I let out a breath and looked at her, unable to decide whether I wanted to share it now or not, but I knew I had to. I reached into my jacket pocket, pulling out the first set of documents Sophie had given me, and passed them over to Lexi without saying anything. She reached across the table and took them from me, opening them as if they contained bad news. She looked them over, flipping between the pages, and then looked at me.
"I don't understand what these are."
"Well, the ones on the top are the sale of our house."
"What? What are you talking about? You sold our house without consulting me?" She was angry, her cheeks reddened, her body taking on a defensive posture.
"I did," I answered, straight-faced.
She stood up and grabbed her coat, throwing it around her shoulders. She grabbed her purse and began to walk out of the restaurant but then turned back, walking over to the table.
"How dare you do that, Andrew. How dare you." She whipped back around and took two steps forward, again stopping.
"Do you not even want to know why I did this?" I called out. I knew she was upset by the way she held her body as she stood there.
It was close to a minute before she finally turned toward me. "I'm curious."
I pulled another set of papers out of my pocket and held them out to her. She slowly stepped forward and removed the papers from the envelope, unfolding them. As soon as she began to read, her face relaxed, and then the tears started to pour. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Is this for real?"
"Yes, Lexi, it’s real." I stood and stepped toward her waiting for her to realize I was telling her the truth.
Finally, she dropped the papers to the ground and crashed into me, wrapping her arms around my neck, kissing me passionately and thanking me profusely.
Epilogue
Alexa - Christmas - One Year Later
“Jingle Bells”played in the background as I stirred the bowl of cookie batter. I was getting frustrated because it looked nothing like my mother’s.
"This should be dough by now," I murmured as I looked down to the bowl full of watery mess. "Why are you not working!" I screamed to the empty kitchen as I dumped the third bowl of ruined dough into the garbage. What the hell had I been thinking agreeing to host Christmas when we could have went to Hawaii and visited my parents?
I began again, starting in order of the ingredients on the card that I had carefully copied from my mother when the phone rang. I wiped my hands on my apron and picked up the phone. "Hello."
"There's my sexy wife. How's everything going? Everything okay at the house?"
I instantly smiled at the sound of Drew's deep, sexy voice. "Hey, baby, yeah, everything is fine. What time do you think you will be home?" I asked, looking down at the matching wedding band that now accompanied my diamond.
"Should be home around four. Traffic just opened up. It's getting busy in town with all the tourists."
"Great, I can't wait to see you." I giggled into the phone. "Oh, and just so you know, I'm not wearing any panties."
"Lex, you can't do that to me, babe. Play fair."
Drew had been gone for a week back to New York to finish cleaning out his office and tidying things up at the other law office. We had moved to Denver six months ago, after Drew had surprised me by selling his home and buying my parents’ house in secret. The law firm he had been working for opened a branch out here, and Drew was handed the torch to lead this firm. I could still remember the night he presented the documents to me. I had gone through a whole range of emotion within ten minutes of arriving at that restaurant before I finally collapsed into his arms.
"Sorry, baby, but you know I don't play fair," I whispered and then giggled into the phone.
"Yeah, no kidding. Did you hear from your brother?"
"Yeah, he and Ann Marie will be here shortly."
"Great, and your parents?"
"They arrive tonight. Zach already said he and Ann Marie would pick them up from the airport."
"That would be great. Okay, sweetie, I’m off. I'll stop at the grocery store and pick up those items that you asked me to get before I get home. I guess I will see you shortly."
"I can't wait." I giggled into the receiver.