Page 63 of Torch

My dad pushed him aside and pulled me into his arms. “Happy birthday, baby girl.” He held an envelope out to me, and I took it.

Opening it up, I pulled out a birthday card. Inside was a business card. “Who is Stella Robertson?”

“Do you know who Xena is?”

“The singer? Of course I do.”

“Well, Stella is her assistant. She’s waiting for you to call her. Xena wants to book you to do her makeup for her next music video.”

I gasped in shock. Even Christian had a stunned look on his face. “Are you serious?!” I shouted, bouncing on my feet in excitement.

My dad and Bentley laughed. “I am. I’ve been cutting Xena’s father's hair for over a decade. When I mentioned you were a makeup artist, he told Xena, and she looked you up. He dropped that card off at the shop yesterday.”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe this. Thank you so much!” I rushed forward and hugged him again. I couldn’t believe he had done something like this for me.

Our embrace was interrupted when I heard a throat being cleared behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw my mom, Myron, and Morgan standing there. All three of them looked pissed.

“Brittney, can I have a word with you?” my mother asked while glaring at my dad.

“Hello, Regina,” he said politely. My mom didn’t bother speaking back to him. She rolled her eyes before setting them on me. He shook his head before looking down at me. “I’m going to give you some privacy to talk, sweetheart.”

“Okay.”

He and Bentley walked away, disappearing into the crowd. My mom stepped forward with fire in her eyes. “How dare you disrespect me like this?! Are you trying to embarrass me?”

Christian opened his mouth to say something, but I placed my hand on his chest, shaking my head. “Mom, while I do sympathize with what you went through with my dad, I won’t apologize for building a relationship with him. Now, I would never tell you that you aren’t welcome, but if you’re uncomfortable, I won’t feel any type of way if you decide to leave.”

Her face dropped, and she appeared hurt by my words. “Are you choosing him over me?”

“I’m not choosing anyone. I said you are both welcome. He’s my dad and I want him here.”

“Your dad?” Myron spat. “I raised you! Provided for you. And this is how you repay me?”

“You tolerated me, Myron. Let’s be real. You can gaslight everyone else, but not me. Now, I don’t want to spend my special day arguing with any of you. Christian went through a lot to make this special for me, and I won’t allow anyone to ruin it.”

They watched me for a moment before storming away. Morgan was right behind them. I released a breath, feeling the tension leave my body.

“Are you okay?” Christian asked.

“I’ve never been better. Let’s enjoy the rest of our day.”

A few hours later, the party was in full swing. I was having the time of my life. What I really enjoyed was watching the club and Christian’s family mingle with mine. Everyone was getting along. The kids were on the playground. Christian, Blade, and some of the club brothers were on the basketball court with my cousins. My grandmother and Uncle Gavin had warmed up to my dad. They were at one of the picnic tables, talking and laughing.

My heart was filled with so much joy, and it was all because of one man.

Christian Romano.

Who would have thought my drunken Vegas fling would have turned out to be the man of my dreams? The love of my life.

As crazy as our journey started, I wouldn’t change a thing.

“Calling the birthday girl to the booth. Brittney, wherever you are, can you please come to the booth?” the DJ shouted into the microphone.

I snapped my head in his direction and saw Christian standing in front of it. As I made my way over, people started following behind me. Once I was in front of Christian, I leaned in. “What’s going on?” I whispered.

“I told you, I had more surprises in store for you, beautiful.” He smirked right as I heard a horn blowing from the street. I spun around, and my eyes widened.

Cara was driving toward us in the same Lamborghini that Christian had. Except this one was red, with a big white bow. Sara and Sofia were perched on the open windows, cheering and clapping. My entire family joined in while I stood frozen.