He swings me around, kissing me at least seven times before my feet hit the floor.
“I’m gonna be a daddy!” He pauses, then looks at his phone. “I need to tell everyone!”
Giggling, I watch him fumble with his phone, already plugging in someone’s number.
“Hey now, can’t we just enjoy this for a little longer before letting other people in?”
He stops typing and drops the phone onto the table. “You’re right. This is about us right now.”
His arms circle around me, dragging me closer. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a daddy.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
He nods, kissing my forehead sweetly. “Ever since I met you, it’s all I’ve wanted, Mindy. I love you.”
“I love you too, Rich. Just promise me one thing, okay?”
Those blue eyes drink me in, promising the world if I ask for it.
“What’s that?” he questions, lips dragging down my neck, igniting excited shivers only he can provide.
“Promise me you’ll always keep ourfamilysafe.”
The word hangs between us like an ornament hanging off the edge of a branch. One wrong move and the fragile glass drops, shattering beneath the tree we’re just starting to build together.
Rich stills. His mouth pauses at my throat, breath warm and uneven. Slowly, he pulls back enough to look at me, really look at me, like he’s committing every freckle and fear to memory.
“I promise,” he says without hesitation. No contracts. No stipulations. Just certainty. “Nothing touches you or our child without going through me first. I don’t care who it is or what it costs. I will always protect you both.”
Something in my chest cracks open, relief and love bleeding together. I cup his jaw, thumb brushing over the scars on his face, loving the way he lovingly nuzzles my palm like my touch breaks him.
“I need to hear it,” I whisper. “Not as Krampus, the man who deals with enemies and wears blood on his hands.” I swallow hard. “But as the Rich, the man who’ll always come home to us even when times are rough.”
His forehead drops to mine. “I swear it.”
My eyes burn with relieved tears, but I force out a smile, anyway. “Good,” I say softly. “Because I don’t want our babies growing up experiencing the fear we did this past year.”
He exhales a shaky laugh. “Babies?” he repeats, like he’s trying the word on for size. “I can’t wait to have more.”
I shrug casually, like my heart isn’t pounding hard enough to bruise my ribs. “Well, I hope you’re ready because they’re gonna be here soon.” I hand him the sonogram, watching his eyes widen with shock.
“Wait, there’s two?”
Giggling, I nod. “Yup, twins.”
His hands slide to my stomach, the look of excitement shimmering in his eyes. “This is better than I could’ve everimagined. Next Christmas will be better,” he predicts. “Next year will be better, too.”
I huff out a hesitant breath, still scarred from the wounds Rico left me with. “This year was… a lot.”
“That’s one way to put it,” he says dryly.
I tilt my head, studying him with uncertainty. “Next Christmas needs to be better,” I say. “No bloodshed. No contracts. No hiding or running because we’re fearing for our lives. Just stockings, trees, and feelings of joy. Oh, and you can’t hate Christmas anymore. Once we’re married, Krampus stays on the bike, and Rich comes home to enjoy the holiday season with his family.”
He kisses me tenderly. “Deal.”
I run my fingers through his hair, tears finally spilling out of me that I’ve tried to suppress. “Looks like you’re officially outnumbered.”
He looks up at me, eyes red with happy tears, his smile unstoppable. “I don’t care,” he says fiercely. “I’ll protect all three of you. Every day. Every Christmas. Every lifetime.”
