Page 20 of The Mrs. Clause
The silence felt easy even though it was filled with regret.
"What do we do now? Do I move here?" I asked, wondering if I was really ready to move back to London.
"I've been thinking about that." He reached over, pulling his phone off the coffee table and handing it to me. "The Cove isn't ideal for my business, but this house...?"
I looked at the small screen, flicking through the vendor pictures of the giant house and large parcel of land.
"It has permission for a helicopter. We could live in the Cove for half the year, London the other half. I can commute when I need to, and work from home the rest of the time."
I stared at the phone then blinked, tears once again burning. "You'd do that for me?"
He chuckled, "Tesoro, I'd do anything for you." His hand slipped down, resting on my belly. "And for any children we have. I want them to enjoy space and sea but also experience the culture clash of a big city."
I sniffled. "I love you."
"I love you too." He tapped the phone. "So, do I put in an offer?"
I looked back down, considering the beautiful home. "Not yet. Let's see it first."
He raised an eyebrow.
"We might be able to negotiate on the price." I grinned. "After all, I wouldn't want you to spend all your billions in one place."
Nick chuckled, his beautiful dark eyes sparkling. "No, we wouldn't want that."
We watched the remainder of Die Hard, snuggled together and sharing a bowl of popcorn.
"Collins?" He asked, as the movie came to an end.
"Mm?"
"About those candy cane pasties…."
I grinned. "Yes?"
"Go put them on. I wanna make those bells jingle."
And ho ho ho, Nick did just that. Merry Christmas to me.
Epilogue One
Collins
I finished signing the fifth and final stack of papers, double checking the date before handing the pen back to our accountant. He checked it over, then gave one short, sharp nod.
"This looks good. I'll lodge the forms today and we can get this sorted within the week."
"Thanks, Alistair." I stood, pressing a hand to the back of the small baby strapped to my chest. "If there's nothing else, we might go meet daddy, hey Leo?" I asked the sleeping bundle on my chest.
The baby didn't answer, but that didn't concern me. A deep well of contentment had settled in my soul from the moment the nurses had placed Leo in my arms.
Two years had passed since I'd enacted what we now laughingly termed the 'Mrs. Clause'. Two years of laughter and tears, love and fears. Two years of infertility. After the first six months we'd undergone some testing to be told it was unlikely we'd ever naturally conceive. Despite the heartache that had come, we'd been determined to start a family that comprised of more than just the two of us.
After months of adoption papers, house assessments and a few missed opportunities, we'd received the phone call.
"Mrs. Del Laurentis?"
"Yes?" I'd asked, pressing the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I dusted hands on my apron. "Can I help you?"
