Page 64 of Loving Luna

When she pulled away, resting her forehead on mine, we were both breathless. “You never answered my question.”

“Say yes!” Sadie cried.

“Say yes, say yes, say yes,” the Littles chanted.

“Say yes!” My mother joined them.

Luna opened her mouth and the crowd grew silent again.

“It’s okay if you’re not ready,” I reminded her. “Don’t let them pressure you. I’ll wait until you are.”

Luna shook her head, whipping her pink hair back and forth until her curls slapped the side of my face. “You don’t need to wait. I don’t want to wait. I’m ready to marry you. My answer is yes.”

My jaw dropped open. There was still a part of me that hadn’t believed it would ever happen, or at least not today. Not this year. “It’s a Christmas miracle!” I cried, pumping my fist in the air.

“Three Cheers for Ranch magic!” one of the Littles cried. It sounded like Hayleigh, but I couldn’t be sure.

“Hip hip hooray!” The chant rose up. “Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!”

“Hip hip hooray indeed,” I whispered as I took the ring out of the box and slid it on Luna’s finger.

My babygirl leaned in and kissed me again, and I knew in that moment, despite everything, that this would forever go down in history as my best Christmas ever.

EPILOGUE

LUNA

“Okay, you can come in now!” I called out through the great room as I placed the finishing touches on the Christmas Eve dinner I’d prepared and took a step back to admire it. The table was perfectly set with a fancy tablecloth, placemats, napkin rings, fine china, the whole nine yards. I’d never eaten at such a fancy table aside from maybe a wedding or two, but the china and stuff belonged to Drake’s mom. He’d grown up using it on holidays and special occasions and it was a tradition I wanted to continue, especially with Hettie kinda sorta living with us now.

At my call, Drake, Hettie, and our guests, Trent and Maureen filed in, appropriately ooohing and awing over the fancy table set with a feast.

“Luna!” Hettie exclaimed, coming over to give me a hug. “This looks perfect. Much better than I’ve ever done. What a good little hostess you are.”

At her praise, I both blushed and rolled my eyes, because it was, to my knowledge, exactly as she’d always done. Everythingwas hers, from the recipes down to the china and flatware. Maybe over the years, I’d add my own recipes or tweak things to my liking, but this first year, one that was already going to be rough enough, I’d wanted the Christmas Eve meal to be a source of comfort and a celebration of the life that Hettie and Harold had built together, just as I celebrated every day the wonderful son they’d made.

As soon as his mom released me, Drake came up wrapped an arm around my waist, hugging me to his side, and pressed a kiss on my cheek. “This looks amazing, babygirl.”

“Thank you.” I blushed again. “I just hope ittastesamazing.”

“I’m sure it will. Come on, everybody. Let’s eat.” Drake took a seat at the head of the table, with me on his right and his mother on his left. Maureen sat beside me, and Trent beside Hettie.

“Let’s say a quick little grace,” Hettie said before anyone could start dishing up. “For Christmas.”

I sucked in a breath and nodded, bowing my head, and was amazed when I heard Drake's voice, and not Hettie’s, offer up a quick prayer of thanks, mentioning family, our new home, our dinner company and our friends at the Ranch before adding in a quick blessing for the food and capping it off with a soft “Amen” that we all echoed.

When I looked up, Hettie’s eyes were misty. “That was beautiful, Drakey. Just perfect. Exactly what your father would have done.”

Drake smiled and reached for her hand on the table, giving it a quick squeeze. “I don’t know if anything can be as beautiful as this amazing meal Luna prepared. I’m starving.”

Hettie smiled and wiped at her eyes with the cuff of her sweater before laughing softly. “Point taken. Let’s dig in.”

To my pleased surprise, as I’d never considered myself much of a cook, or had much practice, everything tasted as good as it looked, a detail I credited to Hettie’s very detailed family recipes.The prime rib was perfectly seared, and a nice medium rare on the inside, with a tender garlicy crust. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and buttery, and the Brussel sprouts perfectly cooked with a sweet-and-salty glaze. The rolls, also homemade, melted in my mouth, and the dessert, a pretzel-crusted concoction with a layer of cream cheese and whipped cream filling, topped with a layer of raspberry jello with frozen raspberries, that Hettie called “Raspberry Pretzel Salad” even though there was nothing “salad” about it, was a perfect mix of sweet and salty that melted on my tongue, and made my tastebuds dance.

Everybody seemed to have the same opinions as me and practically licked their plates clean. After dinner, we converged to the living room, where we sat by the gorgeous tree. Drake turned Christmas music on, and we drank eggnog while exchanging gifts.

I got a family recipe book from Hettie with all the recipes I’d used for the evening’s meal, plus dozens extra, and Hettie loved the crocheted handbag I’d made her. I gave Trent and Maureen each a new paddle, since Maureen was a switch, but Trent was her Dom, and I wasn’t even a little bit surprised when their gift to Drake was the same.

“Oh great. Thanks so much for that. It’s so thoughtful,” I said with a laugh, rolling my eyes when Drake waved the maple-wood masterpiece engraved with my name in my direction. The truth was, even though it was wood, which I hated, I couldn’t wait to try it out, and I could see by Drake’s smile, he felt the same.

---