The women get their things, helping Scout into her snow boots and winter coat before leaving in Mom’s car to begin decorating at the lodge for tomorrow’s reception. I stop to ask Dad for the one thing I’ve been needing to ask since I got down on my knee earlier today.
“Can I have Granny’s engagement ring?” I ask him.
Dad claps me on the back. “Of course. And then, we need to go find you a house.”
I chuckle. “You think any realtors are working the day before Christmas Eve?
“I think we can find something.”
He’s right. Turns out realtors are working any day a man is willing to buy a house.
“This the one?” Dad asks me after we toured a few. “You sure don’t need to ask your bride to be?”
“Who are you marrying?” the realtor asks.
“Noelle, she works at the bakery.”
The realtor grins. “Okay, this is the perfect house for her. You’re right.”
“How’d you know? My dad asks.
“The bright pink coat of paint, for starters,” she says.
“Just to be sure, I’ll call her.” I step outside, the frosty afternoon air sending a shiver over my body, but she picks up right away, and instantly my heart warms.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“More than okay. But I need to ask you something.”
“What is it?” she asks, her voice still so new to me, yet so perfect to me.
“How would you feel about me picking out our house, without you seeing it?”
She laughs. “Um, well, actually, considering I picked out our entire wedding without asking you a single thing, I think this is fair.”
“So, you trust me, completely?”
“Yeah,” she says. “I do. Crazy as it sounds.”
“We can be crazy together.”
“I love you, Brooks.”
“I love you too.” I run a hand through my air, feeling like my smile couldn’t get any wider. “How is Scout?”
“She’s in heaven. Maggie and Hazel are here, from the bakery and they brought their kids, so she is happy as a snowman.”
“And the wedding, everything is coming together okay?”
“Yeah, we called in a phone tree and told everyone the change of plans. Sophia is here manning the phone and she even has a clipboard in hand.”
“She’s stepping up to the plate then?”
“Yep, she is the maid of honor I never knew I needed.” She laughs. “However, I am fully aware of how lucky I am that she and I are the same size. Otherwise, the wedding dress wouldn’t have fit.”
“She’s a little taller than you, though, right?”
“Yes, and a seamstress will be at my apartment to take up the hem in a few hours. So, I need to finish up here.”
“God, can you believe this is happening?” I ask, looking up at the house that will be the perfect home for my Christmas bride.
“Actually, I can. It’s like everything was coming together, for us, without us even knowing it.”
I hang up and shake the realtor's hand. “I’ll take it. Under one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I need the keys a week from now. I’m taking my bride on a honeymoon after the wedding, but when we return, I need to bring my wife home.”
Noelle
I dreamed of this moment my whole life. When my parents brought me out here when I was little, they’d always tell me this was the place where they made promises they would never break.
And now, so am I.
The sky is blue, the mountains are white, and I’m wearing a faux fur coat over my wedding gown. Brooks is in a suit with a big wool coat over it to keep him warm. And Scout… oh, that sweet girl is bundled up in a big red cape, with hand warmers in her gloves.
Martin, the city’s parks director was right — this would have been a bad place to drag your guests out to.
But I don’t want all our guests here, anyway.
I just want my family. Brooks and Scout and me, along with his parents.
The pastor who was going to marry Sophia and James stands with us under the arbor I dreamed of. The one my husband and my friends built with their own hands. Dark red roses and green garlands wrap around it. A bough of mistletoe hangs above our heads.
For our first kiss as husband and wife.
To have and to hold, ‘til death do us part.
I do.
I do.
He slips a ring on my finger, the diamond glittering, the same as the tears falling from my eyes. His eyes too.
He was a stranger a few days ago, and now he is my partner, my lover, my life.
You may kiss the bride.
And he does.
Scout is squealing, and I am melting. Brooks’ lips meet mine and I am his wife.
Just like that, our lives have changed.
I am his and he is mine.
The reception is my fairy tale come true. When Brooks and I walk into the lodge, everyone in town is on their feet, clapping for us, cheering for our love. Brooks lifts his little girl onto his shoulder, and the photographer is there capturing the moment.
It’s more than Christmas magic in the air — this, what we feel, is love.
Pure and simple and instant and everything.
Everyone who was invited for Sophia’s big day are the same people who are here for mine. This day I planned, and Brooks made it mine.
“You are such a beautiful bride,” Sophia says as she gives me a hug.
“Is it weird, me in your wedding dress?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. It’s perfect. You look like a Christmas bride if there ever was one.”
“Shush,” I say, about to shake my head at her compliments. But then I stop tears in my eyes, so much gratitude filling my heart. “It is perfect, isn’t it?”
“Your parents would be so proud of you, Noelle, for following your heart.” She wipes the tears as they fall. “I’m proud of you too. And I love you, and I swear, I will be a better friend.”
“You better,” I say. “Because I’m gonna need you. I have no idea how to be a wife.”
She laughs. “And I do?” She squeezes my hand. “You are going to be a wonderful wife. You always look out for the people you love.”
“Thank you, Sophia. For giving me your big day.”
“I think,” she says, with a big smile. “This was how it was all supposed to turn out. Just don’t tell James that.”
“Pretty upset?”
She nods. “But he’ll get over it.”
“I think he is probably most bitter over the fact you changed the airline tickets for your honeymoon to Brooks and my names so we could use them.” Tomorrow morning Brooks and I are flying to Tahiti courtesy of Sophia. Her corporate job gave her a Christmas bonus and she is spending it all on us. Scout will stay with her grandparents and my husband and I will get to know one another. Which is probably a good idea now that we’re hitched.
She laughs. “Well, it was the best wedding gift I could think of at last minute. I mean, you didn’t give me much lead-time. I didn’t even get to throw you a bridal shower.”
I wiggle my eyebrows as Brooks takes my hand, leading me to the dance floor. “That’s okay,” I tell her. “You can plan the baby shower.”