She walked down into the audience seats of the council chamber, her eyes intent on Olivia’s hair; it made her easy to find.
“Olivia!” She shouted her sister’s name, no longer worried about keeping to her inside voice. When Olivia turned around, the man beside her turned along with her. Alexa took a step back.
“Drew?”
He was in front of her in a flash, Olivia behind him.
“Hi. Great job up there,” he said.
She couldn’t believe he was here.
“Drew?” She needed to come up with something more to say than just his name. She wanted to reach for him, throw her arms around him, bury her face in his warm chest and let him hold her for days, pull him into her house and never let him out. “Have you been . . . What are you doing here?”
He crossed his arms, then uncrossed them.
“I came to see your night of triumph. Are you, um, glad that I’m here?”
She smiled. After the night that she’d had, any sort of prevarication was impossible.
“I couldn’t be gladder that you’re here. Although”—she looked around him to meet Olivia’s eyes—“I’m pretty happy to see my sister, too.”
Drew and Olivia looked at each other and laughed.
“We didn’t plan this! We promise!” Olivia said, and pulled her into a hard hug. “I’m going to follow Theo and the rest of your little band. I assume you’re all off for a drink or five?”
Alexa nodded. This might be one of the weirdest nights of her life.
“Yeah, at the Blue Lounge, but wait—”
Olivia shook her head and gestured to Drew.
“You have other things to deal with right now. Don’t worry, we’ll catch up later.”
Had Olivia and Drew talked about her? Where had they even met? What was he doing here? Alexa reached out and grabbed Olivia’s hand before she walked away.
“Wait, Livie . . . Thank you.”
Olivia squeezed her hand.
“You’re welcome, kiddo. It was my pleasure.”
By the time Olivia walked out the door with Theo and Maddie, the council chambers were deserted. Just Alexa and Drew were left.
“Thank you for the doughnuts,” she said. “That was so sweet.”
“You’re very welcome.” He reached out to her and touched her upper arm. She had to fight to not sway toward him. “I hoped they would start the day out on a good note.”
She smiled, thinking back to her first bite into the still-warm doughnut.
“They did.” She gave up the fight and leaned into his hand for a moment. “Drew, what are you doing here?”
He dropped his hand. It was probably for the best, but she still missed his touch.
“I’m here . . . Shit, I had a whole beginning to this, and now I’ve forgotten it all.” He took a deep breath. “Everything went wrong that weekend.”
Now she reached out and grabbed his hand. She couldn’t help herself.
“Drew, that’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have started that fight at the party. And I shouldn’t have left without saying good-bye. I’m sorry. I should have just talked to you like a grown-up.”
He tightened his grip on her hand when she went to pull away.
“I’m sorry, too. I should have been honest about how I felt.”
She didn’t want to hear the rest. Not tonight. Probably not ever.
“No, don’t worry about it. You didn’t have to come all the way up here about that. I know how you feel; it’s okay.” Shit, was she going to start crying again? At this point, she couldn’t even be embarrassed about it.
“No, Alexa. You don’t know.” He released her hand and took a step back. “I never told you this, but I changed my flight back to L.A. that day, so I could spend more time with you.”
She looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. Why was he telling her something she already knew?
“I knew that. I was right there when you changed it.”
He shook his head.
“No. Not after the conference. After the wedding.”
She let her purse slide off her shoulder and onto the floor. Her mind was a jumble. She felt drunk. Was it all of the doughnuts and pizza? Or maybe the many cups of coffee?
“What do you mean, after the wedding? Your flight was that night, right?”
He shook his head.
“My flight was at noon. When you were in the bathroom that morning, I changed my flight so I could spend the day with you. I should have realized then that I could never get enough of you.”
What was he saying? Why was he saying this now?
“Drew, I . . .”
He reached for her hand again.
“No, let me finish, let me get this out. You . . . I . . . Alexa, I can’t imagine my life without you. I haven’t been able to since I first met you in that elevator. When I woke up that morning and you weren’t there . . . it broke me. I tried to live without you, but I couldn’t. I can’t.” He took a deep breath. “Alexa, I love you. I love you so much.”
She tried to release his hand, but he held on tight. Her eyes filled with tears.
“Drew, I . . . Are you sure?”
He smiled and took another step toward her.
“I’ve never been more sure about anything.”