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He’d given her an RV, and she’d given him a box with a chunk missing and shattered glass.
No, she wouldn’t think like that.
Her gift might not be expensive, but it was from her heart. Burke might have spent a million times more, but the Q2 was a gift from the heart as well.
She refused to be embarrassed. He might have large bank accounts, but his focus was on what the money could do to help others. He wouldn’t be tallying up the cost of her gifts and comparing them.
He would see the heart behind it.
His opinion was the only one that mattered.
Still, she worried her lip as he took the gift. Grinning at her, he ran his fingers over the bow, reminding her of the one stuck on their headboard from this morning.
He took the bow and pressed it against his shoulder, another reminder of their morning and engagement. Reminding her that he loved her.
Because it was the final gift, everyone watched them.
Burke opened the wrapping carefully and lifted the box.
His eyes flared as his gaze traveled over the box, taking in all the items. Then he looked at them again with misty eyes. “Rissa.”
His voice trembled, and he blew out a deep breath before he looked at her with love in his eyes. “Rissa.”
Her name trembled on his lips, and then he leaned forward to kiss her. “This is amazing.”
“What is it?” Charlie reminded her they weren’t alone.
Burke turned it to face everyone. “It’s a timeline of our lives together. Our parents took us bowling, and the score sheet lines the bottom of the box. My mom loved bowling, and she taught us all how to keep score. Then there’s my student card and Rissa’s library card.”
Knox laughed at that. “I’ve never seen anyone visit the library so often. Burke carried a ton of books for you.”
Lawson pointed. “A gingerbread cookie cutter. Remember the Christmas Rissa and Mom made those personalized cookies for us all? Mine had a wrench and a lawnmower.”
Amber grinned. “You and Mom kicked us out of the kitchen, and we heard you laughing. Drove us all nuts wondering what you were doing.”
Jolie smiled. “Until we smelled the gingerbread. You even made two gingerbread cookies of Mom and Dad holding hands. Good memories. These are all really good memories.”
Charlie pointed at the R2D2 USB glued to the bottom. “You like Star Wars, too?”
Rissa nodded. “We saw one of the movies in the theatre when we were in high school, and I was hooked.”
“How old is the candy necklace?”
Rissa laughed at the boy’s question. “Really old. Way too old to eat.”
Charlie grimaced. “It’s a little creepy that it still looks new. How do they do that? Shouldn’t food be moldy by now?”
Rissa grinned at him. “That’s an excellent question. How are we going to answer it?”
Charlie lifted his fist to bump hers. “Sounds like a fun new experiment. How old does candy have to be to kill you?”
Everyone laughed, and then Charlie asked for volunteers to eat the candy so he could record the effects.
Burke hugged Rissa and whispered in her ear. “This is incredible and the most amazing gift you could have given me. The timeline proves you didn’t forget me, despite how badly I treated you.”
She smiled up at him. “You only did what you had to do to cope with the grief. I could never forget you, Burke. I’ve always loved you.”
His eyes misted again. “You’re my personal miracle, Rissa. I love you so much.”
