A stepdad started Christmas morning with the sweetest possible surprise as he read aloud a note that then revealed he would like to adopt his fiancee’s daughter.
The moment proved too much for Riley Nahay, 15, who leaped across the couch to give Peter Kapushinsky, 41, a tearful hug.
Peter has built up a bond with Riley since she was nine years old when he started coaching Riley bowling after her father passed away in 2016.
The pair bonded over the sport, and after two years of coaching, Riley’s mom, Barbara, asked Peter out on a date.
In the emotional video, posted on TikTok, Peter can be seen sitting on his sofa with Riley, with unwrapped Christmas gifts all around them.
Pulling out a note, Peter wiped a tear away from his eye and started to read aloud all the things that, to him, make Riley special.
Having reached the end of his speech, the 15-year-old then pulled out her final present, which she unwrapped to reveal a number of sheets of paper.
The first page read, “Petition for Adoption,” and immediately knowing what he meant, a tearful Riley leaped across the sofa to give Peter a big hug in their Hazleton, Pennsylvania, home.
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Before proposing to Riley’s mom, Peter asked the teenager for her permission.
As a lover of writing, he said that preparing the note was the most difficult thing he’d ever written, changing it around 30 times before the Christmas Day surprise.
Speaking of that moment, Peter said: “I struggled not to break down while reading it.
“Once I got out what I had to say, Riley opened the gift.
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“The first sheet just said ‘Petition for Adoption’ and with tears in her eyes, she gave me the greatest hug I’ve ever received.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
“It was so emotional. Everyone was crying.
“She’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me.
“I’ve never been so sure that I’m doing the right thing in my life.”