“Mom, you’ve got to see this place…wait till you see my room,” her daughter yelled with excitement after opening the front door. “This place is awesome.” She closed the door again.
“How did you manage it?”
“My parents sold me the land—at a very good price.” He winked. “I hired a builder, and served as the General Contractor. I had my share of problems, and some almost major delays, but…in the end they pulled it off and got her ready in time.”
She put her hand up to her heart. Recognition dawned. “This was what took up so much of your time, wasn’t it?”
He nodded. “I had to keep it from you, and for that I’m sorry. I wanted our new home to be special, and everything you ever wanted in a dream home, Yvie. I took all the notes you’d made, along with our wish list and went to see a builder. It’s a custom, one-of-a-kind home, and I think you’ll be happy with it.”
“Are you kidding? Chris, I don’t know what to say. All the grief I gave you, my accusing you of not being happy in our relationship, and having an affair—I’m so embarrassed.”
“Don’t be, Yvie. You had every right to worry, and to protect what was yours. I just hope you can forgive me for lying to you.”
She hugged him. “There’s nothing to forgive, I’m just blown away that you did all this for me—for our family.”
“Come on, let’s get you out of this cold and into Darcy Estate,” he joked.
***
Darcy Estate was exactly that. Never in her wildest dreams could Yvette have created such a warm and inviting home. Though the square footage was extensive, it exuded character and charm. When you walked through the door, the foyer was large and had a patterned rug in the center, with a large wood table covered with poinsettias. The walls were a rich butter, and white paint and exposed wood beams carried throughout the entire first floor. The family room was down a wide hallway toward the back of the house. It had a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace with built-in shelves on either side. Gleaming hardwood floors and comfortable looking furniture made Yvette want to sit right down and never leave. She looked up to see an open hallway above.
The eat-in kitchen was state of the art. There was a large six foot island with a granite countertop, a sink and lots of storage. There was a commercial grade six-burner stove and nearby another stove built into the wall and a large French door refrigerator. All the appliances were stainless steel. They toured several additional rooms on the first floor before walking up the wide back stairs that led up to the bedrooms. Hand in hand, Christopher directed Yvette down a long hallway and into the bedrooms. Each was very spacious, and had a unique personality all its own.
“Chris, I’m just overwhelmed,” she said as she stepped into the first bedroom.
“Each bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, and built-in bookcases for storage. Lacey’s room was decorated in pinks and purples. There was a whole army of stuffed penguins on her double-sized four-poster bed with white netting and lights draped from it.
“This will be like having Christmas every day for Lacey.”
They checked out Robin’s Disney themed room, and then the other guest rooms.
“The one closest to our room will now be the nursery.” His voice cracked when he said it. “I still can’t believe you’re pregnant.” He turned and took her hands in his. “In case I haven’t said it, yet…I couldn’t be happier, Yvie.”
“I am, too. Pleasantly surprised, and thrilled.”
They checked out the master bedroom. It was like a deserted island oasis. It reminded Yvette of a spa. The color scheme was chocolate brown, a deep wine color, and gold. She looked at the King Sleigh Bed.
“Our own sleigh,” she smiled.
“I can’t wait to see you in it.”
She blushed, and he laughed. Next they went down the hallway to the other side of the house. There was a door that led to the third floor. Upstairs, there was a theatre room, an exercise room, and bathroom, and a rec area that led into a wall that had cabinets, a small refrigerator, and sink.
“This is perfect for movie night.”
“Yeah, especially when the kids have friends over, and we don’t want to hear the racket.”
They went back downstairs and after a few moments of exploring, ran into the rest of the group.
“You did a great job,” Anthony said when he saw Christopher. “You have a lot to be proud of, son.”
They hugged and patted each other on the back.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Yvette observed the group. “Something tells me that you three were in on it. The only people that seemed shocked by this place are me and the kids.”
“Yeah, I sort of enlisted Adelaide and my parents to help with the decorating selections.”
Yvette smiled. “You did a great job everyone.”
“Mommy, can we stay here tonight?”
With a turn, she glanced over at Christopher. “Can we?”
“Sure. Everything is turned on, and ready to go. Just needs us, and some clothes.”
“Okay, folks,” Anthony said. “I think our guests are going to start wondering where we are. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Everyone piled back into the sleigh, and Anthony took off. When they got back, Yvette and Christopher said goodnight to the crowd, and then took the kids upstairs to get a bag packed. They hugged and kissed everyone, and then Christopher drove them to their new home.
