To my dearest Indiana,

Once upon a time, right in the middle of my fucked up life, love gave me a fairy-tale. You. A second chance. You’re my fairy-tale, Indi. My sunshine. My air. The reason I look forward to waking up every morning. My life, without you in it, would be meaningless. I don’t want what we have to ever end. This is our first Christmas together, and I wanted to make it a memorable one that neither of us will ever forget. I love you completely, babe. With every fibre of my being. I want to spend the rest of my life with you by my side. Please say you’ll marry me!

Merry first Christmas.

Love Carter.

P.S. Please say yes!!!

Tears cloud my eyes when I close the card and make eye contact with him. He was right. He did want to marry me before we found out about the baby. This present has been sitting under the tree for weeks. I clutch the card to my chest as he crawls across the floor towards me. “Well, I’m waiting,” he says smirking. Saying yes is kind of mute now since I’ve already agreed to marry him. Nevertheless, I throw my arms around his neck.

“Of course I’ll marry you. Nothing would make me happier.” I cry into his chest when he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him. These damn baby hormones are making me so emotional.

He pulls back, cupping my face in his hands and wiping my tears away with the pads of his thumbs. “I love you so much, Indiana,” he says exhaling a large breath. “So fucking much.”

“I love you too, Carter.” Letting go of my face, he picks up the jewellery box off my lap and pulls out the ring, slipping it onto my finger. It covers my Carter tattoo, but I don’t care. I’m inked for life. Looking down at the ring on my finger, I smile.

I love it. I love him.

“You have one more present to open,” he says, crawling back over to the tree and picking up a long white box wrapped in a red ribbon. I didn’t see that present there before. He must’ve put it under the tree last night. He smiles when he hands it to me. Untying the ribbon, I remove the lid. When I lift the tissue paper I find a white silk dress inside. It’s simple, but very elegant. “I want you to wear this today when we go out for lunch with our parents.”

“Okay. It’s beautiful. Thank you,” I reply, smiling as I hold the dress up in front of me. Our parents and Carter’s grandmother are coming up to have Christmas lunch with us today. Carter has booked the restaurant on Merewether Beach. The one we took Meg to after our day of pampering. Carter and I have been back a few times since that day. It’s kind of become our place.

“Oh, I almost forgot. There’s one more present.” Once he retrieves it he passes it to me. The package is tiny. I squeeze it between my fingers. Whatever is inside is soft. I tear open the wrapping. Inside I find a tiny white baby jumpsuit. Tears rise to my eyes. “Hold it up,” he says. When I do, I start laughing. It has ‘My daddy is seriously hot’ embroidered on it.

“Yes he is hot,” I say in agreement. Fisting my hand in the front of his T-shirt, I pull him into me so I can kiss his lips. His hand moves behind my knees as he scoops me into his arms before standing.

“We have a few hours until our parents arrive, so if you don’t mind, I’m going to take my fiancée back to bed so I can show her how much I love her.”

“I don’t mind at all,” I reply.

“Merry Christmas, Indiana.”

“Merry Christmas, Carter.”

••••

Turning the blow dryer off, I run the brush through my hair. When I look up I find Carter standing in the doorway of the bathroom, watching me. He smiles at me through the mirror. He’s already dressed in a white button up shirt and a pair of grey slacks. He looks delicious.

“You look nice,” I say turning and walking towards him.

“So do you.” His comment makes me laugh.

“I’m wrapped in a towel,” I reply dryly.

“You’re still beautiful,” he says, pulling me into his arms and brushing his lips against mine. “Even more so without the towel.” I roll my eyes. Of course he’d say that.

“I just got a call from the Surfhouse. There’s a problem with our reservation. I’m gonna head over there now, but our parents are going to swing past here and pick you up on the way. I’ll meet you guys there.”

“Oh really?” I ask in a disappointed tone.

“It’s nothing I can’t fix. I’ll call you if there’s a problem,” he says reassuring me as he kisses my forehead. I hope so. I love that place.

After he leaves I slip into the dress he bought me. It fits like a glove. He has wonderful taste. I had my first ultrasound last week. I’m only seven weeks pregnant, so I’m not showing yet. I’ve had a few off mornings, but basically I’ve been pretty lucky with the morning sickness.

Half an hour later my dad arrives. He’s on his own. “Where’s Elizabeth and Evelyn?” I ask.

“I’ve already dropped them off at the restaurant. Carter called and said he was already there, so it made sense. Plus it gives me the chance to have some alone time with my little girl.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “I have a special gift for you. I wanted to give it to you when we were alone.”

“Thanks, Dad,” I reply, kissing his cheek when he passes it to me. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Pumpkin.”

“I have your gift under the tree, but I’ll give it to you when Carter’s here.”

“Okay. Open it,” he says looking down at the small parcel in my hand. Ripping open the wrapper, I do as he asks.

“Oh, Daddy. It’s beautiful,” I tell him when I open the pouch. It’s a necklace with a heart shaped locket on it. There’s a diamond set into the heart.”

“That diamond is from your mother’s engagement ring. I wanted to make it into something special for you.” Tears rise to my eyes when he says that.

“I love it,” I breathe, wrapping my arms around him.

“Open the locket.” When I do, I find a picture of my mother inside. It was from their wedding day. I clutch it to my chest.

“Thank you. I’ll treasure it forever.”

“She’ll always be in your heart, Pumpkin, but this way you can wear a piece of her every day as well.” When I make eye contact with him I see tears glistening his eyes, so I wrap him in my arms and hold him tight. It’s special times like Christmas, Mother’s Day and my birthday, that I miss her most. I wish she were alive to meet Carter and her grandchild when it comes along.

We haven’t told our parents about the baby yet. Carter and I had copies of the ultrasound images framed. We’ve wrapped them up with their Christmas presents.

“I love you,” I whisper as he fastens the necklace around my neck.

“I love you too, baby girl.”

••••

When we pull up outside the restaurant I’m surprised to see Meg standing there. “What are you doing here?” I ask getting out of the car. “I thought you and Drew were heading back to Sydney for Christmas with your parents.”

“I lied,” she replies giving me a sheepish smile. What’s she up to? “I am spending Christmas with them, but up here.”

“Why?”

“Because if you think I’m going to miss your wedding day, you’ve got rocks in your head. Besides I’m the maid of honour, I have to be here. My mum didn’t want to miss your wedding either. You’re her adopted daughter after all.”

“What? My wedding day?” I ask dumbfounded.

“Yes. You, my friend, are getting married today.” That’s news to me. My eyes move to my dad searching for confirmation.

“She’s right,” is all he says.

“Come,” Meg says, linking arms with me and dragging me around the side of the building. “See.” When I follow the line of her finger, I see Carter and Jax standing side by side down near the shore. Some old dude in a suit is standing in front of them. Then I notice LJ sitting by Carter’s feet. I feel my lips curve up. My eyes then move to his mother, grandmother, Meg’s parents and Drew sitting on five of the six chairs that are positioned behind them. Excitement broils inside me.