Mistletoe and Memories (Evergreen Hollow Christmas #4)

Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

After a dinner of turkey and squash lasagna and a glass of wine, Nora gave Caroline a hug and headed home.

She was holding her breath as she pulled into the driveway, hoping that things hadn’t been too rough for Aiden while he was watching Madison. He’d watched the baby while Nora helped her mother get ready for the evening, and then Nora had left her with him while she went with her sisters to go surprise their parents with the date night.

Now she was wondering if Madison had driven him crazy the whole night. She’d been remarkably good all day, which didn’t bode well for either of them getting any sleep that evening.

She stepped into the warm old Victorian, feeling a comforting sense of home sweep over her. She loved the house that she and Aiden had picked out together, the way it both encapsulated her love of beautiful, aesthetic things and his love of architecture and the art of carpentry.

It had felt like ‘them’ from the moment they’d seen the listing, and she had always been so grateful that they’d been able to get it. Houses for sale weren’t a dime a dozen in Evergreen Hollow, and they had been lucky that it had gone on the market when it did.

There were no crying sounds that she could hear as she took off her hat and mittens, shrugging out of her coat and boots and organizing it all in the entryway. She could hear the crackling of the fire from the living room, and she walked in to find Aiden sitting on the couch with a glass of mulled wine and a book, looking perfectly relaxed and at peace. When he looked up and caught her eye, she saw a hint of a smug grin on his face.

“What is that look for?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at him as she went over to give him a kiss. “The date went off without a hitch, by the way. They loved the setup that Leon and Bethany and Caroline put together last minute. Mom was struggling to keep it together, she loved it so much. And Dad was so touched, I could tell.”

“Good,” Aiden said, setting his book down. “I know how hard you all worked on that. I was worried that it wouldn’t work out after I heard about the whole disaster with the window at Rockridge Grill. But it always comes together in the end here, doesn’t it?”

“It does,” Nora agreed. “Now what’s that smirk about?”

“I found the secret to getting Madison to go to sleep.” He grinned. “I’ve cracked the baby Rosetta Stone.”

Nora felt her mouth drop open. “No.”

“Yes.” That smug smirk spread across his face, and she walked around the edge of the couch, dropping into the seat next to him.

“How on earth…?”

She watched as Aiden pulled his phone out of his pocket, setting it on the coffee table as he opened the music app. A second later, the most obnoxious version of “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas” that she’d ever heard blared through the speaker.

“You must be joking.” She gaped at the phone. “Oh my goodness, that’s awful. Turn it off.” She shook her head, and Aiden laughed.

“Awful, but it worked. I guess we’re going to be listening to at least one Christmas song well past the holiday season, until Madison starts sleeping on her own,” Aiden said with a laugh.

Nora let out a sigh of relief, her head falling back against the back of the couch. “That’s amazing,” she said, turning to look at her husband. “I can’t believe she’s just sleeping now. What a thing to finally be what works.”

Aiden looked at her, his expression turning more serious. “Are you upset that you weren’t the one who figured it out?” he asked cautiously. “You’re her mother, after all. I don’t want your feelings to be hurt because I cracked the code while you were out.”

“Not at all,” Nora said sincerely. “Of course not. We’re a team.” She moved closer to him, snuggling into his warmth in front of the crackling fireplace. “And honestly? I wouldn’t want to do this parenting thing without you. Not ever.”

Aiden wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. “So tell me about the rest of the surprise. How did it all go?”

Nora smiled, leaning her head back against his shoulder. “It was perfect. Mom loved the scavenger hunt so much, and she figured it all out. She was so happy about the shopping in Burlington, and we ended up having such a nice lunch there too. I felt bad that Caroline missed it, but she said the seafood wouldn’t have settled well with—” She broke off, remembering that Aiden didn’t know about the baby yet.

He raised an eyebrow, but she shook her head. “It’s Caroline’s thing to tell,” she said. “Nothing bad, I promise. Just… the more people who know, the more likely it is to slip out, so… I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Uh-huh,” Aiden raised an eyebrow, and Nora had a feeling that he’d already figured it out just from that small slip. But he stayed silent, letting her continue.

“Caroline told me that she and Leon and Bethany had a solution to what happened with the plan to use Rockridge Grill. I wasn’t sure how it was all going to turn out, but it really was perfect. And I don’t think they could have been any happier.”

“It sounds like it’s going to be a happy ending even if the Malibu trip doesn’t happen,” Aiden remarked with a smile, and Nora nodded.

“I really do hope it still works out. But this will definitely be a memorable anniversary, no matter what.”

“Are you hungry?” Aiden asked. “I brought home takeout from Rockridge Grill—maple mustard fried chicken sandwiches were the special tonight—and I can heat the rest of it up for you if you want.”

Nora shook her head. “I had dinner with Caroline. We were going to have Margo over too, but she spotted a snowy owl, I guess? She’s been working really hard on this article about them. Anyway, she ran off to get some photos of it, and I went to eat dinner with Caroline.”

“It sounds like she was really excited about the pictures,” Aiden said, and Nora nodded.

“She seems to have found something to dig her hands into here. And now the baby is sleeping, and this whole night turned out just the way we wanted.” Nora sighed, cuddling against him as she closed her eyes. “I think it seems like everyone has ended up in their happy place.”