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“There are so many stones,” she said, reaching out to trace her fingers along the bottom row of beads.
“Four hundred and fifty-six beads to be exact,” he said with a smile.
“That’s a lot of beads,” Haley said, snuggling up closer to him.
“You gave me a lot of wonderful memories, my little grasshopper,” he said, feeling his eyes tear up just thinking about all the wonderful memories that she’d given him.
“What’s that white rock?” she asked, turning her head slightly so that she could press a kiss against his shoulder as she pointed to the first rock in the necklace.
“That would be from the tree where we first met.”
She pulled her hand back. “You mean the one where you peed?” she asked, sounding grossed out.
“I had a lot of soda, woman! I had to go and the damn realtor hadn’t left the key where she’d promised!” he snapped defensively.
“So touchy,” she mumbled as she pointed to a little gray rock at the three quarter section of the necklace. “And this one?”
“This one is from the parking lot of your doctor’s office when we found out that you were pregnant with Joshua,” he said, smiling at the memory of holding Haley in his arms when the doctor shared the news with them.
“And this one?” she asked, pointing to a dark grey rock close to the beginning.
“This one is from the hotel in Boston where I got to hold you in my arms for the first time.”
“And this one?” she asked, pointing to the next rock.
“Is from the same hotel,” he said, looking down at her.
“Why did you get two from the same hotel?” she asked, looking adorably confused.
With a smile, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers as he whispered, “Because that’s when I realized that I never wanted to let you go.”
And this is only the beginning……….