Page 33 of Breathe Me: Smith & Belle

Smith

Inever thought I would look at anyone and find her as beautiful as Belle.

And then I met my daughter.

Her hair was so fine it looked like strands of silver that curled at her tiny ears. She was still pink from the vigorous rubdown the nurse had given her after birth. She hadn’t been too pleased by that and had quickly demonstrated that she had my lung capacity. But once she’d been handed to Belle, she’d quieted immediately, looking to her with wide, searching eyes.

After Clara and Alexander had gone, I’d taken her so Belle could rest. I’d always known my wife was strong, but watching her bring life into the world proved even I’d underestimated the power inside her. I kept stealing glances at her while she slept, amazed that she’d chosen me to receive this gift.

She needed the sleep, and I’d been more than pleased to have the quiet time to study each of my daughter’s tiny fingers. They wrapped around my index finger as she slept on my chest. How on earth could anything be so perfect? I felt like I’d known her my whole life, and like I couldn’t wait to see who she would become. I was head-over-heels in love.

I’d been staring at her for an hour when Belle interrupted my reverie, “What do you think, Daddy?”

I carried the pink bundle over to her, carefully passing her to her mother. She woke with a squawk and immediately nuzzled her face against Belle’s skin, searching for milk. Belle had never looked more perfect than when she had our daughter in her arms.

“Have you decided?” I asked Belle softly, not wanting to startle her.

Belle glanced up, confusion clouding her blue eyes before she smiled. “I guess I’m still tired. What am I deciding?”

“On her name, beautiful.” I bit back a smile. I knew she was exhausted, and I couldn’t blame her after what she’d gone through. “We can wait a little longer. I know we hadn’t really narrowed them down.”

There was no rush. Everything was perfect. We were exactly where we were meant to be, and for the first time, in as long as I could remember, I felt completely at peace. A week ago, we’d still been debating the question. Now it hardly seemed important. She was here with us.

Belle studied her silently, no doubt running through all the contenders in her mind. “Looking at her makes me feel like everything’s going to be okay,” she confessed. “I feel like our stars have changed.”

“She’s lucky, then.” I couldn’t help smiling. I had a feeling that we’d both landed on the same name. “Penny.”

“Penny,” she agreed in a soft voice. “Well, Penelope. Sophia for the middle name. Penny might be lucky, but she should be wise, too.”

“Penelope Sophia Price,” I repeated. The baby yawned as I said it, her mouth drooping into a sleepy smile. “I think she approves.”

“Speaking of, I hope you like this.” I took a velvet box out of my pocket. I’d been carrying it for hours, waiting for the right moment to give it to her.

Belle’s eyes narrowed on the satin bow tied around it. “What’s that, Price?”

“I wanted to give you something special to remember the day our family became whole.” I looked to my feet, wondering if she’d caught the break in my voice as I spoke. I’d never imagined I would be here now with the love of my life and our child. A life like that hadn’t even been on my radar. Thank God, Belle had sauntered into my office. Thank God, I’d been unable to resist her smart mouth. That moment had led to this one.

“My hands are full,” Belle whispered. “Could you?”

I nodded, slipping the bow off and opening the box to reveal the necklace inside. I’d found it at Harrods earlier this week and had been hiding it ever since.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed. Belle turned teary eyes on me. “It’s an opal—her birthstone.”

“I’m glad she decided to finally come. I was getting nervous that I was going to have to take it back,” I teased. I’m not certain I would have actually. The pendant’s opal center, surrounded by diamonds, sparkled with a delicate rainbow of shimmering colors that somehow reminded me of the stars I’d promised her and the beauty we’d finally found after all we’d lost. The diamonds surrounding it, twisted at the top around one single, small pearl.

“The pearl…” I hesitated, suddenly unsure I should confess what the pearl had meant to me.

“Is for the baby we lost,” Belle finished with a bittersweet smile. Of course she saw it, too. She hadn’t talked much about the miscarriage while she was carrying Penelope, but I knew she still thought of the baby as much as I did.

“They’re both with you,” I said, my words thick on my tongue.

Belle leaned forward, and I brushed a few stray locks that had escaped her hair tie away from her neck before clasping the necklace around her.

“About the other decision,” Belle said, her eyes never leaving our daughter.

“What other decision?” I wasn’t sure how she could be thinking of anything but this moment. “Whatever it is, it can wait.”

“No, it can’t.” There was a fierce edge to her words that reminded me of the lioness she’d been during birth. “I’m ready. As soon as they give the okay, I want to go home.”

“The food isn’t that bad.” Actually, the tea service they’d delivered reflected the price tag that accompanied the ten-thousand pound birthing suite.

She finally looked up, her eyes locking with me. “I want to know she’s somewhere safe.”

“The security here—” I began.

“I’m not talking about here. Or London. When it’s time to go, I want to go to Thornham,” she said firmly. “I’m ready to go home.”