by Krista Lakes
But he’d made the best decision for his business, hadn’t he? He’d made the best possible decision for himself too, for the future he’d so often dreamed of having. He was doing the right thing. He was doing the smart thing.
A familiar knock rang out on his door.
Molly was here?
Nicholas considered if there was a way for him to escape out of the nearest window. He would only need his ID and his wallet to get through the line at the airport. He could always have his mother send his suitcase and luggage to him once he got back to New York...
The knocking on the front door came again, and Nicholas, with great reluctance, decided to answer it. Time to face the music. It had to happen eventually.
“Ms. Molly,” Nicholas greeted her, and his heart twisted inside his chest when she smiled up at him with those beautiful brown eyes.
“Mr. Kerstman. May I borrow you for a minute? Maybe more than a minute, actually,” she said, scrunching up her face. “We’ll see how long this takes. I've never tried to save a business before.”
“I’m sorry, Molly, I don’t think I have time for anything too fun tonight. I need to finish packing up,” he said, trying to back up and hide in his room.
“Packing up?” There was an obvious hurt that lined Molly’s tone. “Oh, right. You need to head back to New York.”
“Right. I need to head back to New York,” Nicholas repeated, the hurt now reflecting in his own tone, too.
“Well, can’t you at least hang out with me for a little bit? Just for a little bit? Please?” Molly asked, her voice tight. “Besides, you’re supposed to let me argue my case for saving the store, and I think my case is pretty solid.”
The guilt cut through Nicholas’ chest like a giant sword, its painful slice making him breathless.
How could he have ever done this to Molly?
“Yes. You’re right. Your case. I should listen to it,” Nicholas agreed. He gave Molly his best attempt at a smile. “Let’s go, then. The faster we leave, the faster I can get back.”
“That’s exactly what I like to hear before someone spends time with me,” Molly said, rolling her eyes. “Come on. Let’s go over to Hannah’s. I have everything prepared.”
Chapter 29
Nicholas
“Okay, wait, but keep your hands over your eyes,” Molly said, making Nicholas hold a hand over his eyes as she led him down the street by his hand. “We’re almost there.”
“Do I really need to keep my eyes closed for this?” he asked. “What part of this town haven’t I seen by now?”
But Nicholas kept his eyes covered, even as he squeezed Molly’s hand.
“Just keep walking,” she told him. “Watch out for that ice patch, there.”
A horrible thought filled him as he heard the chime of Hannah's door. “Please don’t tell me you’re throwing me a going away party. If that’s what this is, then letting me turn around right now would be the best Christmas gift that you could possibly give me—”
Nicholas stopped his own attempts at guessing Molly’s surprise once a familiar scent filled his nostrils. It was something he hadn't smelled in years.
“Molly? How did you...?” Nicholas then moved his hand from his face..
Every countertop inside of Sweetness & Light had a Buche de Noel cake sitting on top of it. There had to be at least twenty finished cakes. All of them were decorated in the same style as his aunt’s cakes in his youth. They looked like little brown logs with little imitation plants swirled onto the side in buttercream frosting and marzipan mushrooms sprouting from the cakes’ chocolate tops.
Nicholas spun towards Molly in a confused circle. He was struggling to grasp that she had somehow done this for him, that she could be so thoughtful. “Molly, did you do all of this for me?”
Molly nodded, before she leaned into Nicholas’ side. “Is it good? What do you think?”
“What do I think?” Nicholas’ laugh burst from his chest as he looked around at the myriad of cakes. “I think you’re absolutely magical, Molly Carmichael.”
He picked her up and spun her around by the waist. She giggled with delight when he set her down. Nicholas bent to kiss Molly, but he then decided against it as he remembered how he’d signed the papers to sell the shop.
“Oh. Is something wrong?” Molly’s question sounded anxious.
Nicholas then shook his head, but he let go of her waist. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just a little lost in thought.”
“You know what’s good for helping you think?” Molly said, moving away from Nicholas, and pulling out a stool at the counter. “Eating cake.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s true,” Nicholas told her. He shook his head with a smile. “But let’s see if it works.”
He took a swipe of frosting with his finger, and brought it to his lips. His eyes went wide. He forgot everything except the cake.
The frosting was perfect.
It tasted faithful to his aunt’s old recipe, right down to the consistency of the frosting itself.
But how?
Nicholas dug his fingers into the front of the cake, not caring about how strange it was to eat cake with his bare hands. He tore off a small piece, popping it straight into his mouth. His smile then grew so big on his face that maintaining the expression began to cause him pain. Wonderful Christmas memories of his aunt flooded into his mind.
All the good memories. All the happy times. The joy of Christmas.
“Molly, it’s perfect,” he whispered. “I don’t know how you did this, but it's amazing.”
“Christmas magic,” Molly replied. She shrugged, grinning back at Nicholas. “And a little help from Hannah’s recipe for Buche de Noel, too. She didn’t help me at all, by the way. She was supposed to come check on me while I was baking, but I think she got caught up with something at her apartment.”
Nicholas cut off Molly’s words with a sweet, sugary kiss, which she seemed delighted to return. Her sweetness combined with the chocolate in a way that made his heart ache and race at the same time.
