Josh moved forward, making a circle of four, with the younger adults still in the kitchen. “I just want to thank you all for agreeing to the formal wedding,” he said, lowering his voice. “My folks really do mean the best....”
“Hey, man, bring it on,” Jon said, grinning, when, in fact, he’d been the one who’d struggled the hardest to accept the trappings of a wealth he hadn’t earned on his own.
Pulling Dana and Jon aside, Mark motioned toward the table. “The rest of you go on in. We’ll be there in a second.”
She knew Josh would save her a seat beside him at the table. He and his mother, plus Susan and Daniel, filed out, baskets of rolls and drink pitchers in hand. When they’d left, Dana looked at the man who’d become so dear to her in such a short time.
“The three of us, we’re new to being family, but let’s make a pact that it’s forever,” Mark said.
“I’m in,” Jon agreed, nodding.
“You two might think you have a choice,” Dana told them, wrapping an arm around each man. “But neither of you ever had a sister and I’m here to tell you that you’re never getting rid of me.”
Glancing up, she saw Josh smiling at her. And as the three of them walked in to face their families together, Josh stood, the lights on the newly decorated Christmas tree reflecting off his suit as he reached out, pulling her into his side as he raised his glass in a toast.
“To Dana,” he said. “A woman with enough heart to save us all from ourselves.”
“To Dana,” a chorus of voices returned as glasses clinked.
More embarrassed than she’d ever been in her life, Dana tried to slide into her seat, but Josh held her up.
“And...to the future Dr. Dana Redmond,” he said. “This afternoon, as a wedding gift to my wife, I opened a tuition account with funds that will allow Dana to attend the veterinary school of her choice. Provided that’s what she wants to do...” She hadn’t thought she had any tears left, but in true Dana fashion, they rained down her face as she listened to the cheers of her family and turned to give Josh the most intimate kiss yet.
In front of all three of her dads.
Maybe, deep down, she hadn’t really believed in happiness before.
But she did now. This Christmas was truly the beginning of her new life.