Chapter 57 Finley
FINLEY
This is nice.
I draw a deep breath and exhale slowly, letting the zing of eucalyptus soak my lungs as I sink deeper into the plush massage table.
Am I bummed I’m spending my birthday away from my guys? Totally.
But spending it with Christina is pretty damn great. We’re a couple of mimosas into an afternoon of relaxation before dinner with Summer and the girls.
“Can we talk about how cute that photo Jayden posted of you and the pooch is?” she hums, turning her face to me across the gap between our benches.
Although I got teary at his post this morning, a small trepidation still nips at me about putting myself in front of the world when those awful messages and texts are still lodged in the back of my mind, waiting to pounce.
I nudge the feeling aside. Today is happy.
“He’s so cheesy,” I tell her, keeping it light because we swore off crappy conversations for our besties’ spa day. We already hashed the heavy stuff last night at our sleepover. “You know he left me a message of the whole team singing happy birthday for me to wake up to this morning.”
“Eli’s post was beautiful, too, and the breakfast service they sent over this morning was chef’s kiss,” Christina says with a lick of her lips. “Why can’t all men be that thoughtful and—”
“Matheo sent you a chocolate-dipped strawberries bouquet,” I remind her, only to get daggered with a glare when I add, “And you sent it back.”
“Because I need him to back off. He’s so overbearing and suffocating. Sometimes a girl just needs space.”
I call BS. “Except, girls who need space don’t spend their whole evening stalking the guy they’re pushing away.”
“He’s too good to be true, and with the way the press has gone crazy over you and the guys, I can’t risk them raiding my closet for all the skeletons in there.” She buries her face again with a sigh. “What happened to no crappy conversations? Can we go back to the photo, please?”
“It’s cute,” I reply. “Jayden is incredible at capturing beautiful moments.”
Christina chuckles. “He’s got the looks, the charm, the talent…”
“And then Eli is all quiet and so smart. I watch him do all this crypto market stuff, and my mind boggles just watching him.”
“Speaking of smarts, do you have any plans beyond working for Summer?”
“Not really. I’m loving working with Summer, and designing her mural has been so fulfilling.”
“Have you thought about making that a thing?” she asks as the masseuses finish with hot stones and slip away. “Like a business? You’re so artsy and creative. It could totally be your thing.”
“Summer told me that if I’m interested, she would love to offer it as a service through East of Chic. She even did a whole spreadsheet with projections.”
“And?” Christina gives me a wide-eyed, tell-me-more glance. “What do you think?”
“On paper, it looks amazing. What was it that you said about Matheo? Too good to be true?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m just good at drawing. It’s not like I’m an artist or anything.”
“If all artists thought like you, there wouldn’t be any. Personally, I think you’re fantastic.”
“I don’t know. It’s a lot to think about, and there’s so much to take into consideration. Then there’s the financials…”
“And you have a man who is a genius with numbers. What do Eli and Jayden think?”
Oh, man, she’s going to have a field day. “I haven’t told them yet. They’ve been busy with game prep, and with everything else going on, it’s—”
“An excuse. That’s what it is. Because you know they’d tell you to go for it.”
They would. Eli and JJ would tell me to do anything that makes me happy. It’s one of the many reasons I adore them.
“I’m still thinking about it,” I say, inhaling long and letting the warmth in my back seep deeper, melting the weight that keeps pulling me under. On the exhale, I let the anxiety go, one stubborn thread at a time.
Eyes closed, my mind drifts right back to the giddy start of the day—Jayden’s recording, their posts: Blanca licking my laughing face while I lie on Eli’s lap, and the beach shot of Jayden and me, two blacked-out silhouettes etched against a Florida sunset.
I love them.
I love that I was too lost in the moment to notice either of them taking the photos. But what made my heart swell were the captions—
elisylkes Fate…
A foregone conclusion.
HBD my beautiful
jaydenmorrow74 Serendipity.
noun · formal
1. The fact of finding valuable things by chance.
2. Good fortune; Luck.
HBD
Well, well, well… this isn’t at all embarrassing.
I bury my face in my hands as Christina and the girls stand and clap along to the sudden chorus from the restaurant staff. My cheeks flame while a small white cake is placed in front of me.
In the glow of the candles and sparklers, the thin, gold-painted rim glimmers along with the gold flecks on the buttercream.
I can’t stop smiling at the familiar handwriting on top, wishing me a Happy Birthday.
One word in Jayden’s scroll, the other in Eli’s block lettering.
A tiny golden heart sits below, shimmering either from my tears or the luster of the paint.
As I blow out the candles, my phone vibrates. Eli’s smile fills my screen—another Jayden picture of me kissing his cheek with the Miami sunset behind us—and my heart swells a tad more.
There’ll be no more room left in my chest soon. All this love is going to burst from me.
“Happy Birthday, Angel,” Eli calls over the cheers when Christina answers on loudspeaker.
“Happy Birthday, Lucky,” JJ follows Eli’s upbeat croon.
“How’s dinner with the girls?” Eli asks at the same time Christina tells him, “The best she’s ever had!”
“Pipe down, shorty,” JJ teases her.
“Ugh, asshole,” she glares at my phone when I take it from her.
“Sorry we couldn’t be there to sing with everyone,” Eli says, and my heart pangs even though I tell him, “It’s okay, Love.”
“We’re totally going to make it up to you,” JJ starts, only for Eli to cut him off quickly, “Don’t you dare!”
Their back-and-forth makes me laugh while I cut the first slice of cake. A server plates the rest for Christina, Summer, and the girls.
“We’ll see you soon, sweet girl,” Eli tells me, his groan cutting through whatever Jayden’s saying.
“Party pooper,” JJ grumbles before he sings, “Love you, Baby.”
“I love you, Fin.”
My chest squeezes tight as I tell them, “I love you more.”
“No, no, no,” Christina says, wagging a finger in my face as she forks my slice and force-feeds me, like buttercream can plug tears. “You are not allowed to be sad on your birthday, especially not when you have cake and bubbles.”
Summer gives me a tender smile. “They’re back in a couple days, right?”
“Thirty-six hours.” The cake is delicious. Salted caramel with a praline crumble that makes my mouth water for more.
“But who’s counting?” Christina offers another forkful, and I snatch it, stuffing the yumminess in my mouth. “Hey, that’s not nice!”
“Yeah, Lucky, that’s really not nice!”
I gasp, half choking on cake as I whip around fast enough to crick my neck. My pulse knocks wild when I lurch to my feet and launch into JJ. His beautiful grin strums every heartstring while I hold his face, making sure I’m not imagining him.
He’s real.
“You’re here. Like really here.”
His grin cuts wider as another set of arms gathers me from the side.
“There is no way we were going to miss your birthday, Fin,” Eli says with a kiss to my temple.
“Especially when it’s our first one together,” JJ adds. “We would’ve made it to dinner, but the plane couldn’t take off in time because of the snowstorm that hit this morning.”
“Doesn’t matter, you’re here now. You’re here.”
I’m a blubbering mess, and I don’t attempt to stop it. It’s energy I refuse to waste when I have them here and there are so many other ways I can use it up.