Chapter 15 #2
I set Grace down and hiss at Natalia, “Get everything outside now.”
I run to the front door just as Christian is taking off his sneakers and I stop right in front of him, trying to block his view of anything behind me. “Hey, how was the gym?”
His brows pinch quickly. “Good. Julian locked me out for some reason. Are you okay?”
“Yep, fine!” I nearly shriek. “All good.”
“Okay? Baby, are you—”
“Go take a shower,” I blurt a bit too loudly.
Christian drops his gym bag and he’s so fucking sexy, I hate him. Strands of sweaty hair cling to his forehead, Julian not giving him the time to shower or change. When he crosses his arms over his chest, his biceps flex and they must be larger than my head.
Is that even humanly possible?
Probably not.
“What’s going on?”
“Please,” I breathe. “Just…take a shower and change.”
“Lana…”
I stand on my toes, put my palm to his cheek, and give him one soft kiss on his lips. “Happy birthday, Christian.”
Back on my feet, I keep my hand on his cheek and watch his bright coffee eyes soften. “You didn’t give me the chance to kiss you back.”
I shrug with a small smile. “Consider it my birthday gift.”
His smile is just as small as mine, like he’s holding back. “I’ll go shower.”
I nod and step out of his way. I follow behind him as he turns into the small hall under the stairs and immediately into the bathroom. The shower starts and I sigh, raking my fingers through my hair and tossing it aside.
“That was cute.”
I jump, my hand over my heart. “Shit, Natalia.”
“Can I show you the other cake while he’s gone?”
I dip my chin and she takes the cake out of the fridge. It’s a much smaller, round one—enough for just two people. The frosting is vanilla like the other one, but this writing is in yellow.
I don’t know if I want to yell at her or not, so I just laugh. “Natalia, I swear—”
Smiling, she puts it back in the fridge. She looks at me and winks once it’s closed. “I knew you’d like it.”
“Is everything all set?”
Nat nods. “All of it. Are you just going to wait here until he’s out of the shower then?”
I shrug. “Yeah. Just go out and mingle or whatever.”
“Scream if you need back up, shark.”
I growl quietly as she walks out and slides the back door closed.
I take to cleaning up the island a bit while Christian showers.
Two minutes later, the bathroom door opens and he walks across to the guest room with just a towel around his waist. I gave him a kiss for his birthday but he nearly gave me a full frontal.
I swallow and look away from the lines of his abdomen and toss away the disinfectant wipe.
“Alright,” Christian sighs, shaking out his damp hair as he exits the bedroom. “I’m dressed.”
I smile and come around the island. “You’ll need shoes.”
“You’re going to start allowing shoes inside the house?”
I scoff. “Never. But I’ve made the exception for today and will viciously clean the floors later. Now, shoes.”
Shaking his head, utterly confused, he grabs a pair of sneakers from his room and ties them, sitting on the couch. “I’m fully dressed now.”
“Perfect.” I chew on my lip for a moment. Blind folding him would have been stupid. Making everyone shout surprise would also be stupid. That is why none of those things are happening. Instead, I just slip my hand into his, locking our fingers, and tug at his arm. “Come with me.”
“Wait.” He tugs me backward and my body smacks against his chest. His large hand comes to hold my steady at my hip and the other, still holding my hand, puts it over his heart.
My breath hitches.
Christian does not speak, he doesn’t move. His eyes are soft, adoring, simply watching me—just because he can. Because he wants to. The corners of his lips twitch and I press my palm harder into his sternum, feeling his heart working harder push out blood.
“What?” I breathe.
“Can I get another one?” Christian asks. “You know, as a birthday gift.”
The corners of my lips pull up slightly. “Now? You sure you don’t want to save it for later?”
He smiles. “I’ll save it.”
Damn it. I don’t want to be mad at him anymore and I’m doing a shit job at it anyway. What’s the fucking point now? I mean, damn it. The garden, the date. I’m so happy. Happier than I have been in years and I’m not mad anymore.
Whether or not I should be, I don’t care anymore. I want him, I want this. I trust him. He has a sponsor, someone he can talk to who understands better than I do. He’s smiling and it’s an extraordinary smile of pure happiness that he didn’t even have before he left.
Christian was becoming a shell of a man in front of me, even as I tried to get him help. He only smiled like this before the drinking. And he’s smiling like this, right at me, right now.
“Is that okay?” Christian asks.
“Yeah,” I rasp, matching his wide grin. “Yeah, that’s okay.”
“Lana, I love you,” he says.
