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She smirked at her husband as they made their way through the house, stopping when they entered the kitchen. They worked side by side, Derek getting out the kettle while Lacy pulled the milk from the fridge and opened the cocoa mix.
“Tonight went well,” her husband commented, and Lacy nodded as she began to prepare everything for their drinks. “The lights looked amazing.”
“I can’t believe we’re getting the chance to host the wedding at St. Nick’s Place,” she said happily, closing her eyes and recalling exactly how everything had looked when they’d locked the mansion up for tonight. “The history of that place just continues to grow each year. I mean, it was the place where Mindy and Sarah became friends a few years ago. It was the place my father and grandfather loved.”
“And the place where all of the people we love are brought together by you each year,” Derek pointed out, and she grinned at him before nodding.
While the water in the kettle started to heat up, she turned to pull down mugs from the cupboard and set them on the counter. She felt Derek’s arms wrap around her from behind, crossing over themselves as his hands came to rest on her belly.
“You need to take it easy though,” he said, and she could feel the warmth of his breath tickling against the nape of her neck. “You don’t have to do it all.”
“You say that all the time.” She chuckled, turning in his arms so that she was facing him.
“And I mean it all the time,” he responded, bending down to plant a quick, soft kiss to her lips.
They were quiet for a moment, happy to simply bask in the kitchen of the house they shared while they waited for their hot cocoa makings to be ready. Just before the kettle could start whistling, Lacy stepped out of her husband’s arms and pulled it from the burner, not wanting the noise to wake up their daughter.
“You know,” Derek said as he extended his hand for the kettle so he could pour the hot water into their mugs, “it’s really an amazing thing you’re doing for your friends.”
“I’m honored they thought of having the wedding there, to be honest.”
“Can you imagine when word gets out thattheValerie Bernard got married at St. Nick’s Place?” Derek asked, and he waggled his eyebrows at her as he stirred the cocoa mix into their drinks. “I’m sure you’ll have requests for dozens more weddings within the month. People will come from all over, wanting to host events at St. Nick’s Place.”
Lacy took the hot chocolate he offered her, wrapping her hands around the ceramic and letting its warmth seep into her. She inhaled the steam deeply, loving the way the rich chocolate scent put all of her senses at ease.
“Yeah, you might be right about that,” she answered, grinning at her husband.
“Which means there will be even more for you to do.”
Derek gave her a pointed look, but her smile only widened, thrilled at the prospect of St. Nick’s Place possibly becoming a premiere wedding destination.
“Maybe I’ll switch to managing the house full-time. I’ve loved the consulting work I’ve done in St. Louis, but I feel like it’s time to let that go completely. Snowy Pine Ridge is where my family is, and it’s where I want to be all the time now. And I could even hire some staff to help me run things at the mansion.”
She grinned at Derek over the rim of her mug before bringing it to her lips and taking a quick drink. She sighed happily as the flavor exploded across her tongue, the velvety texture of it reminding her of Christmases in her youth.
“I love that idea, sweetheart,” Derek said. “But you know I’ll support you no matter what you do.”
He held his mug up for a toast, and Lacy raised hers to meet his, the sound of them clinking together barely able to be heard as they quickly brought their mugs back to their lips and drank again.
As they headed into the living room to snuggle on the couch for a bit as they finished their drinks, Lacy’s thoughts turned to the future. She’d meant what she said. Her home and her entire heart were here in Snowy Pine Ridge. Running St. Nick’s Place and putting on the party every year were a lot, but she never felt alone with the support of her husband and friends.
The wedding was tomorrow, which meant everything she had been preparing for was going to come to a head in only twenty-four hours, and a small thrill ran through her at the thought. Because even though she was busy and was about to get much busier, Lacy couldn’t deny that she truly did love everything about her life.
All of its busy, chaotic moments included.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Noah exhaled and blew out a breath before bringing his hand up to rap on the door of Mindy’s house. Immediately, a riot of barking started up on the other side, and he could imagine the small pup running down the hallway, excited to greet the new friend at the door.
He had been skeptical of the pooch when he’d first met him, but over time, Noah had started to become quite fond of Gus. As he thought about his time in Snowy Pine Ridge possibly coming to an end soon, he realized with a start that he would miss a whole lot more than just Mindy when he went.
A familiar muffled voice spoke on the other side of the door, and he smiled as he realized it was Mindy trying to get Gus to calm down. A moment later, she pulled open the door, and all of the work that Noah had done to prepare himself for seeing her all dressed up for the party ended up being for nothing.
His breath left him in a whoosh as his eyes raked over her, taking in the emerald green, floor length dress she was wearing. It complemented her coloring, making her skin seem to glow and her brown eyes dance as she smiled at him.
“You look beautiful,” Noah breathed and was rewarded by the widening of her grin.
“You look rather dapper yourself,” she said happily, waving him inside. “I just need to do one final thing and then grab my coat.”
