25. Clara

CHAPTER 25

CLARA

I love you. I can’t wait to be with you forever. - HB

This would be the first Christmas in my entire life that I’d wake up and be part of a “normal” family morning. Sadie and the boys had moved in with Barrett before we could have one at my place together and suffice it to say, my childhood Christmas mornings were better left forgotten, even the ones my father had been a part of.

It was Nick’s year to have Christmas with the kids and I’d been beyond honored and only mildly freaked out when they’d asked me to stay the night and spend all day with them.

Sasha and Ethan told me their dad had traditions: stuff like homemade cinnamon rolls and eggnog with whipped cream for breakfast, then opening presents one by one while A Christmas Story played in the background. Those were some of the things he’d done growing up, and he’d kept that alive for his own kids.

Like me, Nick had four bedrooms. I had crashed on the pull-out bed in his family den which doubled as the guest room. The kids knew we were together. They even knew we had dated in high school, but we chose not to tell them all the fraught details. As far as they were concerned, we liked each other a long time ago and now we did again. We agreed that we wouldn’t share a room until we’d been together for a few more months.

I opened my eyes as a sliver of light from the hallway crossed over me. “Hello,” I whispered.

“Baby, wake up.” It was Nick. “I have something to give you before the kids get out of bed.”

I sat up, patting the mattress next to me while I wiggled my eyebrows. “Get in here.”

“It’s not that, though I like the way you think,” he joked as he crossed the room. He didn’t join me in the bed. Instead, he knelt at the edge and placed a small velvet box next to my knee.

The breath left my body along with his name in a slow whoosh. “Nick . . .”

“I love you.” I opened my mouth to speak but he quieted me with a kiss to my lips. “I have to tell you how much before you say yes.”

“Okay, tell me,” I whispered. Goosebumps rose over my skin.

“It’s timeless, endless, boundless . . . Some people find their way into your heart and never leave. You’ve never left mine.” His hand slid over his heart to rest there. “You’ve been right here since I met you.”

Happy, overjoyed tears filled my eyes, threatening to spill. “I love you so much, Nick.”

“You were my first love, my only love. Every memory we’ve ever made together is part of me. I never, ever forgot you and now that I have you again, I’ll never let you go. Clara Jean Hill, will you marry me?”

I beamed at him. “Yes. I will marry you, Nicholas Andrew Easton. Just try to get rid of me.”

“Never. Now that you’re mine, we’re doing all the classics—every normal, cheeseball thing I can think of. We’re starting traditions together, Clara.”

He opened the box, and I gasped.

“This was my grandmother’s ring.”

I held out my hand. “It’s beautiful.” And it was. Round, brilliant, about three carats on a platinum band. It fit me perfectly as he slid it on.

“This makes it official. You’re mine forever.”

“I’m yours, Nick. Forever and ever, like I’ve always been. Get up here and hold me.” He climbed in next to me and I snuggled back, enjoying the feel of having my future husband’s arms wrapped around me.

He took my hand in his and held it out so we could admire the ring.

“Sam brought it over on Thanksgiving,” he murmured. “How about next year we celebrate together? You’ll love his kids.”

I hummed my agreement. “I’d like that. Maybe we could have it at my place.”

“Your place, huh?” He brushed my hair over my shoulder as he nuzzled my neck, dropping little kisses behind my ear.

“Oh!” Joy bubbled inside me when it hit me that we’d be moving in together. “We’re getting married!”

“We sure are, baby.” He chuckled.

I wiggled with excitement. “When should we do it?”

“As soon as possible. Tomorrow?”

Images began to play through my head like a movie. “I want a spring wedding in one of the lavender fields, Nick. Now that I’ve made peace with my mother, I think it will be the perfect place.”

The deep rumble of his laugh made me smile. “How about in the field where we had our first time, out behind the barn,” he suggested. His voice dropped low as he whispered in my ear, “No one has to know what we did back there.”

I turned in his arms to face him. “We can find the exact spot!”

“Have I ever told you I love your dirty mind?” His eyes sparkled with naughty thoughts of his own.

“Shh,” I hissed. “Someone’s coming.”

Sasha poked her head in the door. “Dad?”

“Did he do it yet?” Ethan shouted.

I let out a giggle. “They knew you were going to propose?”

“They did,” he confirmed. “I asked them first and they⁠—”

“We said yes!” Sasha shrieked as she burst into the room. “We can’t wait ’til you marry our dad!”

Ethan popped his head through the doorway. “We have presents for you too.” He was adorably sheepish when he asked, “Can I give mine to you now?”

My heart swelled. “You sure can, sweetie. Come in.”

Sasha stage-whispered to Nick, “I brought the one from you too, Dad.”

“Oh, but my presents for y’all are out under the tree.” I needed to hop up and go get them but⁠—

“This is a new tradition,” Nick informed me. “Just for you.”

Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the three of them. Their smiles were so sweet, so full of love. “Oh,” I squeaked. “Okay, I⁠—”

“It’s okay, baby.” Nick pulled me into his side. “I got you.”

“Dad’s goes first.” Ethan handed me a small box. Inside was a bracelet with a tiny engagement ring charm dangling from one of the links.

It was gorgeous. “I love it, y’all. Nick, I—don’t know what to say . . .” A warm glow lightened my heart as tears ran freely down my cheeks.

Ethan shoved his present toward me. “Now mine.” I unwrapped it and discovered a tiny ornament charm with Our 1st X-mas engraved on the front with the year on the back.

“Y’all, I—oh my god.” I could no longer contain myself. I bawled.

Sasha wiped away her own tears as she passed me a bigger box. Inside was a tiny potted plant and a watering can. “I couldn’t decide,” she said. “So dad said I could get you both.”

“I love them. All of them, and I love all of you too. These are the best gifts I’ve ever received in my entire life.”

I no longer had any words left in my brain to say, so I held my arms out, wiggling my hands for them to come to me so I could hug them.

“I’m going to be the best stepmother ever,” I finally managed to squeak out as I kissed their cheeks one by one. “I swear it.”

“We know you will, Miss Clara. You’re already the best neighbor we’ve ever had,” Ethan said.

“Just Clara, now. Please,” I murmured. Would they call me something stepmother-y in the future? I couldn’t wait to find out.

“You’re always so nice to us, Clara,” Sasha added. “And you’re fun to talk to, and you’re also my best plant friend. We can garden together all the time now!”

“And you’re funny too, and you always have Dr Pepper.” Ethan tried to one-up her, and it was adorable.

“But most of all, you love our dad a lot,” Sasha finished. “That’s the best part.”

“I do. I so do, ” I sobbed as I squeezed them close. “I love him more than the whole world and I’m going to love you both that much too, I promise.”

Nick pulled all of us into his arms, laughing when we tipped over and fell against him.

“How are we ever going to top this morning?” I mumbled into his chest.

“Wait and see, baby,” he told me. “It’ll only get better from here.”