Epilogue
Avery
Christmas Day
Christmas Day was hands down my favorite day of the year, and we were spending it at Sam's parents' house.
I felt like a child, surrounded by all the decorations.
His mom went all out. She had four Christmas trees in the huge living room.
I was taking mental notes for next year.
I only had one lonely tree at the loft, and I could do so much better.
The house smelled spectacular. There were garlands with dried slices of orange hanging all around; every room had a delicious natural smell. Kimberly also made mulled wine, and I couldn’t wait to taste it.
Cooking for Christmas in the Maxwell household was a whole-family affair. There were far too many of us to be in the kitchen at the same time, but Lena had worked out a shift system, so to speak. Everyone had something to do, but we all had breaks in between to enjoy ourselves.
"Mom, you're getting better and better at organizing us," Sam said. The two of us were currently at our stations at the kitchen island, chopping the garnish for the main course.
That was another thing Lena had insisted on, and it was genius.
We wouldn't serve all the courses at once; instead, we’d spread them throughout the day so there was no pressure to get all the food ready at one time.
She’d made roast beef with mashed potatoes for the main meal. Sam and I were making a salad.
“At first, I thought about preparing everything as I had for Thanksgiving and precook most of the food. But I wasn’t too happy with how everything turned out. Some things weren’t hot enough, and, well, I thought I could do better,” she replied.
"It was perfect," I assured her.
Lena smiled at me. "You're a darling to say that.”
“Mom is a perfectionist. She always tries to optimize everything." Sam winked at her.
As soon as we were done with the garnish, Lena instructed us to take it to the table. That was another golden rule: as soon as something's done, put it on a table immediately.
It was almost dinnertime now. We'd had a round of appetizers at lunch and a second round two hours ago. No one was starving, because there were cookies and snacks all around the living room. As soon as I put down the garnish with cilantro, I hurried to Bonnie, who grinned, kissing Rose’s head.
"You're here for another cuddle session?" she asked.
I nodded eagerly, holding my hands out. As soon as she transferred her into my arms, I brought her to my chest. She put her little arms around my neck, kissing my cheek.
"Oh my God, she knows how to do that now," I said, feeling like my heart was about to explode.
She was currently my favorite Maxwell right after Sam.
She was so cute and smelled like sugar. I didn't have much experience with babies, but I had fallen head over heels for Rose.
I'd found an excuse or five to go to Bonnie's place a couple times a week.
Most of those excuses included jewelry, but everyone was happy.
Bonnie was getting jewelry, and I was getting cuddle time.
It was a win-win. But today I had to compete for my snuggles because everyone wanted to hold her whenever they weren't on shift.
Kimberly and Reese in particular seemed to fight me for every minute.
I was waiting for one of them to pop up behind me and tell me it was their turn, but this time Lena herself interrupted, announcing that a new course was ready. I loved their tradition of celebrating Christmas all day long.
I was going to do something similar at the loft next year. I'd already decided on that. It was big enough to host all of the Maxwells, plus my mom and Jamie. I really hoped they were going to join us next year.
Lena invited them this year, but Mom had already agreed to go on a cruise with some of her friends, and she didn't want to cancel.
I think if I pestered her some more, she might have, but I didn't want her to come out of guilt.
I was happy she was healthy and enjoying life.
Jamie already had plans with her friends.
She told me she was seeing a new guy and things were progressing quickly. I was so happy for her.
"What are you thinking about?" Sam asked as he came up to me. He kissed the baby's hand, and my heart sighed.
"That we could host Christmas next year."
His eyes lit up. "I'm all for it, babe, but… maybe we can ask everyone to bring a dish."
"And if I make a system similar to your mom's, I won't even have to subject everyone to my cooking."
He nodded somberly. "Yeah. I would talk to Mom about keeping you under strict supervision."
I elbowed him lightly. "Hey. I'm trying to get better at cooking.”
"Who knows? We might even move out of the loft by next year," he said.
We kept thinking about it, but honestly, at this point it just wasn't a priority. He was busy, still working at the hospital while supervising the process of starting his clinic.
I was a busy bee too. My custom-made jewelry business was going well.
A couple weeks ago, Declan and Sam worked their Maxwell magic, as I liked to call it.
It turned out Declan was right. I could sue Sophia for stealing my designs—and in proving she had ill intent, he recouped every cent she stole too.
Being able to pay all my debt was a huge relief. I could now focus on the future without feeling the past dragging me down. I was immensely grateful to both Declan and Sam.
"Come on. Give her back to me so you can eat," Bonnie told me.
"I could keep her, you know, while you eat first," I suggested, not ready to part with my darling girl yet.
"No, she's very fussy at the table, but I know just what she needs," Bonnie said, so I reluctantly gave back the baby.
Sam put an arm around my shoulders and brushed his lips against my temple. "You're adorable," he murmured.
I blushed and pulled back a notch, looking up at him and grinning. "She just captured me. She's so cute and has some Maxwell charm, even though she's tiny. Although, to be fair, that might just be baby charm."
We all sat around the huge table. Sam and I were opposite Beatrice, who was looking at us with warm eyes. "I'm so glad you're here with us, Avery," she said unexpectedly.
"I'm happy, too, Beatrice."
