There was no fire in the fireplace, but a four-foot Christmas tree, complete with ornaments and lights, stood near it.
Tears filled her eyes as Jas looked at it. She had spent so many Christmases trying to convince first her mother and then Andrew that they had more than most people in the world had—each other. But nothing had ever made a difference. Lost to their own weaknesses, she had never made a difference to them.
And after Andrew had been gone, she had been so lonely that even thinking of Christmas had been painful.
Strong arms encircled her from behind.
“Merry Christmas, yineka mou,” he whispered, before turning her around and kissing her with a tender warmth that chased away some of the pain.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, Jas sank into his kiss. She nibbled at his lower lip, dueled with her tongue, poured every bit of herself into it.
And he returned everything, his hands roaming around her back, whispering promises of forever.
Holding her at arm’s length, he stared at her for a long time and caught one of the tears that had escaped. “I’m so sorry about him, Jas. I wish I had saved him for you.”
Jasmine shook her head, knowing that it was a habit that she had to cure Dmitri of slowly. That protective instinct was in his genes. “I wish he had saved himself, Dmitri. But no, I don’t want to ruin Christmas morning with—”
“Merry Christmas, Jasmine,” Leah said from behind her, a beaming smile on her lips.
Tears coming to her eyes again, this time happy ones, Jasmine returned Leah’s fierce hug. And then Stavros’s.
They all chattered at once and then Dmitri tugged her toward him. “Is it okay that I invited them over? I knew how happy they would be for us.”
Jasmine kissed him again. She couldn’t seem to stop. “Absolutely. Dmitri, I have a trip to—”
“New York, I know. If you agree, I will fly out the week after your shoot and we can see the city together. You will adore New York.”
“I love you, Dmitri.”
“I love you, Jas. Come, I have something for you.”
While a smiling Stavros and a grinning Leah watched, he opened a small velvet box, went down on one knee and said, “Jasmine, will you marry me?”
Crying again, Jasmine nodded, absolutely incapable of speaking. Dmitri slipped the ring on her finger, a single princess-cut diamond on a plain white-gold band, his heart in his eyes.
Then he took her in his arms again and kissed her. “We’ll take as long as we want, ne? I’m starting an inner-city program for young adults who come from broken homes and with a background of abuse and neglect. Stavros and I have already found an old building to renovate here in Athens and then we will start hiring staff.
“If, at some point in time,” he stated matter-of-factly, “you have had enough of modeling and want to work on something like that, you would be more than welcome. I’m trying to cut down on my interests so that I can give it some time instead of just throwing money at it. Give a chance to someone like Giannis did for us.”
Stunned into speechlessness, Jas could only stare at him.
“Jas, there is absolutely no pressure. If modeling is where your heart is, then that’s what you should do. You have my support in any career you want to pursue and I will follow you around the world.”
Her heart bursting to full, Jas finally spoke. “I would love to work on such a project. Dmitri, do you still have that license?”
Shock flaring in his gaze, he nodded slowly. “Jas—”
“I want to do it today, Dmitri. With Stavros and Leah as witnesses. I want to go to New York as your wife. I don’t want to wait. Not when I love you so much.”
When he still looked doubtful, she took his hands in hers and kissed the rough palms. “I have never wanted a big wedding or a white dress, Dmitri. I only wanted my knight. And you’re it.”
Dmitri lifted her off the floor in a bear hug that crushed her lungs. And then yelled the news at a stunned Leah and Stavros.
Their smiles and the way they instantly decided on their tasks made Jasmine as if like she had family again.
Breaking into supereffective mode, Leah called her assistant to have wedding gowns that she had ready delivered while Stavros made a few more arrangements.
That afternoon, they feasted on turkey, which had been ordered for her, honey-glazed ham for Leah and roast pork for Dmitri and Stavros with a variety of side delicacies. They ate delicious cinnamon-and-clove cookies drenched in honey and drank ouzo and coffee. And toasted to their new family.