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His proclamation warms me from head to toe. We knew this wouldn’t be easy, but Alice is right—Ben and I did nothing wrong. I fell in love with him after Owen and I broke up, and he never acted on his feelings for me until then.
“Mm, your mom made her broccoli cheese soup,” I say as Ben hands me a plate and a bowl. “And it looks like your dad made his famous ham.”
We pile our plates with food, Ben’s stacked extra high because he hasn’t eaten this morning, and go back into the dining room, where Alice has added chairs to the table for us.
“Stella, may I see your ring?” she asks, smiling.
“Of course.”
I hold my hand out and she takes my fingers, gazing at the ring. “Oh, Ben. You picked this out on your own?”
“I had a little help from our friend Sean.”
Alice gives him a warm, approving look and I feel a pang of missing my own mom.
“You and Sean did a great job. It’s beautiful. It looks like it was made for you, Stella.”
“Thank you.”
“Is it weird, being with your ex’s twin?” Uncle Kevin asks.
“Kevin,” Alice scolds.
“It’s okay,” I say. “It’s actually not weird at all, because to me Owen and Ben are very different people. They always have been. I’ve known them for such a long time.”
“Mom, did you know Stella’s making lamps now?” Ben asks. “She’s really talented.”
My cheeks warm. Not many people know about my lamps.
“Well, I’m not surprised,” Alice says. “You’ve always been able to do just about anything you set your mind to.”
Jack walks into the dining room, Owen and Cara trailing behind him. Owen’s right eye is swollen nearly shut and he has a fat lip. I don’t miss the smirk of satisfaction that crosses Ben’s face.
Owen and Cara sit back down in their seats, both of them avoiding looking at me. Ben puts a hand on my knee, reassuring me as we eat and listen to his family make small talk.
“How’s bankruptcy law treating you, Owen?” Alice’s cousin Jake asks.
“It keeps me busy.”
“But it’s lucrative,” Cara says with a smug smile.
Lucrative. Ha. If being with an attorney makes her feel like a big deal, she can have at it. I’m not remotely jealous. I’ve got Ben, and I trust him with my heart, which is more than Cara should trust Owen with.
“Are you pregnant?” Owen asks me, his tone sulky.
Alice drops her fork and it clatters against her plate.
“Owen, I warned you,” Jack says darkly.
“That’s all I want to know,” Owen says, putting his hands up. “I’m not planning to fight anymore.”
I clear my throat. “No, I’m not pregnant. Ben and I are getting married because we’re in love.”
“When she is pregnant, we’ll make sure you’re the first to know,” Ben says, holding Owen’s gaze.
Even levelheaded Ben can’t help himself from being a territorial alpha male. For a few tense seconds, I think Owen might jump across the table at him. Instead, he scoffs and smiles.
“Outstanding,” he mutters.
After dinner, Ben and I play Scrabble with Alice and Aunt Millie in the living room, Ben sitting right next to me on the couch. I feel Owen and Cara looking at us, but it doesn’t bother me.
I missed Ben so much that I can’t be anything but happy to be by his side, wearing his engagement ring. He wanted me to choose him over everything and everyone else, and he deserved that.
After eating dessert and watching the second half of a football game, Ben announces we’re going back to my house and will be back in the morning.
Owen’s sitting in a corner with an icepack over his eye, but he still waves to us as we leave.
“Is he actually going to be okay with this?” I ask Ben as we make the short walk back to my house.
“He has to. He’s my brother and I’m marrying you.”
“That feels like a Christmas miracle.”
He grins at me. “You saying yes to me was the miracle. And I plan to spend the rest of our lives making you glad you did.”
“How long are you in town for Christmas?”
“Just tonight and tomorrow night.”
I take out my house keys. “Then we’ll have to make the most of our time, won’t we?”
He grins. “I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
By the time I take off my makeup and change into pajamas, he’s waiting in my bed in nothing but boxer briefs. Merry Christmas to me, indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ben
* * *
Christmas morning has never looked more beautiful. Waking up with my fiancée’s legs tangled up in mine is the greatest gift I could ever ask for.
“I like you wearing nothing but my ring,” I tell her after two rounds of morning sex.
“I like that you have a possessive side.”
She brings out my inner caveman for damn sure. I want everyone to know she’s mine and only mine.
