She held her head back and gazed at the sky. When the first snowflake caressed her cheek, she touched the spot with an expression of dawning understanding. Her eyes sparkled with delight as the snow began to fall more heavily.
“It’s snowing,” she said softly, her tone filled with awe. “The first time this winter.”
Paul shook his head, feeling a stirring of amazement and happiness deep in his chest. “It’s moondust.”
She grinned at the whimsical statement. “There’s no moon.”
“Of course not,” he explained patiently. “It’s inside, being chipped into millions of specks of moondust. It only happens on special occasions.”
“Oh, really,” she said, laughing. “Which occasions are those?”
His gaze met hers and the sparks began to blaze, sparks so hot they endangered the snow. “When two people fall in love.”
She gasped softly and her eyes filled again with wonder. “Oh, Paul. It’s going to be okay after all, isn’t it?”
Her lips sought his, warm and pliant and moist from the kiss of the moondust. There was magic in the kiss, a spell that dared him to go on, the words whispering across her mouth. “Marry me, Gabrielle.”
Her answer was in the soft moan of pleasure, the hungry demand of her lips on his, the teasing invasion of her tongue.
“Is that a yes?” he asked, breathing heavily.
“Yes.”
“We’ll have problems,” he warned.
“Never.”
He’d never heard a more unrealistic claim, but he loved her optimism. “We’ll work them out,” he corrected. “I may never be able to give you what you’re used to. There won’t be diamonds, just moondust.”
“This,” she said, curving her arms around his neck. “This is what I want to get used to. I was so afraid I’d lost you tonight. Do you have any idea how much you’ve given me, how empty my life would be without you?”
“I’ve given you?” he repeated incredulously.
“Of course. Hopes, dreams, belief in myself. Not to mention that I’ve never before been swept from my bed in the middle of the night to see the first snowfall.”
“I should hope not.”
“Don’t make jokes. This is the most romantic proposal any woman could ever have. Our children will be awed and amazed that their practical, down-to-earth father did it.”
“Our children?” he said weakly, thinking that his first cautious step was quickly turning into a race toward the future. He felt as though he’d put one tentative toe into an ocean and been caught up by the tide.
“They’ll be beautiful,” she promised, apparently captivated by the idea. “They’ll be smart and creative. Very creative.”
“Obedient?” he asked hopefully, the prospect beginning to take on a certain appeal for him, as well. His mother would be ecstatic.
“Stubborn,” she said ruefully.
“No doubt. At the risk of sounding like I’m rushing things, how soon do you plan on expanding our family?”
“Well, it does take time,” she said with just a hint of regret. “I can’t just go to the store in the morning and pick out two or three.”
He chuckled. “I do know where they come from.”
She touched his cheek. “From nights like tonight.”
Emotion crowded his chest. Joy sang through his veins. He swallowed hard. “God, I love you.”
“Show me, then. Take me inside and show me.”
Inside, with the magic of moondust swirling around them, they found that little corner of heaven where dreams become reality.
* * *
Paul awoke in the morning to the touch of something very cold against his lips. His eyes snapped open to find Gabrielle kneeling on the bed beside him, her hands filled with snow. He grinned. “If you’re planning to do what I think you’re planning to do, forget it. I’m bigger and stronger and I will get even.”
“It’s moondust, remember? I’m saving it.”
“It will have a very short life expectancy curled up in your hand like that.”
Her expression sobered. “Will our love melt the same way someday, Paul?”
He pulled her down beside him. “No. Not if we don’t let it.”
“But you almost left me for good last night, didn’t you?”
“Almost,” he admitted. “But not because of anything you did. Not even because I didn’t believe in our love.”
“My parents?”
“Yes. They threw me. I realized how much I was asking you to give up.”
“It’s my decision, Paul. Yours and mine. My parents will learn to live with whatever we decide.”
“I told you last night, I’ll never be able to match the life you’ve left. Our children won’t be wearing designer diapers and going to fancy preschools that teach piano to two-year-olds. Can you really accept that?”
“Designer diapers? Piano lessons?” she repeated incredulously. “That’s really what’s been worrying you, isn’t it?”
His silence was answer enough. She went on. “Darling, if what I grew up with was so irresistible, do you think I would have left it? The only thing important for a relationship and for kids is love and the commitment to do the very best we can. We have that.”
His hands caressed her cheeks as he searched her eyes. They were glowing with the truth of her love. “Then I guess there’s just one thing left to do,” he said.
“What’s that?”
“Set a wedding date.”
She threw herself into his arms. “I do love you,” she said, dropping kisses over his face.
He swallowed hard, torn between laughter and desire. She tilted her head and stared at him. “This is a very serious moment in our lives, Paul Reed. What’s so funny?”
“Your moondust is melting down my back.”
An impish light flared in her eyes as she moved behind him. “We certainly won’t want to lose any of that,” she said seriously as her tongue set out to capture every drop.
“Umm, Gaby,” Paul said as a shiver sped down his spine. “Do you think we might want to keep some of this moondust in the freezer? It may be hard to come by in August and I’m definitely beginning to see several interesting uses for it.”
She tangled her bare legs with his and ran her hands provocatively down his chest. “We can always use our imaginations.”
Paul closed his eyes and absorbed the wicked sensations. She was right,
