He took her hand and led her into the living room, where the kids were gathered around the Christmas tree.
“Lily gets the next present,” he said. He reached down and pulled a small box from under the tree skirt. Holding her hand, he got down on one knee and presented the box to her.
“Lily Palmer, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
“Please say yes,” said Bridget. “Then you can be our mommy rather than our nanny.”
Lily was so overcome with emotion, she was stunned speechless. Cullen must’ve mistaken the look on her face for hesitation because he said, “Kids, why don’t you go out and look at your new bikes for a few moments? Then after you come back in, we’ll finish opening presents.”
The kids ran to the back door.
Lily finally found her voice. “You didn’t have to send them outside.”
“Yes, I did. I need you to know that I love you. I want to marry you because I want a life with you, not just because you would be a convenient nanny for the kids. However, when I decided to adopt them, I made the decision to commit fully to them, too.
“I wanted to make a big gesture so that you know how much you mean to me. I’m willing to fight for you to make you stay. But I didn’t realize how daunting this all must be for you. If you need time to think about it, I understand.”
“Cullen, are you trying to talk me into marrying you or are you trying to talk me out of it?”
“No. Neither. I mean, yes. I would be the happiest man in the world if you would marry me.”
“Yes. My answer is yes. Because I can’t imagine living a day without you, either. All of you.”
He pulled her into his arms and kissed her senseless.
“Let’s go get the kids,” he said.
When they were all together around the tree, he got down on one knee again and took her hand. “I want this to be right. So, I’m going to ask again. Will you do me the great honor of being my wife?”
“Yes! That would make me the happiest woman in the world.”
Cullen took the ring from the box—a gorgeous round solitaire that winked in the light of the Christmas tree—and slipped it on her finger. It fit perfectly. Just like her new family.
Before Cullen could get to his feet, George sneaked up between him and Lily and held a piece of mistletoe between them.
“Now you have to kiss,” Megan said, jumping up and down, clapping her hands. “If you don’t, you’ll be breaking the rules of Christmas.”
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from SANTA’S PLAYBOOK by Karen Templeton
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Chapter One
Today would have been his sixteenth anniversary.
Only half hearing the kids’ thudding and slamming and yelling from downstairs, Ethan Noble glanced out his bedroom window, where a pair of chattering squirrels chased each other through an oak tree, the bare branches thickly webbed against a pale November sky. It’d been cold and windy that day, too, the mottled clouds occasionally spitting on everybody’s windshields as they made their way to All Saints.
But nobody’d cared. About the weather, about the indisputable fact that Merri’s stomach bulged a little underneath her high-waisted wedding dress. So things’d happened slightly out of order. Since it’d all worked out like they’d always planned anyway, what difference did it make—?
His cell buzzed—an incoming text message. Only one person who’d call this early. And for only one reason. Ethan scooped the phone off his nightstand.
Thinking of you.
If anyone would understand what he was feeling today it’d be the man who’d adopted Ethan when he was a toddler. Also a widower for some years now, Preston Noble had set an example of strength and loyalty and fairness that Ethan could only hope to emulate, especially as a parent. And his father had adored Merri….