Page 117

"Seriously? At..." Her eyes glide past me to the clock. "Seven in the morning?”

“It's becoming a tradition at this point." I chuckle and kiss the top of her head. She lifts it off my shoulder, and I get up before I lose all motivation to. If they make their way over here in this thick of a snowfall and this early in the day, I can’t exactly ignore them.

"It started last year. Lauren took her key that she has for emergencies, broke into my home, and they surprised me with cake for breakfast. It was scary as fuck, I thought they were burglars."

I glance back at her on my way to the kitchen, but stop in my tracks once I see her mischievous grin.

"Want me to grab a blanket and pretend to be naked under it?" Slowly, I turn around, my smile mirroring hers. She’s the best.

"Ugh, did I mention I love you already?"

"I will never get tired of hearing it." She saunters closer and pulls me in for a kiss. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a ‘how about you hide in the guest room and jump-scare them as they come in?’" I wiggle my eyebrows.

"That works too." She jumps up and calls the girls to come with her, and pulls the door closed behind her. Good thinking, their presence would for sure spoil the fact Brooke’s here, too.

I completely forget to turn on the coffee machine and stare at the closed guest room door with a goofy grin instead.

God, I love her so much.

"Holy shit, it's a party." Evan whistles through his teeth as he walks into my kitchen. "You could have warned a guy." He shoots his sister a murderous glance. “And I would have walked in here with at least some caffeine in my system.”

"Where would be the fun in that?" Brooke's lips curl into a cheeky grin, which Evan answers by scratching the side of his face with his middle finger.

He’s right, though. With how many people are here, it’s fair to call it a party. With Evan, all of my friends are here and scattered all around the living room.

As soon as Henry sat down on my couch, he was buried under an avalanche of dogs, namely the girls. Meanwhile, Shadow and Dick are curled up by Caleb's feet, who’s sipping a giant mug of coffee at my dining table. Erik has the honor of entertaining Jensen Ackles next to my coffee table in my living room. Currently, they’re playing tug of war.

Nic and Lauren are on the ground in a corner playing with Daisy, while Kylie is making herself another coffee.

"Look on the bright side. There's cake," I inform Evan and nod at the table. Instantly, his expression lightens. Cake for breakfast will do that to you. I take a seat because I was still in the middle of eating my second piece and Brooke climbs into my lap, hiding a yawn against the side of my throat.

Evan's eyes jump from the cake to me, then back to the cake, and he lets out a sigh. Shaking his head, he trudges over to get himself a piece and then flops down next to me and steals my coffee. The second rude thing to happen to me today, how dare he?

"Here I am worrying about you, and you've got a better birthday going on than all the siblings in the last five years combined." He drags his hand over his face, then shovels a huge piece of cake into his mouth. "I mean, cake for breakfast, are you serious?"

"Are you jealous?" I ask him with a shit-eating grin and nudge him with my elbow, then steal my coffee back. Not even the murderous glance he casts my way can bring my mood down. Despite the early hour, I’m in a great mood.

Brooke gets up and pretends to help Kylie out at the coffee machine. The glare she shoots me tells me she's giving me a moment with Evan, though.

Suddenly, emotions settle at the back of my throat, and I stare back at my coffee to take a sip. This is as perfect as a birthday could be, and the day is barely even a third over.

"I don’t say it enough, but thank you, Evan," I mumble and set my cup down.

He stares at me, eyebrows creased in confusion, his fork hovering in the air a good ten centimeters away from his mouth. "For eating your cake?"

"For everything." I nod at my living room. Dick decided to join Erik’s and Jensen’s tug of war, and Rose is currently licking Lauren’s face.

"If you hadn't offered me a place to stay back then, and, you know..." I shrug. "All of this wouldn't have happened."

"You're so welcome." He stares at his plate. "But Kieran?"

"Yeah."

"If you ever thank me for it, I'm going to kick you in the nuts. It's the bare minimum, and you're not in my debt. Let it go."

But I shut up when he shoots me a murderous glance.