Page 64 of His Christmas Gift

“It was about time that I did this for real,” I replied with a cheeky smile. “I fell for you so quickly, so easily. It made sense to me, even if I was too afraid to believe that.”

“You love me?” Autumn asked me, hope glimmering in her eyes.

I nodded, gazing up at her with pure admiration in my eyes. No one else amazed me as she did. She had so much beauty, so much intelligence, so much drive. She was inspiring and encouraging. Who better to be by my side?

“I love you,” I said. “I love you so much that it’s hard to explain. I just know that I need you by my side, and I want to raise a family with you. We’ve already got the first step out of the way.”

Autumn shared a light bout of laughter with me. Then, a single tear broke from her eye and trailed down her cheek. She looked so happy and relieved. The sight made my heart feel like it was glowing.

“The baby was the second step. Falling in love with you was the first,” she told me.

I didn’t think that I could possibly be happier right now. Hearing her say that she loved me seemed to make everything around me feel that much brighter. There was no more darkness to this day. There was just an all-consuming feeling of warmth.

“I propose step three then,” I replied as I looked at the ring between my forefinger and thumb. My eyes then shifted back to hers. “I want you by my side forever, Autumn. At home. At work. Wherever.”

Autumn smiled happily as joyful tears continued to fill her eyes.

“Will you make me the luckiest man on the planet and be my wife?” I asked her with pure hope in my voice.

“Yes!” Autumn exclaimed, giving me a second to slip the ring back onto her finger where it belonged before throwing her arms around my neck.

I smiled into her soft hair as I rose to my feet, wrapping my arms around her body. I playfully lifted her, cherishing this moment with her in my arms. I never wanted to let go, and I never wanted to lose this memory. She was right. Experiences were way better than things.

When I set her back down on the ground, Autumn cupped my face and brought her lips to mine in a deep kiss.

I kissed her back, feeling her lips curl up against mine in a happy smile that I matched. I couldn’t believe that she was actually going to be my wife. All of this started off as a favor, as a game. Then, we got close and everything changed.

Light clapping sounded from in the house, prompting Autumn and I to break apart. I gave her parents a polite smile and nodded, resting my hand on Autumn’s back. To my surprise, I watched her and her parents hug. It was a bit timid, but the message was there. They were actually happy for her.

“We’re going to have the cutest grandchild!” Autumn’s mother told her husband with an excited look on her face.

I turned to look at Autumn with a warm smile as she moved to my side, tucking herself beneath my arm. I kissed the top of her head, feeling more satisfied and hopeful for the future than I had felt in a long time. Everything had been fine on the business front of my life, but my personal life had suffered for a while. All I did was ignore it until Autumn made me realize that I shouldn’t ignore it. I should flourish just as much outside of work as I should at work.

It only took the right person to make me realize a lot of things about my own life. She opened my eyes to so many different things and made me feel so many different feelings. She changed things for me, and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. Now, I was happier, engaged, and about to be a father.

Life changed so fast, but I was glad that I fell in love now rather than later. Despite the suddenness of Autumn’s pregnancy, I was ready to start a family, to be as good of a father as my own. I could only imagine how happy my family was going to be when they heard the news of our baby on the way. Of course, they would have to get over the fact that we lied about our engagement at first, but that wouldn’t take long at all.

“I’ll admit that I don’t know what to do next,” I chuckled. I had a general idea of what needed to be done, but where did we even start? We were business partners, fiancés, and parents-to-be. We had a lot to juggle and a lot to plan for.

Autumn turned and ran her hands over my chest and shoulders as her parents went into the other room to call other family members with the news.

“I’ll admit that I don’t know either,” she laughed softly.

I grinned, finding it amusing that people like us were stumped on the next step. We were driven, hard-working, and practical, but this was a new challenge for us. Neither of us had experience with raising a baby, but that didn’t deter me. My brothers were as hopeless as I was when it came to love and families of their own, and they turned out to be great fathers.

“I want you to move in with me,” I said, basically blurting out the words. It was the first clear thought that came to my mind. It would help if we lived under the same roof when the baby came, but I also wanted her to be around me as much as possible. I had grown accustomed to falling asleep and waking up next to her, and I didn’t want to change that.

Autumn gave me a shocked look, dropping her hands from my shoulders.

“Really?” she asked me. She seemed to not believe my request.

Maybe a lot was happening at one time and fairly quickly, but we knew what we wanted. When I pictured the future, I thought of her and our baby in one place together. I wanted her to feel at home with me, so I couldn’t think of a better plan than letting her move into my place. There was plenty of room for her and a baby. Hell, we could fit a few more babies in my place.

I was used to a big family, so having more kids wasn’t some far-out idea to me. However, Autumn and I were also dedicated to our work. We had to be business partners and parents at the same time, and there was no one else with whom I wanted to face that challenge other than her.

“Of course. The last thing that I want is to be apart from you,” I told her as I brushed my fingertips along her cheek. We had become inseparable during this trip, and I had no desire to go back to how things were.

“You don’t have to worry about that at all,” Autumn promised me, smiling up at me as she wrapped her arms around my neck. She drew my forehead down against hers as we captured this moment in our minds. We wouldn’t ever forget this trip. We wouldn’t ever forget the experience or the feeling. This was the beginning of everything.

“I love you,” I whispered to her, holding the small of her back. It was a relief to have her back in my arms.

“I love you,” Autumn said, her fingers gliding up the back of my neck.

I leaned down and kissed her, hoping she felt all of my affection in that touch. Words weren’t enough. They used to be enough, but they couldn’t properly describe the feelings that she made me feel.

Loving her was an experience like no other, and I would take that over all of the money in the world.

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