“I… It’s not. I just…”
“I wish you had told me,” he grumbles.
A pang of pain hits me, and I straighten up, fully facing him. “No, it’s not like that. I just… I’ve never celebrated my birthday because buying me presents and cake seemed like too much for my parents and growing up I wanted to do everything to notburden them in any way. Maybe before, when I was very young, it used to feel like a special day to me, but once things started getting rough at home, it just became an ordinary day for me. My mother would wish me and that was it. My dad didn’t really remember. I’d spend my day at school and reading books. There was nothing different for me to think of it as anything but special.”
Heath cups my face. “It is a special day, Rose. Because it isyourday.”
“My day?”
He caresses my cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. “Yes. It belongs to you.”
I’ve never thought of my birthday as anything other than a normal day. I didn’t get presents or blow out a candle to make a wish. Nothing ever happened, and before I knew it, the clock would turn twelve and it was the next day.
“It’s fine, really.” I find myself saying those words.
He stares at me for a long moment. “No, it’s not. This year and every year after, we’re going to celebrate your birthday and you’re going to have an amazing time and get a lot of presents and a big fucking chocolate cake.”
“What are you talking about?” Tears prick the back of my eyes.
“You’re going to have a special day, Rose because you’re special to me.”
I want to look away from him, because the way he gazes at me with such an intense stare makes it hard for my heart to not bleed from pain. It’s like he’s cut open a wound I never knew was there.
Bringing his face closer to me, he aligns our gazes. “I’m going to give you the best birthday present and the most delicious chocolate cake.”
A few tears slip down my cheeks and he gently wipes them away. I sniffle as I say, “You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
I open my mouth to argue with him, that he doesn’t need to give me anything. Having him in my life is enough. It’s the best birthday present for me. But he silences me with a kiss that touches my soul.
Butterflies wake up in my stomach, and the tightness unfurls.
I press my hands against his chest and he groans.
“Get a room, guys!” Marie teases with a giggle.
I quickly break the kiss and push Heath back.
“Make sure to use protection,” Sebastian adds.
“Fuck off,” Heath grits out.
Both of them burst out laughing and I can’t help but smile.
“Don’t listen to them. They’re idiots,” he tells me, wiping away any traces of my tears. “It’ll happen whenever you’re ready.”
I give him a grateful smile and he wraps me up in his arms like I’m the most precious thing to him.
39
HEATH
Dad is back homeafter being gone for a week. It’s late in the evening and Hope, Mom and I are sitting in the kitchen eating casserole. As much as I dislike her, I can’t lie — her cooking is the best. Her food tastes delicious, and I’m always going back for seconds. Now that Kelly is on leave, Mom prepares every meal, and I’m always wandering into the kitchen to see what she’s making — despite my reluctance to keep distance between us.
“You’re back!” Mom brightens up like a sunflower at the sight of him. Abandoning her seat, she rushes over to him and embraces him in a tight hug. And then… they’re kissing.
Hope turns her head as fast as she can and pretends to not hear them, but the flush covering her cheeks says otherwise.
