Chapter 93

Kayla

“Happy birthday, Kayla.”

The moment those words left Nicholas’s lips, I thought I must be dreaming. Had he really not forgotten after all? Was all of this—the announcement, the decorations, the feast—really just for me?

“But the engagement party—”

“Was an excellent cover to keep you from doing your usual snooping around,” Nicholas finished for me, looping an arm around my waist and guiding me through the parting throng of astonished guests. We veered toward the enormous cake that was now sitting in the center of the room. “Although, you still tried to snoop, didn’t you?”

I swallowed hard, unsure what to say. Across the room, I could make out Jade and Emma smirking at me, their arms folded across their chests. They knew. They all knew.

But it didn’t make any sense.

“The meeting with the wedding planner,” I said, glancing up at Nicholas. “Why make me go with you if it was all fake?”

Nicholas’s eyes glimmered with mischief, a look that I was beginning to know all too well. “Like I said, I knew you would poke your little nose around.” He tapped the tip of my nose with one finger, making me swat his hand away in annoyance. “So I figured if you thought we were throwing an engagement party, you might not think that it was actually your birthday party that I was planning.”

My lips parted, but no words came. Only an incredulous little squeak escaped my throat as Nicholas steered me to the left and stopped me right in front of the cake, which was so enormous that it was practically towering over my head. The entire surface was piped with rich caramel-colored frosting, intricate swirls climbing up the multiple tiers.

“So you had me pick out all those decorations with no intention of using them,” I mused.

Nicholas nodded. “You didn’t exactly hide your ire that day,” he said with a chuckle. “Even the poor wedding planner thought you were pissed at her when I went to talk to her after. But while you were seething in the diner booth with a veritable black storm cloud hanging over your head, I had her order all of these.” He gestured to the decorations around us, which really were lovely.

Before I could answer, he took my hand. “Come taste the cake. I had your favorite flavor made.”

My legs were too numb to resist as Nicholas gently pulled me toward the cake. With a roguish smirk, he swiped his finger through one of the swirls of frosting and held it out to me.

The nearby onlookers, especially the she-wolves, practically swooned as Nicholas leaned in and murmured, “Taste it.”

The gruff, gravelling sound of his voice had my knees practically quaking beneath my dress. I hesitated, but when he didn’t pull away, I realized that this was my punishment: to thoroughly embarrass myself for pouting like a spoiled little brat all week by licking frosting off his finger.

And I did just that. I leaned forward, darting my tongue out to taste the frosting coating the tip of his finger. His skin was warm and rough, but beyond that, the flavor—

“Peanut butter,” I breathed, placing my hand over my lips as I savored the taste. “You did get my favorite.”

Nicholas looked utterly pleased as he wiped his hand on a napkin and reached for the cake knife. “Chocolate on the inside.” He pulled me closer with his arm around my waist, and together, we slipped the knife into the cake.

Sure enough, the inside of the cake was multiple layers of chocolate with deep red cherry jam sandwiched between. It looked like a rich, decadent heaven. And it was; Nicholas fed me a bite, and I couldn’t help but moan in ecstasy as I tasted it.

“How did you know?” I murmured, feeling my cheeks tinge pink under the watchful eyes of the onlookers.

Wordlessly, Nicholas jerked his head to the right. I followed his gaze, only to see Ava and Henry standing nearby. Henry was grinning from ear to ear, and Ava was wringing her hands, tears of happiness shining in her eyes.

“Ask them,” was all Nicholas said before taking a bite of the cake himself.

I slipped away and hurried over to Henry and Ava. Ava wrapped me in a lasting hug before pulling back just enough to look at me, her hands clasped on my shoulders. “You look beautiful. Happy birthday, sweetheart. Here.” She pulled a small box out of her pocket, and I opened it to see a delicate pair of silver earrings nestled inside. I grinned and kissed her on both cheeks, too choked up to speak.

It had been years since I’d had a proper birthday. Ava and Henry always did their best to celebrate at home, just the three of us; Ava would always bake me a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting, and I always cherished it.

But as for a party… I hadn’t had one since my father had gone into his coma. And even before that, my birthday parties never felt… whole without my mother there.

Henry took a deep breath. “He came to us while you were staying with us last weekend, you know,” he said, his voice low. “Practically begged us to help him.”

Ava nodded. “He said he wanted your party to be perfect,” she added with a gentle smile. “I told him it didn’t need to be much, that you’ve always been happy with a nice dinner and your favorite cake, but he said he wanted you to feel like a princess.”

Their confession made my breath hitch slightly. I turned to see Nicholas standing with Marcus, Jade, and Emma, the three of them eating cake and laughing. He really had gone to all this trouble… just for me.

I did feel like a princess. A spoiled rotten princess who had done nothing but give Nicholas grief these past days.

Suddenly, Ava pulled me in for another hug. This time, she whispered in my ear, “Don’t close yourself off to him, Kayla. I know you feel like you have to protect yourself, but… he cares for you more than he’ll admit. Let him into your heart.”

My eyes widened a little. When Ava pulled back again, her gaze was sure and steady, and she gave my shoulders one last squeeze before she and Henry slipped off into the crowd.

As I stood there, staring at Nicholas, Ava’s words echoed in my mind.

Let him into your heart.

I feared I already had.

Once I was composed enough to speak, I grabbed a slice of cake and made my way over to the others, joining in on their conversation. Nicholas didn’t say much in particular to me, although I couldn’t help but notice the subtle brush of his shoulder against mine, the way those amber eyes occasionally flicked over to me whenever he said something funny, as if checking to see if I would laugh.

And I did laugh. Wholly, heartily, and with my entire chest.

But then, suddenly, everything shifted.

The doors creaked open, and a figure hobbled into the room. The crowd parted to reveal a man limping slightly, carrying a small wrapped gift.

Nicholas dropped his plate, sending porcelain and cake across the floor.

“Noah,” he breathed.

Noah grinned as he walked up to us. He stopped in front of me and held out the gift, his slender fingers trembling ever so slightly. Although with nerves or weakness, I couldn’t tell. But it didn’t matter.

“I heard congratulations are in order,” Noah said, his eyes meeting mine. “Happy birthday, Kayla.”