“Thank you, Molly.” Nicholas’ voice was tender. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly a favor,” Molly explained, making her way to the other side of the counter. “It’s part of my overall presentation. Have a seat, if you don’t mind, Mr. Kerstman.”
Nicholas sat at the counter, his finger once again reaching for the frosting. Maybe frosting would help lesson the guilt. He knew he should stop her now. He knew that he should tell her what he'd done, but he couldn't. She'd worked so hard on the cakes. She had a presentation. It wouldn't be fair to all the effort she'd gone through not to at least listen to her.
Molly then brought her phone out of her pocket and seemed to be studying its screen.
Her serious face caused Nicholas to grin over at her. “Ms. Molly, have you made yourself a list? Are you currently checking it twice?”
“Shhhh! You’re throwing off my presentation.” Molly brought a symbolic finger to her lips and then cleared her throat. “Okay, I think I’ve got it...”
“Ready when you are,” he told her.
Molly brought her hands together, and she smiled at Nicholas. “Good evening, Mr. Kerstman. Thank you for attending my presentation today. Tonight, we’ll be discussing the importance of math—”
“Math?” Nicholas asked, not expecting that at all.
“Did I say math?” Molly coughed a few times, seemingly clearing her throat. “Sorry. I meant to say Christmas. We’ll be discussing the importance of Christmas. Specifically, the importance of the Christmas Wishes store.”
“Please, go on,” Nicholas told her, guilt growing heavier around his shoulders. He was sure he'd start sinking into the floor any moment now.
“I’m sure earlier today, with the investors, you heard some pretty convincing numbers, right? And you saw some facts and figures that really made you want to sell the business as quickly as possible,” she said. She wait
ed for an answer.
“I did.” Nicholas kept his answer vague, trying to find a balance between telling Molly the complete truth and protecting her from his decision.
“Of course you did. That’s what those guys do. They appeal to your logic, your brain, your efficiency,” Molly informed him. “And, while I know I could never compete with any of that, I do know there’s another component to all of this, isn’t there?”
“There is?” Nicholas racked his brain, trying to understand her meaning.
Molly reached out a hand, pressing her palm into Nicholas’ chest right over his heart. Her touch made his pulse race. “There’s this. There’s always this.”
Nicholas' heart responded to Molly, pounding away at what felt like double its usual speed. Her touch made him heat without even trying.
Molly pulled her hand away, oblivious to his reaction. “May I ask you a few questions, Mr. Kerstman?”
“Ask away, Ms. Molly.”
She grinned at his use of her nickname. “Would you say you had fun?”
“When?” he asked.
“From the moment you met me until right now,” Molly replied. “Would you say you had fun?”
“Of course, I had fun, Molly,” he said softly. “I was with you.”
“And would you say that the things we did, like helping the Brownstones with their decorations, helping out Hannah with her float. These are all things that Christmas Wishes does for the community. Would you say that doing those things felt worthwhile?” she asked.
“Yes, I would agree with that,” Nicholas said. The memories felt good inside of his chest, clashing horribly with the guilt building in his stomach. “Doesn’t helping people always feel worthwhile?”
“And, lastly...” Molly paused. “Would you say that Christmas feels more possible than ever before?”
“I don’t think I understand the question,” he said, frowning.
“Yeah, it’s kinda hard to translate,” Molly agreed. She thought for a moment, and then snapped her fingers. “Okay, here’s a better way to ask it. Would you say that anything sort of magical has happened to you since you’ve been in town?”
“Yes, something magical has happened to me since I’ve been in town.” Nicholas kept his gaze focused on Molly. “Because you happened to me, Molly Carmichael.”
“Oh.” Molly’s cheeks flushed yet again but she smiled wide. “Okay, so, remember how you said you weren’t a Christmas person?”
“Right,” Nicholas answered with a quick nod.
“Because you thought Christmas wasn’t for you?” she continued. “Because you thought it wasn’t your kind of holiday?”
“Right, right, and right,” he agreed.
“Well, how do you feel about Christmas now?” Molly’s face lit up with a hopeful smile. “Don’t you see how wonderful this time of year can really be? There’s just something in the air that you can’t put a price tag on, isn’t there? And I know money makes the world go-round, but now that you’ve felt the magic for yourself, I hope you realize how little money is truly worth, compared to all of this.”
Molly waved a hand around the room on the word “this”as her smile grew bigger.
“Oh, Molly.” Nicholas' chest tightened.
“And I’m not saying you have to live here full time or anything,” she said quickly. “I know your heart’s mostly in Manhattan. It would just be nice if the shop could have your heart, too, at least during Christmastime. And I promise that you can spend the rest of the year doing whatever it is you do that earns you solid gold watches.”
“It's not solid gold,” he told her.
“Oh, Nicholas, I’m just saying that you're a successful businessman,” she explained. “I mean, your watch probably costs as much as my whole year’s salary.”
Nicholas looked down at his watch. He looked back up at Molly and then undid the clasp and attached the watch to Molly's slim wrist.
