The lights on the Christmas tree held my attention as I dreaded the thought of leaving today. At least I’d had a week at home with my family. It meant a lot to see everyone, but it meant just as much to have my family meet Mia.

I glanced in her direction and couldn’t help but chuckle to myself. The sofa cradled her body as both my Grandma Hannah and Great Aunt Lilly sat on either side of her. They were touching her belly, asking her questions about her pregnancy. From what I could tell, Mia was at ease chatting with both of them. Several times the three of them laughed together.

“She fits right in, doesn’t she?”

I found Aunt Jenny standing beside me, near the kitchen. “Yeah, she does. Mia told me last night that she wants to visit as much as possible, and she’s hoping she can get everyone out to Arizona for a visit.”

“I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’d like that. I’m pretty sure your parents would too, and Uncle Johnny . . . You know he’s down for anything.”

“Good to hear.” We both grew silent as I gazed at Mia again.

“Listen, I, uh . . . I have something I want to get your opinion on. It involves Mia, Christmas, and her present. Do you care to help?”

“I don’t mind, but you may want to hang on a second.” Aunt Jenny pointed to my mother, who was grabbing a present from under the tree. Once she had the wide package in her grasp, she walked over to Mia, who gazed at her in confusion

“What do you have, Kay?”

“Just a little something for you.”

Mia pointed to herself, still gawking at the present. “But we already opened the gifts you got us.”

“I was going to wait to give you this later, but I feel like now is the time.” Mom set the present on Mia’s knees and held it while she opened it. Once Mia removed the wrapping paper, she opened the long, brown box and pulled out the contents. I didn’t miss the way her mouth gaped as she stared at what appeared to be a picture frame.

“Oh my, God.” Mia covered her mouth as her eyes watered. “This is so pretty. How did you get all of these pictures of Ayden and me?”

Mom’s eyes shifted toward me. “All those pictures you and my son take together, he sends me quite a few of them. I had them printed so Holden and I could make this photo collage.”

“Make it?” Mia’s confusion resonated in her voice.

“Yes. We made it. Holden has woodworking tools and I’m the crafty one, so we team up for some good creations. This was one of mine.”

I wasn’t expecting Mia to burst into tears a second later. Neither was anyone else.

“Great job, Kay.” Grandma Hannah griped as she frowned at Mom. “You’ve made the poor girl cry.”

“No, it’s okay.” Mia waved off my grandmother’s comment and wiped the tears from her eyes. “My emotions all over the place lately.”

Great Aunt Lilly eased over onto the other cushion as my mom sat beside Mia. She patted her shoulder and offered Mia tissue with her other hand. “You’re pregnant, sweetie. Being emotional comes along with the territory.”

Sniffling as she nodded, Mia blew her nose into the tissue and folded it. “I adore this, Kay.”

“It tells a story too.” My mother touched the top of the frame and pointed to various spots on it. “The plus sign connects the first collage and second collage. The equal sign is the sum of those collages in one final picture.”

“It’s blank.” Mia’s brows folded as she touched the frame. She peered at my Mom, who was nodding. “Is this for . . .”

“Yes. It’s for your wedding picture.”

More tears filled Mia’s eyes. My mother pulled her into an embrace. She whispered something in her ear that made my fiancée chuckle. Whatever it was, I was content that my mother approved of her. Both of my parents did, as did the rest of my family.

As I watched Mia wipe her tears and hug my grandmother next, I glanced toward the picture frame again. I wasn’t sure why my mother decided to give Mia this gift tonight. She mentioned a similar gift she had for the bridal shower, even though Mia and Andi hadn’t scheduled a date yet. At no point during our stay did she say anything about giving it to Mia now. I took it as a sign.

Over the last few days, I’d given serious thought to the future Mia and I were building together. Maybe it was being home around the family that had me considering what was yet to come. I knew no matter what happened in our life from here on out, we were in it together. Still, I wanted a way to show her how much she meant and how much I never wanted to lose what we shared.

If this idea was to work, I couldn’t waste any time. Christmas was just around the corner. My time was limited. Guess it was a good thing I knew people who would help me pull off this endeavor.

When I looked toward Aunt Jenny again, I reminded her about our previous conversation. “Remember that opinion I needed from you?” Once she nodded, I released a deep breath. Aunt Jenny would be the first to know about my secret. If she approved, Mia would find out soon enough.

The sun cast its last prominent rays inside my family’s cabin as particles of dust flew through the air. In another hour, it would disappear from the sky and make its track around the rest of the world. Now that the luggage and groceries were inside and put away, Ayden and I could enjoy the rest of the evening.

As I gazed around the family room, I studied the window that faced the driveway. It was the spot where we always placed the Christmas tree whenever we celebrated the holidays here. It had been a couple of years since that happened, and last time, it was my father and Andi who joined me. None of us were in relationships, but we had an enjoyable trip all the same.

Ayden’s arms wrapped around me, bringing my thoughts back to the present. “Hey. Why are you staring so hard at the window? Do you see something outside?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. The spot in front of the window is where my family and I always put our Christmas tree. When I was younger, my grandfather and father would find a tree somewhere on the property and chop it down. After my mom passed, my grandfather would take me into town and buy the biggest tree.”

