Even though she’s never come right out and said it, I know Jessie hasn’t really believed in Santa for a few years now, but when Luke and I fetch her from the room she stayed in with the nanny, I realize something else: she’s still young enough to want to.

Last night, we put out a plate of cookies for Santa—complete with a glass of milk and a carrot for the reindeer—and when Jessie discovers that they’re not only mostly eaten, but that the reindeer left a smudgy footprint on the room’s pristine carpet, her eyes go wide with delight. I didn’t think it was possible, but somehow I love Luke just a little bit more for making that happen.

“Did Luke give you your Christmas present yet, Hannah?” Jessie asks excitedly as we ride the elevator back up to Luke’s penthouse suite. She’s still wearing the soft, candy cane print pajamas and fluffy red slippers that Luke surprised her with last night, and when she grabs my hand—practically bouncing with glee—my throat tightens up for a moment.

Luke loves me, and after everything he’s done, I know he loves Jessie, too. It feels like a dream. One I never want to wake up from, and one that—after last night—I’m starting to actually believe I might not have to.

“Not yet, honey,” I tell Jessie, blinking away the moisture in my eyes as I smile down at her beaming face. “But you know I don’t need presents—”

“He got you one, though!” she interrupts, clearly just about to burst with the knowledge. “I helped!”

I glance up at him, blushing a little at the way he’s looking at me. Jessie’s here, and it’s nothing that she shouldn’t see, but it’s still so… intimate.

He loves me.

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of repeating that to myself… or hearing him say it.

Before I know it, we’ve reached the top floor and are standing in front of the door to Luke’s suite. For a moment, a wave of fear washes through me as I’m reminded all too vividly of standing here yesterday, right before Trey yanked the door open and pulled me inside. Thankfully, Jessie doesn’t seem to be thinking about it at all, and I’m grateful she’s so resilient.

“Ready, sweetheart?” Luke asks softly, his hand coming to rest on the small of my back and instantly reminding me that I’m safe.

He loves me.

I laugh, hiding it behind my hand as a blush creeps over my cheeks. Not that he can actually read my mind, of course, but I’m still embarrassed about just how many times I keep repeating that to myself.

“What’s so funny, Hannah?” Jessie asks, pushing her glasses up higher on her nose as she looks up at me curiously.

“Nothing,” I say, still smiling and suddenly not thinking about Trey at all. “I’m just… happy.”

“I truly hope you’re about to get even happier,” Luke murmurs, his hot breath hitting my neck as he leans down from behind. It makes me shiver in the best possible way, and if Jessie wasn’t with us, I’d be in his arms and begging him to make me happy, just like he did all night.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” I tell him instead, biting my lip to hold in the dirty thoughts as I turn to look up at him. I really have become a naughty girl, and I’m pretty sure Luke can read those thoughts on my face anyway if the heat that flares in his eyes is any indication, but he keeps things clean with Jessie near us and just laughs, pecking me much too innocently on the lips before patting my bottom and turning me back to face the door.

“Open it, sweetheart. Let me prove you wrong.”

“I’ll open it!” Jessie volunteers, clearly out of patience with our dithering when she knows darn well there are presents waiting inside. She plucks the keycard Luke’s holding right out of his hand and swipes it through the lock, pushing the door open to reveal… wonderland.

“Oh,” I gasp, my hand flying up to cover my mouth as my eyes go wide.

“Hannah,” Jessie breathes out, reaching behind her to blindly clutch my hand. “Is this… this… can we go inside?”

“Of course you can, munchkin,” Luke says, laughter in his voice. “It’s your home.”

My eyes immediately well up with tears at that and Jessie makes a tiny sound of surprise and joy that I swear I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I expect her to race inside and attack the mountain of presents under the fairytale-beautiful tree, but instead she turns and throws her arms around Luke’s waist, squeezing him with all her might.

Then she turns and races inside.

“Too much?” Luke whispers, taking my hand and pulling me into the suite, too. He’s laughing, though—eyes sparkling with glee—and even though it is, I’ll never say so.

While we were sleeping, he had the entire suite transformed. There’s no room for any memories of what happened here yesterday, there’s no room for anything but the abundant joy of Christmas. Everywhere I look, there are twinkling lights and fragrant greenery, shining bells and sparkling balls, glittering garlands and gifts… far more of those than the overabundance he showed me a few days ago. I can’t possibly imagine that they’re intended for just the three of us—well, just the two of us, really, since the small items I managed to pick up for Luke and Jessie are hidden in my handbag—but the way I’m coming to know Luke and his generous, giving spirit, I suspect that he’s gone overboard with this, too.

It is too much, but all I tell him is another truth—

“I love you, Luke Masters,” I tell him honestly, resting a hand over the warmth of his heart

His sparkling eyes turn soft and loving, and he pulls me against him. “That means everything, Hannah.”

“Thank you,” I add, wiping at my own again. I’m happy, but I can’t seem to stop tearing up. “For all this.” And for loving me, but I know I don’t need to say so. Instead, I wave a hand toward the Christmas wonderland around us. “This is… it’s… Luke, I have no words.”

