26. Chapter 26
Melanie walked into The Monarch with her bag and looked around. Sometimes she was lucky and could catch Luna in the lobby. Today didn’t seem like one of those days. The reason she liked finding her out there was because the back halls of this hotel always confused her. Just when she made it to the door to put in her code, Clark’s voice came from behind her.
“Good morning, Ms. Davis.”
She looked over at him. “Good morning.”
“Here, allow me,” he said before opening the door and waving her through. “I thought your meetings with Luna were on Mondays.”
“They are. I just need to follow up on a few things.” Not that she had to explain herself to him or anyone. They all knew that she was free to drop in or check on any of the businesses when she needed to. Andrea had made it clear pretty early on during one of the board meetings. No one had ever had an issue with it though.
“Of course. I’ll walk with you.”
“Great.” And it really was because this way she wouldn’t have to wander around like an idiot until she found the right door.
“I wanted to thank you,” he said.
“Oh? Why?”
“For hiring Mia. My son is grateful as well.” He looked over at her and she nodded.
“She’s more than qualified, but like I told her, it wasn’t a favor. The job isn’t all that demanding, I just needed someone to handle some data entry stuff.” And it really wasn’t a favor. They actually helped her out by recommending someone. Because of that, she didn’t have to interview a bunch of people. Mia was Clark’s daughter-in-law. Keeping it in the family seemed like a good option too.
“Still, thank you.”
Since he wasn’t going to let it go, she said, “You’re welcome.”
They stopped outside of Luna’s door and he knocked for her then walked away after telling her to have a good day. Clark was one of those guys who didn’t always use a lot of words. It was a quality she liked about him.
“Come in!” Luna called through the door.
She pushed it open to find the normal amount of mess on every available surface. It was always a guarantee when she walked in here. One day she had even made the joke that if she came in and everything was clean, she would know Luna was planning on leaving. Luna had just joked and said, “Where would I go?”
“Hey,” she said when Luna looked up from her phone at her.
“Mel! You’re early. The party isn’t until tonight,” she said with a laugh and stood up to come hug her.
“I’m here about the party actually.”
“Uh oh. Please tell me we aren’t canceling because I’ve got the most delicious dinner planned. Honestly, I’ve been thinking about that seafood ravioli all week. Don’t let me down.”
Melanie laughed and shook her head. “We aren’t canceling. I just need to make a slight adjustment.”
“Thank God!” Luna sat down and pushed some folders out of the way. “Adjustments we can make. Sit down and let’s see what you’ve come up with.”
She moved a box out of the chair and sat, suddenly feeling a little nervous about how to actually say it. “Levi and I—” A knock interrupted her.
“Sorry,” Luna said and then called out, “Come in.” The door opened and Luna squealed. “Another one of my favorite people. Come in, come in,” she said and got up to hug Valerie.
Melanie actually felt relieved that she was here. Levi must have done what he said he would.
“Are you here about the party too?” Luna asked when she sat back down.
“Something like that.” Val looked at Melanie. “I’m going to assume that since I didn’t hear screams of excitement down the hall you haven’t told her yet.”
“No.”
“Told me what?” Luna asked.
Valerie laughed and leaned against the wall, holding a duffel bag on a strap close to her body. “I should’ve brought ear muffs,” she joked.
“What’s going on? Don’t leave a girl in suspense!” Luna cried.
“Well…the party is going to go on as planned with one minor change. Somewhere in the schedule we need to find time to have a wedding.” She braced herself and wasn’t disappointed when Luna squealed and clapped her hands.
“I’m having a little bit of Déjà vu,” Val said with a laugh. It made them all laugh.
“A surprise wedding! I love it!” Luna rolled back in her chair and grabbed a folder before scooting back up to her desk. “Ok, ok we can definitely do this.”
“Did you tell your parents at least?” Valerie asked.
“No. You, Andrea, Allie, and Luna are the only ones who know.” She shrugged and looked between them. “Trust me, it’s better this way.”
Val chuckled and looked at Luna. “Alright, party planner extraordinaire, wow us with what you’ve already got running through your head.”
She wasn’t sure if she should be terrified or excited to hand over the reins to Luna and let her run free. There wasn’t really another choice though.
Melanie rushed to get down the hall to Charlotte’s law office suite. She was running ten minutes late thanks to a jerk who wouldn’t let her over. It caused her to have to circle around and then backtrack to get back to the parking garage. Levi had already texted her he was there and waiting. When she pushed through the door, Rita, the receptionist, looked up at her with a smile.
“They’re expecting you.” She stood up and waved. “Come on back.”
She followed and tried to slow down her breathing from running up the stairs because the elevator had been taking forever. Being late was the worst in her opinion. The door to Charlotte’s office was open, and she walked through to see the attorney and Levi sitting at the worktable beside the desk.
“Hey, cupcake,” he said, standing up to hug her before pulling out a chair for her. Rita closed the door behind them.
“Good to see you again, Melanie,” Charlotte said with a wave.
“You too. Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s no problem. Today’s a light day for me.”
