Amanda stepped out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped up in a towel and her robe tied snuggly around her waist. Lee was lounging on the bed, sipping a glass of water when she said, "I can't believe the boys are already asleep."
Lee laughed, "Between the weekend they had, the ride home and almost two whole pizzas, I'm surprised they stayed awake this long." He placed the glass on the nightstand and moved over when Amanda sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing her damp hair with the towel. She opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out a hairbrush. As she pulled the brush through her hair, Lee yawned loudly.
"Am I keeping you awake too?" Amanda teased. She dropped the brush back in the drawer, the towel in the hamper and removed her robe as Lee relaxed into the pillows. She turned off the light and rolled over to snuggle into Lee's shoulder as she whispered, "Thank you."
"Thank you for what?" Lee uttered softly as he put his arms around her and brushed his lips across her temple.
"For everything this weekend. I know it must've been a lot for you but you handled it wonderfully," Amanda replied. She tipped her chin upward and captured his lips with hers before settling back down again.
"It was great. I got to get to the know the boys a little better and your mom. And just think in a few more weeks we will be married, back from our honeymoon and in our new home together," Lee smiled. "I never thought this would ever happen," he added.
Amanda twisted and sat up to look at him in the dim light. "You never thought what would happen?" she asked, confused.
"This. You, me, a real family. Your boys as my stepsons. I just never pictured myself having kids at all never mind two teenage boys," Lee explained.
Amanda leaned forward and kissed his cheek before she whispered, "And who knows, maybe a little Charlie of our own, too."
Lee hugged her close again and asked, "So you'd want another boy? If you had your choice that is."
Amanda shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know. I haven't thought about it too much. I don't know if I would know what to do with a little girl if I had one."
"And you're sure this is something you still want to do?" Lee asked seriously.
"What do you mean, still want to do? What are you saying, you don't want to-" Amanda began to ask, but Lee cut her off.
"No, that's not what I'm saying at all. I was just thinking when do we get to start practicing making our-" he replied quickly and this time it was Amanda who cut him off with a kiss.
"We will have an entire week of uninterrupted practicing if you're good," she teased. She kissed him back and just as Lee pulled her closer with a slight growl, they heard a knock on the door.
Dotty pushed the door open as she said "Amanda…" she paused when she realized Amanda and Lee were in bed and asked, "Oh, oh, I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
Amanda rolled over and pushed herself up into a sitting position as she replied, "No, Mother, we were just getting ready for bed."
"I just wanted to thank you again for a wonderful weekend," Dotty exclaimed with a smile.
"You're welcome, Mother. I'm glad you enjoyed it," Amanda replied.
Dotty brought her hand to her chest as she continued, "And I'm so excited for this whole week, I can barely contain myself. I'm even looking forward to your Aunt Lillian coming. Oh, did I mention Aunt Edna and Aunt Lillian can't-"
"Can't stay in the same room, I know, Mother, you told me already," Amanda laughed as she nodded and interrupted her.
"And Edna Gilstrap finally sent back her reply. Can you believe that? Who sends back their reply just days before? I hope it's not too late to add her to the list," Dotty rambled. "Oh, and one more thing."
"What's that, Mother?" Amanda ran her hands through her hair, shaking out the damp strands one last time.
"Goodnight, darling. Goodnight, Lee," Dotty stated with a smile again as she backed out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.
Lee rolled his eyes as he mumbled, "Yeah, goodnight, Dotty. It was turning out to be a good night before the interruption."
After the door clicked closed, Amanda turned off the light and settled back down and said, "Sweetheart, don't be upset, like I was trying to say before, we have a whole week of just you and me." She kissed his lips gently and settled her head back down on his chest.
"Mmmm, hmmm," Lee muttered again. "And we will not be interrupted, again."
"Oh, that reminds me. Did you confirm our room for Saturday night at the Cumberland? Is it in the same block of rooms as everyone else's or were they able to do the Presidential Suite?" Amanda asked as she lazily drew circles on his t-shirt.
"No, the Presidential Suite is still under renovations as are most of the floors. Our room is in the same block as everyone else," Lee groaned.
"Well, as long as we don't tell Mother which one is ours…" Amanda's voice trailed off.
"I'm going to have Billy book two for us and then we don't have to tell her which one we're actually in," Lee joked.
Amanda giggled and replied, "You know, that's not a bad idea. I can get dressed in one room so Mother thinks that where we'll be but we sneak off into the other room for the night."
Lee laughed, hugged her tighter and replied, "Amanda, I like the way you're thinking."
Amanda laughed, but it was cut off by the yawn she couldn't hide, "We should get some sleep. We have to be in Billy's office first thing in the morning. Did he say why in his message?"
Lee sighed and replied, "Nothing, just we were both to be in his office at nine before his morning coffee."
Amanda shook her head, "Before his morning coffee, this must be serious."
Lee kissed the side of Amanda's head and replied, "I hope not too serious. Remember, we have to meet with Acquisitions at eleven. If anything goes wrong tomorrow…" Lee let the idea hang in the air.
"Listen, nothing's gonna go wrong. We're gonna meet with Billy, then sign the papers. Piece of cake," Amanda replied lightly.
"Piece of cake, huh. When is anything we do a piece of cake?" Lee teased.
"Get some sleep, Stetson," Amanda commanded gently as she closed her eyes and sighed.
"Good night, Amanda," Lee replied softly. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, the scent of Amanda's shampoo filling his senses.
Amanda woke to the sound of the alarm beeping beside her on the bedside table. She groaned as she reached over to turn it off. "Lee, come on, it's time to get up. We have to get the boys ready for school, too," she reminded Lee as she gently shook him awake.
"I don't know if I'll ever get used to this," Lee smiled as he woke up, Amanda's hand on his chest. He pulled her close and kissed her lightly on the cheek before releasing her and rolling to his feet. "I'll jump in the shower if you want to get the coffee started. Then I'll get the boys up."
"I'll meet you downstairs," she replied, pulling her robe on. "Oh, and one more thing," she said as she stepped forward.
"What's that?" Lee asked lightly as he smiled, his dimples deep.
"I love you, Mr. Stetson," Amanda teased and planted a brief kiss on his lips.
"I love you too, Mrs. Stetson," Lee whispered, kissing her back. He jumped back when he heard the knock on the door and said, "Yeah?"
"Good morning, Mom. Good morning, Lee," Jamie said happily as he opened the door. "Mom, I started making our lunches for today, but do you think it would be okay if I added an extra snack? I don't know why, but I'm feeling really hungry this morning."
Amanda took two steps and put her arm around Jamie's shoulders as she guided him back into the hall as she said, "It must have been all that fresh air all weekend. I think an extra snack is fine and I'll make some bacon and eggs this morning. How does that sound?" She smiled over her shoulder at Lee who smiled back just before he turned to head into the bathroom to shower.