“Yeah, son. Thank you,” her husband echoes.
“No need to thank me. I’m happy you’re spending Thanksgiving with us,” I tell them.
Rounding the car, I head over to the driver seat with Mr. Santana sitting in the front and Mrs. Santana sitting in the back with Ari.
“Look who we have here!” I hear Mrs. Santana say.
“It’s so nice to see you again,” Ari greets her, giving her a big hug.
From my mirror, I can see Mrs. Santana running her hands through my daughter’s hair lovingly. “Seems like we’ll be seeing each other around often,” Mrs. Santana says knowingly.
“So, you know the plan right?” Ari asks and I laugh.
“She’s been trying really hard to not say anything,” I tell them.
Mr. Santana looks back at his wife and my daughter. “Oh, we know the plan for sure,” he tells her.
“Thank goodness because I can’t keep it in for much longer.”
“You won’t have to, baby girl,” I tell her.
I start driving away from the airport and back to the house where my girl is waiting for her family to arrive. Family, I like the sound of that. Amari was what I needed to complete me. She was the missing part of the puzzle, a big part too. Now with her here, the picture is clear.
“Does that mean I get to call you Grandma?” Ari asks and everyone in the car starts laughing.
“I’d love nothing more than to have a granddaughter like you. Of course you can call me Grandma.”
Mr. Santana clears his throat. “Actually… you can only have her as your grandma if you give me the honor of being your grandpa.”
“I’ve never had one of those!” Ari exclaims and I’m hit with a little bit of sadness. My father was never in the picture and, well, neither was Katie’s side of the family.
“Well, what do you say?!” Mr. Santana replies excitedly.
I glance back briefly to see the smile on my daughter’s face. “You know grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren, right? That’s what my other grandma does,” she tells them and I shake my head at the genius I call my child.
“Did we tell you we brought you some gifts?” Mrs. Santana replies and I know that seals the deal.
“You’re the best grandma!” Ari says hugging her.
“I’ll tell Mom you said that,” I joke.
“Um… let’s not do that,” Ari replies and we all laugh.
“No favorites here. We all love you equally,” Mrs. Santana tells her, kissing the top of her head.
Ari and Mrs. Santana hold a conversation of their own in the backseat while I hold my own with Mr. Cole. “Thank you so much, again.”
“We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” He replies.
“I don’t mean for this, though I’m grateful you’re here for it too,” I tell him. “I’m grateful to you for getting to know me. For listening to me talk endlessly about your daughter, about how much I love her. Thank you for understanding the reasons behind my mistakes and for letting me know how she was doing every time you got the chance.”
“Listen, son,” he starts and the fact that this man has no blood relation to me but can call me those words moves me. “We all make mistakes. You were young back then. I saw you as a hardworking man who wanted to provide for his child while trying his best to not hurt our daughter. If anything, I’m grateful that you were selfless enough to let her go.”
“I don’t think I’d do it again if I could go back in time,” I tell him honestly. I used to think I would make the same decision over and over again because I thought it was the right one. But now, if offered the same choice, I would be selfish. I would have chosen her. I would’ve told her the truth and see where we took things from there.
“We can’t change the past, but you’re getting ready to give her, and yourself, the future you both deserve.”
I smile at this man’s words. I always worried about what he would think of me when he met me. Back then, I didn’t even want him to see me for fear of what he’d do to keep his daughter away from me. But as we sit next to each other on this drive back, with him calling me son, I don’t think I’ve ever had a better role model for a father and husband. I won’t say this to him, not yet, but just like my daughter now thinks of him as a grandfather, I think of him as a father. Not the one who birthed me but the one who understood me.
PART II
CHRISTIAN
I clear my throat and the voices around the dining table slowly come to a halt. I can feel my hands sweating as I grab my glass and stand from my seat. All eyes move to me.
“So, I know it’s Thanksgiving dinner,” I start. I shift my stance so I’m face to face with the love of my life. “And all of you around this table are people I’m thankful for.” I scan my eyes around the room. I look at Amari, Amari’s parents, my daughter, my mother, Emely, and Nigel.
“Damn right you do!” Nigel shouts and a thud comes from underneath the table followed by an “ow” from Nigel, who looks directly at Emely, who gives him a ‘get it together’ look.
I take a deep breath and push myself to continue. “Each of you here is family. Two years ago, it was my mom, Ari, and me sitting around a different table. It was great, don’t get me wrong, but I’m happy that our family has grown.”
