"You promise you'll send me pictures from the formal?" Lucy had her bag in one hand and the other held Ev in a hug.
They were parked at the terminal- Lindsey waiting in the drivers seat, while Stevie and Evee got out to bid her a farewell... Back to Chicago, she would go, and hopefully stay.
"I promise, I will." She chuckled, nodding her head softly.
"Be careful." Stevie was lingering close, arms wrapped her middle to hold her cardigan tight.
They'd offered to drop her off the night before, when she came over for dinner one last time before she headed home. And believe it or not, it wasn't awkward, or unbearable... It was normal and almost nice, in a crazy way.
There was no pressure- the air had already been cleared, which made things ten times easier for them to enjoy one another company for the first time in a long time.
"Thank you, Stevie." Lucy wrapped her in her arms, giving her a soft squeeze.
"We'll see you later." She patted her back, kissing her cheek lightly.
The younger woman nodded in agreement, before she waved goodbye one last time. "See you later." She repeated, turning around slowly to head through the double doors of the airport.
Stevie was the first one to crawl back into the car, taking her spot next to her husband, while Evee stood outside a moment longer. "This is for the best, right?" She wondered, eyes traveling to meet his.
Bringing her hand up to his lips, he left a couple of kisses on her knuckles. "There's no doubt in my mind that this is what's right."
~~~
It was late that evening, after dinner with the kids, that Stevie found herself alone in the sunroom, sitting quietly with a book in her lap and the dim light of the lamp glowing around her.
Everyone had gone home for the night, except for Elise and Janie, who took Evee to the mall for a couple of hours to give the couple some time alone. But like usual, Lindsey snuck downstairs to do some work, while Stevie slipped away to find some peace for a couple of minutes.
"There's my girl." Lindsey's hands fell on her shoulders, gently rubbing them as he bent down to kiss her cheek.
She smiled softly, turning her head to the side to see him out of the corner of her eye. "I thought you went downstairs to work?" She teased, watching as he moved around the love seat.
"I was down there, working..." he sat down next to her, waiting until she'd put the bookmark on her page before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "And then I thought, why would I sit down there, when there's the most beautiful woman in the world, right up here... all alone?" He knew how to make her blush- he had for many years, and it never failed.
Chewing on her bottom lip, she gently put some of her throw blanket over his legs. "Fifty years and I still like you." Stevie grinned lightly, but she let out a giggle just a second later, when he began to slide down the sofa.
A second later, his head fell in her lap, feet dangling over the arm of the sofa. "I really like you." He assured, smiling softly as he stared up at her.
Her long blonde hair was in natural waves, no makeup and her reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She was beautiful, per usual.
One of her hands got lost in his hair, while the other rubbed his chest. "Should we talk about the whole staying with Levy thing, or...?" She wondered, even though they had been doing so the last two weeks.
His hand met hers as his eyes stayed locked with those brown orbs. "You're the most important thing in my life- you always have been." Lindsey had said it a hundred times, but it was so true.
Without her, he felt like he'd really having nothing. She hung the moon.
"You're worth far too much, and the thought losing our marriage is something I don't even want to think about." He felt her hand slide up to his face, cradling his chin in her hand.
"You just don't wanna sleep on Levy's couch anymore..." she half smirked as a soft wink followed her words.
He chuckled lightly as he nodded. "You aren't wrong about that." Lindsey brought a hand up to her face as well, feeling the soft, timeless skin on her cheek. "I love you." He told her.
Closing her eyes softly, she let out the most content sigh. "I love you..." she repeated.
"So...?" He shifted lightly, only to look up at her a little better. "You said you still like me?" Lindsey recounted.
She tossed her head back, letting a soft laugh escape her. "I think I did say that, yes." Stevie joked, shaking her head a tad.
"Do you like me enough to renew some wedding vows?" He had been thinking about it forever, but it felt like the perfect time for it.
She let out a soft gasp, brow creased at the thought of him thinking that deeply about their marriage. "You want to marry me for a second time?" She smirked, almost stunned that he had come up with that idea on his own.
His lips turned up, and he could have sworn in that very moment, he'd fallen in love with her all over again. "I would marry you a hundred times over, baby." When he said that, he meant it. Always.
"Just us..." she whispered, index finger running down the curve of his nose. "I just want it to be us and the kids." She added with a set of soft eyes.
Before he got the chance to tell her how perfect that idea was, the sound of the front door coming up caught their attention.
"Mom?" Evee's voice echoed through the foyer as the sound of shoes hitting the hardwood filled the house.
Stevie patted his chest softly, giving him another little smile before she glanced over her shoulder. "We're in here, girls." She announced.
"Hey, mama." Elise was the first one to pop into the sunroom, falling into the chair across from the couple. "Hi, dad." She added, a soft smile on her sweet face.
"You have fun?" He wondered, hardly able to keep his eyes open, being that Stevie was still rubbing his head.
She nodded her head lightly, motioning towards the doorway, where Evee and Janie stood with far too many shopping bags to count.
"Mom, will you paint our nails?" Evee held up the new bottle of polish they'd gotten.
The blonde giggled, nodding her head immediately.
"Alright," Lindsey pushed himself up, a deep sigh escaping him. "You ladies have fun." He leaned in to give his wife a quick kiss.
They all bid him a good nights rest, and the second he slipped out of the room, they all crawled onto the couch with Stevie.
"We missed you today." Janie announced, a playful frown tugging on the corners of her lips.
"Yeah, you aren't allowed to skip anymore shopping days." Elise's head was on her shoulder as she slipped one arm through her mother- in- laws.
"We love you." Ev wrapped her arms around Stevie's neck from behind as she kissed the top of her head lightly.
"Oh..." she giggled, not totally buying it but loving it, nonetheless. "I am one lucky mama."
