He sighed. “I’ve been thinking about that, too. I think…I think I’ve avoided feelings for a long time. Because they’re painful. Because I’ve learned to make light of everything. That worked for a long time to protect me from getting hurt. But you broke through my wall, Tessa.” He grabbed her hands. “I couldn’t help but love you. I love you so much. And I’m sorry for being an ass.”

Okay, that got to her. And made her cry.

“Which brings me to the second part.”

“The second part?”

He walked over to his car, opened the trunk, and came back with a large object, about three feet long, wrapped in white paper with a Christmas bow on top.

He set it at her feet. It stood taller than her knees.

“Sorry for the bad wrap job. Please open it.”

Ripping open the paper revealed the huge trophy with the winged woman. From his dad’s restaurant.

“Y-You’re giving me your prized trophy?”

“It’s not my prized trophy. It always meant more to my dad than me. Take a closer look.”

She held it up and read the engraved plaque at the base. Instead of saying Leonides Leonardo Castorini, Valedictorian, it said, Tessa Montgomery Castorini, Number One in My Heart.

That ridiculous trophy made her cry. And not because she’d been desperate to win it so long ago. “You had it engraved?”

Leo shrugged. “Tony at the jewelry store did it really fast for me.”

“Okay, there’s more.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and started to read. “We’ve always competed with each other, but that’s because we’re equals. Family is always the most important thing—to both of us. We’ve agreed to help each other achieve our dreams. And…and somewhere along the way, we fell in love with each other.”

Now she was full-out bawling. “I was going to say that’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard, but…those words sound really familiar.”

“It’s what you told our families at our wedding. It sounded like the perfect vows.”

He took her in his arms. “I love you, Tessa,” he said. “I always will. I screwed up because I didn’t tell you that. Actually, I’ve never told anyone that besides my family. But now, I swear, I’ll tell you every single day if you will just forgive me and give me a chance to show you I can do better.”

“I did a terrible thing by not trusting you.” She clutched his hands tightly. “I know you always believed in me. Because you’ve done nothing but support my dreams and make me think anything is possible. That’s been a great gift, because…I’ve come to believe it. And I love you, too.”