I extend my hand and take hold of Amari’s hand. “Everyone here is important to each of us. We’ve been through a lot together, and apart,” I add. “Today, there’s one more thing I want to be thankful for.”
Fixing my eyes on Amari, I lower to the ground until I’m on one knee. The moment she sees me in this position, her eyes water and her mouth opens in surprise.
From behind me, Ari extends her little hand and hands me the box with the ring.
“Oh my God!” Amari says, her eyes shifting from me and the ring to Ari and everyone else in the room.
“I want to be thankful for the possibility of calling you my wife. Will you marry me?”
“Say yes, say yes!!” Ari says from behind me, getting all of us to laugh.
Amari looks around the room once again, and I see the tears rolling down her face. “I would absolutely love nothing more than to be your wife,” she replies. Putting the ring on her finger, I rise up from the ground as quickly as I can. In a matter of seconds, I’m holding on to her, hugging her, kissing her, and spinning her around.
The room cheers as I become the happiest man in the world.
AMARI
“Put me down, put me down!” I tell him through tears. Even with the ring on my finger and everyone else cheering around us, I can’t believe Christian just proposed to me. From the look in the eyes of everyone else in the room, I’m the last to know.
He feathers kisses all over me. The last one on my forehead. “Put me down!” I tell him once again.
“Fine!” he relents, finally lowering me to the floor. The smile on his face makes me feel like there’s nothing wrong in the world. Like everything is perfect.
“She said yes! Let’s toast!” Christian announces. He grabs two glasses and pours some champagne into them.
I grab one of the glasses from him and hand it to my mother who’s sitting on my right. “You don’t want a drink?” he asks, confusion visible on his eyes.
“You’re not the only one with a surprise here tonight, Daddy,” Ari tells him. He turns to her and watches the devious look in her eyes, one she takes from him. Then he looks at me.
I can see the wheels turning in his eyes as he realizes what this could mean. I try to beat him to the realization. “I’m pregnant!” I announce and watch his eyes widen in surprise.
“Don’t lie to me,” he replies then looks around the room at everyone’s faces.
When his eyes come back to mine, I reply. “Ari’s going to have a little brother or sister,” I tell him.
“Holy sh—” he stops himself before he finishes that sentence. “We’re having a baby?!” he asks. “We’re having a baby!” he exclaims. Then, he’s closing the distance b
etween us again and raining kisses on me.
ARI
I’m not really good at keeping secrets, but this time I had two of them. Daddy was asking Amari to marry him and Amari was telling Daddy she was pregnant. We all knew. Everyone but them knew what was going to happen. We all kept the secrets so that they could both be surprised.
I’m glad they included me in planning it, but I’m also glad there are no more surprises or secrets because keeping them has been a lot of work.
I watch my daddy as he hugs the woman he loves, the woman he named me after. I’m so happy for him. I know my daddy loves me, but I could tell he was missing something else too. The kind of love that the movies always have. I am his princess, but he needed a queen to be with him. One day, I’ll be a queen and have a king of my own.
“I’m so happy for you both!” I tell them when things settle down a little bit.
They both lower to the ground and open their arms. I walk into them and am immediately squished by my dad and future stepmom.
“You did so well in helping us keep this a surprise,” Amari tells me.
Dad looks at me with a smile he hasn’t been able to keep off his face. A smile that tells me he’s for real happy. “No wonder you were dying to finally get the surprises done with!”
I laugh. “I was going to explode, Daddy. I had to keep it to myself for a lifetime.”
“Well, thank you,” he tells me, kissing me on the forehead.
Amari runs her fingers through my hair. “We have one more surprise though.”
“Another one?!” I say loudly and everyone around the table laughs. “Wait… did I forget something?”
They shake their heads. “No, this one we kept from you.”
“I thought I was part of all the planning!” I tell them, a little offended that they wouldn’t include me in this one.
“You were part of the surprises we had for each other,” Daddy starts.
“But this surprise is for you,” Amari finishes. It’s not my birthday yet.
Amari walks out of the dining room and returns with a yellow envelope in hand. I wonder if it’ll tell me if I’m having a baby sister or baby brother. That would be a surprise for me. I’d love to have a sister to help and play with. “What is it?” I ask, eager to know.
“Well, remember that time at the dance where you said we could figure out if I was Ms. Santana, Amari, or Mom?” Amari asks.