By the time they arrived, Lacey and Robin were sound asleep. Yvette carried their bags, and Christopher took them in and upstairs to bed one at a time.
Yvette helped Lacey into her pajamas, and was shocked that she barely moved, much less woke up for the exercise. After seeing to his son, Christopher turned out the lights, and went to the master bedroom.
“I still can’t believe this is our house, Chris.”
“It is…mortgage and all.”
Before they got on the subject of finances, Christopher turned on some music and took Yvette by the hand. He led her around the room in time to the music.
“Chris, can we afford this place?”
“With the money from selling both houses, a killer deal on the land, and a chunk of my inheritance, yes. Now, no more talk about money tonight.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
“So, have you already taken a sonogram? Is everything okay?”
She heard a catch in his voice, and tried to put his mind at ease.
“The babies are doing just fine. I didn’t check to see if they are boys or girls or one of each.”
“I’m sure we’ll know soon enough. Wow. I still can’t believe it.”
Some time later, they were in bed looking out into the darkness.
“Wait ‘til you see the view from the bedroom in daylight. It’s spectacular.”
“I’m sure it’s not as spectacular as my husband.” She smiled. “Incidentally, I love, love, love everything about our new home.”
“I’m glad. Aunt Addie and Mom and a local designer had free rein.”
“Wow, I bet that was something.”
“Yes, but well worth it.”
Out of the blue, Yvette did some pouncing of her own. She had Christopher on his back, and placed kisses on his lips, cheek, and jawline.
“Are you happy, Mrs. Darcy?”
“Unbelievable, Mr. Darcy.”
He placed his hands on either side of her face. “I meant what I said, Yvie. You and the kids are my world. You’re everything to me and I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing you all how much I love you.”
“Chris, you do that every, single day,” she said, fervently. “There is nothing any of us could ever want that you haven’t provided already.”
“Except a car when Lacey’s ready to start driving.”
“Ooh, don’t mention that. I’m not ready to start thinking of Lacey in teenager terms. I want to hold on to my baby as long as I can.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “I want to hold on to you as long as I can.”
�
��You have me, and I’m not going anywhere. I can’t believe how blessed we’ve been, Christopher. To think back on how we met each other, in London no less, and then just hit it off.”
“You don’t know how often I thank the Lord that I found you again.” Christopher rubbed his hand up and down her back. “You rocked my world in college, Yvette Morgan Darcy—now you rule it.”
“We rule our world,” she corrected. “We do our best work together, remember?”
He smiled and leaned in to kiss her lips. “Thank you for my beautiful Christmas gifts.” He moved his hand down to rest on her stomach. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Me either. Which reminds me…”
Yvette got up and walked over to her overnight bag. She took something out and came back to the bed. She returned to her spot and handed Christopher the copy of her sonogram.
He took it and studied it for a long time. “There they are,” he said, in wonder.
“There they are. Our Darcy Babies.”
“Two perfect, amazing little hearts for Christmas. I swear I’ll remember this day forever, Yvie.”
All the love she felt for him shown in her eyes. She stroked his jaw lightly with her fingers. “Me, too, my darling…me, too.”
epilogue
“How much longer?”
“Lacey, honey, you asked that not even two minutes ago.”
“Yeah, but they’ve been in there an awfully long time.”
Abigail Morgan stroked her granddaughter’s hair. “Patience, sweetheart. Patience.”
***
“I can’t do this anymore,” Yvette said, wearily.
Christopher held his wife’s hand and squeezed it encouragingly. “Yes, you can, sweetheart. We’re in the home stretch. Come on, my beautiful Snow Queen. You’ve got this—now push.”
“I wish someone would pour snow all over my body,” she lamented, and then groaned. “I’m so hot.”
“I promise I’ll pour whatever you want on you after you’ve delivered these babies.” He kissed her, and then helped her sit up higher.
“Good, Yvette,” Doctor Myers said. “We’re almost there.”
***
“This is killing me,” Margaret sighed loudly. “I wish I knew what was going on in there.”
“You already do know,” her husband replied. “Yvette is trying to birth those babies.”
She rolled her eyes at her husband. “Well I know that, but I just hope everything is going well.”
Another thirty minutes went by with no news. Everyone jumped up when the door opened, but it was Adelaide that walked in, with Robin. She saw each person’s face drop.
