Southern Lights: A Novel

“She loves it.” Alexa smiled. He sounded full of life and busy and like he was running in two hundred directions. And now, so was she. “And the hamburger sounds great. Where should I meet you?”

“I’m about two blocks from your office. Why don’t I pick you up, and we’ll figure it out together?”

“Sounds good.”

She was downstairs five minutes later, and so was he in his town car. He opened the door and she got in, and they sped uptown to his hotel for a drink, and a hamburger later.

“How was the rest of your trip?” he asked her.

“Wonderful. How was yours?”

“Perfect.” He smiled as he said it. “I thought about you a lot. I kept meaning to call you, but I didn’t. I saw your husband in Charleston last week, by the way. I have to admit, he looks miserable. I can see why, his wife was with him, and she looks like she sucks lemons for breakfast and beats him up every night. I’d say the fates got even with him.”

“Maybe so.” She smiled at Edward. It wasn’t her problem anymore.

She told him over their hamburgers that she was moving to Washington and going to work for the FBI, and he looked stunned.

“You are? Now, there’s a huge change. How brave of you.”

“I figured it was a good time to do it with Savannah leaving for college. I probably wouldn’t have before.” But she had made a lot of brave moves recently. She had let Savannah go to Charleston, had visited there herself, she had buried the hatchet with Tom, and now she was changing jobs and cities. It was a time of growth for her too. “I have to start looking for an apartment pretty soon.”

“I’ll help you,” he volunteered with a broad grin. “When do you start with the OCG?” He liked that a lot. He was in Washington most of the time. He had wanted to see her, even if she was living in New York, but this would make it a lot easier for him, and give them more time together to get to know each other.

“I start on November first. And I have a lot to do before then.”

“Why don’t you come down this weekend and start looking?” She thought about it. She had nothing else to do. She looked across the table and smiled at him.

“Okay.”

“We can look for apartments all weekend,” he suggested. It sounded like a plan to her.

Chapter 23

Alexa left the DA’s office as planned on November 1st. It was a bittersweet day for her, and Joe McCarthy hosted a dinner for her before she left. They gave her a plaque and a lot of silly joke gifts.

She was leaving for Washington the next day, via Princeton. She had put off starting at the OCG by a week, to give herself time to move into her new house. Her furniture was due in Washington two days later. She had been staying at her mother’s for the past week, which was kind of fun. And Edward was calling her several times a day with plans and invitations. He had invited her to dinner at the White House with him in two weeks.

And she wanted to visit Savannah in Princeton on the way down. When Alexa got there, Savannah looked busy and happy. She’d already made a lot of friends, and Turner was coming up from Duke again that weekend. Savannah’s new life was well off the ground. Now Alexa had to get busy on her own.

She drove to Washington with the last of her things, and when she got to Washington, Edward met her at the tiny house she had rented in Georgetown, instead of an apartment. It looked like a doll-house. He had helped her find it, and she knew Savannah was going to love it. The top floor was just for her. And it had all the room that Alexa needed. It was near Edward’s apartment, which was spacious and modern and convenient for him. He helped her unload the car, and they walked around her empty house together. She loved it. This was a whole new lease on life. New city, new home, new job, and maybe new man. She wasn’t sure yet. But the other changes took the sting out of Savannah leaving for college. They had both graduated to new lives, and Alexa was very excited about her own, as much as Savannah was about being in Princeton.

Edward took her to dinner at Citronella that night, and afterward he escorted her back to her hotel. She was staying there for only one night, and he kissed her before he left. It was the first time he had kissed her and it surprised them both. But she liked it a lot and so did he.

He came to see her at the house when the movers arrived the next day. He stayed till midnight, helping her unpack boxes. She found her linens and he helped her make the bed. He was telling her silly stories and bad jokes, and they were both laughing, as they fell onto the bed, exhausted, and looked at each other, still laughing. He was a nice man, he was good to her, and he made her happy. And he stunned her with what he said next.

“I think I’m falling in love with you, Alexa. Is that all right with you?” He knew how badly burned she had been before, and he didn’t want to upset her, do what she didn’t want, or move too fast.