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"Good thinking. You needed to lock this down as soon as possible." Mable nods, finally giving us her approval.
When she steps away, Drake's mom comes up and gives me a tight hug, surrounding me with her warmth. "I'm Tessa, your mother-in-law."
"Hi," I whisper, suddenly self-conscious. I haven't even met his mother, and here we are, engaged. Granted, Drake hasn't met my dad or stepmom either, but there's not much of a relationship there anyway.
"I'm so glad Drake found you and Carson. He hasn't stopped talking about either of you for the last two weeks. He fell hard and fast for you, and it's easy to see why."
I can't help the fresh wave of tears that pour down my cheeks. They are all so accepting, so freakinghappyfor us. Drake kisses my temple and squeezes me tighter, letting me know he's here for me if it's all too much. The thing is, it's perfect. We're just missing…
"We're here! Did we miss it? I could feel it! I knew today was going to be the day!"
Indie bursts through the door, skidding to a stop in front of me. She grabs my hand, much like Mable did, and beams up at me when she sees the ring. Indie throws her arms around me, nearly punching Drake in the process. He manages to duck out of the way while my sister rocks me back and forth.
"Congratulations," Walker says, shaking Drake's hand. "Took you long enough."
The men laugh while Indie giggles. I find myself smiling at the ridiculousness of it all. It's crazy and totally out of character for me to not only trust someone so completely but to know after a few short weeks that we belong together in every single way.
"Let's eat! All this love is making me hungry," Mable announces as she leads the parade into the dining room.
Drake grins and shakes his head at his grandma before giving me a hug. Indie and Walker help Carson into his seat while Mable and Tessa serve up. Drake and I stand off to the side, his arms still securely around my waist as I lean into him.
"Are you happy?" he murmurs, kissing my temple.
"More than I ever thought possible," I whisper back. He looks at me with all the love in the world, and I know he's my forever. I can't wait to spend every Christmas with him, to wake up to his smile every morning, and go to sleep in his arms every night.
Drake nuzzles into the side of my neck. I feel him smile against my skin like he knows exactly what I'm thinking.
"Okay, you two lovebirds. We're not waiting to dig in, so either join us or don't," Mable calls out.
"You sure you still want to be part of this craziness?" Drake asks, laughter dancing in his eyes.
"With all my heart."
Drake kisses me one last time, even though Mable groans and teases us about taking it upstairs. He takes my hand and leads me to the table, scooting my chair as close to his as possible. I look around the table, absolutely overwhelmed with seeing my family, my sister and her husband and children, Drake's mom and grandma, and of course, my son and soon-to-be husband. This is the family I always wanted, and I have Drake to thank for providing for me, just like he's always promising to do. Yeah, this is the best Christmas ever.
EPILOGUE
DRAKE
Ihelp Theo, our seven-year-old, get his coat on while Carson helps Laura, his five-year-old sister, with hers. Melissa flits around the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes from dinner. We've held an annual family Christmas Eve dinner for the last ten years, ever since that first one where I proposed.
My grandma still gives me a hard time about proposing without her, but she's teasing. Mostly. Melissa put her in charge of the guest list for our wedding, which took place about six months later. I wanted to go down to the courthouse right then and there, but Melissa wanted to plan a thoughtful and special wedding, and I wanted to give her everything in the whole world. So, we compromised, and I had her and Carson moved in by New Year's Eve.
I don't know how it's possible, but every year since then has been better than the last. I've watched Melissa flourish and grow into this incredible, confident woman. She still likes her routines and for things to be a certain way, but she's also learned to embrace the bumps and setbacks we've encountered in life.
"Let me clean up when we get back," I call out to my wife, not wanting her to stress out over the mess in the kitchen. I can tell she's about to protest, so I jump in before she can answer. "We'll be late for the tree lighting. All the good hot chocolate will be gone, and they'll just have the powder mix."
This gets her attention. She and Indie take their hot chocolate consumption very seriously.
A few moments later, Melissa emerges, giving me a playful glare. "Low blow," she mutters, though she can't hide her smirk.
I smile at her, my eyes roaming over her long, chestnut hair, her delicate cheekbones, and those teal eyes that captured my heart all those years ago. I forgot what we were talking about. All I can think of is how beautiful my wife is and how blessed I am to call her mine.
"Come on, Dad," Carson says, bending down to pick Laura up. He's thirteen now, and he's the best big brother to his siblings. There was never any talk of half-sister or half-brother, just like there's never been any talk of me being his stepdad. I'm not. I adopted him as soon as Melissa and I got married, and his siblings aren't half-anything. We're all whole, the five of us, complete in a way I didn't know was possible.
"Yeah, Drake, come on," Melissa sasses. I pull her in for a kiss, chuckling when our kids make gagging noises.
My angel just smiles up at me. I know she's thinking the same thing. This is perfect. It's not what she planned, and hell, I certainly never saw it coming, but what we've found is precious and it's all ours. You can't plan for perfection, but you can sure as hell savor every moment of it. And that's exactly what we plan to do.