“I have words,” Jessie pipes up, tackle-hugging the two of us and squeezing with all her might. “Luke, you made Christmas happen! Are we having more people over? Is your family coming? There are so many presents!”

“My family lives far away,” he tells her, ruffling her hair with a smile. “We’ll go visit them another time. This, though, is all for you and Hannah, munchkin.”

Jessie’s eyes go wide. Instead of pouncing on the gifts, though, she tugs his sleeve until he bends down, then whispers in his ear so loudly that it’s impossible not to hear: “I didn’t know you got so much. I thought you just got Hannah That One Thing. You know, the pretty—”

“Hey now,” Luke says quickly, scooping her up and whirling her around. “Don’t let the cat out of the bag.”

The sound of her laughter as he swings her through the air is the best present he could have given me, and I’m giggling along with the two of them as he tucks her under his arm like the world’s most oversized, gangly football and finally heads over to the tree.

“What bag?” Jessie asks excitedly as Luke plops her down in front of the gifts. “There’s a cat?”

“No,” he says, eyes twinkling. “It’s just an expression, but that does remind me… you might want to start with this one.”

He pulls a box out from the pile that’s almost as big as Hannah is. It’s marked with a distinctive bow and has an oddly shaped lid adorned with small round holes. A rustling sound comes from within, and I bite my lip, a sneaking suspicion taking hold. A moment later, Jessie’s torn through the wrapping and lifted the lid, and her ear-shattering squeal of joy confirms it.

“You got me a puppy!” Jessie shouts, her arms overflowing with a wiggling mass of soft, golden fur, comically floppy ears, and madly wagging tail. The little guy is covering her face with slobbery kisses and Jessie… Jessie’s crying.

I cover my mouth again to hold in my own sob. I’ve never seen her so happy, or imagined I’d be able to give her something like this. Sparkling, fat, happy tears flow down my sister’s cheeks and it’s clear she’s forgotten all about the dozens of other gifts. When I turn to Luke, my heart is so full that I have no words.

“Did you mean it?” I finally manage when I find them again. “You want this to… to be our home, too? With you?”

A puppy feels like a yes to that. He must know we can’t keep it if we leave, and the things he said to me last night—

“I meant it,” he says, looking down at me with everything in his eyes. And then he plucks another gift from the pile, an incredibly small one wrapped in elegant gold paper, and drops to one knee. “This suite isn’t a home unless you and Jessie are in it, sweetheart. I love you, Hannah Michelle Carsen, and I don’t ever want to be without you. In my heart… in my home… in my bed.”

His voice drops low enough to be discreet on the last word, and he winks at me, but I can barely see it because I’m crying again.

Luke is on one knee, and even though it seems too good to be true, I know what must be in the box he’s holding out to me.

I rest my fingers on it, but they’re trembling too much for me to do anything more.

Is it really possible to get everything I ever wanted? Luke smiles at me, and my heart answers that question with a resounding yes. I’m not sure if I deserve it, I’m not even sure how this miracle happened when, just a few weeks ago, I felt so hopeless and alone. But I trust him. I believe in him. I want him—I want this—with every fiber of my being.

I love him, and like a true Christmas miracle, he loves me, too … me and Jessie.

“I’m yours,” I whisper, even though he hasn’t asked yet. I stroke the gold box, wonder filling me. “I’ll always be yours, Luke.”

Even if he never made it official, it would still be true.

Luke’s eyes are starting to look suspiciously bright, too, and finally, he opens the box for me. I know he can see that I can’t do it—my fingers are still shaking too much—and just the way he always does, he knows what I need better than I do, and gives it to me without me having to ask.

He pops the lid open to reveal a diamond more brilliant than the star on top of the Christmas tree next to us, and my eyes spill over all over again.

“Marry me, sweetheart,” Luke says, his voice husky and low with the same emotion that fills my heart. “It’s the only gift I want for Christmas. Say yes.”

I dash the tears from my eyes as Jessie squeals with excitement. “I’ll always say yes to you, Luke,” I tell him, because it’s true. And then it hits me all over again. He loves me. He wants to marry me. And I squeal louder than Jessie did, throwing myself into his arms. “Yes, Luke,” I say, my heart taking flight as the radiant joy inside me spills over in a cascade of happy laughter. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Yes! Can I keep saying it? Yes, yes, yes!”

Luke’s laughing too, and I love seeing him happy. I love making him happy. And the idea that I’ll get to do it for the rest of my life is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.

As soon as he puts the ring on my finger, Jessie and her puppy pile on the two of us, knocking me into Luke and him onto the floor. We’re a messy, laughing, joyful—slobbery, thanks to the dog—tangle for a few moments as Jessie chatters excitedly about how she helped pick out the ring and that she knew I’d say yes, and when we finally set ourselves to rights, I realize that Luke’s given me so much more than a ring and a promise this Christmas. He’s given me something I thought I’d lost forever; something better than all the presents still waiting to be opened.

He’s made us into a family, and my heart knows for sure that it’s going to last forever.