“Nicholas, what are you doing?” she asked, her eyes going wide.
“I want you to have it, Molly.” Nicholas pressed his hand over the watch now on Molly’s wrist. “I just want you to have it.”
“You’re really giving me your watch? Isn’t this basically like giving me your still-beating heart?” she asked playfully.
“No.” Nicholas kept his response plain, his fingers still holding her to him. “It’s not like giving you my heart. You already have that.”
Molly went silent. She then opened her mouth to speak, but Nicholas raised a quiet finger in the air, silencing her before she could even respond. “Don’t. Don’t say anything. Please. Not when I’m about to break your heart.”
“Nicholas, what are you talking about?” Molly asked, her voice low and worried. “What did you do?”
“Molly, I...” Nicholas closed his eyes and he forced the rest of his sentence through his mouth. “I already sold the store. This afternoon.”
“What?” Her voice held such shock that it felt like a punch when she said it.
“I sold the store. The investors offered me a million dollars for it, for everything,” he explained, feeling worse with every word out of his mouth. “They’re going to let my parents keep 25% of their ownership. But by tomorrow, Christmas Wishes won't be in the Kerstman family anymore.”
He watched as her face went from shock, to hurt, to anger, and back to hurt again. Her beautiful eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry. I think I have to go. I need to go,” Molly said. She pulled away from Nicholas's hold on her.
Nicholas rose from the counter, walking around it and over to her as fast as he could.
“Molly, please. Please. Listen to me. I know how much you loved that store, but that kind of money? Molly, that’s enough to expand Kerstman Enterprises. That’s enough to jumpstart the future of my company,” he explained. An idea hit him. “That’s even enough for you to open your own little Christmas bodega in Manhattan, if you really wanted to stay in the Christmas business—”
“How nice of you to include me in your dream for your future,” Molly said bitterly. “How nice of you to give me my own little spot in some small, little bodega, in a city that I’ve never even mentioned wanting to live in.” She spat out the words. Nicholas could see both the rage and tears in Molly’s eyes. Her hands shook beside her waist. “Nicholas, how could you do something like this? How could you be so selfish?”
“I’m not being selfish, Molly. I’m being logical,” he replied. “I’m not going to apologize for moving my business forward and I’m not going to apologize for taking a load off my parents’ backs. They’ve worked hard enough, haven’t they? Don’t they finally deserve a break, too?”
“Stop. Stop trying to blame this on logic. Stop trying to blame this on your parents.” Molly sniffled, taking a step away from him. “I’m not a child, Nicholas. I understand why you did what you did, okay? I just thought that you were different. I thought that you cared about something other than the bottom line. I just thought that I was really beginning to mean something to you—”
“Molly, you do mean something to me. Molly, you mean so much to me,” he pleaded, reaching out for her, but she stepped away from him. “Please, let’s talk this through.”
Molly stared at him with heartbroken eyes and then shook her head.
“Nicholas, we don’t have anything else to talk about. There’s nothing else to say. You've made your position clear,” she said flatly. “I hope you have a safe trip back to New York—”
“Molly, don’t—”
“Goodbye, Mr. Kerstman.” Molly took another step away from him, her eyes still full of betrayal and hurt.
She then turned towards the front door of Sweetness & Light, making her exit from the bakery.
Nicholas could hear keys jingling and a keypad beeping on the other side of the door, and he knew Molly was locking up for the night, making it so once Nicholas decided to leave for himself, the bakery’s alarm system would be set to ON.
But Nicholas didn’t want to
leave.
It felt like he had nowhere else to go.
Nicholas took a seat at the counter once more, and he would’ve sworn that daggers were threatening to stick through his chest.
The assortment of Buche de Noel cakes on the bakery’s countertops now haunted him. They became an instant reminder of his time spent with Molly, how she wanted to share something with him in the form of Christmas Wishes, how she maybe even wanted to build their own something someday. They were a symbol of her kindness and hope. A hope he'd destroyed.
Guilt washed over Nicholas, thick and inescapable, as he thought about how he’d sold their chance at a love story to the highest bidder.
Chapter 30
Molly
“I’m sorry for asking you to come over like this, Hannah, I know it’s the night before your big day,” Molly sobbed, sitting on her living room couch with Hannah seated right beside her.
“Don’t apologize for calling me over. There’s no place in the world I’d rather be,” Hannah told her. She offered Molly a sympathetic smile. “Do you want me to make you some hot chocolate? Will that make it feel a little bit better?”
“I think this might be one of those heartbreaks that can’t be cured by sugar,” Molly said sadly.
“Yikes. It’s that bad, huh?” Hannah scooted a bit closer to Molly’s side. “Okay, so I think I got the gist of it over the phone, but tell me what happened again.”
“Nicholas sold the store.” It hurt a little bit less every time she said it, but it still felt like a crushing defeat. “But that’s not even the worst part. It’s the way he did it. He sold it, and he didn’t tell me until about an hour ago. It was like all he cared about was his business and the money. And it felt like I—”
“Like you were a second thought,” Hannah helped Molly complete her sentence. “Like he thought, no matter what choice he made, you’d go right along with him?”