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My head nestled on his shoulder. “Thanks. I wanted to do something special for her. I know how hard today will be.”
Zoey skidded to a stop next to us. She held out a gold square box. “I didn’t get a chance to wrap it. I just finished it last night.”
I untangled myself from Beckett and took the box. “I don’t think that matters at all. It’s what’s inside that counts.”
She wrung her hands together, suddenly looking nervous.
“I’m sure I’ll love whatever is inside,” I reassured her and opened the box. Inside was a beautiful beaded bracelet. I lifted the bracelet up and placed the box beside me on the couch. The adorably handmade gift had pink, purple, and black beads surrounding three white ones.
“It’s all our favorite colors,” Zoey explained.
“I love it.” As I turned it over I noticed the white beads had letters on them. “Oh, it’s our first initials, B, Z, and W. This is amazing.” I slid the stretchy bracelet over my wrist and held it up to admire it.
She grinned at me and quickly looked down at the floor. “There’s more in there.”
I removed the white puff of cotton from the gold box and underneath was a folded up note on pale pink paper. My heart sped up again and I knew without even opening it that whatever lay on these pages was special. I carefully unfolded the note and the simple words inside melted my heart.
Christmas Day
Dear Ms. Winter,
I love you so much. Mommy said one day Daddy would find someone to love and she would be a big part of my life. I want to call you Wren and tell people you’re my stepmom. Is that okay? It’s okay if it’s not. I promise.
Sincerely,
Zo
P.S. I tried my best to set up my friendly letter like you taught us.
“Oh, Zo.” Emotion clogged my throat and I couldn’t get any more words past the lump that had grown there.
Her hands fluttered nervously by her sides. “You don’t have to say yes. It’s just that, before Mommy died, she told me that whenever someone came along and made Daddy laugh, she’d be someone important to me too.”
I raised my hand to my mouth to stop my lips from quivering. I drew in a quick, shuddery breath as tears once again rolled down my cheeks. I didn’t know how I had any left. I opened my arms after carefully handing the paper to Beckett.
Zoey threw herself at me, settling into my lap. Her serious expression slayed me. “I know Daddy hasn’t asked you to marry him. Yet.” She gave Beckett the stink-eye.
He squeezed my shoulder. “Notyet.”
My stomach fluttered at his response. I knew he wouldn’t ask today. Not with this being Zoey’s first Christmas without her mom, but from the emphasis onyetand the look in his eyes, maybe it was closer than I thought.
“But I still want you to be my stepmom even before Daddy gets his act together,” she declared and laid her head on my shoulder.
I glanced at Beckett, who smiled his approval.
“I’d love for you to call me that.” I hugged her so tight she gasped. With reluctant hands, I released my death grip. “This is the most amazing gift you ever could have given me, Zoey. Thank you.”
Beckett enveloped us both in a big hug. “This is the best gift I could ever have gotten for Christmas. My two best girls are here with me. I love you both.”
The rightness of the moment and the three of us together settled over me. If every bad thing in my life brought me to this moment, then I was grateful. Nothing could ever be any better than the love I felt for these two and the excitement of our future spread before us.