Chapter 21
Asharp knock sounded on her hotel room door. She’d already been there for a few days, the guys all taking turns staying in the room next door, just as she promised Sebastian. Of course, he’d gone completely overboard with the security measures, but at least he’d finally been okay with her keeping just a sliver of her independence.
Daisy had nearly bowled her over the minute she got back, and they’d been meeting every day to talk about her best friend’s upcoming baby shower. Emma was supposed to be baking all the sweet treats, but with her bakery in burnt shambles, she didn’t know how to pull that off. Luckily, Daisy didn’t seem worried at all, but Emma didn’t want to let her down. Since the shower was in the special events room at the hotel where Emma was staying, she’d asked the hotel manager if she could utilize their kitchen after hours to bake for the event. They’d been more than happy to lend her the space.
She’d been planning on dragging one of the guys out to the grocery store earlier that morning to get all the supplies she needed, but couldn’t get herself out of bed. She just kept staring at the ceiling, waiting for the energy to get up and go. It just wasn’t coming. What did come, instead, were tears she never wanted to cry.
In the last seven years, Emma had never let herself cry on that day. No, she didn’t want her daughter to feel any sadness on her birthday if they were still connected somehow. Normally, she would have buried herself in her work, but sorting through the remains of the bakery and her apartment was too much to deal with on top of Luna’s birthday.
Cinching the tie of her bathrobe tighter around herself as the knocking grew louder, Emma walked to the door and looked out the peephole. She didn’t know why she even bothered. Of course, a handsome Sebastian stood stoically outside, dressed in a suit with his brown hair slicked back and his gray eyes looking directly at her.
“I know you are standing right on the other side of the door, Sprinkles. Let me in, yeah?”
She stepped back and opened the door, the safety chain still engaged.
“I’m not really in the mood to see anyone today, Seb.”
“And that’s exactly why I’m here. Because you need someone to be with you today.”
“I don’t, though. I haven’t ever had anyone with me on this day before.”
“Look, I know you are strong, okay? But the tears in your eyes and the redness of your cheeks are telling me that you could use a moment where you don’t have to be the strongest person in the room. It’s just you and me, Em. Let me be that for you today.”
“Okay,” she whispered, unlatching the door chain and letting Sebastian in. Emma watched as he walked into her room, a large bag in his hand, sitting down on the edge of her bed and patting the space on the mattress beside him.
“Come sit down next to me. I got you something.”
“What do you mean?” She plopped her body down on the mattress next to him. His thigh pressed against hers, and the warmth from his body made the tears in her eyes well even more than they had been. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop the wave of emotion she could feel getting ready to slam into her.
“I know what today is. It’s why you didn’t want to do anything when I called earlier.” When she didn’t answer, he continued. “I remember you told me today is Luna’s birthday. So I got you something.”
“Why would you do that?” And there went the damn tears, tracking down her face and there wasn’t a single thing she could do to stop them.
“Em, like I said before, you don’t have to be the strong one today. I’ve got you.” He wiped away one of the tears that was traveling down her cheek towards her broken heart. “And I got you something because you deserve to be honored today. And so does she.”
“Seb—”
“Just open it, Sprinkles.”
She opened the smaller box first, and gasped at the beautiful locket inside. It was carved to look like the full moon, and her heart fluttered as she flipped it over and read the inscription etched on the back.
“Forever under the same moon. Seb, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“We’ll take a picture the first day she is back in your arms, and you can keep it inside there.”
Hope swelled in her heart. It was hard to control when Sebastian was around. He was so sure that everything was going to work out, and slowly, she was starting to let herself believe that too. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the last year she’d have to go through this day without Luna.
“Now, open this one.”
“The locket is more than enough. It’s so beautiful.” He just smiled and pushed the gift towards her.
Inside the beautifully wrapped box was a picture frame. And inside that frame, was a picture of two stars, side by side in the night sky.
“I don’t understand.”
He smiled, gently placing his hand on her arm. “Read the back.”
Let it be known that star 22.732.434 has been named Luna Sullivan and is registered as such with the International Stellar Registration. Let it also be known that star 22.732.435 has been named Emma Sullivan and is registered as such with the International Stellar Registration.
“You named a star after her?” Emma’s chest hurt from the tightness the sweet gesture caused.
