My stomach pitched and I couldn’t wipe away the smile if I tried.
She turned her back on the camera and ran up to the crowd in front of the stage. I stiffened, but security had people well in hand. Amber touched outstretched hands as she rushed up the lit pathway to the small stage that held an upright piano.
The Haven Wonderland of Lights rose behind her, framing her in color and a glow that stalled my heart.
I walked out from the archway so I could see her better.
Her fingers poised on the piano as she seemed to take a breath, then her voice floated out on the night. The crowd hushed in reaction to the achingly beautiful words that came out of her so effortlessly.
I’d seen a few videos of her over the years. The glitz and the glamour of the stage always seemed larger than life. Here, she owned the space with a quiet grace that showed me the real Amber had always been under Ambrose, I was just too stupid to realize it.
And now, she was simply the woman I loved.
As the bridge of the song built, her eyes lifted off the keys and met mine across the crowd and the lights. Her words wrapped around me, evoking everything that had been building between us for the last few weeks. The wonder, the passion, and the love I hadn’t seen coming.
When the song finished, she smiled, and it was just for me.
The slow build that was just a little crooked.
She mouthed, “I love you,” before the melody changed to a pounding, joyful rendition of “Jingle Bell Rock.”
The lights behind her exploded into a chaotically merry display of bells and snowflakes in holiday colors as she stood over the keys. She played with quick, dexterous fingers down the keys ramping up the crowd as she flew through half a dozen short, holiday songs of our youth. She did the opening notes to the famous Mariah Carey song and made her fans lose their minds.
Then she stopped and stood up, taking microphone out of its holder. “Absolutely not. Are you crazy?” Then someone slid onto the piano bench to take over, and she moved to the front of the stage. “I’m good, but I can’t get up to those high notes. But I am good at ‘Christmas Fire.’”
Drones rose up and into the sky creating dancing flames in the sky and a shockingly precise fireplace.
Molly bumped my hip. “We need to get those.”
I laughed and looked down at her. “I think we do. Not sure how we’re going to top this next year.”
“I’m willing to keep trying.” She grinned. “You’re going to marry that girl.”
“I am.”
“I’m happy for you, Tate.”
As the song faded, my smile widened as I met Amber’s gaze on the stage. Then, she ran down the steps and toward me.
Molly backed up with a laugh.
I braced for impact and she still rocked me back a few steps. Just like the first time I saw her.
I twirled her around and kissed her in front of everyone.
“Take me inside that lit-up tunnel,” she whispered.
I took her hand and we ran toward the arch for the Haven Wonderland of Lights. We waved to the camera and then took off down the tunnel into the lights.
“The camera’s gone,” she said as we got through the tunnel.
“Good, because this kiss is definitely not going to be PG-13.”
I dipped her, then righted her and showed her just how much I loved and wanted her. She gripped my shoulders, and I lifted her up so she could wrap those ridiculous legs around my waist.
When we came up for air, her gray eyes were soft and happy.
“I love you, Tate.”
