Then, Maeve. She hugs me and kisses both of my cheeks.
"Thirty is a wonderful threshold, my dove. You're letting go of what no longer serves your spirit and stepping into a brighter, truer light."
Her words wrap around me, and I hug her a little tighter. "Thank you, Maeve," I whisper before letting go and finally turning to Callum. He's wearing a dark green sweater, jeans, and brown boots. My stomach flutters as I see his smiling face. The party hat on his head looks way too small, and I can't help but laugh as I walk toward him, still in disbelief.
"I can't believe you did all of this, Callum," I say, choked up.
He shrugs, shifting from foot to foot, a flush darkening his cheeks.
"Not a big deal."
I playfully glare at him. "Stop doing that."
"Doing what?" he frowns.
"Minimizing your impact in my life," I stress. I put my hands on my hips, narrowing my eyes in a glare before a grin melts it away. I reach out to him, and like a magnet, he opens his hands for mine. "You have no idea how much you've changed my life."
"Guess the feeling's mutual," Callum murmurs, making my heart race. He glances at the door, and his grin grows evenwider. "The surprises aren't over yet."
The door chimes, and I turn, my jaw dropping when I see who's stepping inside the store.
Donna and Rich are beaming at me from the door.
"Oh," I breathe, my feet are already moving, rushing over to their open arms and folding into their embrace. The tears fall freely now, wrapped in the arms of the amazing people I thought would one day become my parents. Donna wraps me in her arms while Rich wraps both of us in his strong embrace, still choosing me, still loving me.
"Oh, honey," Donna kisses my temple and then my cheek. "Happy birthday."
"How—why—who—" I stutter, and Rich just squeezes us tighter.
"Callum called us," Rich says, grinning at me. I look at the man Paul took most of his looks from and feel...nothing. Blissful nothing.Well, that's not entirely true. I still feel the usual happiness when I see the O'Connors, but there's no ache, no pain, no gut punch. "Said he was putting together a celebration for our girl."
"I'm so sorry if this is overstepping, but we... well, we justmissedyou so much, and when he called..." Donna says, pulling back to look at my face, and I shake my head at her words.
"No, I'm... I'm so happy to see you guys, I just needed—"
“Time,” Donna nods, a small smile on her face, and she smooths down my hair. "We understand."
When I look over my shoulder at Callum, he’s happily smiling at us, hands tucked casually in the pockets of his jeans. I unfold myself from the O’Connors and rush over to him.
His face lights up like a Christmas tree the closer I get, and he opens his arms just before I leap into them. I wrap my arms around his neck, and he holds me in his big arms, lifting me offthe ground. Burying my face in his neck, I inhale greedily the scent that's become synonymous with safety.
This man. This gentle giant of mine.
There aren't enough words in the English language to explain how absurdly fortunate I am that the stars decided to alignjust sofor me to step into this bookstore on what was, objectively, the worst day of my life.
Callum Rhodes has completely changed my life, not with grand gestures, but with his gentle smile and steady presence. He stayed, he listened, he cared. His support let me find my own way, while he held the light so I could see ahead.
"Thank you," I whisper, and he squeezes me once as his mouth moves to my ear.
"Anything for you."
???
"... happy birthday to you!"
"Make a wish!" Bailey's bubbly voice says from next to me. Like instinct, seek out Callum's eyes. He's already looking at me, his grin boyish and sweet, the one that makes my knees feel like jello.
I close my eyes—and I wish.
