In Love With Him

Chapter 68

Dominic’s POV

Christmas Morning

The living room glowed soft with the shimmer of blue and white lights winding around the towering tree. Ornaments sparkled in the early morning light that filtered through the windows. A soft instrumental version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas played in the background, and for once, everything felt... calm.

Mom and Paul were curled up on the love seat, hands entwined like a couple of teenagers instead of two adults nearing fifty. Max sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the tree, practically bouncing as he tried to sneak peeks at the tags on each present.

Kyle lounged in one of the armchairs, his arm casually draped around Morgan, who was perched on the armrest beside him. They whispered and smiled at each other like they were the only two people in the room.

And then there was me, sitting on the couch… right next to Kennedy.

She had her knees pulled up to her chest, her cheek resting gently against them, eyes glowing in the twinkle of the lights. Her hair was a little messy, like she hadn’t brushed it yet, but I thought she looked perfect.

She smelled like coconut and vanilla — always. That scent was starting to feel like home.

Gifts were being passed around. Max tore into his like a savage, while Paul and Mom opened theirs with practiced patience. Wrapping paper piled up like snowdrifts around the room.

I held the box in my lap a little longer than I should’ve, debating the timing. Then, finally, I turned to her.

"Here," I said, handing her the rectangular box. “Merry Christmas.”

Kennedy blinked in surprise. “You got me something?”

“I mean… yeah. It’s Christmas.”

She smiled and carefully peeled the paper away — so opposite of Max’s tornado style. When the book finally appeared, her breath caught.

Her fingers ran over the black leather cover, the stitched edges, the glint of the silvered pages. Her lips parted in awe.

“The complete works of Edgar Allan Poe,” she whispered. “This is… this is beautiful.”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Thought you might like it.”

She looked up at me, eyes shimmering like the damn tree next to us. “I love it.”

That smile was all I needed. The one that lit up her whole face. The one that made my chest tighten and my heart do things it shouldn’t.

Before I could say anything else, she reached beside her and pulled out a small package wrapped in red paper.

“This is for you,” she said, biting her bottom lip. “It’s not a fancy collector’s item or anything, but... I hope you like it.”

I opened it and froze.

A brand-new pair of Pro MMA gloves. High-quality, perfectly sized. I ran my fingers over the stitching, stunned.

“How did you…?” I started.

Kennedy smirked like she was reading my mind. “I noticed your old ones were ripping. These should last a long time.”

I looked at her — really looked at her — and for a second I thought I might kiss her. Right there in front of everyone.

But before the thought could turn into action, Kyle cleared his throat.

“Alright,” he said, standing up and handing a little box to Mom. “This one’s from us.”

She smiled and took it, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. But as soon as she opened it and saw what was inside — she gasped.

A small black, gray, and white ultrasound photo sat in the box, neatly placed on a bed of tissue paper.

Mom’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes filled instantly. “Is this…?” she breathed.

Kyle nodded proudly. “You’re going to be a grandmother.”

Mom burst into tears. Happy, ugly, beautiful tears. Paul wrapped an arm around her, laughing as she hugged the box to her chest.

Morgan wiped her own eyes and leaned into Kyle, who looked like he was trying not to get emotional himself.

But he wasn’t done.

“There’s… one more thing,” Kyle said, pulling something small from his pocket.

The entire room went quiet.

He turned to Morgan, dropped to one knee, and opened the box — revealing a delicate silver ring with a halo diamond that sparkled like a thousand stars.

“Morgan,” he said, his voice suddenly shaking, “I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you the second I saw you in the mess hall in Germany. I know we’re having a baby, and I know life’s about to get wild… but I don’t want to do it without you. Will you marry me?”

Morgan clapped her hands over her mouth. Tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, yes, yes!”

Everyone exploded into cheers. Even Max, who had a bow stuck to his forehead, jumped up and ran over to hug them.

I clapped with everyone else… but my eyes drifted sideways.

To Kennedy.

Still sitting next to me. Still holding that Poe collection against her chest like it was the most valuable thing in the world.

She turned to me, and for a second we just… stared at each other.

No words.

Just a look.

And in that moment, surrounded by laughter and lights and the scent of cinnamon and pine — I knew.

I was completely gone for her.

---

Kennedy's POV

I don’t think I’d ever seen so many people cry happy tears at once.

Morgan was shaking as she hugged Kyle, the ring sparkling on her finger like something out of a movie. Max was cheering so loud I thought he might pass out. Dad had this quiet, emotional smile on his face as he held onto Helen, who was absolutely sobbing — still clutching the ultrasound picture like it was made of gold.

The whole room buzzed with this warm, joyful energy. Like something magical had cracked open and spilled into our living room.

And yet… somehow, I couldn’t stop looking at Dominic.

He hadn’t moved much since the proposal. Just sitting next to me, elbows resting on his knees, eyes watching everything — but there was something deeper there. Something brewing behind those dark, stormy eyes.

I looked down at the Poe collection in my lap and hugged it tighter to my chest. The leather cover was smooth and cool beneath my fingertips, but it made my whole chest feel warm.

He didn’t just grab this off a shelf. He picked this for me.

The same guy who once ignored me, teased me, kept everyone at arm’s length — had paid attention to me. Really seen me.

That thought made my heart twist.

The way he’d looked at me when I opened it. Like maybe he needed me to like it. Like my smile meant something to him.

And when I saw his gift — those MMA gloves — I could tell he was just as surprised as I was. But he smiled, this soft, almost shy smile I’d never seen on his face before.

That’s when it hit me.

I’m falling for him.

Hard.

Dangerously.

Irreversibly.

And I had no idea how to stop it.

It wasn’t just his face or his body (which made me feel things I had no business feeling), or his voice or his sarcasm or the way he always looked half-annoyed with the world. It was him.

The him who sat with me and watched shows in comfortable silence.

The him who let me crawl into bed next to him and didn’t try to take advantage.

The him who broke a little more each time he came home smelling like alcohol and guilt.

The him I wanted to fix. To understand. To hold.

But I couldn’t tell him any of that.

Because what if he didn’t feel the same?

Because we were supposed to be step-siblings.

Because I might just ruin everything.

Before I could spiral further, Kyle stood again, taking Morgan’s hand in his.

“There’s one more thing,” he said, smiling now through misty eyes. “Morgan and I have talked a lot, and… we’ve both decided to retire from the military.”

Helen gasped. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” Kyle said. “We’re moving back here. We’ve been looking at a house across town. We want to raise the baby here — close to family. This place is home.”

Dad stood up and hugged them both, laughing. “Best Christmas ever.”

Max, of course, yelled “Wait — does that mean I get to be an uncle!?”

I laughed, wiping a tear from the corner of my eye, even though I hadn’t noticed it falling.

A baby, a proposal, retirement, moving home…

And somehow in the middle of it all, my heart was sitting in Dominic’s hands like it didn’t even belong to me anymore.

He bumped my arm gently with his elbow, his voice low. “You okay?”

I looked up at him, and for a second — just a second — I thought about saying the truth.

No, I’m not.

I’m terrified.

Of how much I want you.

Of how much I already need you.

Instead, I nodded.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “Just a lot all at once.”

He didn’t press. Just looked at me a little longer than necessary.

Like maybe he felt it too.