“Oh, honey. He’s hooked. Everyone can see that.”
He smiled at her, and she crooked her finger. He was the person she needed to thank. Whether he hung decorations, baked a cake, or not, he set the ball in motion, and without that there would be no party.
She cut off a large bite of her cake and looked up at him. “Open wide.”
She shoved the bite into his mouth. He moaned. “So good. Poppy’s cake, I assume.”
“Well, you know it’s not something I made.” Barbie laughed and crossed the room to her husband, her laughter trailing after her.
“Thank you for my party,” Ava said.
He hesitated before speaking. “I hope it’s okay.”
“More than okay. It’s everything I dreamed of as a child.”
A broad smile lit his face, and she could hardly keep from throwing herself into his arms.
“I wanted to surprise you,” he said. “I waited for you to tell me it was your birthday.”
“But I didn’t,” she said as she’d gotten used to that as a kid. If no one knew, there was no way they could disappoint her.
“No, you didn’t.” He worked the muscles in his jaw. “And I didn’t want to do something wrong, so I asked you about parties when you were little. I knew when you told me no one ever threw you a party so you don’t celebrate the day that I had to do something. I figured you deserved to be celebrated, and everyone here agreed with me.”
“I will never forget it.” She let the warmth in the room envelope her and the caring beaming from this man topped it all off. “And it’s even more special that Tristin can stand now.”
“Yeah, man, wow.” His smile widened. “A great surprise. I’m so relieved. God heard our prayers. Doesn’t mean I still won’t need to help her and Charlotte, but not nearly as much once she’s walking again.”
She squeezed his arm. “You’re the best brother.”
“I’m getting there. Relaxing my protective instincts. Not hovering over her so much. Sure, I worry at times, but I’m trying to remember to let God take over, not me.”
“Well, I’m glad you took over my birthday.” She smiled at him. “Your grand gesture is greatly appreciated.”
“I need to—privacy. We need privacy. C’mon.” He set down her cake, grabbed her hand, and led her out onto the porch, swatting away cobwebs running from the large swing to the ceiling before he took both of her hands and faced her. “You deserve grand gestures and so much more. I love you, Ava. I know it’s quick, but when you know, you know.”
“I get it.” She stroked the side of his face. “I love you too.”
He reached up for her hand. “You better stop that if you don’t want a PDA to be the highlight of your birthday party.”
“I’m fine with that.” She raised her arms up to his neck and stood on tiptoes to kiss him.
Her turn to take charge and let him know how much she loved him. Kissing him hard. Pulling him tight against her. Deepening the kiss. Reveling in thoughts of kissing him for the rest of her life. Forever. With her foster care background, the word forever didn’t exist.
She leaned back. “You realize what you’ve done, don’t you?”
He watched her, his gaze probing. “Something other than throwing a party?”
She nodded. “Three times now, you’ve battled through cobwebs for me. Twice when we were running from Wiggins and just now. Facing spiders for me. That’s got to mean something, right?”
He frowned for a second, looking warily at the web. “I didn’t even notice. But, yeah, it probably means a whole lot. Guess there are more important things in my life now than my fear of spiders.”
“With my aversion to dirt and grime and your dislike of spiders, we are the most unlikely pair to have met in a wilderness survival group.” She traced the side of his face under a bright beam of sun shining on him.
“But we did, and I hope we’ll discover we’re even more compatible and build a lifelong relationship.”
She liked the sound of that. A promise of a future proposal, if they continued to enjoy being together after they discovered more about each other.
She smiled up at him. “I promise you this. I will do my very best to protect you from spiders to infinity and beyond.”
