Page 57 of Dandelions and Smoke

“Ding, ding, ding.” She twirls her finger in the air. “So proud of you. Now all that’s left is for you to discover the gift I left you for sending this one to retrieve my keys two months ago.”

Billy blanches. “Wait, what?”

Rory’s chin dips, and her brow lifts up and down, giving her a devious look.

“Oh, come on.” Billy’s hand covers his face while we all laugh.

I give Rory a wink, and she smiles, her cheeks gaining a pinkish hue.

“Ah, I almost forgot, your birthday is coming up!” Rory gasps as if this information is leaping out at her from somewhere in her mind.

I audibly groan, causing everyone to laugh.

“What’s the matter, old man?” Levi drawls with a smirk. “You afraid of the big three-five?”

“Those are some bold words coming from someone turning thirty this year,” I fire back playfully, tossing a crumpled-up napkin at him as he sits down.

“Okay, mom and dad. Stop fighting,” Billy mocks gently.

“Just to clarify.” Rory points her finger between Levi and me. “Who’s the daddy?”

“I am,” Levi and I say confidently in unison.

“What?” I ask, bewildered, brows pinching together.

“You think you’re ‘dad’?” Levi scoffs.

“You’re definitely ‘mom’,” I explain plainly, not seeing why I wouldn’t be.

“How am I ‘mom’?” Levi’s brow lifts, and he smirks, probably knowing what I’m only figuring out now.

Between the ruthless way he runs his crew and the fact that he’s a sarcastic asshole most of the time, he definitely doesn’t fit society’s traditional ideology of motherhood.

“Shit,” I grumble.

“Exactly.” Levi grins smugly.

“See what you’ve done?” Billy mutters to Rory, who shrugs with a satisfied grin.

Tris shakes her head, catching most of the conversation as she drops off their sandwiches and takes her place beside Levi.

“Anyways, I’ve decided I’m throwing you a surprise birthday party!” she exclaims, her head bobbing sharply with the last three words, throwing her hands up and nearly knocking over her vanilla chai… not to be mistaken for vanilla chai tea, because apparently that’s ‘basically saying vanilla tea tea.”

I glance at the others to see if they’re as confused as I am, and catch a few wrinkled foreheads, though notably, Tris isn’t fazed at all.

“Umm, sweetheart,” I say gently, pursing my lips as I think of how to put it. “It’s not really considered a surprise party if you tell me about it.”

She lets out a small, impatient huff before pressing her lips together. Noticing the tilted heads of our friends, she rolls her shoulders like she’s shaking it off and presses forward.

“Did you know about the party ten seconds ago?” she asks, eyes sparkling with her point as her chin dips down.

It’s those eyes that get me every time, and instantly, I succumb to her.

Grinning back at my clever girl, I shake my head. “No, I did not.”

“Exactly,” she says before I’ve even finished my sentence. “Surprise.”

We all chuckle at that, and Rory’s phone rings from her pocket.