Hand-in-hand, Alexis and Mark strolled back to their flat from the restaurant.
"Have your parents always been like this?" she asked.
Mark's face reddened. "Oh God, what did they say when I was in the loo?"
"No, no. They're great. You're so lucky."
Mark gave her a squeeze. "That dinner conversation was the most I've ever heard you say about your parents. You never talk about them."
"No, I don't."
"Do they even know about me?" he asked softly.
Alexis didn't want him to think he was unimportant, but she also didn't want him to think that she was the type of person who didn't speak to her family.
"Would it change anything between us either way?" she asked.
"Of course not."
"Good." Inwardly, she was relieved.
"Well, my parents agree with me," he said.
"About what?"
"That I couldn't have chosen a better partner."
"They don't care that I don't want to sew on your lost buttons or have dinner on the table for you precisely at six?"
"No. Besides, we're lawyers. We're never home by six." He stopped to kiss her firmly. "We love each other. Besides, my mum taught me to cook when I was young and she's teaching you to bake. Between us, we'll have all our meals covered."
"And the buttons can just sew buttons."
"Indeed."
He moved a stray hair from her face, drinking her in.
"What?" she asked.
"I just want to remember this moment. Remember how much I love you."
She kissed him back. "That's sweet and completely unnecessary. I'll never let you forget how much you love me."
Shaking off the memory, Alexis snapped back to the present as the waitress brought her a whiskey. She thanked the girl and offered to pay, but the waitress waved her off and disappeared into the crowd. Her gaze shifted to Tyler as he sat onstage looking completely at ease. He truly loved playing live music and it showed. In that moment, Alexis envied him.
People immediately started calling out song titles. When the bartender demanded
White Christmas, everyone started cheering.
"In a holiday mood, are we?" he asked the crowd. They responded with fierce clapping. "All right then. Let's sing it since, as long as we're on Mangrove Island for
Christmas, we have no chance of actually seeing one."
The audience laughed. Trey and Patty were beaming with pride. Everyone was cheerful and Alexis embraced the positive energy swirling through the room.
Tyler began to pluck the strings and his deep, melodic voice filled the room. His was a slow, beautiful rendition of the song and Alexis noticed that several people were moved to tears, including Trey and Patty. When he finished, the crowd sat in awed silence.