I nod. “Yeah,” I tell her. We haven’t really figured it out exactly. In school, I call her Ms. Santana. At home, I call her Amari. And in my dreams, she’s always Mom.
“Well, Amari thought we should make that easier on you,” Daddy adds.
“How so?”
They both kneel down in front of me this time. “Well, I was hoping that you’d let me be your mom.”
“How can I do that?” I ask, confused.
“Well, this envelope has adoption papers. And if you’d let me, I’d be happy to adopt you so that to the world, and to you, I am your mom.”
My mouth hangs open in surprise. “You want to be my official mom?” I ask. I know when she marries my dad she’ll become my stepmom, but that’s not what this would be.
“I do. If you’d let me,” Amari says and I can tell she’s waiting on my answer.
“I’m named after you,” I tell her.
“You are,” Daddy agrees with me.
“So I’m already part of you,” I say.
Amari smiles. “You are.”
The room is oddly quiet as everyone waits for me to be the one to say something next. “You’re not the woman who gave birth to me,” I tell her and watch as the happiness leaves her eyes. “But you’re the one who chooses me. I choose you too.” The moment I say that I’m wrapped around in the tightest of hugs by my dad and my… well, mom.
“We love you so much, baby girl,” she tells me.
“I love you both too.”
“See! Now we’re officially your grandparents,” Mr. and Mrs. Santana say. Well, I guess Grandma and Grandpa now. It’ll take some time to get used to that.
“This is the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had!” I tell them, raising my hands in excitement.
My dad is marrying the love of his life.
We’re welcoming in a baby.
The love of my dad’s life, the one carrying his child, is my mom.
The Cole’s family just got a lot bigger.
Need more?
Here’s what to read next…
Bragan University Series
Better With You (Book #1)
Fighting For You (Book #2)
Falling For You (Book #3)
Better With You, Always (Book #4)
COMING SOON
Waiting For You (Book #5)
Finally With You (Book #6)
Not Alone Novellas
Not the End (Book #1)
Not the Same (Book #2)
COMING SOON
Not Alone (Book #3)
Stand-Alone
Just Because of You
COMING SOON
I Fell First
About the Author
Gianna Gabriela is originally from Rhode Island. She’s a small-town girl living in the Big Ol’ City of New York. She considers herself a writer of gorgeous alpha-males and strong heroines. She’s been reading for years and calls it her addiction. Her favorite genre is anything in the YA/NA Romance Realm.
She loves the saying that “a room without books is like a body without a soul.” Her favorite color is black, she loves most sports, and doesn’t like painting her nails because it takes a lot of work to remove the nail polish.
Keep up to date - sign up for Gianna’s newsletter
Better With You
Bragan University Series (Book #1)
Better With You (Bragan University Series #1)
Mia Collins has an amazing life. She was popular in high school, and college is off to a great start. Everything seems perfect until she goes home for the break and everything changes...
One night sets everything in motion and Mia’s world begins to fall apart. She’s stunned that the life she thought she knew was all a lie. After she loses her family, she’s forced to start over. This time though, she vows to not let anyone get close to her again - to not get hurt again.
But life has a funny way of doing the opposite of what you ask for...
Colton Hunter is the captain and quarterback of a winning team. With killer looks and so much money he doesn’t need his football scholarship, you’d think that he would have nothing to worry about.
But behind his picture-perfect life lurks a dark secret - something that Colton has been forced to keep to himself for fear of what happens if he speaks out. Torn up inside by the deceit, he shuts everyone out, not allowing anyone to get close enough to see what hides behind the mask...
That is until a girl crosses his path, shaking his resolve and forcing him to realize he doesn’t have to be strong all the time.
Fighting For You
Bragan University Series (Book #2)
Fighting For You (Bragan University Series #2)
Jesse Falcon has dedicated his life to one cause: to fight against that which has taken so much from him.
He’s learned the hard way that if you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself.
No more waiting for others to make a difference.
With football, a pre-med program and a coveted internship, he has no time for anything or anyone else. The truth is, he doesn’t think his barely healed heart can take it.
Despite his determination to remain distant, he soon finds a girl who will not only fracture that resolve but shatter it completely.
Zoe Evans is an average college student.
She has a group of friends, and enough gossip lingers in the halls to make her days interesting.
Her whole world changes in a heartbeat though - one blackout, and a week-long fever forces her into a battle she isn’t prepared to fight.
The
odds are stacked against her.
Will she have the strength to prevail?
Just Because of You Page 15