“We both know you love it. Now, shower!” he bossed with a smack on my ass which had me skedaddling toward the bathroom.
An hour later, with a chip on my shoulder and a chocolate bar in my hand, I climbed into Cole’s truck, and we headed to the B&B.
“Hey, I was thinking …” Cole started, and my stomach lurched.
I’d been around long enough to know nothing good usually followed.
“Yeah?” I choked out.
“How long did Gabriella say they needed you?”
“An hour or two. Why?”
“Well, since it’s your birthday, when you’re finished doing whatever you need to do, why don’t we go out for dinner? We can grab a steak at the Dusty Boots or something.”
“And pie?”
“If I throw in pie will you say yes?” Cole challenged, taking my hand and enveloping it with his.
“Throw in pie and a dance, and you’ve got yourself a date,” I confirmed with a smile. Maybe this day wasn’t going to be the complete shit show I’d been dreading.
By the time we were pulling into Sweet Dreams B&B I was feeling a bit lighter. “Holy hell,” I commented, noticing all the cars parked everywhere. No wonder they needed extra hands.
“This is different,” Cole commented as he found a spot under a tree and parked.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” I mumbled as I unbuckled my belt and slipped out of the truck, grabbing my purse and slinging it over my shoulder.
“I don’t think they were either,” Cole offered, taking my hand. “Let’s go give them a hand.”
Cole led me up the stairs and when I called out, Georgia’s voice echoed. For that many cars, it was strangely silent.
“We’re out the back on the porch,” Georgia called out.
“Okay,” I replied, leading Cole through the kitchen which looked like a tornado had torn through it. If I thought yesterday was a disaster, then today was nuclear.
Cole dropped my hand as I rounded the corner and stepped through the wide-open French doors.
“Surprise!”
Chapter twenty-two
Cole
Holy fuck! Half the town was here!
Grace reached behind her and took my hand. “Did you know?” she hissed as her sisters wove through the crowd toward her, both smiling happily.
“Not a clue,” I assured her.
Gabriella and Georgia got within reach before squeezing Grace in the center of a hug. I dropped my hold on her and let her enjoy the moment.
When they broke apart, everyone cheered before breaking out into an awful rendition of Happy Birthday. I was beginning to see Grace’s point of view of the outside world staying outsidewhen someone appeared carrying what looked to be a giant stack of brownies with sparklers sparkling in the top.
The singing ended. The brownies were placed on a table in front of Grace, and everyone was staring.
“You need to say something,” Gabriella whispered.
“Um …” Grace had been caught off-guard, and I wasn’t entirely convinced she liked being the center of attention. “Well, let’s just say this is a surprise,” Grace started, her cheeks bright red.
