Chapter 6 - The Antique Shop WindowSix months later, the autumn leaves of Knoxville were turning brilliant shades of copper and gold.
Downtown, Caldwell Antiques had undergone a complete restoration. The old wooden floors had been polished to a warm honey shine, the cracked windowpanes replaced with crystal-clear glass, and the shelves filled with high-end European porcelain, restored Victorian clocks, and rare books.
A small crowd had gathered outside the shop window on a crisp Tuesday morning.
Inside, sitting in a comfortable velvet armchair near the register, Emma Mercer—now visibly seven months pregnant, her curvy figure radiant and glowing—was laughing as Diane buzzed around her with a cup of chamomile tea.
The bell above the front door chimed.
A tall man in a tailored charcoal suit walked in, carrying a small, beautifully wrapped antique music box he had picked up at an estate sale in Nashville.
Gabriel stopped at the counter, looking down at his wife with that quiet, intense devotion that still made her heart race.
"You're supposed to be resting at the manor," Emma scolded gently, though her eyes were shining.
"I missed my wife," Gabriel replied simply, walking behind the counter, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, and resting his large, warm palm gently against the round swell of her stomach.
Beneath his hand, a small, stubborn kick answered back.
Gabriel froze, a look of profound, overwhelming awe crossing his features—the most feared man in Tennessee, completely undone by the life growing inside the woman he loved.
"Cracked doesn't mean useless," Emma whispered, quoting her aunt’s old motto as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
May you like
Gabriel wrapped his arms securely around her, pulling her close against his heart.
"No," Gabriel murmured, pressing his lips to her hair. "You proved that nothing was ever broken at all. You proved we were only waiting to be whole."
