I didn’t just fall in love with Robert—I fell in love with his ten children. Amanda, Derrick, Sue, Jacob, David, the quadruplets, and little Sophie gradually became my family. Within months, I was helping with homework, cooking dinner, searching for missing socks, and bandaging scraped knees.
Six months later, Robert proposed during dinner while all ten children watched from the hallway.
“Will you marry us?” he asked.
Through tears, I said yes.
My mother thought I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but I ignored her. Those children already felt like my own.
Two weeks before the wedding, I tried on my dress. Amanda zipped it up, and Sophie clapped with excitement. Robert appeared in the doorway and quietly said,
“You look beautiful.”
“You’re not supposed to see the dress,” I laughed.
