She already knew she loved it.
Tom and the kids would love it, too. She thought back to that couple who’d be submitting an offer any second. She knew Tom would understand the urgency of it. Her heart raced, but she suddenly found herself speaking.
“Actually…” She paused. “I’d like to buy it… in cash.”
CHAPTER 10 Lexi
I cannot believe you already bought a house!” Lexi said as she tapped through the listing photos on Hanna’s phone. Her sister had called an hour before saying she had some insane news and they needed to meet for coffee ASAP to discuss. Lexi raced to the New Orleans–style café on Main Street, wondering what Hanna could possibly have to tell her.
She had convinced herself that her sister was going to reveal she was pregnant again. The house news wasn’t that insane—Lexi wanted to buy a new place, too. It was the fact that Hanna hadn’t even told Tom yet. Lexi cringed when she heard that detail.
As they sat at a corner table, surrounded by walls covered in fleur-de-lis tchotchkes and photos of the French Quarter, Hanna covered her face with her hands. “Just tell me Tom is going to love it and not be furious that I bought it without him.…” She then peeked her eyes out of her hands. “You don’t think I’m crazy, do you?”
“Well, I think you’re crazy, but that’s just you. It has nothing to do with this.” Lexi looked back down at the phone and stared at the picture of the outdoor kitchen and terrace. She couldn’t wait to have something like that, but didn’t have time to even contemplate looking until the wedding planning was over.
“How do you think Tom’s gonna react? Isn’t he pretty sentimental about living in his grandparents’ place?” Every time Lexi was over, her brother-in-law would always get nostalgic and tell stories about different parts of the house. It was actually really sweet.
“I talked with him about it, and he was open to the idea,” Hanna said, leaning back against the chair. “He knows the house is old and beyond repair. I think he’s warmed up to the idea of just starting fresh.”
Lexi wondered how much of that was really true. Bless his heart, Tom was such a people-pleaser, especially when it came to his wife. Her sister could sometimes be a firecracker to deal with, and it took a special man to put up with her emotions and demands. Lexi couldn’t imagine any other guy for Hanna. “It’s gorgeous,” she said. “He’s going to love it. Just pretend it’s a present for him—wrap a big red bow around the porch and say, ‘Surprise!’ ”
“You think that would really work?” Hanna pulled off a piece of her flaky croissant and slipped it in her mouth.
Lexi sighed and handed the phone back to her sister. “Well, if it doesn’t, you can always wrap a bow around yourself and lead him to the bedroom.” She giggled, thinking back to when she had done that for Seth’s birthday last year. “He’ll forget why he was mad.”
Hanna laughed and took a sip of her chicory coffee.
“When’s the official move date?” Lexi stirred her latte.
“Closing is scheduled for Friday morning, and I’m going to try and find a mover to come that afternoon.” Hanna raised her eyebrows. “So fast, right?”
Lexi had obviously never bought a house, but knew it didn’t normally happen that fast. “I thought it took like a month to close a house?”
“Cash is king, baby!” Hanna winked. She lowered her voice. “Isn’t it amazing how much easier things are with money?”
Lexi sighed. “I wouldn’t say everything is easier. I’m finding it difficult to find vendors willing to work on my wedding.” She had spent all day yesterday making calls. The baker laughed when she mentioned the timeline. The photographer was going on vacation. And the florist said they were slammed with homecoming orders.
“Oh, the joys of planning a wedding in five weeks.…” Hanna said in a sarcastic tone. “Don’t you remember it took me a month just to decide on my colors?”
Lexi nodded. It was one of the biggest dilemmas of the planning, and her sister ended up going with a tropical palette of tangerine orange and yellow. Lexi wouldn’t have hated it as much if the lemon-hued bridesmaid dress didn’t clash with her pale skin, making her look like a walking highlighter. She still wondered if Hanna was secretly trying to make sure that none of her bridesmaids were prettier than her that day.
“You know what you need?” Hanna blotted her lips with her paper napkin. “A wedding planner.”
Lexi sat back in her chair. “I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Mom and Nancy are both really excited about planning everything with me, and to be honest, it’s kind of nice having something to bond with Nancy over.” The only thing the two previously had in common was their love for Seth and an obsession with reality TV shows like The Real Housewives. Nancy seemed like she actually liked spending time with her now. And as difficult as the woman was sometimes, Lexi did want to get along with her. She’d be in her life—and presumably her future children’s lives—for years to come.
“Yeah, yeah,” Hanna said, waving her away. “You can still play party planner with her, or whatever, but what you need is someone to coordinate the shit out of your wedding.” She crossed her legs. “A professional is going to have tons of vendor contacts and tight connections who might bend over backward to do a favor for them.”
Hanna leaned forward, slapping the paperback she’d been reading before Lexi arrived.
“You know I was all about DIYing my own wedding, but don’t you also remember how hard and time-consuming it was?”
It was true. Lexi remembered they had spent weeks alone crafting those stupid tissue paper pom-poms and flower garlands, which came out looking more like a preschooler’s arts and crafts project than wedding décor.
“All I’m saying is, if you’re going to pull off this wedding in such a short amount of time, you’re going to need all the help you can get.” Hanna held her coffee cup up to her face and smirked. “Take it from your older and wiser sister.”
“Fine.” Lexi sighed, dreading the idea of adding one more task to her to-do list. “I’ll call some this afternoon.”
As annoying as it was trying to scrape together a luxury wedding in such a short amount of time, at least she wasn’t working anymore, she told herself. Having to stand on her tired feet all day, engaging in boring small talk with her clients, and wondering if she was actually going to get her check on payday had been rough. And besides, the planning was kind of fun. She had stayed up late the night before choosing invitations with an elegant magnolia design from a stationery website that could have everything printed and mailed by next week. It was the little victories like that that made her feel like she could do this whole wedding thing without a planner.
“And of course, if you need any help, I’m here for you,” Hanna said, tapping her yellowing silver wedding band on the porcelain coffee mug.
Lexi finished chewing the last bite of her beignet. “We still need to pick out bridesmaids dresses—do you want to go with me after this?” She crumpled the napkin and placed it on her plate.