One year later, they were back in the same booth at Evergreen Cafe on Christmas night. The mixed-use building was finished and gorgeous. Morrison’s garage on the ground floor with the Lauron and Company flagship store gleaming above it. And they’d been featured in three business magazines as the most innovative partnership of the year. Lily was seven now and bouncing in her seat. “This is where you guys met. Well, the second time. The first time was when Mommy Sophia’s car was broken.”
Jake corrected her gently. “Just Sophia, baby, remember?” But Lily shook her head stubbornly. “I can call her Mommy Sophia if I want because she’s going to marry you.” Jake nearly choked on his coffee and looked at Sophia, who was trying not to laugh. “Did you now?” Sophia shrugged innocently. “I may have mentioned that was a possibility.”
Harper brought over dessert with a candle in it. “For my favorite family. On the house.” Jake pulled a small box out of his pocket and Lily squealed because she already knew what was happening. They’d practiced this morning. “Sophia Lauron, you saved my garage, saved my heart, and became the family Lily wished for on Christmas Eve. Will you marry us?”
Sophia was crying before he even finished, nodding so hard she probably looked ridiculous. “Yes. A thousand times yes.” The whole cafe erupted in applause because Harper had definitely told every regular this was happening, and Lily threw her arms around both of them. “Now I get a mommy for every Christmas forever.”
Six months later, they stood in that same cafe for their wedding reception, small and perfect with just family and friends. And Lily was the flower girl in a dress she designed herself with Sophia’s help. Jake pulled Sophia close for their first dance while Lily took approximately eight million pictures on a disposable camera. “You know what’s crazy?” Jake whispered against her hair.
“What?” Sophia asked. “If your car hadn’t broken down, if I hadn’t stopped, if we’d both just bailed on that blind date like we wanted to, none of this happens.” Sophia looked up at him and smiled. “Guess we should send a thank-you card to that alternator.” They laughed and kept dancing while snow started falling outside the cafe windows. And Lily pressed her face against the glass, watching the flakes come down. “Mommy Sophia! Daddy! It’s snowing just like the night you met.”
Harper brought over champagne for the adults and sparkling cider for Lily. Raised her glass and said what everyone was thinking. “To broken-down cars, blind dates you don’t want to go on, and Christmas miracles that prove love finds you exactly when you stop looking for it.”