“But I didn’t have the presence of mind to plan everything, and I was in such a dark place when I first arrived. You’ve been the glue that has held everything together for me. You, too, Terrance. I can’t thank you both enough.”

“It’s been a Christmas to remember,” Terrance said.

Karoline started to laugh. “True. I’ll never forget you showing up on our doorstep at four thirty in the morning with your hair a mess and your shirt on wrong side out—and Axel fuming on my front porch.”

Harper shot her a look. “That’s still too fresh to joke about.”

Terrance smiled as though he saw the humor in it, too, but guided the conversation in a different direction. “Did Axel mention what he wants for the future?”

Harper knew they were both curious as to how she’d ultimately react to Axel’s change of heart. “Not really. He just told me that he regrets the divorce, knows he screwed up and is going to do everything he can to make it right.”

Karoline propped her feet up on the coffee table. “What’d you say in response to that?”

“I asked him not to bring up any of our personal problems today. I said we both deserved a day to celebrate all the things Christmas means without dragging our emotional baggage into it.”

Karoline lifted her glass in a silent toast. “He must’ve taken your advice.”

“Fortunately.”

“And that stack of presents he gave you?” She rolled her eyes. “That was crazy.”

“It was fun, but I doubt he picked out a single one of those gifts. I bet he had someone shop for him and do all the wrapping before he got on the plane.”

“He’s busy,” Terrance said.

“He’s got plenty of help for most everything else. He could’ve done his own shopping.”

“He spent a lot of money…” Karoline mused.

Harper had a comeback for that, too. “I hate to sound negative, but he has a lot of money to spend. Percentage-wise, Tobias was probably the more generous between the two.”

“Tobias!” Karoline exclaimed. “What did he give you?”

Harper held up her wrist to show her sister the new charm bracelet. She hadn’t worn it all day because she’d been afraid Axel would ask about it—or the girls would. But as soon as her ex had left, she put it on. She enjoyed seeing it, enjoyed remembering how excited Tobias had been to give it to her.

Karoline sat forward, put her wine on the coffee table and walked over to inspect Tobias’s gift. “It’s beautiful. Looks like real gold. How much do you think it cost?”

“Enough to show that he wanted to get me something nice. Other than that I don’t care. I love it.”