28. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Drew
“Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Drew. Happy birthday to you.”
He made his wish and blew out the candles on the triple-berry ice cream cake the palace baker made for him every year. His parents and Bri cheered for him.
A palace servant came over and cut slices, handing a plate and fork to each of them.
“I can’t believe you’re twenty-four already.” His mother pulled him in for a side hug as she dabbed at the tears in the corners of her eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” He smiled and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
His father clapped him on the back. “What did you wish for, son?”
Drew’s eyes darted to Bri to find her staring right back at him with a wide grin. Her. I wished for the confidence to tell my best friend that I’m madly in love with her.
He’d been trying to talk to her since their kiss in the woods, but things kept getting in the way. Between official duties, his parents being in the room with them, and now his birthday celebration, he just hadn’t found the right time to talk to Bri. Tonight was the night he hoped to get her alone and finally talk to her with no distractions.
He cleared his throat. “I can’t say because I want this wish to come true.” Drew took a large bite of his ice cream cake, savoring the vanilla ice cream and mixed berry flavors dancing on his tastebuds.
His mother reached beside the couch she sat on and lifted a gift bag into the air, extending it to him. “It’s present time. You can open ours first.”
Drew took the bag from her and pulled out the card from his parents, biting back emotion at the kind words they’d written on the card. Their words of encouragement meant more than all the gifts in the world.
He pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and smirked at the sight of a photobook with a picture of him and Bri on the cover. Drew recognized it immediately as one of the pictures from the engagement photoshoot they’d done. He thumbed through the pages, smiling as he scoured the countless pictures of him and Bri holding each other and pretending to be a real couple.
Drew handed the book to Bri, got up, and hugged his mother and father. “I love it. Thank you.”
His mother squeezed him tight. “I couldn’t stop crying as I selected the pictures to include. You two are the sweetest couple, and I’m glad you finally got together after all these years.”
“We’re happy too.” He shot a closed-lip smile toward Bri, whose cheeks looked flushed.
“My turn.” She hopped up from her seat and grabbed a gift bag from beside her chair, bringing it to him.
He opened the card, and his heartbeat picked up speed as he read the words written to him by his favorite person in the universe.
Drew,
How have we already celebrated seventeen years of birthdays together?!
It feels like just yesterday we were escaping from parties to drink sweet tea in our treehouse or pretending we were superheroes running through the gardens.
No matter what life has thrown our way, I’m so blessed to have had a strong and steady best friend like you by my side through it all.
You’re my person, Drew. I can’t imagine my life without you in it.
Here’s to another year of living life together and celebrating the wonderful human you are.
Love,
Bri
Before he even got to the gift in the bag, Drew pushed up from the couch and wrapped Bri in his arms, rubbing small circles on her back and attempting to steady his breathing to match hers. He didn’t want her to know how affected he was by her words—how much it meant to him that she couldn’t imagine life without him in it. Maybe it meant she wouldn’t leave him high and dry when he shared his feelings with her.
Drew had grown tired of pretending…not pretending they were engaged, but pretending he wasn’t completely, madly in love with Bri.
“I’m so thankful for you,” he whispered into her hair, and he could’ve sworn she shivered.
“The feeling is mutual.”
Drew released his hold on her and sat down, ignoring the look his parents shared. He opened the gift bag and pulled out a large hardcover book.
“A date night for two cookbook.”
“Since you said you love cooking so much, I thought we could try out some new recipes together. I’ll let you take the reins on the actual cooking part, though. We don’t need another carne asada bowl scenario.”
He smiled at her so widely that his cheeks started to ache. “It’s perfect. I can’t wait to cook with you again.”
“There’s one more thing in there.” Bri motioned to the bag.
He peeked into the bag and spotted a rectangular piece of paper at the bottom. Drew reached in and grabbed it, his cheeks sore now as his smile widened even further. It was a handmade coupon that read: Valid for one moonlight hike with Bri.
“You pick the perfect night with clear skies and just tell me when. I’ll bring everything else we need.”
Drew’s eyes were alight with joy and love as he turned to her. “Thank you. You know me so well.”
She returned his smile, and they all finished their cake.
His father was the first to stand. “It’s getting late for us old folks. You two have a good evening.” He walked over and clapped Drew on the shoulder again. “Happy birthday, son.”
His mother walked over, leaning down to press a light kiss to the top of his head. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
“Thanks. Goodnight,” he called out to them as they left the room. Drew turned to Bri. “Are you ready to turn in yet?”
