11. Happy Birthday

11

Happy Birthday

I t was a slow night at Ayana’s, typical for a Tuesday. I couldn’t decide whether it was a gift or a curse. Either way, it wasn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my 40 th birthday.

If I’d told the girls, they would have celebrated with me. Especially Harley. That girl loved a good party.

I wandered into the kitchen. “Hey, Rudy. We’re all finished out front. I’m going to head home.”

“Shae!” he exclaimed, his eyes widening as he started waving at me to move back. “Out! Out of my kitchen!”

“What?” I laughed in disbelief then tilted my head to the side and smiled. “Aw, Rudy, did you bake me a cake?”

His eyes skittered to the side before returning to mine. “Yes. Yes, I did. Now go away so you don’t ruin the surprise.”

I took a teasing step forward, rising to my toes in an attempt to peer over his shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want help?”

“Shae,” he warned, his eyebrows meeting in the middle.

Spinning on my heel, I headed for the door singing, “I hope it’s chocolate!”

“Never mind! Come back!” he yelled.

I spun around slowly to face him, accusing, “You’re being weirder than usual.”

“Weird?” he grumped. “You people are making me crazy.”

Marlena burst through the kitchen door, her eyes dancing.

My eyebrows flew up in surprise.

She gave Rudy a nod and he appeared to breathe a sigh of relief. Quieter now, he smiled at me and ordered, “Out. Out of my kitchen, birthday girl.”

Smiling widely, Marlena opened the door and waved me through.

I entered the dining room with a broad smile on my face, fully expecting to find a cake with enough candles burning to set off the fire alarm.

“Happy Birthday!”

I stopped in my tracks and my hands flew to my face.

Harley, Wren, Bridge, and Noelle fairly vibrated behind a table holding a cake that appeared to be on fire. Behind them stood Daire, Max, and Hawkley. Daire and Max smiled widely. Hawkley did his level best.

I covered my face with my hands and promptly burst into tears.

A low, familiar chuckle snagged my attention just as my girls rushed forward to surround me with hugs. Gabe stood just off to the side, hands shoved into his pockets, a smirk on his wickedly handsome face.

Bridge slung her arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick squeeze. “Why do we always have to do so much emotion?” she teased.

“So long as I’m not the one crying,” Harley griped, swiping under her eyes. “These pregnancy hormones are wreaking havoc on my badass reputation.”

Noelle threw her arms around me and hugged me tight. “Happy birthday, Shae!”

Wren stood quietly, a smile in her pretty eyes, as she gently pulled me toward the cake. “You better blow out the candles before they set off the sprinkler system.”

Catching Gabe’s eye, he answered the question in mine with a slight incline of his head.

“Thank you,” I mouthed.

Holding my gaze, he loped over.

I held my breath.

Did the girls know we were together?

Not really.

I shifted from one foot to the other.

Did he want everyone to know?

I had no idea.

Wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, he pulled me up to my toes and planted a hard kiss on my mouth. “Happy birthday, Shae-baby.”

“Whoop!” Bridge laughed.

“So,” Noelle crowed. “It’s like that, is it?”

I rolled my eyes.

Gabe kissed my forehead before answering, “Yeah. It’s exactly like that.”

Rudy barreled out of the kitchen, Marlena and the rest of the regular staff on his heels. “Okay, okay!” he bellowed. “We’re going to sing, Shae is going to make her wish, and then I’m going to feed you.”

Two hours and copious amounts of food later, Rudy, Marlena, and the rest of the staff had gone home leaving only us sitting around the table.

Daire slumped back in his seat with his long legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. With a lazy smile on his handsome face, his fingers tangled in Harley’s hair as usual. Laid-back and easy-going, he was Harley’s perfect counterpart. Of course, rumour had it he wasn’t always so laid-back, especially when it came to Harley.

