Taevin opens her eyes and turns to me. “And then can we have recording booth sexy time again?”
I nod before pulling her into my lap. “Literally anytime you want,” I tell her and then kiss her senseless.
I get so lost in the kiss, I almost forget the last present she needs to open. Pulling back, I grab the small box from behind her and place it in her hands.
“What’s this?” she asks, opening the box. “Oh my gosh, I loved this picture.” Tae holds up a keychain with a photobooth picture of the two of us from the fair when she first performed and the words “drive safe, I love you” beneath the photo.
“I think you’re gonna love what the key attached to the chain is for more.” Standing from my barstool, I grab hold of her around her waist and carry her out the front door where a matte black Mercedes G-Wagon sits in the driveway with a large red bow.
“Jackson! No! You did not need to get me a vehicle!” she squeals, while contradicting her words as she leaps out of my arms and runs to the front of the SUV and lays her arms on the hood like she’s giving it a big hug.
“I couldn’t help it. I wanted you to have something safe to drive in the snow, and the dealership was just taking this beauty off the semi truck. Couldn’t let her go home to someone else.”
“Can I name her?” she asks, clapping her hands together in excitement.
Nodding my head, I chuckle at her reaction. “You must.”
“Gigi,” she responds without hesitation.
“Do you wanna take Gigi for a spin?” I ask her, taking the actual key fob out of my sweatpants pocket and tossing it to her.
“Oh my gosh, yes! Let me get some clothes and shoes on and we’ll go.” She rushes past me into the house, a giddy squeal leaving her as she does the most adorable dance-celebration I’ve ever seen.
I’m praying some of the excitement from the gifts, along with the surprise I still have in store for her, will distract her from the emotional morning she’s already had. My girl deserves to havethe best birthday possible, and I’m making it my mission to give it to her.
Minutes later, I’m rounding the vehicle to the passenger side, when I turn and tell her, “I just realized this will be the first time I ride in a car with you driving since you’ve had your license.”
She guffaws, pausing outside the driver side. “You sat in the passenger seat plenty of times while giving me lessons.”
A cocky smirk spreads across my face. “Yeah, but you weren’t a licensed driver at the time.” I get in while she does the same, both of us fastening our seat belts before I place my hand on her thigh and give it a gentle squeeze. “I promise I’ll be on my best passenger princess behavior.”
Tae presses down on the ignition and runs her hands over the steering wheel enthusiastically. “You might want to keep your hands to yourself if you don’t want me to crash. I need to focus. I’m not sure if I told you this or not yet, but when I was in Nashville, I didn’t drive much, if ever.”
As she puts Gigi in drive and begins down the gravel driveway, I take my hand off her thigh and turn to face her. “Are you sure you’re still up to having the girls over here for bookclub? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind at all if you wanted to move it back to Scar and Benny’s house.”
Tae looks both ways before turning out of the driveway. “No, it’s fine. The kids will all be at Scar’s house with Gemma and her friend.” She pauses, chancing a quick glance at me with a sexy little smirk spread across her lips. “I think considering the books we read aren’t exactly kid-friendly, we should probably keep it at our place.”
“Have I ever told you how much I love that you read smut?” I ask, waggling my brows to try to get a laugh out of her. It seems to do the trick, thank god, because I don’t think I could leave her for practice without seeing her smile and hearing her laughter at least a few more times.
“Only about every time you benefit from me reading a spicy scene,” she quips.
Looking at the time on her vehicle’s display, I toss my head back against the headrest and grumble, “As much as I’d love to stay with you all day, I unfortunately need to get to practice. We’d better head back.”
“No problem,” Tae says, turning on her blinker before she whips the car around in the direction we’d come.
She’s silent for a few minutes, seemingly lost in thought as she bites her bottom lip. Once she parks, she looks over and gives me a soft smile. “Thank you for making this the best birthday morning. Despite the emotional start, it really has been better than all of the past ten birthdays combined.”
Hope flares in my chest that her words are sincere and I can try to erase some of the pain she felt earlier today. I know that’s not likely—that I can’t just eradicate the fact that she’s losing her hair—but it doesn’t stop me from wishing it all the same.
I smile back at her. “I haven’t even given you the surprise I’m most excited about yet,” I admit.
Tae leans over the center console and brings me in for a kiss that’s over far too soon. “I love you. Have a good practice and then get your sweet ass home so I can thank you in kind for all of the birthday love you’ve showered upon me.”
Regret and guilt churn in my stomach, making a destructive concoction that has me itching to call Coach to tell him I won’t be at practice today. Even knowing I can’t afford to do that on one of her “good” days, I still consider calling Scarlett to see if she’d make an exception considering the circumstances.
Minutes later, it takes everything in me to pull out of the garage and make my way to the practice facility.
I thumb a beat on my steering wheel even though there’s no music playing. Narrowing my eyes at the road deep in thought,I consider my options a moment before pressing call on my sister’s contact.
