"Okay," I finally say. "But I'm paying you back. Someday."
"No, you're not. But we can argue about that later." He kisses me softly. "Right now, I just want to hold you."
We curl up together in front of the fire, the Christmas lights twinkling around us, and I think about how much my life has changed in just a few days.
A few days ago, I was the nanny. The employee. The girl sending money home and eating ramen so she could save a few extra dollars.
Now I'm his girlfriend. His partner. Someone he wants to marry someday.
"What are you thinking?" Henry asks, his fingers trailing lazily up and down my spine.
"That I'm really lucky."
"I'm the lucky one." He pulls me closer. "You could have anyone, Maren. You chose me."
"Of course I chose you." I press a kiss to his chest. "You're everything I want."
"Good. Because you're stuck with me now."
"I think I can live with that."
I came here to be a nanny. To earn money, to help my family, to survive.
Instead, I found everything I'd ever wanted.
A home. A family. A love that feels like forever.
Maren
Epilogue
The early summer sun streams through the floor-to-ceiling windows as I pour coffee in the kitchen I now think of asours. Through the glass, I can see Lilliana playing on the new swing set Henry built last month. He spent two weekends on it, insisting on doing it himself even though he could have easily hired someone.
"Morning, beautiful."
Henry's arms wrap around me from behind, and I lean back into his chest, smiling. He smells like coffee and the expensive body wash he uses, and his jaw is rough with morning stubble against my cheek.
"Morning. Lilliana's already outside."
"I know. I told her she could play for half an hour before we need to get ready." He presses a kiss to my neck. "My parents will be here at noon."
Right. Today's the day. My stomach does a nervous flip.
"Hey." He turns me in his arms. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just nervous."
"Don't be. They already love you."
That's true. Over the past six months, Jane and Robert have welcomed me into their family with open arms. Jane's even started calling me to ask my opinion on things, like I'm already a daughter-in-law instead of just their son's girlfriend.
But today's different. Today we're telling them the other news.
"What if they think it's too fast?" I ask.
"It's not too fast. Not for us. Maren, I've known since Christmas that I wanted to marry you. We're just making it official."
I look down at the ring on my finger—the one he slipped on two weeks ago during a sunset hike, after asking Lilliana's permission first. It's perfect: a simple platinum band with a single diamond, elegant and understated and so very Henry.
