by Frankie Love
“They know?”
He chuckles, kissing my forehead. “Yes, they knew I’d fallen for you, it was kind of hard to miss.”
We fall asleep like that, cozy and secure, and it’s the safest I’ve maybe ever felt. At least since Mom and Dad died. Because the person I am with, cares about making sure my heart is okay, cares about making sure I feel safe and protected.
We wake to people knocking on my door and I look at the clock. “Crap,” I say, it’s after nine am.
A groggy Brooks sits up. His morning hard-on is the biggest distraction I’ve ever seen.
“It’s James’ family, I think. For the wedding decorations. Can you get dressed?” I pull on my panties and run to my room for a bathrobe. Then I open my front door.
But it isn’t James’ family.
It’s Sophia.
“Hey,” she says. Her eyes are rimmed in red and bloodshot. Her makeup sliding down her face. She’s still in last night’s dress, with an oversized hoodie thrown over her minidress.
“Come in, I wasn’t expecting you, you look…”
“I know.” She throws her hands in the air. “I look awful. And I should because I feel awful too.” She’s crying, wiping her eyes, and walking into my house and I hope like hell Brooks managed to pull on some pants. “Wait, what — who?” She shakes her head. “You have company.”
I swallow hard as Sophia turns to me. “He slept over?”
I nod. “Yeah, Brooks, Sophia. Sophia, Brooks.”
Her shoulders start shaking all over again. “Oh my god, I can’t. I just can’t.”
Brooks frowns. “I’m going to make some coffee.”
“It’s in the—”
He smiles. “I got this, babe.” He leaves the room and Sophia is practically hyperventilating.
“Babe? Did he just call you babe?”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling confused. “Why?”
“It’s just so typical. Isn’t it?”
“I’m missing something, Sophia. What’s going on?”
“Are you guys like, a thing?” she asks.
Brooks pops his head in the room. “Yeah, we’re in love.” I bite back a smile. Okay, so it wasn’t some Christmas fantasy I dreamt up. This is real. Brooks and I are actually, officially, together.
Sophia’s eyes practically pop out of her head.
“Is it so hard to believe I would be in love?” I ask her.
She shakes her head, crying into her hands. “No, it’s perfect. Of course, he fell in love with you, Noelle. You’re the sweetest, kindest, most loyal human in the world. I just hope he’s good enough to deserve you.”
I sit down on the couch, trying to understand my oldest friend. “I’m still lost.”
She wipes her eyes, taking my hands in hers. “Don’t you see, Noelle? I’ve been such a bad friend to you. I didn’t even know you’d fallen in love. What kind of person am I?”
I exhale, still trying to see where she is going with this.
“I’ve gotten lost,” she tells me. “Somewhere along the way, my path got all messed up. I’m down this road and I don’t even want to be on this trail.”
“What are you saying?”
“I want to be the kind of person who knows when her best friend is in love. I want to be the kind of bride who wants to plan her own wedding. I want to be the kind of fiancée who doesn’t cheat on the groom because she is so desperate to sabotage the whole thing until it blows up.”
“So, you and James…”
She nods. “I came clean last night. After you left, I realized I was throwing everything away for a stranger with receding hairline. And not that I have anything against premature balding, but James deserves more dignity than that. Than me flaunting my unhappiness all over Linesworth.”
“Oh, sweetie,” I say, both shocked and also not surprised. The red flags have been there for weeks, months, maybe even years? Sophia never wanted this.
“It’s on me. I should have been honest with James a long time ago. And I never, ever should have handed the reins to my wedding over to you. It was the most selfish thing I could have done.”
Brooks walks in with mugs of coffee on a tray with cream and sugar. “I didn’t know how you take it,” he says to me.
Sophia twists her lips. “You’re in love but don’t know how your girlfriend takes her coffee? Impossible.”
“Stranger things have happened,” I say, taking my mug. “And I drink it black.”
“I’m shocked,” Brooks says with a laugh, adding cream and sugar to his.
“Good,” I say with a small smile. “I plan on keeping you on your toes.”
Sophia sniffles. “I mean it. I am so sorry for putting you through all that planning for nothing. We called off the wedding. It’s all over. Even my four-carat diamond ring. Gone. I gave it back.”
I set down my coffee and pull her into a hug, “That was so brave of you, Sophia.”
“See,” she wails. “You’re way to nice. This is the part where you get mad at me. Get huffy. Storm out.”
“No, it’s not,” Brooks says.
Sophia and I turn toward him. “What do you mean?” she asks.
“Well, it was never your dream, Sophia. It was Noelle's. Every detail, down to where the vows are made, to where the reception is held. Right down to the wedding dress.”
