“Me, too,” her father said, touching her deeply.

“I gave Sarah a hard time when we first met,” Luke confessed. “I thought she was something she isn’t and could never be. I was wrong. I told her as much. During it all, I felt this pull, something I couldn’t resist or deny. A connection I’d never felt. And I knew I didn’t want to live my life without her in it. She has my complete trust and loyalty. I don’t ever want to lose hers. As for Jack and Nick . . . I want to be the father to them my dad was to me.”

It touched her deeply that he’d be so open and honest and heartfelt with her father.

Luke brushed the back of his fingers over her cheek. “It’s you and me, sweetheart. Always. Forever.”

Choked up, she needed to change the subject before she cried. Her brother became her distraction. “Tyler, show your dad your first paycheck. He’ll be so proud of you for earning it.”

As expected, Lyon turned to the son he doted on. “When did you get a job?”

“Sarah and I collaborated on her new project. I never expected her to pay me, but she did. All I wanted was to have an advanced copy of the game.”

Lyon looked at the check. “Sarah, you can’t possibly think to pay him this much.”

“Sure, I can. He came up with a lot of the ideas. He did the work, so I paid him what I’d pay any other game developer.”

“I think you’re just being generous because he’s your brother.”

“If that’s the case, then, I’m sure you’d agree, it’s my prerogative.”

Luke notched his chin toward Tyler. “Which game is that? The new Knight’s Revenge?”

“Yeah, I love that game, but I thought there could be a lot more to it. So, I called Sarah and told her my ideas. And she actually used them in the new game.”

“It’s one of my favorites, as well. When you, your father, and mom come for Christmas this year, we’ll go head-to-head.”

“Luke, I’m sure Lyon would like to spend Christmas—”

“With his family,” he pointedly suggested before turning to her dad. “We’d love to have you. It will be my first Christmas with Sarah and the boys. What do you say?”

Sarah’s heart filled with hope. She’d never had a big family holiday and she’d love to have her family, Margaret, Bridget, and Sophia, and Luke’s family all together. “Will you join us, Lyon? It would mean so much to me.”

“Yeah, Dad. Let’s have Christmas with Sarah, Nick, and Jack. I haven’t gotten to see them in a long time. Mom will love it.” Tyler looked as hopeful as Sarah.

“If it means that much to you, Sarah, of course we’ll be there.”

She couldn’t wait. “Thank you, Lyon. It’s going to be wonderful.” She gave her dad a quick hug then stepped back to Luke’s side.

“Well, we better sit down to dinner with everyone else,” her father suggested.