Page 133 of On Her Team
The front door opens. Here goes nothing.
Gage saunters into the living room and screeches to a halt.
“Surprise!” I rush to him and throw myself at him. He catches me. He always does. And he always will. “Happy birthday!”
“I thought we were meeting later for dinner.”
“Nope. I lied. I wanted to surprise you.”
He grins as he takes in the room. “This is definitely a surprise.”
“You said you’re not much for celebrating birthdays but you have me now. And I will celebrate every single one of your birthdays with you.” As will my family. But he doesn’t know about them yet.
“Thanks, songbird.”
I beam at him. “You’re welcome. There’s also steak and potatoes.”
“You cooked for me?”
“Yep. I enjoy cooking for you.”
“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this for me.”
My nose wrinkles. “My schedule isn’t that busy.”
He kisses my nose before setting me on my feet. “Isn’t Juliet recording another one of your songs this week?”
“Her schedule changed. She’s recording next week.” Because I asked her to. Turns out Juliet is a complete romantic. When I told her what I had planned, she immediately offered to help.
Speaking of plans. I grasp Gage’s hand and lead him to the table. I pick up the card and give it to him. “Happy birthday, sweetheart.”
“I don’t need anything. I have you.”
I snatch the card back. “I guess I’ll keep this then.”
His chocolate brown eyes fill with curiosity. “What is it?”
I bat my eyelashes at him. “I thought you didn’t want it.”
“But you went to all the trouble to get me something. It’d be rude not to at least find out what it is.”
He has no idea all the trouble I went to. Mom and my siblings arriving soon is not the only surprise of the evening.
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t want to be rude.”
I giggle. “Admit you’re curious and I’ll give you the card.”
“Fine.” He huffs. “I’m curious. Are you happy now?”
I wrap my arms around him. “Ecstatic.”
He squeezes my hips. “I’m glad. I know it hasn’t been easy getting used to living in a city or being away from your family.”
I snort. “Away from my family? Between the messages from Otis asking me everything under the sun about the NFL, the complaints from Penelope about how Mila is driving her crazy, and the messages from Mila driving me crazy, I haven’t noticed.”
“They’re your family and you love them.”
