Coming Home(160)

Leah slid her arm around Danny’s waist as she pressed her cheek against his chest and inhaled his scent.

Those little wonders in life, the tiny miracles, they never ceased to amaze her. They were everywhere, overlooked too often because people were preoccupied with the minutiae of everyday life, or because the miracles themselves were too discreet to be recognized. But to see them at work was one of the most humbling things Leah had ever experienced.

Because there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that the day she met Danny, the stars had aligned just for her.

“Do you believe in fate?” she asked softly.

Danny took a slow sip of wine. “I don’t know. To an extent, maybe. Why, do you?”

“I never really did before, but now…I don’t know. It’s kind of hard not to.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, tilting his head to look down at her.

Leah dropped her eyes, watching the light glint off her bracelet as she spun it around her wrist. “I’ve had this bracelet for almost fifteen years,” she said, looking up at him. “And never once has the clasp failed. And I’ve had it back for over four months now, and it hasn’t happened since.”

He held her eyes for a moment before he smiled, looking down as he ran the tip of his finger over the bracelet, and then he pulled her into his side and pressed his lips to the top of her head.

“Can I give you your birthday present now?” he asked into her hair.

Leah smiled. “Did you get me a Slap Chop?”

He burst out laughing before he released her and stood from the couch. “You already have one.”

“I know,” she said, “but you can never have too many of those.”

Danny grinned. “Maybe for Christmas, then,” he said with a laugh as he turned and walked toward Leah’s bedroom, and her smile fell.

Because he wouldn’t be there for Christmas.

She wasn’t even sure how many Christmases she’d have to endure without him, and the thought made her throat feel like someone had clamped their fist around it.

Stop it, she warned herself. Stop it right now. Not tonight.

Danny walked back into the living room then, and she could see that he held a small rectangular box in his hand as he sat back on the couch beside her.

“Happy birthday,” he said, holding it out for her.

Her breath hitched as she looked down at the box. She had thought he’d gotten her something silly—a little trinket they would laugh about—but it was clear to her that there was jewelry inside that box.

“Danny,” she said, her shoulders dropping, “you shouldn’t have—”

“I wanted to,” he said, cutting her off.

Her eyes met his before she took a tiny breath, and then she reached for the box. She lifted the lid hesitantly, the hinge creaking slightly as it opened.

Lying on the black satin inside was a necklace; the chain was white gold and glittered with every movement of Leah’s trembling hand, but her eye was immediately drawn to the pendant hanging from it. It was a large, clear stone, perfectly round. She lifted her finger and cautiously touched the end of it, the tiny movement causing a prism of sparkles to flicker within the stone.

“Is this…” She trailed off as she looked up at him.

“Is this what?”

“A diamond?” she asked, looking back down at the shimmering pendant.

“Yes.”

Her hand came up to cup her mouth. “Oh my God,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Danny.”

“Do you like it?”