Chapter Seven

Nicholas

Nicholas 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