DANTE
Keeping this secret was killing me.
I'd almost broken twice today, once when Cinnamon looked at me over breakfast with that soft, unguarded smile that made my chest ache, and again when she'd curled into my side on the couch, warm and trusting and completely mine.
So instead of confessing early and ruining the surprise, I'd done something reckless. I'd poked at her. Stalled. Rage-baited her just enough to keep her distracted and just irritated enough not to look too closely.
It had worked. Barely.
We hadn't gotten Christmas together. Life had bulldozed straight through New Year's like those moments weren't sacred. So tonight was ours. Not just dinner. Not just family. This was my line in the sand. My announcement to the world that I was serious about her, about us, about the lif
