“Okay, legal eagle,” Jenna says, making her way through the people crowding around me. “We’ve had Russ to ourselves for lots of weeks. Why don’t we let him have one more minute with his college friends and then we can start his party.”
“Party?” I repeat, swallowing.
“You really thought she was going to let you get away with not celebrating?” Jenna says. There’s something in her tone. Something that tells me maybe she knows what I don’t want her to know and, weirdly, it makes me feel better, because she hasn’t fired me. “Fat chance of that. She got everyone here in under twenty-four hours. She goes all out for people she cares about.”
Looking over the shoulders of my friends, I spot her talking to Emilia near the entertainment stage. I don’t know why she’s hanging back, when all I want to do is wrap my arms around her. “I’ll be back in one minute,” I say to the guys, immediately heading towards her.
Her face lights up as I approach and it takes every fiber of my restraint to hug Emilia first, so it doesn’t look suspicious. I let Emilia go and hold out my arms to Rory until she wraps her arms around my waist and I bury my head into her hair.
Aurora is glowing as she leans back and smiles up at me. “Happy birthday, Callaghan.”
“You’re incredible.”
“Happy birthday, Russ,” Emilia says, slapping me on the arm, as she leaves Aurora and I alone.
I don’t want to let go but I know I have to. She knows too, which is why she takes a step backwards. “You didn’t give me any time to get you a birthday present,” she grabs a small paper gift bag from behind her, “so it isn’t very good, but please know it caused me a lot of stress and took so freaking long to do because I’m out of practice.”
Reaching into the gift bag, I pull out my present. A yellow origami dog. “Oh my God, is it Fish?” She leans over to peek into the bag, reaching in and pulling out two smaller yellow dogs, placing them on my palm too. “This is incredible.”
“I tried to make possums but nobody could tell what they were supposed to be.” I let her hold the origami as I pull out something else from the bag. “Okay, so I can’t lie, I stole this one from the old library that nobody uses and it’s older than both of us combined.”
I read from the cover. “Learn all thirty-seven presidents: for ages six to ten.”
“I know how much you love naming presidents.” She gives me a look that makes me want to say fuck the party. “There’s one more present, it’s probably at the bottom.”
Digging in the bag, I pull out the final present. It’s a piece of pink card the size of a hockey ticket. When I flip it over, it’s unsurprisingly nothing to do with hockey.
ONE BIRTHDAY WISH COUPON
ELIGIBLE FOR REDEMPTION BY RUSS CALLAGHAN AT ANY TIME
FROM AURORA ROBERTS
“You don’t have to decide what you want now,” she says softly. “I’m sure you’re overwhelmed. I know I went a little overboard . . .” I look around at the banners, balloons, streamers that I didn’t even notice before. “But you deserve to have nice things.”
“I wish I could kiss you.”
“Hand over your coupon and we can make that wish come true. I mean, we’ll cause camp-wide outrage, which isn’t very birthday celebration-y but a deal is a deal.”
I wish I could go back to earlier and slap that Russ. I wouldn’t have spent the day worrying about whether we’re a good idea.
Aurora Roberts will always be a good idea.
Handing her the token, I watch her eyes widen in surprise. “I want to take you on a date.
That’s what my birthday wish is.”
“A date?” she repeats.
“Yes. A real date.”
“With me?”
“With you.”
“Even though I gave you origami golden retrievers and an old moth-eaten book on presidents for your birthday?”
“Especially because of those things.”
The hardest part of being on everyone’s radar is going to be having no opportunity to sneak off tonight. She takes the coupon from my outstretched hand, her green eyes sparkling, and nods. “Consider your wish granted.”
Being the center of attention is exhausting and I’m ready for it to be over.
I pick at the frosting of my second piece of cake, soaking in the quiet now all the campers have been taken to bed. Well, as quiet as it can be with my friends around. As soon as the cake was cut, presents were handed over and happy birthday was sung, I finally got the rundown of how my birthday party came to fruition.
Before we headed to Meadow Springs yesterday, Aurora got JJ’s number from Emilia and between them they coordinated this very last-minute surprise. They set off this morning, arriving just in time to make the friendship bracelets now decorating my arms.
Henry said Honey Acres is worse than he thought it would be and Bobby is upset Jenna is both uninterested and unable to remember him, while JJ is just happy to be reunited.
Orla agreed to the guys visiting on the condition they wear the visitor lanyards and they’re not left unattended anywhere on site.
“Should I be expecting you to move her in?” Robbie says, sitting beside the fire with me and Nate. “That room alters brain chemistry, clearly.”
“Why are you acting like Lola doesn’t sleep in your bed five nights a week?” Nate snaps back.
“You try telling Lola what to do,” Robbie argues back, “see what happens.”
Aurora has made herself scarce this evening, opting to keep herself busy making sure everyone is having a good time. I wish I could sit her beside me and let the guys get to know her, but it’d look suspicious and I think if she wanted to do that, she would. A few of them have caught her on her own for individual chats, but I have no idea what they’ve said to her.
“She’s not moving in, don’t worry. We haven’t labeled it, so I suppose we’re technically friends who like each other.” The words feel weird coming out of my mouth but what else am I supposed to call her? “She’s great though. I really like her.”
They both start laughing at the same time. Nate smirks as he leans back in his chair. “I remember thinking Stas was my friend.”
“She actively disliked you and then she got Stockholm syndrome,” Robbie snorts. “She was never your friend.”
“Still got the girl, didn’t I?” Nate shrugs. “Y’know Aurora offered to pay for everyone’s flights if it got us here. She was ready to hire a private driver. Either she’s about to be the best friend you’ve ever had or you’re about to be the relationship Henry complains about living next to.”
Forcing away all the insecure feelings from earlier, I answer honestly. “I want both.”
The pair of them laugh and I’ve never noticed before now how similar the two are. Like an old couple who mirror each other’s mannerisms. Robbie sips his hot chocolate and Nate does the same, they both give me the same smug grin. “Young love.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
AURORA
“I told you he’s a good guy.”
Henry doesn’t say anything else as he drops into the seat beside me with his breakfast. Russ’s friends stayed in a B&B in Meadow Springs last night, but Orla said they could visit before leaving as long as they still had their visitor lanyards and it was during cabin inspection.
I concentrate on my toast, suddenly feeling nervous to have one-on-one time with Russ’s best friend. I mean, technically we’ve had one-on-one time before, but that was when I was unknowingly ditching Russ post hook up. “I know you did. I never thought he wasn’t.”
We both watch Russ at the table across from ours while we eat in silence. He’s laughing with Robbie and Mattie, two guys who made it their mission to get to know me better last night. I’ve tried to keep a safe distance, not wanting to smother him or overcrowd him when his friends are here, but it’s hard when I naturally just want to be near him.
The loud buzz of multiple conversations happening fills the silence, until Henry slices through it, catching me off guard. “My room is next to Russ’s room in our house. It isn’t soundproof, so please don’t treat it like it is.”