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Chapter Six
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2022-05-25 03:42:38Related chapters
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Seven
NicholasNicholas stood off to the side of the action as he watched a crowd of children and adults gather around a towering Christmas tree in the center of the town square. He tried to keep to himself while offering the occasional polite wave or nod when parents would wave or nod at him first.As soon as they arrived, Liam had broken away from his own hold on both Nicholas and Molly’s hands, and chose to run off towards a chattering group of children.Molly had broken away from Nicholas, too, and it appeared that she was being bombarded with attention from both parents and kids alike. Everyone seemed to know her and want to say hello.And she was smiling the whole way through it.That smile.There was something about it.Working in the business world, Nicholas was accustomed to fake, phony smiles. The kind that he himself often had to put on after working fourteen hours straight so his clients would still find him agreeable. He wasn’t used to genuine smiles, the type that come from th
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Eight
MollyMolly stood in front of her dishes in the sink, wearing her pajamas and tapping her toes in time with a Christmas playlist blared over her headphones.She often found that she did some of her best thinking while not thinking at all. The more she used her mental energy on another task, the more her thoughts flowed right through her.And cleaning dishes seemed like a great way not to think about the Nicholas Kerstman problem.She didn't want to think about what would happen to the store. She could feel it in her bones that the store wouldn't be Christmas Wishes without the Kerstmans running it. The town definitely wouldn't be the same Christmas-loving town without it.She'd seen another store in town get sold the way Nicholas had explained. It had been a small hardware store that started doing well enough to attract attention from one of the big chains. Things had been fine for the first year or so, but then things changed. The employees weren't as well-trained. The quality of pro
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Nine
MollyMolly went to work the next day feeling invigorated and hopeful.She had an answer to the Nicholas Kerstman problem, even if she didn't have all the details exactly figured out yet. It would come to her.She whistled as she walked down the street to the store. As she came closer, she noticed that it was already open for business. She frowned, checking her watch and seeing that she wasn't late.She then spotted Nicholas working behind the counter, smiling at customers as he checked out their items, and nodding over towards Liam when someone asked for a bag of candy to-go.Molly felt taken aback, not expecting Nicholas to have any familiarity with working retail. The fancy suit certainly didn't suggest retail work.She slowly approached the counter, watching Nicholas smile and greet customers. “Good morning? Nicholas Kerstman, right? You’re actually Nicholas Kerstman?”“Ha, ha. Very funny, Ms. Molly,” Nicholas said. He didn’t turn to look at Molly, keeping his eyes on a gift he wa
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Ten
Nicholas“It’s so nice to see you again, Mr. Brownstone,” Molly said, embracing a thin older man. “We’ve missed you at Christmas Wishes this year.”“Ah, you know how it is. The older you get, the less you can stand the cold.” Mr. Brownstone imitated a shiver once he pulled away from Molly’s embrace. “Your parents had the right idea, Molly. Miami might be calling me and the missus’ name pretty soon, too.”Nicholas took a quick look around the home as Molly continued to make small talk with Mr. Brownstone. They were standing in the living room, and there was a large Christmas tree leaning against a far corner. The tree was decorated with tinsel and what looked to be family photographs, every picture within a snowflake-shaped frame.Nicholas could smell something sweet coming from the kitchen, and he unconsciously brought a hand to his stomach. It grumbled.It was lunchtime after all.Mrs. Brownstone soon appeared with a tray of Bundt cake slices, each one decorated with vanilla-white ic
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Eleven
Molly“I saw you two in the town square earlier,” Hannah said innocently as she slid a hot chocolate into her best friend’s hands. “We all saw you in the town square.”“You know how it is, Hannah. You win some, you lose some...” Molly sighed, surprised that her friend knew about the snowball fight loss. “It’s a hard thing being the queen.”“No, I’m not talking about your crushing defeat at the hands of King Liam,” Hannah replied, giving Molly's shoulder a gentle push. “I’m talking about you and Nicholas.”“Me and Nicholas?” Molly asked, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.“Yup. From what I saw, things look good.” Hannah leaned her elbows onto the counter of Sweetness & Light, giving Molly an amused look. “So, are you going to spill the beans or what? Has he asked you out?”Molly scoffed as she looked back at her friend. “Nicholas Kerstman? You think Nicholas Kerstman is going to ask me out?”“Why wouldn’t he?” Hannah asked with a shrug.“Because he’s from New York, which means that he pr
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Twelve
