He kissed her tenderly. “The waiting was terrible,” he groaned. “I thought I might die of it, waiting until you grew up, until you knew something of the world and men so that I didn’t rob you of that experience.” He lifted his head. “Always, I worried that you might find a younger man and fall in love...”

She put her fingers over his chiseled mouth. “I loved you from the day I met you,” she whispered. “When I stared at you, that day in town with my grandfather, before I was even sixteen.” She touched his cheek with her fingertips. “I knew, too, that there could never be anyone else.”

He nibbled her fingers. “So sweet, the encounter after all the waiting,” he whispered.

“Sweeter than honey,” she agreed, her eyes warm and soft on his face.

“There’s just one thing,” he murmured.

She raised her eyebrows.

He opened a drawer and pulled out an item that he’d placed there earlier. An item that they’d forgotten to use.

She just smiled.

After a minute, he smiled back and dropped the item right back into the drawer.

Sara was overjoyed. “I can’t wait to come down there and see you both,” she exclaimed. “But you’ve only been married six weeks,” she added.

Gabriel was facing the computer with Michelle at his side, holding her around the waist, his big hands resting protectively over her slightly swollen belly as they talked on Skype with Sara in Wyoming. “We were both very sure that it was what we wanted,” he said simply.

“Well, I’m delighted,” Sara said. She smiled. “The only way I could be more delighted is if it was me who was pregnant. But, that will come with time,” she said complacently, and smiled. “I’m only sorry I couldn’t be at the wedding,” she added quietly. “I was very mean to you, Michelle. I couldn’t face you, afterward.”

“I understood,” Michelle said gently. “You’re my sister. Really my sister now,” she added with a delighted laugh. “We’re going to get a place near yours in Wyoming so that we can be nearby when the baby comes.”

“I can’t wait!”

“Neither can I,” Michelle said. “We’ll talk to you soon.”

“Very soon.” Sara smiled and cut the connection.

“Have you ever told her?” Michelle asked after a minute, curling up in Gabriel’s lap.

He kissed her. “We did just tell her, my love...”

“Not about the baby,” she protested. “About Wolf. About who he really is.”

“You mean, her gaming partner for the past few years?” He grinned. “That’s a story for another day.”

“If you say so.”

He kissed her. “I do say so. And now, how about a nice pickle and some vanilla ice cream?”

Her eyebrows lifted. “You know, that sounds delicious!”

He bent his head and kissed the little bump below her waist. “He’s going to be extraordinary,” he whispered.