Epilogue

~ Danny ~

Sitting in the gazebo at our park, after a night of reliving our first date, including dinner at the same small Italian restaurant, Gabrielle and I sat on the bench bearing our names, gazing out over the water. We had made ourselves come back to this place to create new memories rather than let the recent bad ones take the specialness away from us. To do so would let Terrell win, and we refused to let that happen, even if we averted our eyes from the line of trees where it all had gone down.

Questions still lingered and legal things remained, but they’d filed no charges; the ruling being Gabrielle acted in self-defense. We were slowly putting everything behind us and working on healing emotionally.

I squeezed her hand before releasing it and draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. I couldn’t stop touching her or Dani, especially when I thought about how close I’d come to losing them both.

“So, I’ve got a question for you…” I started.

“What’s that?”

“How do you feel about having another baby?”

She smiled. “You want to have another baby?”

“I want to have another baby with you. I want to be there from the beginning this time.”

She studied me, and I didn’t miss the glow of love in her eyes before lowering her head to my shoulder. “I would like that very much.”

I rested my head on top of hers. We sat, enjoying the peaceful surroundings for a moment, before I stood with a hand out. “Come here.”

She let me pull her up and we walked to the water line. A strong breeze flipped her hair around her face and hugged her strapless red summer dress closer to her body. I tucked my hands into the pockets of my gray slacks, and she hooked her arm through mine as we took in the city skyline in the distance. I cleared my throat.

“The first time I brought you out here, I somehow knew I wanted you in my life forever. No matter what. That what we had was real. Special, even.” I turned and held her hands. “Even to this day, I’m in awe you were willing to see past all the shit in my life and just be with me, the real me, no matter what was going on, no matter what anyone else said. Especially considering all the shit that went down. When I think about how close I came to losing you two; first with Terrell, and then afterward…” I stopped and cleared my throat against the emotions constricting it.

She reached out and touched her finger to my lips. “But you didn’t.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to handle it, G. I can’t lose you and I can’t lose Dani.” She tried to speak again, but I kept talking. “Let me get this out.”

She nodded as I paused and took a deep breath.

“You two are my life. I never believed someone would love me, or that I even deserved to be loved. I certainly never believed I could love anyone more than life itself. I didn’t believe I could ever have a family filled with love and happiness and all that cheesy shit. That’s not what I knew, but you showed me not only that I can be loved, but I can return that love and have the family I always dreamed about. And I thank you for that.”

I gave her a small smile, which she returned as her eyes flooded with tears. I caught her mouth, briefly tangling my tongue with hers, before pulling back and resting my forehead against hers. Dusk was settling around us, the light of the day making the slow transition to night as the lights of the city burned in the background.

“You are my life, Gabrielle,” I continued in a low voice. “Even when we weren’t together, you were still in my head and my heart every day. You’re the reason I’m a success, the reason I went to rehab, got clean, and the reason I’m still standing here today. I’ve always promised you always, and that’s what I want, what I want to give you.” I straightened so I could gaze into her eyes. “Marry me.”

She gasped and her eyes widened. “Marry…? Danny, are you serious?”

“I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

“Omigod!” She threw her arms around my neck. “Yes!”

I took her mouth with mine. When we separated, we smiled as I took her hand in mine.

“Well, I guess I need to get you a ring.”

“I don’t need one.”

“What the hell do you take me for?” I chuckled and reached into a pocket. “I’m not that white-trash.”

I opened the small box facing her, and her eyes widened as she took in the ring. “It’s probably a little bigger than what you would have picked out, but I designed it, and it will look awesome on you.”

“A little bigger?” she said, short of breath. “Danny, it’s huge. I can’t wear that. It’s too much.”

I pulled out the large emerald-cut diamond surrounded by rubies and aquamarines, reminiscent of the necklace I’d given her for our first Christmas, which hung around her neck. “You can too wear it.” I put the ring on her finger and held it up to catch the light as I grinned. “Like I said, you can wear the hell out of that thing.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Nothing’s as beautiful as you, but it will do.”

I kissed her again, and this time when I pulled back, we were both breathless. Grabbing her hand, I turned her toward the car. “Let’s go get started on a little brother or sister for Dani.”

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