This time, I make my wish.
And then, I blow out the three flames.
“Let’s have a piece,” I say.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Liam
“I can’t believe you did this on the sly,” Haley says as she digs into her second piece of cake.
The champagne seems to have relaxed her guard a bit. She’s inched closer to me on the couch. Our legs are touching, and I’m having a hell of a time stopping myself from tangling my fingers in her soft blond hair and kissing the shit out of her.
To stop myself, I reach for the bottle of champagne and refill our glasses yet again.
I don’t even like champagne normally, and it’s actually giving me a buzz.
Haley too, apparently, because she starts rambling about her sister and how she asked her for money for her “ex who should remain an ex but my sister didn’t get the memo.”
“I respect that you’re a private person,” I say. “I don’t want to pry. But what is the relationship like between you and your sister?”
“I give her too much,” she says immediately.
“Too much what?”
“Everything. Too much of my paycheck. Too much of my time. Too much of my heart. She jokes that she’s a charity case, but it’s like a persona she uses to get what she wants. I’ve worked to get to a decent place around it all, but when I’m in a vulnerable place, it still hurts me for some reason. I feel selfish complaining when I’m so blessed. I love my work, I love where I live, and I’m generally a happy person. Debbie’s always wanted what I have, but she also likes to be diametrically opposed to me. If I said I like the color pink, she would instantly make fun of me and say why she hates pink.”
“She sounds like a treat.”
Haley laughs. Her laugh is musical and deep. “She’s not a bad person. But my parents never learned how to tell her no. So she doesn’t accept that word very well. And the thing is, after my parents’ divorce, I started to feel distant from Debbie. She shut down emotionally, but she acts like that’s not the case. Feeling so much negativity in our relationship is also what led me to look for my birth parents. I wondered if I have siblings.”
“That could be interesting to find out about,” I say.
Her face is pink from the alcohol, and she pats at her cheeks with her free hand.
She starts giggling. “Champagne always goes straight to my head.”
“Mine too apparently.”
Her mouth is so close to mine.
I turn to stare at the cake on my plate. “This is pretty good. Do you like chocolate? I took a guess.”
“Love it. This cake is divine, Liam. However did you do all of this without me knowing?”
“When I booked the room, I requested it. The clerk brought it in right before we checked in, and he showed it to me when he and I were in the kitchen.”
She reaches over and unexpectedly cups my cheek. Her palm is hot to the touch, and I lean into her hand.
“Thank you so much.”
“No problem.” I shift to face her.
Her blue eyes are full of pain.
“I had such a shitty start to this day, but this is such a sweet ending. Life really has a mind of its own, doesn’t it?”
“Sure does. We can’t really plan for anything.”
