Chapter 415

Olivia

After finishing up the photoshoot, Nathan and I walked away from James and Petunia’s booth to rejoin the group. Elliot and Aurora, thoroughly exhausted from their day of hard work, were already dozing off in their stroller.

As we walked, Nathan leaned closer to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He pressed a warm kiss against my temple, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Thanks for doing that with me,” I said. “It felt a little silly at first, but I really do feel like it’s beneficial to use my status for good. The press is gonna follow us anyway, you know?”

Nathan nodded. “Might as well make it work in everyone’s favor,” he said. “And by the way, Liv, you were glowing back there.”

I blushed at his compliment. “Thank you,” I murmured softly, not expecting such a sweet and heartfelt compliment over something as simple as a quick photo opportunity.

But then Nathan’s expression turned serious, and he stopped, looking straight into my eyes. “Liv,” he began, “I mean it. You’ve got a real knack for this whole PR thing. That idea you had for the photoshoot was brilliant.”

I furrowed my brow, not entirely sure where he was going with this. “What are you saying, Nathan?”

He took a deep breath and said, “What I’m saying is, if you ever wanted to pursue a career not in baking but in PR, we’ve got an opening at the Council building. We could use someone with real skills to handle things like photo ops and such.”

I was taken aback by his offer, my mind racing to process what he was suggesting. For as long as I could remember, I had always loved baking. To me, that meant that my dream career should, therefore, involve baking.

But what if he was right? What if I did have a knack for this thing that I had never thought of before?

“That’s… an interesting idea,” I replied cautiously. “But I’d need to think on it, of course. And I would want to give it some time to test it out before committing to a job.”

Nathan nodded understandingly. “Of course,” he said. “I just thought I’d mention it since you seem to have such a natural affinity for it. Some food for thought, you know?”

I offered Nathan a smile and planted a warm kiss on his cheek. “I’ll consider it,” I said. “Thank you for saying that, Nathan. I didn’t even consider that.”

We continued to walk to join the rest of the group, but as we did, I kept thinking.

“You know,” I said as we passed by a booth selling handmade hats and mittens, “I was thinking during the photoshoot… What if we put together a pamphlet for the businesses in town? We could do some photos, reviews, some little blurbs about each one. It could bring tourism to the town.”

Nathan’s eyes lit up as I spoke. “Come to think of it,” he said, “that’s actually brilliant. I’ve been trying to figure out how we can increase tourism here in the winter.”

I nodded. Since we were a coastal town, not many people realized that we had plenty to offer in the winter and not just the summer.

“Would you really do that, Liv?” Nathan asked. “It could be really helpful. And as the Luna, people will listen to you. You just saw how your opinion is already so influential.”

I paused, thinking back on what Petunia and James had said about how their business had boomed since that tabloid article came out.

“You know what?” I asked. “Maybe I will do it. Let me think on it, and I’ll let you know.”

Nathan grinned. Before we could talk more about it, though, we soon found ourselves rejoining the group, where Angela and Levi were waiting. Angela beamed at us and said, “Cade and Layla went off to do some family stuff together, but we thought it would be fun to do a double date with you guys. What do you guys say?”

Nathan and I exchanged a glance, and it didn’t take us long to agree. “Sure, that sounds like a blast,” I replied, feeling grateful for the chance to spend time with friends.

The four of us, with the twins in tow, embarked on our double date adventure within the festival.

Our first stop was the face-painting booth. Angela and Levi eagerly chose their designs, while I decided on a delicate snowflake on my cheek. Nathan, always the jokester, opted for a wolf’s paw on his cheek, earning laughter from all of us.

With our freshly painted faces, we moved on to savor some hot apple cider, the warm liquid a comforting contrast to the chill in the air. The twins gurgled happily in their stroller, seemingly content with the festive atmosphere. Angela sneakily bought them some little candies that melted in the twins’ mouths, and we watched as their faces twisted up with shock at the sweetness.

Next up was ornament-making. We each chose our own ornaments to decorate. Angela and Levi made matching snowflakes in red and green, while Nathan and I traced the twins’ hands and cut them out, then covered them with glitter. It was gaudy and silly, but it made us laugh, and I knew I would treasure them forever.

As the day continued, we explored more of the festival’s attractions, from the beautifully lit carousel to the charming snow globe displays. The laughter of children and the warmth of the crowd filled the air, creating a sense of joy that was contagious.

Through it all, I couldn’t help but feel like for the first time in a long time, everything was… okay.

Yeah, life wasn’t perfect. Our wedding was canceled, our past was rocky, and our little family was a hodgepodge of messiness and confusion.

But it was our life, and we were happy. And in that moment, I felt as though I could have married Nathan, wherever, whenever, and however—so long as we had each other, that was all that mattered.

“Hey,” Angela said, breaking me out of my reverie, “my feet hurt. Wanna sit?”

As she spoke, she pointed to the shops that lined the perimeter of the town square, one of which was the local cafe. Nathan and I exchanged glances and gladly agreed, looking forward to a chance to sit down in the warmth of the cafe.

Together, the four of us made our way over to the cafe and headed inside, where the atmosphere was quieter and more relaxed than outside. We ordered some drinks and pastries to share and sat at a table in the window while we waited.

As we sat, Angela and Levi bickered about whose ornament was better. Meanwhile, Nathan draped his arm around my shoulders, his blue-green eyes flickering over the twins in their stroller.

“I love you, Liv,” he whispered in my ear, pressing his cold nose to my neck and causing me to shiver.

I couldn’t help but smile. “I love you too, Nathan,” I said quietly. “And I love our little family.”

For a moment, Nathan placed his hand over my growing belly. His hand was cold through my sweater, but I didn’t care. I placed my hand over his and met his gaze.

And in that moment, I almost wondered…

What if our wedding could be tonight?

But that was silly, right?