“How come he didn’t cut any down?”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “Grandfather didn’t want to do it without my dad. The whole reason my dad did it was because of my mom. Each year, he brought back a tree that was bigger than the one the year before. When she died, it all stopped.”

He leaned his head to mine and squeezed me tighter. “If you want the tradition to come back, I can chop down any tree you want. All you have to do is say the word.”

Cupping his cheek, I smiled at him. “I would be so impressed if you went into the woods and brought back a tree.”

“Consider it done tomorrow. What about decorations?”

“We have them stored in one of the closets.”

“Okay then. Tomorrow, we will have the biggest and best Christmas tree sitting inside this room. We’ll spend the day decorating it.”

Gazing up at him, I stared in awe, disbelieving I almost let him slip away from me. The time we’d spent together since we reunited had been astounding. Each day, I felt closer to him. We opened up to each other, discovering new things about the other all the time. I wanted to know everything about him. He fascinated me.

“So let’s talk about dinner. What sounds good for tonight?”

“It doesn’t matter to me. I can fix you anything you’d like.”

“No, no, no.” He kissed the end of my nose and eased back. “I’m on dinner duty this evening. You, my beautiful fiancée, are going to waltz your sweet little ass to the bedroom and take a little nap.” He touched his hand to my cheek. “I know you’re tired and jetlagged. Let me take care of you this evening.”

“What if I want to take care of you?”

My body jostled when he chuckled. “You take care of me all the time. Don’t worry. You can make it up to me tonight.” This time when he kissed me, it was rougher. My lips tingled when he pulled away. “Deal?”

It was hard to say no to him when those big brown eyes of his pleaded with me. It was like looking at a sad little puppy begging for someone to pick it up. I couldn’t refuse him.

“It’s definitely a deal, Mr. McAllister.”

I could feel him smiling when he kissed me once more. His lips were taut, but their effect on me was the same. They made my knees grow weak.

Come on. Let me help you upstairs. I’ll even tuck you in if you’re a good girl.”

As he led me to the back of the cabin, I gave him a devious grin. “What if I’m a bad girl? Will you still tuck me in?”

“No, but I will spank you.”

“Promise?”

He laughed as he urged me up the staircase. When we reached the bedroom, he turned down the covers and fluffed the pillows for me as I removed my coat and shoes. Once I crawled into bed, Ayden leaned in, pulling the covers closer. Then he kissed me again. “Looks like the good girl won out.”

“No, the sleepy girl did. I never knew being pregnant could be so tiring.”

“Well, you are providing energy for you and our child. You’re going to tire more than usual, which is where I come in. I’m here to take care of you.”

Lacing my fingers through his, I smiled up at him. “I’m glad you’re here to take care of me. This past week has been amazing. I absolutely loved visiting your family and getting to know them.”

“I don’t think I have to convince you that they like you a lot. Everyone is excited for you to become the next McAllister.”

“No one could be as excited as I am.”

He nodded and leaned in to kiss me again. “Get some sleep, beautiful. I’ll wake you when it’s time for dinner.”

“Okay.” I managed to get the word out before I broke into a yawn. Once he closed the door behind him, I stared at it a moment. The central air unit kicked on as heat blew out of the vent in the floor. I snuggled further under the blanket, fighting against the heaviness in my eyes when I noticed the ring on my finger.

Touching the diamond, I thought back to our last few hours at Ayden’s family house in Tennessee. Just days after meeting his aunt and uncle, I finally got to meet his Grandma Hannah. From the moment we were introduced, I’d noticed her watching me. It wasn’t until we were alone later that day when she saw the ring on my finger. She had wasted no time in telling me how it was once hers and how she’d given it to Ayden. She wanted him to have the same type of love that she and her husband shared.

I grew teary-eyed when she talked about her husband and how they met at a beauty pageant she had won. Their life together had a bumpy start, kind of like Ayden’s and mine. In the end, everything worked out.

When I told her about some of the problems Ayden and I had faced, she listened to every word without judgment. When I explained to her how Ayden said the ring gave him hope that we would work things out, she hugged me. I didn’t understand why until she told me how she and her husband almost broke up too. That, like her grandson, he’d held out hope when he noticed she hadn’t removed the ring. Once we learned our stories were similar, it was as though we formed an instant bond.

I couldn’t wait to see his family again. With a jet at my disposal, I would make sure they could come to see us if our schedule wouldn’t allow for Ayden and me to go see them. I’d make sure they were at the wedding, and when it came time for the baby’s birth, that they were a part of the special occasion.

Only one thing stood in the way of me enjoying the happy thoughts. No matter how much everything seemed to be coming together, I still had my sister to worry about. I didn’t expect Izzy to accept my relationship with Ayden. There was too much bad blood between them, and the same could be said about us.

Until I knew for sure that my sister wasn’t a threat to Ayden, the baby, or even myself, I wasn’t sure when I could enjoy what should be one of the happiest times of my life.