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“Virgin Pina Colada?” the bartender said with a grin. “You must have had a hard day.”
“She’s drinking for two,” I said and smiled.
He laughed and placed my beer onto the counter and then went about making Alexa’s virgin Pina Colada.
For the next hour, we sat and savored our drinks, talking about our days and planning our possession of the new apartment.
“I’m so excited about finally moving in,” Alexa said. “The hotel is great, but I want our own things.”
“I know,” I said and slipped my arm around her shoulder. “We’ll be busy as hell for a few days while the movers deliver all our stuff, but by the time we get married, we’ll be all settled in.”
“I can’t wait,” she said and sipped her drink. “Jan and Mara will help me get things unpacked and set up. Unfortunately, Candace will have to wait until we’re all settled in before she visits. Can we arrange a special car to bring her to the beach house? I want her to be comfortable and not to have to do a thing besides be there.”
“I’ll put it on the list of to-dos for the wedding,” I said and tapped the side of my head. “Better yet, I’ll do it right now before I forget.”
I pulled out my cell and opened the notes feature, adding it to my to-do list for the wedding.
It was then I saw Dana’s text.
DANA: I might have gotten mad at mother and told her you and Alexa were having a baby when she told me that there was still time for you to break up. So, be prepared for all hell to break loose. She wasn’t happy, as you might expect. SORRY!!!
I sighed in frustration and showed Alexa.
“Oh, God, that’s not good,” Alexa said and made a face. “Like we need any other reason for your mother to hate me.”
I shook my head, angry at Dana for spilling the beans. My mom had to know eventually, but she was the very last person I wanted to find out.
“I can’t believe Dana did that,” I said to Alexa, who had noticeably slumped on her stool, dejection clear on her face.
“She was probably talking to your mother about something else and when she said something not nice about us, it slipped out. Don’t be too hard on her.”
“I know, I know,” I said, “but still. It would have been nice if she could keep a secret -- for once. She’s a notorious spiller of secrets.”
“She’s happy for us,” Alexa said. “She can’t help it. She was probably gloating about it and couldn’t resist seeing your mother’s face when she delivered the news.”
“Yeah, I can imagine it was like a nuclear detonation went off.”
I smiled, despite my anger.
My mother would either accept reality or she’d be out of my life. I had the love of my life with me, and she was pregnant with my child, and I had a billion or so dollars.
I didn’t need her and if she became estranged to me and my new family, it was only the fulfillment of my desire to be free of her after a lifetime of her trying to control me.
For the rest of the evening, Alexa and I ate bar food and watched sports, forgetting completely about all the drama in our lives and it was a relief.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Alexa
Our move into the apartment was hectic, but luckily, Luke had John and Greg to help so I could lie in bed at the hotel, battling nausea and fatigue. They left early in the morning on Saturday, possession
day, and were there waiting when the delivery truck came with the few items we put in storage before we left on our trip around the world.
The rest of the furniture and accessories we bought over the previous few weeks would be delivered later in the day. It would take at least a week to unpack and get things set up, but we were both determined to get it done in time for our wedding the following weekend at Westhampton.
Luke okayed it with his father, who was on our side, and luckily, Candace was able to arrange a local caterer to prepare a dinner for twelve people, which we would hold at the beach house on Saturday night after the ceremony. We found a justice of the peace who agreed to come out to Westhampton and perform the ceremony, and we had the marriage certificate prepared and ready to go. The only issue was me finding the time to buy a dress. I didn’t want anything too fancy, but I did want a nice dress so we could look back and remember our wedding day with happiness. Luke would wear a business suit and tie, and I would wear a long dress, but there would be no flower girls or bridesmaid dresses, no dance hall rental or huge meal for three hundred guests.
Considering how wealthy Luke was, we could have gone all out and rented the biggest venue in Manhattan, and I certainly could have bought a designer dress with the works, but at that moment in our lives, after our trip around the world living in our bathing suits and old t-shirts, it seemed too pretentious.