“Me? Are you kidding? I could stay up for hours.”
His grin reappeared. “I’m glad to hear that. There’s one more thing that would make this the best birthday ever.”
“Anything,” Bri said, and he could’ve sworn she glanced down at his lips.
“Will you stargaze with me?”
“I’d love nothing more.” She wrapped her arm through his, and he led them to the observatory. “I thought you said you wanted my family to visit for your birthday so you could hit some four-wheeling trails with Phillip.”
“I’d much rather spend time with my person in my favorite place.”
As they sat under the stars, holding hands, Drew couldn’t get his last kiss with Bri out of his mind. Their practice kiss had happened to prepare them in case they needed to kiss to keep up their ruse. And when Bri had kissed him in front of Clarissa, he’d been able to explain it away as her way of keeping up the charade—even though it had been completely mind-blowing.
But their kiss in the woods…that had been just for them. It hadn’t been about proving their relationship to anyone. It hadn’t been about keeping up a fa?ade. It hadn’t been about anything except a man and a woman sharing a moment with each other.
Until then, he’d been unsure about Bri’s feelings toward him. He’d noticed small things, like her staring at his abs or her gasping at his touch. But it wasn’t until she’d let him kiss her with no one else around that he’d known with certainty she cared about him as more than a friend. She may not be as invested as he was yet, but he was confident there was something there. Tonight, he planned to lay all his cards on the table.
It was finally time to tell his best friend he loved her so much his chest ached when she wasn’t around. His heart beat with the hope of a future with her. But a small part of his brain reminded him she could reject him, and he could lose her forever.
He didn’t know where to begin, so Drew just started talking.
“Do you remember how I told you I had a surprise for you when we got home?”
She shot up to a sitting position, her eyes bright with excitement. “Yes, do I finally get to know what this big surprise is?”
Drew nodded, gently pulling her back down beside him.
He leaned closer to her and pointed up at the night sky above them. “You see that bright star up there? Not the North Star but the one shining to the right of it?”
“Yeah,” she hummed.
“As of a few weeks ago, that star is officially named Brielle.” The guiding light to always lead me home.
She turned to him with her mouth agape. Their faces were so close together that he would only have to lean down a few centimeters to press his lips to hers. But he’d made a promise to himself that he wouldn’t make any further moves until he told her how much he loved her and learned if she felt the same way.
He couldn’t continue to kiss her if she didn’t share the same feelings. He’d already invested too much in this relationship. He’d loved her more than half of his life. If they continued kissing the way they had been, without having discussed their relationship, Drew would never be able to recover. He wasn’t sure he would anyway…but it made sense in his brain.
Now, the second she said this was real for her too…he would never stop kissing her, caring for her, holding her, cherishing her, loving her the way he always wanted to.
Bri’s eyes were wide with surprise. “You got me a gift for your birthday?”
“It’s a gift for me too. Now I can have you with me whenever I look up at the night sky. So even if you aren’t here, you won’t feel far away.”
She closed the distance between them and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You’re the sweetest, most thoughtful man I’ve ever known, Andrew Henry Archibald Whitaker.”
He didn’t want her to think of him as sweet. I want to be attractive and loved. I want to be yours.
Drew hugged her, and she nuzzled her face against his chest. “Thanks. I’m looking forward to finding it in the night sky while we’re out on our moonlight hike. Are you planning on having a telescope set up for us outside?”
She scoffed. “Of course. I’m not an amateur.”
“I’ve taught you well, young Padawan.”
He felt her scrunch up her nose. “You know I don’t understand your Star Wars references.”
“Then maybe we should watch it for our next movie night instead of a rom-com.”
She gasped, flinging a hand to her chest. “I could never cheat on my rom-com movies with Star Wars .”
Drew squeezed her side, and she let out a giggle. “I have a feeling your movies will understand.”
“They wouldn’t,” she cried out between laughs. “I could never betray Matthew McConaughey like that.”
“Why is he in so many rom-coms anyway?”
“Because his looks are, ‘Alright, alright, alright.’”
Drew rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t make—”
Bri held up a hand. “I know. It sounded better in my head.”
“But I don’t mind that your celebrity crushes like him and Rhett Hayes both share something in common with me. Looks like you’ve got a thing for blonds.” He closed his eyes, a satisfied smirk on his lips.
She sputtered. “Who are you, and what did you do with the real Drew?”
“I’ve been right here all along, Bri Bear.”
And, hopefully, after what he had to say tonight, he would be able to stay right by her side for the rest of their lives.