Page 20 of Saint Nick
They had watched It’s a Wonderful Life earlier that day. She’d half-expected him to make some sarcastic comment through the whole thing, but he’d stayed quiet. She didn’t think he’d realized how tightly she’d held his hand during the end until she felt him squeeze back. Now, the movie was long over. The house was quiet except for the faint hum of the heater and the wind whispering against the windows. Outside, snowflakes drifted down slowly, and Sandy knew that it was now or never for her to finally tell Nick how she felt about him.
She glanced at him again. “You know,” she said softly, “I can’t remember the last time I didn’t feel alone on Christmas Eve.”
Nick’s head tilted, eyes finding hers. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Her fingers worried at the edge of the blanket. “This used to be my favorite night of the year. My mom and I would stay up late baking cookies we didn’t need and singing Christmas carols until our throats hurt. But after she died, it just felt hollow.” He didn’t look away. Just listened, making what she wanted to say next even harder to get out.
“But this,” she said, nodding toward the tree, toward him, and toward the quiet warmth filling the house, “this doesn’t feel hollow.” He smiled up at her, taking her hand into his own. He didn’t say much, but he shifted closer, sliding up onto the couch beside her. His arm drapedacross the back of the sofa, not quite touching her, but just there.
“Good,” he said simply. “’Cause it doesn’t feel empty for me either.” She leaned into him. Just enough to feel the solid weight of him against her side. For a long time, they just sat there, watching the lights blink, breathing in sync.
“I think that this is the part where I tell you that I’m falling for you, Nick,” she said. She let out the breath she was holding, and damn if those words didn’t tumble out too. He wrapped his arm around her and tugged her closer, until she was practically sitting on his lap.
“Well, that’s good, because I’m in love with you, Sandy. I don’t need to fall—I’ve already fallen and all I can think about is how to ask you to spend the rest of your life with me without you telling me that it’s too soon to talk about things like forever.” Honestly, it was too soon to talk about forever between them, but she didn’t care.
“After losing my mother, I learned that life can be fickle. If you don’t take what you want when you can, you might lose it and never get another chance at it again. I don’t want to lose you, Nick. I don’t want to wait for my chance at love to come around again just because we’ve only known each other for less than a month. Getting assigned to your story was the best thing that ever happened to me. I just never planned on falling in love with Santa.”
He chuckled, “Well, every Santa does need a Mrs. Claus,” he teased. “I’m betting that Mace and Brandi will be thrilled to have both Santa and his Mrs. at the party next year. That is, if you’ll marry me, honey.” He stood from the sofa and dug into his pocket, pulling out a small black velvet box. When he popped it open to show the most beautiful diamond ring that she’d ever seen, she couldn’t help her gasp.
“When did you have time to buy a ring?” she asked.
“I stopped on my way to my place after the plows came through. I was damn lucky that the jewelry store was open after that storm. I knew then that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Having you stick by me through all this shit with my mother only showed me that my instincts were right about wanting you to be my wife. So how about it?” he asked.
She swiped at the tears that fell down her cheeks and quickly nodded her head. “I’d love to marry you,” she breathed. He put the ring on her finger, picked her up, cradling her against his body, and carried her up to the bedroom. “What are you doing?” she squealed.
“I’m consummating the marriage,” he said.
“Um, I think that we do that after the actual vows,” she said.
“Well, I think that we should start practicing then, don’t you, honey?” he asked.
“I do,” she breathed, wrapping her arms around his neck. She couldn’t wait to give him those same words when they exchanged their vows because all Sandy wanted now was to marry Nick—her Saint Nick, her Santa Claus, and the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
A fresh blanket of snow had covered everything while they slept, making waking up on Christmas morning magical. The rooftops, the trees, the roads, even the sharp edges of the world seemed quieter beneath the thick blanket that fell through the night. Sandy stood at the living room window, a mug of hot cocoa cradled between her palms, as she admiredMother Nature’s handiwork. Christmas morning sunlight pushed through the glass in a hazy gold wash, warming the hardwood floors beneath her bare feet.
Behind her, the house smelled like cinnamon, butter, and coffee. Her favorite Christmas records played low from the old speaker on the shelf, the sound crackling just enough to make it feel real. Nick was sitting on the couch, his legs stretched out, an arm slung lazily over the backrest like he belonged there — like he’d always belonged there. His flannel shirt hung open over a white T-shirt, his hair still damp from a shower, cheeks rough with the shadow of a beard.
It hit her then, quietly but completely—she wasn’t alone this Christmas, and she wouldn’t have to spend another Christmas alone again. Not the way she had been last year. Or the year before that. This time, someone was there with her—her someone, her Nick.
She turned from the window and crossed the room, curling up on the couch beside him. He shifted easily to make room, his arm falling around her shoulders, pulling her in until her head fit against the warm, solid line of his chest. The steady beat of his heart filled the quiet spaces between the faint Christmas music.
“Morning,” she murmured.
Nick’s voice was rough with sleep. “Morning.”
She admired the engagement ring that he had picked out for her and smiled over at him. “Did I thank you for asking me to marry you?” she asked. She hadn’t given him his Christmas gift yet, and she was going to have to stall until one of the guys from the Road Reapers showed up with it.
“I believe that what you did last night was thanks enough, honey,” he teased, playfully swatting her ass. She giggled andleaned into him, giving him a quick kiss before getting up to resume her position at the window.
Mace had promised that one of the guys was going to deliver her gift to Nick by nine in the morning, and it was quarter past nine now. She worried that her little present was causing trouble for the biker, unfortunate enough to deliver her to Sandy’s house, but she was too excited to care.
Nick had told her that all he wanted for his sixth Christmas was a golden retriever puppy, and when Santa didn’t bring it, he knew for sure that there was no Santa. He said that he had been extra good that year, to seal the deal with Santa to bring him a puppy, but instead, he got nothing. But this year, she wanted to change all of that for him. Sandy was lucky enough to find a golden retriever puppy up for adoption, about two hours from her house, and when she enlisted Mace’s help to get her, he quickly agreed. He said that he owed Nick for playing Santa, and that he’d send one of the guys to grab the puppy and deliver her to the house on Christmas morning. Sandy was a bundle of nerves waiting for the gift to show up.
“You’re up to something,” Nick said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. She turned in his arms, hoping to distract him long enough to get him away from the window. He stood in front of her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating off his skin. His hand came up, rough and warm, cupping her jaw like she was something he’d been holding back from touching for far too long.
“Me?” she asked. She looked in his eyes and noted the devilish grin on his lips. His hand slid to the back of her neck, drawing her in. The kiss wasn’t rushed. It wasn’t desperate. It was slow and deep and steady, like a promise that didn’t need to be spoken. Outside, the rough hum of a truck’s engine told her that Nick’s gift had finally arrived. But inside, she meltedinto him, and he into her, the world narrowing to just the two of them.
Nick broke the kiss when he realized that someone was there. “What the fuck is Cyclops doing in your driveway dressed as Santa, and holding a fucking puppy?” he asked. She couldn’t help but squeal and clap her hands.
