So we do. Luke drives us the short distance to our cabin with Valentine sleeping soundly in her car seat, one hand clutching the little stuffed horse that was a gift from Emily and Garrett.
Inside, the cabin is quiet and cool. Luke carries Valentine to her nursery, the room he finished painting soft pink three days before she was born, and lays her gently in her crib.
She yawns, stretches, and settles back to sleep.
We stand there for a moment, watching her sleep, her chest rising and falling with those perfect, tiny breaths.
“Best birthday party ever,” Luke whispers, sliding his arm around my waist.
“She won't remember any of it.”
“No, but we will.” He turns me to face him, his handssettling on my hips. “We'll tell her about it someday. About how everyone who loves her came together to celebrate. About her mama’s favorite heart-shaped cake that she destroyed with pure joy. About how she threw frosting at Buster and stole the whole show.”
I smile up at him. “And we'll tell her about how her parents met on Valentine's Day. How they fell in love so fast it was terrifying. How finding out about her was the scariest, most wonderful surprise of their lives.”
“How her daddy knew from the start that her mama was the one.” Luke's voice drops lower. “How he would do it all over again, exactly the same way, because it led him here. To this life, to this family, to everything that matters.”
“Luke Brennan,” I whisper, twining my hands around his neck. “Still making me cry after all this time.”
When we finally pull apart, he rests his forehead against mine. “Happy first birthday to our Valentine,” he murmurs.
As I climb into bed beside my husband, he pulls me close, my back to his chest, his hand splaying across my stomach in that same protective gesture he's been doing since the day we found out about Valentine.
That stomach of mine is a lot softer now, and covered in stretch marks, and Luke still touches me like he can’t keep his hands off me.
“I love you,” he murmurs against my neck. “Both my girls. My whole world.”
“We love you too,” I whisper back. “You were right, you know. My world did change. Because of you. Because of her.”
He holds me tight.
And as I drift off to sleep, surrounded by the quiet sounds of our home, I think about that girl from two years ago. The one who stood at a bar beneath the light of a neon moon, thinking her heart was closed for business.
Possessed by a sudden crazy impulse, I leap out of bed andgo to our closet, searching for the purse I carried back then. It’s still on the shelf above my sweaters, and I pull it down to rummage through the contents until I find what I’m looking for.
I find it.
Then I hide it behind my back.
When I come back to bed, Luke is looking at me with a soft, expectant smile. “Whatcha got there, darlin’?”
“A little something for you.”
“Is it another pregnancy test?”
I gape at him. “No!”
His face falls, but then he grins. “Damn. And here I’ve been working hard to put another baby in you. Guess I better double-up my efforts.”
I laugh against his lips as he kisses me.
“You’re crazy,” I tell him.
And then I take his hand and press the small package into his palm.
It’s the candy hearts from two years ago.
“All yours,” I say. “You’re my forever Valentine.”
The way Luke kisses me after that, I have a feeling I’m getting pregnant tonight.
