Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87439 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 350(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
I didn’t bother hiding my monster grin. Maybe thirty-seven wasn’t such a bad birthday after all.
And it got better, too.
I was inundated with text greetings from friends and family, including a video from Val of him and his baby daughter, Gigi, in their pool.
“Wave to Uncle Si. Can you say happy birthday?” Vally asked the baby, turning to the camera with a wide-eyed shocked expression as Gigi babbled and sucked her fist. “Did you hear that? This kid is a genius! Happy birthday, buddy. Miss you, and I actually mean it. I bumped into your agent at Nobu and he’s got me thinking you met someone in Vermont. I might have to come out there and see what’s goin’ on. Love ya!”
Alli left a voice mail. “Hey, you. Happy birthday. I’m planning a trip to Boston this summer and I want to meet up. Liam could join us…or not. We can decide later. I’d love to see you. Eat all the cake!”
Two months ago, that would have been an automatic hell no. I had no desire to get stuck in a megastar’s vortex with my ex. Now? It didn’t sound terrible. I had a life of my own that didn’t revolve around football and yes, I was probably on borrowed time, but maybe not. I mean…the longer I was in Wood Hollow, the more I saw a glimmer of something here for me. I could commute, I could buy Vally’s house, I could…be with Cooper.
Okay, I was getting ahead of myself. But fuck, it was my birthday, baby.
And any day that started with two orgasms and ended with homemade chocolate cake got top marks in my book.
“…happy birthday to you!”
“And many more!”
“From channel four!”
“And Scooby Doo on channel two!”
I shot a three-way WTF between Cooper, Chase, and Ivy huddling around me at the kitchen island. “Is there more?”
“Nope. Blow out your candles before I have to find my fire extinguisher,” Cooper snarked.
“And make a wish,” Ivy reminded me.
“You should close your eyes,” Chase piped up. “It always works better for me.”
I took his advice, squeezed my eyes shut and blew out the candles on the four-layered, slightly lopsided cake liberally iced with chocolate frosting and decorated with blue sprinkles, and thirty-seven red candles. Yep, I counted them.
I helped pluck out the candles, oohing and ahhing over Ivy’s masterpiece…as I’d done since I’d walked into Cooper’s house and realized they’d basically thrown me a small party. The banner Cooper had put away when he’d left for the mill that morning was up again, along with a few balloons. We’d feasted on grilled burgers, corn, and potato salad, and now cake.
And it was delicious.
“Whoa! This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had in my life,” I gushed. “How’d you do it? This must have taken forever.”
Ivy blushed, her eyes bright with pleasure. “Two days. I made the cake part at Mom’s house. Dad picked us up from school and we had to go back to the house to get it and bring it here. I made the frosting a couple of hours ago and put it in the fridge to cool. I was worried it might taste stale, but it’s not.”
“Not at all. It’s really really, really amazing. Thank you.”
“I helped with the burgers,” Chase said.
“You helped eat ’em, huh?”
He offered a high five and a goofy grin. I laughed, my heart swelling in my chest with so much sweetness.
I insisted on cleaning the kitchen with Cooper while the kids decided what game to play or movie to watch. It was a Friday, so they were allowed to stay up later than they were on school nights. Honestly, the fact that I knew shit like that was sort of weird, or…not. I couldn’t tell, and I wasn’t about to overanalyze potentially worrisome details on my birthday.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Cooper asked, drying his hands on a dish towel.
“Yeah, that sounds nice.” I grabbed two glasses from the shelf, inhaling his masculine scent as our arms brushed. “Mmm. You smell like the forest.”
His lips tilted in amusement. “Are you drunk already?”
“Nope. Just…happy. It’s been a nice day. Thank you.”
We stared at each other, and yeah, we were probably standing too close. I wished I could kiss him or touch him. But this was good too.
Cooper stepped aside to pour the wine. “You’re welcome, but…truthfully, I didn’t do much. It was all Ivy.”
“I’m honored. Truly.” I clinked my glass to his. “Her mom must have had a few questions.”
“Oh, she did.” He gave a humorless half laugh and sipped his wine. “Sarah thought it was sweet, but…definitely odd. She’s worried the kids are becoming too attached to my new neighbor.”
“Ouch. Did she tell them that?”
“No. That was aimed at me.” Cooper worked his jaw angrily but seemed to swallow his angst, his features evening to neutral.