“So?” I say.
“So, it was never Sophia’s wedding. It was yours.”
“Right,” I say. “But I’m not getting married.”
Brooks sets down his coffee. “Actually, Noelle. I think you are.”
Sophia’s eyes are practically bugging out. “Okay, what is happening here?”
But tears are filling my eyes because Brooks is on one knee and he doesn’t have a ring in his hand, but I don’t need that. I just need him. This. Us.
And when he clears his throat, I stifle a sob. Everything I dreamed of having in my life, it’s here, it’s mine.
It’s ours.
“Marry me, Noelle. Be my Christmas bride.”
I nod, not doubting the moment, all those years alone that brought me to this day.
“Yes,” I say as he pulls me to him, kissing me and holding my face with both his hands. “Yes, I will marry you.”
Sophia is clapping, stunned but excited and when Brooks looks into my eyes they are as bright as the white snow-capped mountains.
“Then we need to get moving. There’s an arbor to build.”
Chapter Thirteen
Brooks
Noelle and I arrive at my parents’ house, holding hands and apparently beaming like lunatics because Mom immediately asks what’s going on.
I tell her what happened with Sophia and James, and that in the wake of that decision we made our own: we’re tying the knot, tomorrow.
Mom just about faints, but then she cries, and calls in Scout and my dad, who hobbles in on his crutches.
When Scout hears the news, she wraps her arms around me, crying the biggest, sweetest tears of joy you ever did see.
“Oh, Papa, it’s a Christmas miracle,” she says, melting our hearts.
And it is.
My little girl has had this empty place in her heart, waiting for a mama to fill it. Not just any mama. Noelle.
“And we’re moving here to Linesworth, sweetie,” I tell her. “So, you can always be close to Granny and Grandpa.”
That just about makes her little heart burst. “And you get to be the flower girl,” Noelle tells her.
Scout flings her arms around Noelle, and nods happily, so there isn’t a dry eye in the room.
“I’m guessing you have a lot of work to do, son,” Dad says. “That arbor won’t build itself.”
I nod. “Noelle knows everyone in town, most of them are coming to the wedding, and she already called in a few favors with the husbands of the women who own the bakery. Clive and Ansel are headed out to get started on it already. We dropped off the plans on our way here.”
“Do you think you can help me tod
ay?” Noelle asks my mother.
Mom is wiping her eyes. “Oh, sweetheart, anything. Just anything.” She hugs Noelle and even though the entire morning has been emotional, this is the moment that makes me choke up the most. I know how much my darling Noelle has longed for a mother’s embrace. And I know it’s not her own mom. We all know this is her family now. We are a family, forever.
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.”
Chapter Fourteen
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.”
As we stand before our door of the suite at the Linesworth Hotel, Brooks picks me up.
“I need to carry my bride over the threshold.” I laugh as he carries me inside, still exhilarated from the festivities of the day. We are staying here tonight, then going to his parents’ before the sun rises and celebrati
ng Christmas with Scout, before flying off to our honeymoon.
Scout frowned for a few seconds when we told her the plan, but quickly realized it meant seven whole days with her grandparents’ undivided attention and she quickly changed her tune. I told Brooks we didn’t need a honeymoon now, but his parents insisted. And not so secretly, I’m glad. I want this, the time alone with him. To dream about our future and learn each other’s pasts.
It’s the beginning of our love story and I can’t wait to dive in.
“And what was this I heard about Sophia planning a baby shower?” he asks as he sets me down, spinning me around, so he can help me take off this big white gown.
“Just planning for the future, is all,” I say, looking over my shoulder.
“Our forever.”
Epilogue
Brooks
One year later …
Considering the year we’ve had, I’m amazed that we are here, in one piece.
A wedding.
A move across the state.
A new home.
A pregnancy.
A school for Scout as she started kindergarten.
A baby… boy.
And now, our one-year anniversary.
“Shh, shhh, shhh,” Scout says, rocking her two-month-old baby brother in his swing. “He’s sleeping, Mama,” she shouts, bounding into the kitchen — waking up Thomas in the process.
Noelle is piping icing on sugar cookies and has her hands full.
“I got it, babe,” I tell her, hands on her hip, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. I take my son from the swing, cradling his tiny body in my arms, inhaling his sweet newborn scent. This little one is like most babies. He likes to sleep and nurse, on repeat. Having him sleep in my arms is the sweetest thing in the world.
“He always stops crying when you hold him,” Scout says with a laugh.
“Cookies are done,” Noelle says. “Think Santa will like these?” she asks Scout.
Scout chooses a Christmas tree that is piped with white icing and takes a bite. “He will love them.”