Molly “Merry Christmas!” Molly greeted Nicholas at the Brownstones’ doorstep with a light-up Christmas bulb necklace in each of her hands. “Here. This one’s for you.”She held the necklace out to Nicholas who stared down at it with pure confusion. “For me?”“Yes. For you,” Molly repeated, rising up to her tip-toes, and placing the necklace around his neck. “And you just click the button right here to turn it on.”Molly proceeded to click a small, green button on the necklace’s underside, causing the necklace to glow with bright reds and greens, the colors blinking and changing every few seconds.“Oh. This is a lot.” Nicholas brought the necklace closer to his face as he inspected it. His eyes came up to meet hers and her breath caught a little bit. “Do people really wear these?”“Of course we do. They’re festive.” Molly reached into her skirt pocket, pulling out an oversized Santa hat that was way too big for her head. “See? Festive!”“Please don’t tell me that you brought one for m—
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Thirteen
NicholasNicholas still wore the ridiculous Santa hat and the equally ridiculous Christmas lights necklace as he lounged on his living room couch with a book pressed close to his face. The fireplace in his rented lodge cabin crackled with fake gas flames, but the effect was still soothing. He'd rented the small cabin instead of staying at his parents overly Christmas decorated house.Reading had always been one of his favorite pastimes, but with the nature of his work, he never had any time to ever get around to it. Today, for the first time in what felt like forever, he didn't have anything pressing to do. He didn't have really anything to do until he received word from Luke about a potential offer for Christmas Wishes.He’d already faxed and scanned and emailed all of the relevant financial documents back to his office in Manhattan, and Luke had confirmed receipt of them within seconds of Nicholas sending them off.So now, all Nicholas had to do was wait.He turned another page in t
Last Updated : 2022-05-25Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Fourteen
NicholasThe next morning at Christmas Wishes, and Nicholas and Molly were busy at work, taking on customers two at a time. Surprisingly, Nicholas found himself enjoying it. It helped that Molly kept making him laugh.In between their sales and checkouts, Nicholas noticed that Molly was looking over a few sheets of music, her face growing more frustrated the longer she stared down at the loose papers.When he’d managed to catch a break between the busy flow of patrons, he walked over her, and looked down at the sheets himself. Music notes and lyrics filled the pages.“You sing?” he asked, pointing to the music sheets.“No. Well, kind of,” she explained. She sighed. “But not really. I’m the elementary school choir director.”“The choir director doesn’t sing?” he asked, confused.“Directing is a completely different job!” Molly defended her position, but sounded a little unsure herself. “Though, to be honest, I may not be so great at that either.”He hated the way her smile faded as she
Last Updated : 2022-05-25
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Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Epilogue
2 years later...It was going to be the best Christmas ever.Three days before Christmas and Nicholas couldn't think of a time he'd been happier. Last year, he'd married Molly on Christmas Eve. This year, he hoped they could just enjoy their Christmas together in their new home. They'd purchased the small house in town that Molly had always secretly loved. Things were going exactly to plan.Nicholas hoped for a quiet Christmas this year, and it looked like he might get it.“I can't believe you ate that,” Nicholas said, glancing over at his wife and shaking his head. “Two breakfast hot dogs. Where did you even come up with the idea for them?”Molly shrugged and carefully avoided a patch of ice on the sidewalk. The sidewalks on their way to Sweetness & Light for their daily coffee were well shoveled, but winter always made things slippery. Once they had their coffee, they would head into work at Christmas Wishes for the last few days of the Christmas season.“It sounded good,” Molly tol
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Forty-Four
NicholasWhen Nicholas arrived at the town square the place was packed.He was stuck near the back of the crowd as a man on stage, who Nicholas presumed to be Mr. Tony, presented another appetizing dish with Hannah at his side.“And what Christmas dish is this, Ms. Johnson? Oh wow, it smells out of this world!” Mr. Tony waved a hand across the dish before he pulled away the foil to reveal a large cooked turkey.Nicholas only vaguely paid attention to the show, his attention on finding Molly. He wasn't sure how he was going to find her in this large of a crowd, but he wasn't about to give up now.“It’s not so out of this world, Mr. Tony. It’s actually an earth bird,” Hannah replied with a wink at her co-host, adjusting the bird to better show it off to the camera. “This is one of my favorite Christmas dishes. It’s roast turkey, flavored with lemon and garlic. I know some people watching at home think that turkeys are just for Thanksgiving—”“Yeah, because they’ve never had a slice of t
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Forty-Three
NicholasNicholas reached the town’s Welcome Home sign that was situated on the county line and he kept right on running until it felt like his lungs would give right out.He needed to see Molly.There wasn’t any other way.On the run over, he’d thought through all the coincidences in the car and all the coincidences in his life that led him to Molly Carmichael. He’d thought about her love of the Christmas holiday and the odds of her working for his parents, the timing of neither one of them currently being in a romantic relationship, his own disinterest in running the store making her want to put in the effort to convince him otherwise, making her want to spend time with him.Everything just made too much sense, without making any sense at all.And because he couldn’t explain everything logically away, he needed to find at least one answer.The answer to the question that was burning right through his core.He needed to know if Molly Carmichael felt the same thing he did. Did she fee
