our days together. Will you marry me?”

She’s already nodding eagerly, while making a cute little noise somewhere between a gasp and the squeal of a chipmunk.

“Is that a yes, baby?”

“Yes!”

She throws her arms around me, practically tackling me as I grip the box tightly. Pulling her so that she’s sitting on my lap in the snow, I discreetly angle ourselves toward Calvin while slipping the ring on her finger.

“It’s perfect,” she breathes.

I kiss the tip of her nose, trying to be cute for the camera. Then Holly surprises me, turning and taking hold of me by the beard and kissing me with more passion than I can believe.

This incredible girl loves me. She’s going to be my wife.

Unless, of course, she catches her death sitting in the snow for too long. I jump up, pulling her with me, then wrapping my arms around her and pointing out Calvin.

She laughs, then poses with me for a few traditional shots. “You plan for everything, don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Fabulous. That means you can take over half of the wedding planning.”

“And the honeymoon, too. We can go anywhere you like. I was thinking maybe Europe… Italy, Spain, Greece.”

“So basically everywhere with food you love?” she laughs.

“And culture. Art. Crafting inspiration for you.” I adore that she’s taken over a huge section of our garage and yard with her candle-making stuff. I’ve installed worktables and shelves and dug out a huge section of the garden for her to experiment with.

My arms wrap around her. “And we could swing by Ireland if you’d like to visit your Mom. Or not. Your choice.”

“Hmm. I’ll think about that part.” Holly grins up at me, then suddenly frowns. “Wait. How can you take that much time off?”

“I’ve told the Town Council that I’ll be needing a full month off next year. They’re figuring something out with an officer who is a friend of the Wolfes.”

Holly’s head shakes. “You small-town people certainly have a way of arranging things.”

“Hey now.” I grab her ass firmly, giving her a shake. “You’re a small-town person now too, baby.”

“Oh,” she giggles. “Right.”

“And pretty soon you’re going to be a small-town cop’s wife.” My hands wind slowly around her back, pulling her close. “How do you feel about that?”

“Like I’m the luckiest girl in the world.” Her eyebrow raises. “If currently a little hungry.”

“Good thing that we’re headed to Aunt Gail’s for dinner. And when we get home tomorrow afternoon, there’s a mini-party waiting for us at Jim’s Pizza.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Kissing her almost roughly, I devour her sweet mouth until Holly is nearly gasping for air. Then I step back, taking her hand. “Have I ever once joked about something as serious as food?”

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