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I release a breathy laugh. “No,” I sniffle. “I was just thinking about how perfect my life is. We’ve been through so much together. It’s hard to think that just over a year ago, you saved me from the basement of Blackmoor manor.”
Gabriel chuckles darkly. “I appreciate that you still call it saving you,” he says.
I giggle in response. “Well, that sounds much better than ‘you kidnapped me,’ especially since I married you after it was all said and done.”
“Sometimes, I think back to those first few months and feel like I went about it all wrong.”
The remorse in his voice makes my heart twinge. I reach up to cup his jaw and stroke his cheek with my thumb. “It might not all have been easy, but I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I needed a kick in the pants to help me realize that I had to let go of my past and see the gifts staring me straight in the face. I don’t regret a single minute of our story.”
Gabriel’s full lips pull into a tender smile. “I don’t know how I ever got so lucky with you.”
I stroke the silky back of our daughter’s tiny head and smile, my heart overflowing with love and affection. “I don’t either, but I know I can count my blessings.”
Gabriel shifts to look down at our baby snuggled against his chest, his chin dipping so he can get a peek of her face. She’s sound asleep already, her lips parted in the sweetest little O. Her tiny fingers are curled around the collar of his shirt.
“I think that’s her favorite place to sleep,” I whisper.
A quiet chuckle rumbles in his chest, and he brushes a soft kiss over the top of our baby’s head.
“I think she could use her newest present from Auntie Starla,” he murmurs.
I nod and dig through the baby bag hanging from the stroller until I find the thick, soft beanie to cover her quickly growing head. As gently as I can, I guide it over the back of her head, pulling it down until it covers her ears.
Winter’s setting in, and with it, I’m having to relearn how to dress our child. It amazes me how each day brings chances when it comes to our baby girl. She’s constantly learning, growing, and discovering new things. She’s started to push up off the floor when she’s on her belly, and her curious eyes seem to take the world in with endless fascination.
As our child sleeps quietly on one of Gabe’s shoulders, he wraps his free arm around me and pulls me close. I rest my cheek against him, looking out at the still, quiet world. It’s infinitely beautiful, seeing everything so at peace. It’s my favorite part of winter, the stillness that takes over, bringing peace and quiet. And nothing in the world could change the deep contentment that settles inside me in this beautiful, perfect moment.