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Forty-Two
Molly“We’re starting in fifteen minutes people! And I still haven’t had my coffee!” Mr. Tony was now shouting into a megaphone, which Molly found to be a hilarious concept because a man with a natural voice as loud as Mr. Tony’s didn’t need any extra amplification.As soon as he’d finished his announcement, a cup of coffee appeared in his hands. “Thank you! Finally, we’re getting somewhere!”Mr. Tony set down the megaphone and all of his focus went to sipping at his drink.Molly’s own focus went over to Hannah, who was still standing on the stage and seemed to be rehearsing her lines for the segment.Molly smiled to herself, feeling so proud of her best friend in that moment. She still remembered the first time Hannah baked anything, her parents not letting her near the oven until she was thirteen. Hannah’s very first dish was a simple recipe for chocolate chip cookies, but even back then, Molly could tell that there was something special about Hannah’s cooking.Hannah would always b
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Forty-One
MollyAs Molly walked into Sweetness & Light, she was greeted by the sight of several boom mics, cameras, and TV staff all scattered around the bakery. She had to show her ID to a man outside the door just to get in.There was no sign of Hannah, but Molly did spot Liam setting out a tray of sugar cookies on the counter. The cookies were descended upon by members of what Molly assumed were BakeTown’s filming crew before they each returned to their respective workstations.“Hannah?” Molly called out for her friend as she approached the counter. When she didn’t hear a response, Molly then turned towards one of the people holding onto a large camera.“Hi. Sorry, if I’m, um, in the shot?” Molly waved at the camera-person.They shook their head in response. “We’re not rolling yet. Don’t worry about it, ma’am.”“Oh. Good.” Molly nodded with a smile. “Have you seen Hannah Johnson around anywhere? I wanted to make sure I was here for the big shoot.”“Yeah, she’s in hair & makeup in the back.”
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Forty
Nicholas“Well, it’s almost like you came home for Christmas. Kind of,” Mrs. Kerstman said, greeting her son as he came to their front door. “It’s still better than what we’re used to, which is not having you home around this time at all.”“Yes, it was nice to see you around Christmastime, Nicky,” Mr. Kerstman agreed. “And you’re always welcome to pop-in on us, whenever you want. Although, with all that money you earned from selling the rights to the shop, your mom and I imagine that you’ll be busier than ever.”“If it’s even possible for you to be even busier than before,” Mrs. Kerstman said, smiling up at her son. “We’re so proud of you, son. You know that, don’t you?”“I know, mom. I know,” he said softly. Nicholas smiled down at his mother. “I’ll need to get on the road pretty soon. Luke’s waiting in the car. I already sent your gifts back in November, so they should’ve already arrived in the mail by now.”“Yes, they did and they were perfect as always. We’ll see you on New Year’s
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Thirty-Nine
NicholasNicholas looked over his luggage piled up in the rented cabin’s living room with an ache in his chest he didn't recognize. Usually, he was excited to leave this town and head back to New York. Usually, he couldn't wait to get out of here.His eyes scanned the cabin yet again, wanting to make sure that he’d packed everything that he’d brought with him. Despite his best efforts, he felt like he was forgetting something important. He knew he had everything from the cabin packed though. The thing he was forgetting wasn't his anymore.When he felt satisfied that he really had packed up all his belongings, he plopped down on the living room couch, letting his face fall into his hands.He was so tired.He’d found it difficult to get any sleep at all last night, and he tossed and turned and worried and worried and worried about Molly Carmichael.He wanted to fix it. He wanted to find a way to make-up for the hurt he’d caused her back at the bakery. He wanted her to somehow be okay wi
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Thirty-Eight
Molly“Molly!” Mrs. Carmichael greeted her with kisses as she pulled her daughter inside her home. “Merry Christmas, my sweetheart!”“Ah, lay off the girl, Emma! She just stepped through the door,” Mr. Carmichael told her. He was holding a cup of coffee in his hands and he smiled over at his daughter. “Merry Christmas, Molly. Where are our presents?”“Dad, you know I put your stuff under the tree weeks ago,” Molly replied with a grin. She walked over to her father, pulling him in for a hug as well. “You’re always trying to trick me into getting you guys more presents.”“And one of these days, you’re going to fall for it. Hook, line and sinker,” he said with a laugh. “I hope you still like sausage, hash-browns and Christmas waffles. Your mother emptied out an entire can of whipped cream over the stack of waffles this year.”“Sounds perfect,” Molly said. She turned to smile back at her mother who was still standing near the door. “Thanks, mom.”“Anything for you, my Molly.” Mrs. Carmich
Christmas Wishes (A Holiday Billionaire Love Story) Chapter Thirty-Seven
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
