“Would it make you happy if I kept this house in Richmond and stayed here some of the time?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, nearly breathless.
“Would it make you happy if I were here more than I was in New York?”
What was he doing? “Yes,” she said again.
“Would it make you happy to be… with me?”
She nodded.
“My last Christmas wish is in here.” He held up the envelope. “I want this for Christmas.” He handed her the envelope. “Open it.”
She tore it open.
The paper had black writing at the top that had been copied for every student and father. It said, “Dear ______,” and Max’s name was written in the blank. “My Christmas wish is…” and there were lines for writing wishes. In Nick’s handwriting, it said, I wish I could make your mom happy.
The words blurred on the page as she read them. She’d never had anyone try to make her happy before, and it was a wonderful feeling. She looked up at him, blinking to clear her vision.
“I tried very hard to carry on with my life after I met you,” he said. “And I just can’t. For the first time ever, I want something more than my work—you. When I’m with you, I feel like my career doesn’t matter, I want to see my family more… I kept holding on to my father’s business to save me from the grief of being completely without him, but when I’m with my family, I realized that I can actually honor his memory more because I can see all the people he loved right there with me. You’ve shown me what life can be like when I’m not alone. And it’s fantastic. I love being with you, doing things with Max, visiting my grandmother, seeing her smile. You’ve made me realize that I can have so many things that my father never had.
“Even buying the apartment in New York, I was having doubts, but I didn’t say anything because I’d never had to deal with feelings like this. I’m still going to work, but I’m going to try to balance the two. Before, with Sarah, it didn’t work because my heart wasn’t in it, but now it is. I find myself wanting that balance. I’ll keep the apartment in New York for when I have to run up there. You’re welcome to use the apartment for your interior design business as well. But we’ll go together.”
He took her hands and he guided her up. Then, he put his hands around her waist, leaned in, and kissed her like he’d never kissed her before. But, before she was ready, he stopped and looked at her, pushing a curl away from her face. “We have breakfast cooking and the whole family knows I’m staying. They’re very excited about it,” he smiled. “Let’s have breakfast and then I want to call your mom and your grandfather, and invite them over. I want to celebrate. You have made this the best Christmas ever.”
Abbey smiled. Just like the decorating, she’d done her job a little better than she’d expected.