Page 245 of A Song for You

With my heart in my throat, I stare at the clock on my phone, silently begging her brothers to show. I asked them to arrive thirty minutes early so I could talk to them before Cat got here. But the party starts in five minutes, and none of them have shown.

They’re not my biggest fans, and I can handle that, but Cat has always been there for them. To not show up for her birthday is low. When Cat walks in with Chloe and Cynthia, I paint on a smile, refusing to allow her brothers to steal any more of my thoughts.

Chloe darts toward me and throws her arms around my waist. “Happy birthday, Daddy,” she says, looking up at me with wide eyes and her lip caught between her teeth. She’s never called me Dad before. At least not to my face.

My heart squeezes, making it impossible to breathe as I get lost in a pair of blue eyes that match my own. I kneel so I’m eye level with Chloe and band my arms around her. “Best birthday ever,” I whisper into her hair.

She squeezes tighter, and when she lets go, we both wipe at our eyes.

Cat gives me a knowing smile, then steps closer and pulls us both in. For a minute, the three of us just hold one another.

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Cynthia murmurs when I let go of my girls and kiss her hello.

“Wouldn’t have been possible if not for you,” I say, a gravel to my voice.

She frowns and shakes her head. “They’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“Me too.”

“Her brothers?” Cynthia says in a low tone, her lips barely moving.

Shoulders slumping, I meet her gaze.

That’s all the answer she needs. She sighs and reaches for Chloe. “Come on, Bug. Let’s go pick a seat.”

Cat and I greet our guests one by one as they come in.

Garreth surprises us with an actual smile when we tell him he’s going to meet his niece tonight and that we actually tied the knot. “Fuck, I’m happy for you,” he says, clapping me on the back.

Hayden tugs Cat to his chest. “Welcome to the family, sis. Try keeping this guy smiling. He’s been much easier to block on the ice since you came back into the picture.”

Cat’s eyes light up as she looks past him to me, but I don’t miss the way they dart to the door when I hold out my hand to lead her into the party. “I’m guessing you didn’t invite my brothers,” she murmurs as we walk into the dining room.

Cracking my neck, I lie to my wife for the first time. “Sorry, wife. I should have thought of that. We’ll plan something with them soon, I promise.”

She squeezes my hand and leans her head against my shoulder. “Probably better you didn’t. They might not have shown anyway, and that would have been worse.”

Pausing at the door before we enter and determined to put a smile on her face, I tug her against me. “Hey, Kitten, can I show you something?”

Before me, she takes a deep breath, her chest heaving, and closes her eyes, resetting herself and letting go of the things she can’t change. For now, at least. “Yeah, please.”

I slide my fingers against her left hand, over the yellow diamond on her ring finger. “I know we can’t announce to the world that we’re married, and I would give anything to see a wedding band along with this ring⁠—”

Cat squeezes my hand and shakes her head, but I continue.

“And it kills me that I can’t wear a wedding band either. I want the world to know that I’m yours.” I flip my left hand over and show her the inside of my ring finger and the new C tattoo there.

A small gasp slips past her red pout, lifting my spirits a little.

“But for the rest of my life, Catherine, I’m yours and you’re mine.”

She lifts my hand up and pulls it closer to her, studying it. Then her brown eyes meet mine. “I want one.”

I chuckle. “Yeah?”

She smiles. “Yeah. After dinner. Please. I want your name on my body, Jay. We may not be able to tell the world, but I’ve been yours since we first met, and I want the proof of that etched on my skin, the same way you’re tattooed on my heart. You and Chlo are the only family I need.”

“Fuck, I love you.” I pull her into me and press my lips to hers.