Whichshouldmake me happy—but instead it hits me sideways: even now, in all this chaos, he’s still trying. Still showing up. Still caring. And somehow, that’s almost enough to make the rest of it bearable.
But still… I can’t help but give him some lip.
Elijah steps up beside me and hands over a plate. “We’re actually celebrating Noah’s birthday.”
I raise an eyebrow, glancing at the clock. “At eight o’clock in the morning?” I mutter, opening the fridge to grab the orange juice.
“It’s nine-thirty. And, sure. Why not?” Gabriel grins, lighting the candles in front of a very sleepy-looking Noah.
I hold up my fingers and begin counting. “Well, for one, he barely looks awake. Two, I didn’t even know it was his birthday. Three, where the hell did you find a cake at this hour? Four?—”
“Are you finished?” Gabriel cuts in, taking his spot beside Noah.
“I can keep going,” I warn. “Five—who bakes at dawn? Six—why is there pink frosting?”
“It was in the freezer,” Elijah mutters.
Gabriel points a knife at me. “It’sfuchsia, not pink.”
Noah yawns into his sleeve. “Can I blow out the candles before you two start a frosting war?”
The chime from the elevator cuts into our bickering, sharp and sudden. A moment later, Ana and Emilee come bouncing into the apartment, all caffeine and chaos.
“What are we celebrating?” Ana chirps, taking a sip of her latte.
Elijah walks over, plants a kiss on her head, and tosses a wink toward Emilee. “Papi’s moving back in… with Noah.”
I jerk my head around. “What? Didn’t you say we’re celebrating Noah’s birthday?”
Emilee tilts her head, confused. “It’s your birthday?” she asks, stepping toward Noah.
Noah grins, a little sheepish. “Apparently it is—Gabriel decided today’s my birthday.”
“Papi always has the best ideas!” Ana laughs, setting her coffee down. Then she freezes, eyes widening as she glances between them. “Wait—did you just say PapiandNoah aremoving in? As in… we’re addinganothergay to the Garcia family?”
“That’s right,” Elijah says, grinning like he just won a prize.
Emilee looks over at me and smiles.
I shove my hands into my pockets.
Surprisingly, Gabriel has nothing to say.
But… of course, Ana shatters the silence, smirk firmly in place. “Huh. Well,thatwasn’t what I was expecting.Never thought this family could get any gayer—but look at us now.” She sashays over to Noah and plants a kiss on his cheek. “Welcome to the family, Noah.”
“Thanks,” he says quietly, then turns and blows out the candles.
“Alrighty, then.” Ana claps as she moves down the hallway. “Gotta make this quick—Em and I have a ton of homework. But we’ll be back on Sunday for gay Monopoly.”
Noah finally shakes off his sleepy haze. “GayMonopoly?”
“We play every Sunday,” Ana calls out from her bedroom. “Papi decorated the board—rainbow real estate—and wait until you see it!” She returns, tossing Emilee a duffel bag. “He even drew some seriously hot men in the jail cell. Honestly, I’ve never seen someone so excited to ‘go directly to jail.’” She beams and rises on her tiptoes to kiss Gabriel’s blushing cheek.
“Is that so?” I raise an eyebrow, deciding to join in on the fun. “Looks like everything just got a whole lot gayer around here.”
Gabriel drops his head with a groan.
“I’ll bring the glitter,” Noah chuckles, tugging at his sleeve.
