23. The Hottest Bitch #2
Her gaze turned back to the three of us, and she set her drink down. “What’s wrong with the birthday girl?”
“She’s grumpy because her boyfriend was late,” Ember replied without missing a beat.
Payton’s nose scrunched up as she looked across the bar where Todd now stood, talking to some guy he worked with, a smile on his face as if he wasn’t two hours late for my party. As if he didn’t even care—maybe he didn’t.
“Why are you still dating that tool, anyway? Fuck’s sake. I’ve used dummies in school that had more personality and potential than that asshole. Can I find you someone else yet? I’m quite the matchmaker, you know.” Her eyebrows did that goofy waggle as she bit her bottom lip.
“Payton, you aren’t a matchmaker. Leave the birthday girl alone,” a deep voice said from behind her.
His eyes met mine, and I swallowed down another mouthful of water. As if the water would somehow cool all the thoughts rampaging through my mind as I took him in.
He’d trimmed his beard tonight, and his hair was a little shorter, too. Which meant he’d done it today, because it was definitely longer yesterday.
Had he cleaned up for my party?
A deep blue button-up with dark jeans decorated his tall form tonight, the sleeves rolled up to show off his forearms. The damn veins in his hands had my mind going feral in a way that wasn’t safe in public like this.
“Having fun, birthday girl?” he asked, cutting my thoughts short. My eyes jumped back up to his, because of course, in my perusal, they’d fallen lower than was acceptable in public.
“Oh yeah, totally.” One day I’d speak to him and not sound like a pre-teen talking to her first crush. One day. Not today. But one day.
He smiled then, and I could feel everyone’s eyes watching us intently. Too intently. But thankfully, he broke the moment before anyone could voice their observations. He handed me what was clearly a birthday bag. The pink sparkles matched my dress almost perfectly.
“I got you something.”
Payton’s eyes widened. “Okay girls, we’ll let you open that. See you soon, Ivy!” She grabbed Ember and Aspen’s hands, dragging them back to our table and leaving Oliver and I alone at the bar.
“Can I sit?” He gestured to the chair that Payton had abandoned in her haste to leave me alone with her brother.
“Of course.” I pulled the tissue paper out of the top of the bag, trying my best not to look at him again. Those blue eyes of his could talk me into horrid things in the middle of this bar. “You didn’t have to get me anything, you know.”
“I know. But I wanted to.” He said it so matter of factly that I didn’t argue the point any longer. Picking up the tissue paper, he crumbled it up and tossed it in the trashcan behind the bar. A perfect throw from a perfect—nope. Open the gift, Ivy.
“One of the gifts isn’t in the bag. It was a bit big, so I just put the picture of it instead. It’s out in my truck,” he explained.
I pulled out a small box first, as I flipped it over and read the front.
“It’s a small ring light. I figured it would be convenient for when you’re on the go and want to do photos for your page. It’ll fit in your tote bag.”
I reminded myself not to bite my lip—it would ruin my lipstick—and find some other way to suck back the emotions I was feeling. The next gift was a sweatshirt that said, ‘I brought my emotional support Kindle for this’. Then there was an envelope.
Fuck me, what was in the envelope?
He was quiet, giving me absolutely nothing as I undid the flap and pulled out a piece of paper with a photo of a set of backdrops.
“Is this…?” I whispered, the question getting stuck in my throat.
“They’re backdrops for the flat-lays when you want to do them.
There’s a couple different wood stains, marble colors, and then solid colors as well.
I know you’re always trying to find the best background, so this would help.
I also threw in two gift cards. One is for a local antique store.
She has a ton of small clutter items that would work with what you post, and the other card is just a Visa card.
You can spend it anywhere on whatever else you may want to snag. ”
So many things clicked in my head at once. “You looked at my page?”
He shrugged as if it wasn’t easily one of the best gifts I’d gotten ever.
“You researched for this gift, Oliver.”
“It wasn’t a big deal.”
“Did you know a lot about the online book community? Prior to this gift.”
He watched me, his eyes giving away nothing as he shrugged again.
I slid the gifts back into the bag and set it on the counter before I stood from my chair and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a tight hug as I breathed through a heap of emotions I wasn’t prepared for.
With an elbow on the bar, he slid his other arm around my back and hugged me back just as tightly.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as the scent of cedar wood and cinnamon engulfed me. Everything that was just Oliver.
“Always, baby doll.” The words came out as a whisper, and later, when questioned about it, I’d swear I imagined the nickname.