“So do shopping sprees and birthday parties.”
He sighs but drops my wrist, using the hand to tuck hair behind my ear. The back of one finger grazes the earrings he got me, his eyes lighting up when he sees them, the way they always do.
“She’s my kid, Hallie. My responsibility.”
For a brief moment, I think about brushing it off, about playing it safe. But lately, I’m not feeling like playing it safe is actually the right choice anymore or even what I want.
“The goal is for her to be mine, too, right?” I ask low, and his breath stops. It might be wrong to use this against him, so I can help pay for Emma’s party, but I don’t feel bad about it.Especially not when it feels like the truth. In fact, if I’m being honest, it very much feels like Emma isalreadymine.
“You’re a pain, you know that?” he murmurs, then leans down to give me a soft kiss before resting his forehead on mine. “Does that mean you’re ready to admit you fit here with us perfectly?”
My pulse pounds, and I tell myself it’s the proximity, his voice, his touch, but I know it’s what he’s saying, how he’s saying it—the confidence in his words.
I part my lips, second-guessing and old worries flooding me, but Jesse just smiles and presses his lips to mine again.
“I’ll wait.”
Before I can respond, a familiar voice calls out from upstairs, and he steps away.
“Hello?” Wren moves down the stairs, coming into sight just as Jesse turns to start unpacking the helium tank. “Hey party people!” In her arms is another giant box, and behind her, Adam has another with two bags over his shoulder.
Jesse looks at me with a glare, and I just laugh before we all get to work.
“Can you believe Kim messaged me?” Wren asks hours later, her fork moving through the frosting on a piece of leftover cake.
The party is well underway, with every inch of the basement decorated and individual sleep stations with blow-up mattresses and canopies for each girl. With the help of Nat, who came around five, we created a spa night for the girls with facials, mani-pedis, and clip-in colored extensions. When I headed upstairs an hour ago, the girls were settling in for a movie on the projector screen Mr. King set up.
My entire body stills as I turn to her.
“Kim, as in Emma’s bitch of a mom?” Nat asks, and Wren nods, her brown curls bouncing with each movement.
“No fucking way,” I whisper in utter disbelief.
“Yes! I posted a story last night about the banner I made, and she replied, telling me to give Emma a big hug and a kiss and saying she’s so bummed she can’t make it. As if she isn’t the entire reason we’re scrambling to do this as it is.”
My eyes travel across the room to the living room, where Madden, Jesse, and Adam are chatting, but I don’t miss the fact that when I catch him, his eyes are already on me. He winks at me, tipping his beer in my direction, and I roll my eyes.
“I didn’t even know she followed you,” Nat says.
“I didn’t either, but I think sometime last month she must have. I don’t really pay attention, so I’m not sure.”
“I hate her,” I say under my breath.
“You and me both,” Wren says. Then she gets a text and stands, waving her phone. “Oh my god, it’s time!”
I stand and squeal, the excitement building in my chest and washing out the irritation. The guys laugh but stand, and we all move downstairs. When there, Wren and Adam move to the computer attached to the projector while I stand in front of the screen, facing the girls. Jesse stands near the stairs with his phone out, fixed on Emma.
“Okay, so we have one last surprise for the night, a gift from your Aunt Wren,” I say with a broad smile, knowing this is going to lock in this being the most epic birthday party ever.
We arenevergoing to beat this party, that’s for sure, though I’ll have fun trying.
“So Adam managed to pull some strings and called up a friend,” Wren starts, moving to stand beside me. A grin takes over her face as Emma gasps, her eyes going as wide as plates.The girls around her look at each other, confused, but Wren continues. “And when he told her?—”
“NO WAY,” Emma calls out before she can continue, and Wren laughs.
“When he told her that we had a birthday girl in the house, she wanted to call up and say hi.”
“No way!No way, no way, no way!” Emma says, standing now. Her friends continue to look lost, though they’re smiling now. But when the projector screen flashes to a video of Willa Stone backstage at her concert, they all start screaming.
