EPILOGUE

WARREN

Three Months Later

It was unusual to wake without the ring of my alarm. It was rare I woke without feeling tired. There was a sweet mint scent in the air.

Through hazy eyes, I reached out to my side. My brows creased. There was a large teddy bear in my bed. It wasn't Alexi.

Where was Alexi? And why hadn't my alarm gone off?

Turning over, I reached to the bedside table for my phone. There was a piece of pink paper folded over it.

‘Happy Birthday. It's gonna be a special day for a special Daddy!' It was written in different coloured crayons, the same crayons he had for his colouring books. It brought a smile to my face. Then the realisation settled in. It was my birthday.

I'd told Alexi I didn't want anything special. I'd taken the day off work, forced to because Alexi said we'd be spending the day in our pyjamas.

Out of bed, I realised he'd sold me a lie. He wasn't in the flat at all, and he'd taken Sugar with him. I looked back in the bedroom, wondering if there was another note or text from him.

The teddy bear in the bed was a nice touch, but it was twice the size of him, and fluffy. Of course, it wasn't going to replace him.

It was 9:44 A.M. I grabbed my robe and went to the living room where the blinds had been opened, filling the flat with light.

Another note on the counter. The same pink paper.

‘Have some breakfast and then text me.' In those same crayons, with ‘text me', underlined twice. Of course, he hated calling, and I knew he'd rather text.

I told him no surprises, so I guess it was just me listening to his wishes. Even though I was excited about the surprise. I wondered what he'd planned, my mind creating all different types of scenarios. It was unlike him to do this, especially since we'd already agreed on a really nice day together, only together, enjoying each other.

I made myself a slice of toast and I ate it while walking around, looking for clues as to what Alexi had planned. It was a surprise I hadn't noticed him planning it. Unless he'd planned it while he was at work.

I showered and got dressed before texting him. Wearing a blue button-down shirt with a tank top beneath it, and a pair of denim shorts. It was the end of July and boiling.

While I enjoyed the heat and warmer weather, it meant Alexi had stopped wanting to dress in the cute, cuddly onesies. He'd now started sleeping in the nude, which I preferred. It was heaven to wake up to. His skin on mine. But it also meant I was running on fumes, as my erection could only get so strong each day.

Ding.

He'd sent me the address.

It was the same address as the cat café, Pink Paws.

He hadn't mentioned he'd be at work. In fact, I figured he had the day off. But it was 10:38 A.M. and maybe he'd made plans for lunch. A picnic? I wondered.

Arriving twenty minutes later. I looked through the window to see him in the pink T-shirt with the company logo on. He was cuddled up with Sugar in his arms. Sitting at a table with two men, Grant and my best friend, Harry. They were all wearing pink cone birthday hats.

They caught me staring inside, or I might've just taken a quick once around the block to think about how Alexi had convinced them to do this. "Wow," I said, entering the café.

They were sitting at the table next to the window.

"Happy birthday," Alexi immediately said, standing. He was flustered.

"Happy birthday," the other two said.

"I'm surprised," I admitted. "I didn't think Alexi would do something like this."

Harry chuckled. "I told him you weren't a fan of surprises."

I shuffled into the seat beside Alexi, giving him a hug and kissing his cheek. "It's a nice surprise."

"That's got to be two million now," he whispered into a giggle.

"Oh, well, it doesn't stop there," Grant said. "We've got more where that came from. A badge. A sash. And your own hat." He plucked at the string beneath his chin, keeping his hat in place.

Harry handed me a small gift bag from across the table. "To make sure everyone knows you're the birthday boy," he said.

Alexi's hand was at my side, hugging my waist. He pulled me in close. "I have another surprise," he said.

Grant tssked his teeth. "I'm not sure if he'll like this one though."

"He'll love it," Harry said.

Nervous. Usually, it wasn't split down the middle. They both knew me. They should know how I'd react to surprises, good or bad. I didn't know what this one was, but it was coming. "Well?" I asked, waiting after a brief pause.

"When you brought me here, you told me to pick a kitten," he said. "Why don't you pick one?"

"Me?" I asked. Alexi was the one who took care of Sugar. I was just there to fill the bowls sometimes. I planted my hand on his knee. "I think you should pick for me."

His eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. "Really? Because—because Sugar has a friend, and—"

I nodded. My hand beneath his chin, I pulled his ear to my lips. "Whatever my boy wants, it can be your special day too." I kissed him on the cheek.

"Ok!" Harry shouted, "put the party hat on, because they're about to play music and Marcella has made a special birthday milkshake, just for you!"

I looked at Alexi again. This time my eyes were wide, but with worry. "Only if you share it with me," I said, patting his knee.

"Noooooo," he chuckled, "I'm picking a kitty!" He scooted out from beneath the table and was in his second home, the kitten pen.

Sugar snuggled up to me in the warmth of Alexi's seat while he'd gone.

"So," Harry said, "I nearly told you about it the other day when I called you."

"You still didn't tell me why you called. I thought it was a pocket dial."

Harry chewed on his tongue. He'd never been someone to become lost for words. "Well," he said, "you'll probably hear about it sooner or later, but I actually went on a date with that guy."

Enthralled in what he was saying, I was trying to piece together all the different people we'd ever talked about. "Who? Which?"

"You know, Benito," he said.

I knew him as Benny. His name had caused many arguments in the past, but it had been a long time since I knew him, perhaps he really had changed like Alexi said. "And you know about his past?"

"I wasn't friends with his ex like you, but he told me it was toxic," he said. "Maybe we could double date."

"I'll think about it." But not on my birthday.

"This one!" Alexi shouted, holding up a kitten. "I think it's a girl. We can call her Syrup!"

Grant's eyes grew. He didn't even need to look to see Alexi. "Well, looks like Alexi's dream of having a house filled with kittens is going to come true."

"Don't you know it," I laughed. "Is it too early to get a beer?"

"I think you'll have to make do with the milkshake first," Grant said. "Alexi put a lot of effort in with Marcella to make it."

Alexi approached the table with the kitten in his arms. He was red in the face, a permanent smile splashed across it. "Do you like her?"

She was light brown with an orange hue to her coat. "She's perfect. Just like you," I told him.

Grant and Harry didn't seem uncomfortable with our affection, it was all new to me showing this type of PDA. And I didn't care who saw or knew, because I would one day marry him, and then the entire world would know, but I was going to save that for another special day.