She’d known Charlotte professionally for several years now. In fact, she was the one who recommended she apply for the job with DeLaney. Without her, Melanie didn’t know where she would be now. Probably bagging groceries at Bartinson’s and living with her parents. Definitely not making mid-six figures and about to get married.
“Andrea filled me in this morning, so I pulled the paperwork for you both to sign. I did my best to fill it in, Levi’s more than yours because I have most of his information.” She slid the papers to them in two stacks. “Fill out the parts that are highlighted and sign at the bottom. The second page is the authorization for me to file it on your behalf, just sign and date.”
Melanie grabbed a pen from the middle of the table and quickly scanned over the application. Not that she didn’t trust her, she just liked to know what she was signing. While they worked, Charlotte leaned back and scrolled through her phone. She finished before Levi, but when she looked over, she realized his stack was bigger than hers.
“Why do you have extra?” she asked, leaning closer to see.
“I asked Charlotte to adjust my will this morning when we spoke. This is the new one,” he said and pushed it her way while he finished writing.
She didn’t even know he had a will. She didn’t have one. When he suggested it this morning, she didn’t realize that he was already familiar.
“I can do one for you too,” Charlotte said, watching her closely. “Not today, but we could set up an appointment in a couple of weeks to discuss it.”
“Ok.” She wasn’t sure about what she would even put in it. Flipping through Levi’s, it seemed to be very thorough. There was a section on what he wanted if he was on life support, instructions for his funeral, who his assets should go to, and all the things she figured should go into a will. What surprised her was that he’d named her for everything except for a safe deposit box that was to go to Andrea.
He put his other papers aside and looked at her. “You still ok with this?”
Other than shock, she was fine. This was real. They were about to get married. Why wouldn’t he make these changes? Even if she hadn’t thought about them, he had. The problem she was having was that she was the planner, not him. Yet here they were with the roles reversed.
“Yes,” she said with a smile and slid them back over to him.
“Look it over and I’ll go get Rita so she can notarize it,” Charlotte said, standing up.
When she was gone, he grabbed her hand. “I probably should’ve talked to you about this first, right?”
“No…yes…I don’t know. I just wasn’t expecting it.”
“You weren’t wrong with what you said this morning. Andrea was my power of attorney if something happened to me. Now it’s you, not just by marriage, but in writing. Black and white so no one can take it away from you.” He squeezed her hand. “I thought it would bring you some comfort since you were upset this morning, but now I can see I freaked you out.”
“I’m not freaked out. It’s just surprising to me you’re a step ahead with something this big.” As soon as she said it, she realized how that sounded. “What I mean is—”
He laughed and shook his head. “Mel, I get it. You’re the one with the plan most of the time. I’m just the punk kid.” He bumped their shoulders to show he was kidding. “Trust me, none of this was my idea in the beginning. Andrea was the one that sat me down when I was eighteen and explained that because I had no blood family and because I was legally an adult, I needed to put my wishes on paper. It didn’t have to be her, but I needed to name someone who could speak for me if I couldn’t.”
That made sense. It also made her feel better she hadn’t completely missed the mark. “Well good, at least you had her if something happened.”
“Yep,” he said and kissed her just before Charlotte and Rita came back.
“Everything good?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes.” He let go of Melanie’s hand and picked his pen back up. After he signed, Rita did her thing and Charlotte gathered everything up.
“You know my fee for doing marriage certificates, right?” she asked with a smirk.
Levi laughed and stood up. “I’m guessing an invitation?”
“You’re catching on, kid.”
“Party starts at eight. Remember, it’s a surprise so don’t blow it,” he said.
Melanie smiled when Charlotte chuckled. “I’m a sucker for a wedding, ask anybody. Charlie and I will be there.”
“Good. How’s he doing?”
“As ornery as ever. His partner is retiring, so he’s got all the junior partners competing in a points competition to see who can become a named partner.” She laughed and moved over to her desk. “He hands out gold stickers at their meetings. It’s ridiculous.”
Levi grabbed Melanie’s hand and helped her up too. “He still owes me that boat ride when summer gets here. It’ll be good to see him tonight.”
“Ugh. That boat.” She rolled her eyes. “I still can’t believe you got it back for us. We thought for sure it would be in pieces.”
“It was a fun job,” he said and looked over at Melanie. “Someone stole their boat last year. I found it just before it got auctioned off. Charlie said that he would take me out when it gets warm enough.”
“I like boats. My dad used to have one.”
“Good. We can all go then,” Charlotte said.
“Thanks again for today,” Melanie said. “And we’ll see you tonight.”
“You got it.”
When they made it to the elevator, Levi pulled her into his arms and swayed back and forth. “Did you get everything settled at The Monarch?”
“Yeah. Val and Luna have it all under control.”
“Good.” The elevator dinged, and they separated to walk off. “You want to grab lunch before we go to the office?”
“Yes, please. I’m starving.”
“Roma’s or Anthony’s?”
“Anthony’s. They’re serving ravioli tonight.”
Levi smiled and led her to the parking garage. “I’ll follow you.”