“Sorry,” she said apologetically. “I take it there’s been no change?”
“Nope,” Anthony replied. “Still waiting around for the twins. They’re already taking after their dad. Never on time, and love to keep people waiting.”
“Cut that out,” Margaret countered. “Our son is not keeping anyone waiting.”
“Sure he is…all of us.”
Adelaide walked to the vacant row of seats and sat down with Robin. She was still playing with him when twenty minutes later, a disheveled, exhausted-looking Christopher burst through the doors. Yvette’s parents, Abigail and James glanced up, as did Margaret, Anthony, and the kids.
Christopher zoomed in on Lacey and Robin. “They’re here!”
Everyone cheered and let out a collective sigh.
He turned to leave when Lacey said, “Daddy, wait. What did we have?”
With a shake of his head, Christopher turned around and faced his daughter and family again. “We’ve got a boy and a girl,” he said, struggling to maintain his composure. “Soon you’ll meet Rianna Abigail, and Sean James Darcy. Mom and the babies are doing very well.”
A round of applause went up along with cheers. Christopher ran a hand over his stubbled jaw, smiled, and then disappeared.
***
Later that night after everyone had gone home, Yvette and Christopher were in their hospital room holding the newest additions to their family.
“Have you ever seen anything so perfect?” she said gazing down at her sleeping son.
Sean stirred in his sleep as if aware that he was the topic of conversation.
“Yes, as a matter of fact I have.” Christopher grinned as he rubbed a thumb along Rianna’s face. “She’s so beautiful.”
Christopher thought Rianna looked a lot like Yvette and Lacey. His heart threatened to burst with the overwhelming feelings coursing through him.
“We did it,” Yvette sighed with contentment.
“You did all the work, sweetheart. I was just the cheerleader.”
“You were the most important cheerleader ever. I wouldn’t have made it if it weren’t for you.”
His gaze captured hers. “I feel the same way.”
***
Christopher thought back on his life over the last three years. He now had more wealth than he’d ever thought possible: he’d been reconnected with the woman of his dreams, fallen in love with her all over again, earned her love in return, married her, adopted her daughter, had a son, built a house, and had watched the amazing birth of yet another son and daughter. They were healthy, happy, and he couldn’t have asked for more. He was living proof that dreams did come true. He gazed at his children, and then at his Snow Queen. Oh yeah, he thought to himself, life is good.
THE END
Author’s Note:
Dear Readers,
I had such a great time continuing Yvette and Christopher’s story. I’ve revamped the original story, A Heart for Christmas by giving it a spring cleaning, and adding an Epilogue. For those of you who haven’t read it yet, I encourage you to go back and read how their love story got started. For those of you that read it last year, you may be interested in the additions I’ve added at the end. ;)
It was important to me that each of my characters be bound together by love, commitment to family and respect. For me, the holidays are such a special time and I wanted the joy of the season to be as memorable for the Darcys as it is for me. For them, blessings are abundant, food and meals around the hearth take on a whole new meaning of happiness, and their days leading up to the holiday are steeped in familial traditions. My secondary characters were fun to write, too. Especially Margaret Darcy!
I also wanted Yvette and Christopher to experience a few bumps along the way. I wanted readers to be able to identify with their lives as they juggle work, family, and relationships, because let’s face it…life is messy and unpredictable at times, and how we face adversity is just as important as how we face good fortune.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read Two Hearts for Christmas, and if you enjoyed my stories, please post a review on Amazon.com. Who knows…you may see the Darcys again next year!
Be Inspired…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A native of Washington D.C., the city’s historic and political backdrop fed Lisa Watson’s romantic imagination. Her hobbies are as eclectic as her music collection, but what Lisa loves the most is writing strong, positive characters that are memorable to the reader and fun. Enamored with scenic beauty, the picturesque locales Lisa visits always seem to find a way into her latest novels.
Lisa works at Muse Technologies, Inc., a management and technology consulting firm, and is co-publicist for RT BookReview Magazine’s annual RT Booklovers Conventions. She helps promote the bestselling National and International authors that attend the conference via local media outlets.
Lisa has been married for seventeen years and lives in the Raleigh, NC area with her husband, two teenagers and Maltipoo, Brinkley.
Connect with me:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.lisawatson.com
Twitter: LisaYWatson
Facebook: NCLisaWatson
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