Wren, the most reserved of all of us, sat with her elbows braced on the table. Max sprawled in the chair beside her, his dimple flashing as he told a story about Gabe who sat beside me with his head in his hands, shoulders shaking, tattoos running from his fingers clear up his arms to disappear beneath the short sleeves of his shirt.

I couldn’t wait to strip him down and see where they ended.

“Stop thinking dirty thoughts,” Bridge whispered from my other side.

I snorted out a laugh.

Max tried to contain himself to finish. “There we were, me running around at the bottom like a drunken asshole—”

“Which you were,” Gabe interjected.

Max nodded, speaking through his laughter. “And Gabe’s stuck on the roof whisper-yelling instructions thinking he’s being quiet. The door opened and we both hit the deck.”

Max begins to squeak. “Then I hear,” he chokes, “water hitting the ground.”

“I couldn’t hold it anymore!” Gabe throws his arms out in exasperation. “Six beers and stuck on that fucking roof for two hours?”

Noelle threw her head back, nearly falling out of Hawkley’s lap where she’d ended up shortly after dinner. After ten years apart, they had finally married and were now on their second kid. Most days, a piece of paper wouldn’t fit between them.

Max and Wren left first, her hand clasped tightly in his as they walked out laughing softly, his dark head bent to hers.

Bridge caught a ride home with Noelle and Hawkley a few minutes later.

“We should go, too.” Harley stood up and winced. “Whoopsie!”

Daire followed her line of vision down to her very swollen feet. He growled, actually growled, before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her out with her purse over his shoulder.

“Love your purse, Daire!” Gabe shouted after him.

Harley shot him the bird over Daire’s shoulder.

Gabe laughed then turned to me, his face softening. “Did you enjoy your party?”

“You remembered my birthday.”

He stepped closer. “I remember a lot of things.” Brushing the backs of his fingers over my cheek, he continued, “Lock up and I’ll follow you home.”

“Do you want to come in?”

He looked at his watch. “I can come in, but not for too long.”

I looked up at him quizzically.

His lips twisted to the side. “Mom can’t keep Dylan tonight.”

His headlights tailed me all the way, pulling into my driveway right behind me. I ran up to the door, got it open on the first try, and waited for him, watching his long legs eat up the space between us.

Reaching for his hand, I intertwined my fingers with his and tugged him forward. “Want to make out for ten minutes like teenagers?”

Pulling me against his chest, his hand tangling in my hair, he grinned down at me as he walked me backwards to the couch. “Like I’d ever say no to that.”

The backs of my legs hit the couch, and he eased me down, his big body hovering over mine. His eyes ran over my face, dipping down to scan my curves. “Yeah, it’s a definite yes.”

One hand wrapped around the back of my knee and opened it to the side as he settled his lean hips between my thighs.

“Oh,” I breathed. “I like this.”

Bracing his elbows on either side of my shoulders, he cradled my head in his hands and dipped down to press his mouth to mine.

I drew in a deep breath, my entire being filling with happiness, wrapped my arms around him, and kissed him back.

The delicious weight of his big body pinned me to the couch as he licked his way into my mouth. With each kiss, he went deeper, the tension in his body growing until finally he broke and rolled his hips, grinding his erection against my core.

“Oh, Gabe, yes please,” I gasped.

He dropped his mouth to my neck and slapped his hand to the back of my thigh, pulling me closer as he rolled his hips once more, murmuring, “Always so polite.”

“Not feeling all that polite, Gabe. Feeling really, really, needy,” I breathed.

His body stilled and he bowed his head to my shoulder with a groan.

“What?” I asked. “What’s the matter?”

He sighed. “I’d planned to get you off and kiss you goodnight.”

I flushed with embarrassment and desire.

He lifted his head and looked down at me intently. “I won’t be able to stop there. There is literally nothing in the world I want more than to take you to bed but once I get you in there, I’m not leaving.”

He huffed out a frustrated breath.

“And I can’t do that tonight.”