She looked at Sam, then at Travis, who was sitting next to me. "And I'm glad my advice is making the rounds in the family. I heard about the boat trip."
Don't blush, Avery. Don't blush. She doesn't know the details, just that we went on a boat trip.
"Oh?" I asked, hoping she couldn't tell my face was on fire.
"Gran is the one who taught us the art of the grand gesture," Tate explained.
"Oh!" I had a whole new appreciation for Beatrice. I looked around at the girls, who smiled, looking warmly at their guys.
"I think I speak for all the women here when I say we owe you a big thanks, Beatrice," I said.
"My pleasure. That's the one good thing about being old as dirt: I know all the tricks in the book, and I don't mind sharing them. And I'm happy my grandkids are fast learners and that they listen to their old gran."
Sam kissed my hand. "Well, I'm thankful to the whole family this year. But most of all for reconnecting with Avery."
"See, he's got his girl, and now it's like we’re second-rate citizens," Luke muttered for the whole table to hear him.
I started laughing along with everyone else. I was blushing even more than before.
"Don't be a buffoon, Luke," Sam said.
"Impossible," Declan said. "That's just who he is."
"Someone needs to be the yin to your yang, brother," Luke said, patting Declan on the shoulder. "Otherwise, you'd bring down the whole mood with your sunny personality."
Sam looked at Beatrice, then at me and said, "Gran, you were right all those years ago when you told me to go chase after her. But I'm also happy I didn't take your advice."
Beatrice smiled. "Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I'm happy the two of you met again at the right time."
That was exactly how I felt. Also, Beatrice had told him to chase after me? I loved her even more than before, and I hand’t thought that was possible.
"I'm also grateful to all of you for the help you're providing with the Maxwell Clinic," Sam announced.
"Hey, we're happy you're finally acknowledging you're a Maxwell," Travis said lazily, taking the baby from Bonnie, who was now trying to eat her meal.
That was true. For as long as I'd known Sam, he'd seemed determined to prove to everyone that he could do things on his own. I was also happy that he was embracing his legacy and building on it.
"Honey, we're so thrilled to have you back in Chicago," Lena said. “And to help out with the clinic.”
Getting the clinic up and running was a family effort. All the brothers, Reese and Kimberly, and Lena and Emmett were involved.
"I’m very glad for that. If someone told me last year that this Christmas would be so full of surprises, I wouldn’t have believed it," Sam said.
"I have another one," Beatrice added.
I swear to God, the whole table went scary still. No one was even chewing. I wondered if we were all holding our breath.
"Don't be so tense," she said, sounding way too innocent. "Remember I told you about that gentleman I was seeing?"
"Yes," everyone chorused.
"Well, Sam, Kimberly, and Avery already met him. I’d like for the rest of you to meet him too. I told him he could drop by tomorrow. You're all invited to my house."
Everyone seemed to start talking at the same time as they asked her more about him and what she had planned. Beatrice was fielding questions left and right.
Once everyone agreed to go to her house the next day, we focused on the delicious meal again. After our plates were empty, we moved to the living room, where we all sat down on the various chairs and couches.
Travis yawned, bouncing Rose up and down on his leg.
“Let me cuddle this cutie,” Kimberly exclaimed, taking the baby onto her lap.
“We’ve been sleeping on and off for the past few weeks,” Bonnie said. “She’s very active in the evening.”
Travis yawned. “Very, very, very active. Thank God you and Reese are doing all the heavy lifting at the hotel, Kimberly. I can’t wait for our new general manager to start in person.”
Kimberly wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, I don’t know about that. Maybe we made a mistake hiring him.”
Their previous general manager left them in a lurch just last month. It had been a blow, especially considering the time of year. The new one had started already, but he was working remotely for now.
Travis shook his head. “He hasn’t even arrived at the office. I can’t believe you’re ready to get rid of him.”
“I’m not,” Kimberly replied indignantly. “He’s too full of himself. I don’t like that." She rolled her eyes at Travis. "Stop giving me the evil eye. I won’t run him off. He just needs to know what he’s getting into.”
“I think he’s got a good idea,” Reese said. Turning to me, she added, “Want to go get some wine?”
“Sure.”
As she and I hunted for a bottle in the wine fridge in the kitchen, she said, “I think my sister actually likes our new guy.”
“Ha! I had that impression too.”
I bit back a laugh. Kimberly was such a spitfire. That morning, while we were following Lena’s schedule, she'd kept bad-mouthing this guy—but then let it slip that he probably got away with all that self-importance because he was so good-looking.
Reese was definitely on to something.
“Time will tell, I guess. But my money is on some sparks flying between them soon.” She picked a bottle of Maxwell chardonnay. “This one is a crowd favorite.”
“It’s delicious,” I agreed. Tate certainly knew his business.
We uncorked the bottle before returning to the group and pouring wine for everyone.
“Let’s toast to something fun,” Kimberly suggested once everyone had a drink.
"To all our guys being in happy relationships with the greatest women, and to Kimberly and me, who will happily be the spinster aunts," Reese said.
"Oh, you two. That's no way to look at things," Beatrice said even as she raised her glass. "The right guys will come along. Like I always say, 'There are two things in life you don't have to chase: buses and men. The next one will be just around the corner.'"