Becoming First Lead

xxv - celebration

●ALEX POV●

"I'm so glad it's finally over," Warren says as he takes a swig from his cup. The family were just arriving and the booze was flowing. The last few months have been a grind.

"Same here and we desperately need that vacation," I said.

"Are you ready?" He asks me .

"Yes."

His brow arches up, "nervous?"

I shake my head, "not in the slightest."

"She doesn't suspect anything?"

Again I shake my head, "I thought she might have when I mentioned that we should ALL go away on this cruise. But she didn't even ask why I felt that everyone should go away with us. In fact she said that we all deserve a break and it would by nice to be surrounded with the people we love."

"That's good. Aria also has the dress, I don't know how she did it without Nikki suspecting anything," Warren says as he watches his wife and Nikki flitting around.

"We can thank Stephanie for the assist. She did get remarried to her ex. And when they went dress shopping they all pretended to have fun and each picked out their favorite dresses," I explain to him .

He nods , "these women are good. Secret spy type of good."

"Yes they are," I agreed.

"Nikki looks ....." Warren was searching for some words .

"Lighter? More at ease?" I try to say.

"Yeah and just happier, younger , freer," he adds.

I smile . She has a noticeable difference in her body . Even though she's remained as calm as she could the weight of this trial really bore down on her . She wasn't just stressed for herself but for the other victims and families. She took on their pain and grieved and mourned with them.

Nikki spent a considerable amount of time either on the phone or for coffee meetups with different people and when she came home she was exhausted and puffy eyed. I hated what that trial was putting her through. I hate Rick with every fiber of my being. And now that he's been taken care of we all could finally breathe.

I wanted this party to be shared with just friends and family. Nicole wanted to invite the other witnesses and their families but I think it was time to move forward and I'm sure they all want some time to themselves . To let go of the trauma means to let go of everything attached to it . And since my girl is highly empathetic I knew she needed to just be surrounded with us. With the joy of love from the people who know her best.

Her melodic laughter guided my feet to her. Hearing that laugh made my heart full because there wasn't a trace of sadness in it. As soon as I was within touching distance I wrapped my arm around her waist and tugged her towards me, flushing her back to my chest.

Whispering in her ear , "I love hearing that sound you made."

"My laugh?"

I nuzzled my nose into the crook of her neck , "yes, it makes me happy."

"Well be prepared to be extremely happy," she says with a wide smile as she turns around and throws her arms around my waist.