“And after you, too. They are neighboring stars in the sky. Your star is slightly bigger. It reminded me of a mama looking over her baby. I can show you where they are tonight if the clouds stay away.” He brushed his finger lightly across her cheek. “I know you can’t be together right now while we look for her, but I wanted you to know that somewhere, out in the universe, you always have been, and always will be, right with her. I know it’s not the moon, but when you look up in the night sky, you can see her in the moon and find her in the stars, too.” He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Now, you both exist with the moon.”
“Sebastian,” she choked out. “Thank you.”
“There’s one more thing.” His cheeks turned a warm shade of red and Emma smiled.
“This is already too much.”
“I know, but it’s not only Luna’s birthday, it’s the day you brought your daughter into the world. You deserve to be celebrated, too.”
“You have. The locket, the stars, it’s everything.”
“Well, I also made you something.”
“You made me something?” she repeated.
“Yes, and just a fair warning, it’s probably nothing like you would make.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a small aluminum baking pan with a plastic lid. Emma could see the neon pink frosting and brightly colored sprinkles and her heart burst wide open.
“You baked me a cake?”
“I hope it’s okay. I just thought, it’s not a proper birthday without a cake, and I figured a seven year old girl would like bubble gum pink and rainbow sprinkles. We can make her one for her next birthday when she’s back in your arms and tell her it’s a family tradition.”
Emma burst into tears.
“Oh, no. Sprinkles, I’m so sorry. It was too much. I’ll put it away and we don’t have to think about it.”
“No. P-please, Seb. T-that’s the nicest thing a-anyone’s ever done f-for me. You baked m-me a cake.”
Emma felt his arms wrap around her as he pulled her onto his lap. “I just want to honor you today, Em. And for as long as you’ll let me, I want to honor Luna, too.”
“You’re too good to be true.”
“Hardly.” He tightened his grip on her, and she let herself sink into the safety of his embrace.
“Did you bring any forks with you?”
She felt the rumble fill his chest as he laughed. “You know what, I actually did.” His arms released her, reaching deep down into the bag sitting next to him. “I really do feel like I need to warn you not to have too high of expectations here, Sprinkles.”
“I already know I’m going to love it, Seb. Hand that fork over and let’s dig in.”
Emma placed the cake onto her lap, lifting the plastic lid away. Her fork dug in to the cake and she smiled as she lifted it to her mouth. Sebastian was sitting so still, as if he was holding his breath waiting to hear what she had to say about his baking skills.
It was delicious.
“This is amazing, Seb. You did a great job.” The smile that filled his whole face made her heart sing.
“I looked up how to make a box cake taste better. More butter, heavy cream, and an extra egg. I guess it does work.”
“It definitely does. Here, taste for yourself. “ She scooped out a bit of cake onto her fork and fed it to him, laughing at the smear of frosting she managed to get on his lips. Before he could lick it clean himself, Emma leaned in and kissed him.
“Mmm, the cake is good, but that kiss was amazing,” he said as she pushed the cake pan away and climbed onto his lap.
“Will you help me forget?” she whispered.
“No, Em.” When she raised a questioning brow at him, he smiled, brushing a small section of hair behind her ear. “We aren’t forgetting what today is. We are honoring it. I will help you remember what having hope feels like. I will help you remember how resilient, determined, and loved you are.”
“Seb.” She settled her head into the crook of his neck.
“Let me show you, Sprinkles.”
“I want the pain to go away.”
“I know you do, but that’s not something I can take away. I want to, Em, more than anything. But we aren’t going to get there today. You need that pain to keep going. To keep putting one foot in front of the other until we find Luna.” He tipped her chin up towards his face and pressed a kiss onto her lips. “And we are going to find her, Em. I promise with every fiber of my being, I won’t stop looking until she’s back in your arms.”
“Thank you, Sebastian.”
“What time do you plan on heading downstairs to work on Daisy’s baby shower things?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking in a couple of hours. I don’t want to be up super late, but I also don’t want to get out of bed.”
“I think that sounds like a good plan. We can stay here in bed and watch a movie if you want.”
“That sounds perfect.” She laid her head down on Sebastian’s chest and before they’d even agreed on what movie to watch, Emma had let the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing lull her to sleep.