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A lump rose in Lacy’s throat, and she quickly swallowed past it, blinking rapidly to clear the tears from her eyes that were threatening to spill over.
“You really didn’t have to do this,” she said, her voice gruff and thick with the emotions swirling inside of her.
“We know,” Colette answered with a light chuckle. “But we did it anyway, because we love you.”
Lacy blushed, feeling the eyes of the people in the room on her and she felt so overcome that she was finding it hard to speak. Derek, sensing his wife’s needs, stepped forward.
“Want to see the rest of the house?” he asked, and Lacy nodded gratefully.
She stepped out of Colette’s embrace, turning to thank her friends once more before taking Derek’s hand and letting him lead her out of the ballroom and into the rest of the house beyond.
“I can’t believe they all got together and did this for us,” she mused.
“For you,” Derek corrected her quickly. “They did this for you.”
She looked at him sidelong, smiling at him as knowing danced in the depths of her green eyes.
“They weren’t the only ones who chipped in, I’m sure.”
Her husband blushed at that, and Lacy was almost overcome entirely by the love that was coursing through her. They walked through the long, sprawling hallways, the sounds of the early party goers fading into the distance, until they came to one of the parlor rooms. It was quiet, with only the soft sounds of Christmas carols coming from the record player in the corner, which was turned down low.
One solitary Christmas tree, decorated to perfection, glimmered in the corner, and a cozy fire crackled in the hearth. It was one of Lacy’s favorite rooms in the house. Even though she had never been here when he was alive, the room made her think of her grandfather. And she could picture him in it, enjoying a glass of brandy as he and Emma had talked about their day.
She blew out a breath the moment they walked through the door, waddling over to the high, puffy reading chair by the fire and collapsing down into it, rubbing her belly fondly.
“You know,” Derek mused as he walked through the room, his dark blue eyes shining. “It’s hard to believe that there was a time when we didn’t even think we were going to stay in Snowy Pine Ridge.” He fingered through the vinyl albums that were on display, studying them intently. “And now look at us. The entire town showing up to support you, to shower you with love and make sure that you don’t have to stop doing the things that you love.”
Lacy swallowed hard, as another lump rose in her throat. The corners of her eyes pricked with tears, and she shook her head at her husband.
“You know you can’t say things like that to me right now.” She sniffled through her tears. “Not with all these pregnancy hormones.”
Derek chuckled as he walked across the room and pulled an ottoman over so that he could sit in front of her. He reached out to her, a silent request for her hand which Lacy was all too happy to oblige. He squeezed her hand, rubbing his thumb in small, languid circles along the back of her palm, soothing her just as surely as the fire was.
“I love you,” Derek said softly. “The town loves you. And I’m really glad you decided to stay.”
Lacy nodded, whipping her other hand across her cheeks to clear away the tears that had begun to fall. He gave her a moment, allowing her the time that she needed to process the overwhelming feelings that had plagued her since the moment they walked through the door. When finally, she felt like she had a handle on things and wasn’t going to burst from all the gratitude rushing through her, she patted Derek’s hand.
“What do you say we go back in there and spend time with our friends?”
“I would love nothing more,” he answered, giving her hand a swift, comforting squeeze before pushing himself to standing and then helping Lacy to her feet.
Hand in hand they followed their previous path through the house and by the time they made it back to the ballroom, even more people had showed up. Glasses of champagne, and sparkling grape juice for Lacy, were passed around and a cheers went up, and in that moment, Lacy could not recall the last time her heart had been so full.
* * *
Sarah huffed out a breath of frustrated nerves as she and William opened up the hatch back of their car. All of the tools and ingredients that she would need for her assortment of items for the bake-off were inside, and she was finding the sight of it all a bit overwhelming.
William, sensing his fiancée’s bout of anxiety, threw an arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side, squeezing tightly.
“It’s all going to be all right,” he murmured as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “You’re going to crush it at the bake-off.”
She gave him a skeptical look and William’s bright blue eyes sparkled.
“Seriously,” he insisted. “You’re the best baker I know.”
“I’m the only baker you know,” she said with a slight roll of her eyes, but she had to admit his words had made her feel marginally better.
“No, you aren’t,” he protested, removing his arm from Sarah’s shoulders so they could begin to grab the trays and the bags that they would need for the remainder of the evening. “I know your mom too.”