“Christian—”
“No, I love you, and every time I look at you I need to tell you because it feels like…”
“An overload?”
He huffs a laugh. “Something like that.”
I smile. It’s just like that.
“I love you, baby,” he breathes and kisses the corner of my mouth. “Now show me this surprise.”
He pulls back and I gape at him. “What surprise?”
“The surprise that made Julian act like a mad man today and try to lock me out of the house.” Christian gives me a look.
My brows furrow and I frown. “Don’t be mean about it.”
Christian grins and gives my ass a gentle pat. “Come on then.”
I take his hand and lead him out the back door, walking in front of him and then stepping aside as everyone suddenly yells, “Surprise!”
“Oh my god,” Christian drawls, feigning surprise. “I’ve never been so surprised!”
“Jackass,” one of the guys mutters.
“Uncle Christian!” Grace runs to him and he catches her in his arms.
“Hey, Princess.” He kisses her head then tickles her stomach. “Was this your secret plan?”
She laughs and shakes her head, Christian still tickling her for the truth. “No! No! It was Daddy and Auntie Lana!”
Julian snorts and I laugh. “Hey, that was our secret,” Lana whispers.
“Sorry,” Gracie whispers back. “Uncle Christian, I don’t know anything.”
Christian belly laughs, kissing Grace’s head. “Alright then, kiddo. I don’t know anything either.”
Gracie smiles at me and whispers, not well, “It worked.”
I grin and give her a thumbs up.
Laughing, Christian sets down his cute little niece who runs toward Natalia and Isa—her other best friends. Christian pulls me to his side and kisses my temple.
“Thank you,” he says in my ear.
My hand goes to his chest, palm resting over his heart as I peer up at him through my lashes with a small smile. “You’re welcome.”
“Shall we tend to the party?”
I smile. “We shall.”
I am at the point in the afternoon where I would usually regret having people over and wish I could be curled up with a book. But watching my friends have fun while we’re finally all together again feels too good.
The guys are off laughing and smiling in the corner drinking lemonade, soda, or water and snacking on the tiny sandwiches Isa made.
Rowan and Natalia are behaving like children, poking and shoving at each other, arguing about who knows what now.
They always look at each other with such intense gazes it frustrates me.
Every time, I’m just waiting for them to kiss or something to get rid of the angst. But I think they secretly get off on it.
When I look away from them, I catch Isabelle staring at Nicolas while he’s laughing, snapping the picture with her new film camera. She’s been our photographer for the evening but her focus has been more stuck on her “secret” childhood crush.
She smiles at him even if he isn’t looking, the setting sun making her glow more than she already is because of his presence, and she takes another photo when he finally looks her way. The look in his eyes softens and that smile he has is just for her.
If it weren’t for Luca being protective over his fraternal twin, I know she’d ask him out—or vice versa. It’s the forbidden, brother’s best friend thing, but you can see it in the way they look at each other when they think no one is looking.
All of the unsaid words being spoken with each glance.
How badly they want to reach out for each other.
Their yearning can be felt from a distance, and it’s enough to remind someone of their own past heartbreaks.
I remember when I used to look at Christian like that, and him me.
The times our eyes would catch when we saw each other around, before we officially met. But even more so after we met.
After we met, all of my sanity was thrown out the window and I wish I was ashamed to admit it. I looked at him all the time, and he looked at me. He saw me.
My eyes float over to Christian who has his annoyingly expensive sunglasses on top of his head and a glass of lemonade in his hand. The bright afternoon sun is shining down on him, and he’s glowing.
Literally and figuratively, glowing.
He looks better—healthier. He’s a better man and it radiates off of him, and I couldn’t be prouder of him. I didn’t think I could love him more, but here I am.
Finally, Natalia gives Rowan one last shove against his chest and he’s watching her walk away with a smirk that says more than words could say. She saunters toward me, seeming somewhere between irritated and completely turned on by him with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
I chuckle as she sits on the chair across from me, taking a sip of my lemonade.
“Stop that,” Natalia grumbles.
I laugh quietly. “I didn’t say a thing.” My eyes flit to Isabelle who is still staring at Nico with heart eyes. “Isabelle!”
She flinches with a loud yelp. “What?” She exhales and sits beside me. “Don’t scare me like that.”
“You’re eye fucking Nico right now,” I whisper-shout. “And Nat! Were you flirting with Rowan?”
Nat scoffs. “No, I was threatening him with castration, why?”
“You’re still on this?” Isabelle groans.
“If you are asking if I still hate him, the answer is yes. Obviously.”