Page 28 of Hellos and Happily Ever Afters

I headed for the shower and washed up. I put on a pair of boxer shorts that Frankie had gotten me. They were Aladdin’s lamp and featured the genie. It was a joke about blue balls that I appreciated.

That said, I liked to tease her that if she stroked the lamp, I would come out to play. Hopefully she enjoyed the symbolism. Bubba’s message pinged my phone. She was in the elevator. I sent him a thanks, then put the phone in DND.

Picking out a particularly lovely rose, I found a nice seat that gave me a view of the door and meant I would definitely be the first thing she saw—I hoped. As soon as the locks tumbled, I tucked the rose between my teeth and waited.

“Ugh,” she said as she shoved the door open with her hip and rolled her smaller bag inside. “Stupid thing.” She didn’t see me, in fact, she had her back to me as she shoved the suitcase over. When the door closed, she put her head down and my heart wrenched at the half-sob she released.

Yeah. No. “Hey…”

Her shriek would have done Fay Wray proud. She spun to stare at me. I soaked in everything about her. The tears in her eyes. The flushed cheeks. The strain around her mouth and the way her teeth sank into her lower lip.

“Coop?”

“Hey, Beautiful,” I said as I stood up, rose in hand. “I hope you don’t mind the surprise, but the girl I fell in love with when I was five, always told me what the birthday boy wants?—”

She didn’t even let me finish, half-flying across the room and I braced to catch her. Lifting her up, I hugged her tight and I didn’t even mind when she burst into tears. Wild swings of emotion were normal during pregnancy. At least during hers.

It was as much hormonal as it was stress right now and I picked her up, cradling her to me before sitting back down. With her in my lap, I stroked her hair as she got it all out. This was why I’d come, as much to celebrate my birthday with her as it was to take care of her.

Bubba hadn’t rejected the idea at all. In fact, he’d been all in. That told me he was very aware of the issue and wanted the backup. Or maybe, it was just what Frankie knew. She always came first with us.

Always had.

Always would.

It took her a while, but she finally slowed the crying and little hiccups replaced the sobs. When she lifted her head to look at me. The red-rimmed green eyes were my absolute destruction.

“I’ve missed you,” she confessed.

“I know, your aim never has been the best…” The dry comment did what very little else would right now.

It made her laugh.

And got me smacked across the shoulder.

I couldn’t love her more if I tried.

“I can’t believe you just said that…”

“Yes you can. I’ve said much worse.” I gave her a dry look. “You remember when you tried to learn basketball?”

She sniffled. “Mean.”

“Maybe, but you’re the one who missed me. So I came close enough that you couldn’t.”

All at once her expression softened into one of those all encompassing smiles that shone out of her. “Tomorrow is your birthday.”

“Oh, well, look at that. I’m here for you to spoil.”

She stroked my cheek with her hand then let out the longest sigh. “I know you have work and there’s so much going on. You probably shouldn’t have taken the time, but I don’t care—I’m greedy and I am so glad you’re here.”

“That’s my girl,” I said, tracing the rose against her face and she blinked. She stared at the rose, then down at me. Since my dick had no objections to her ass on us, we were definitely hard as a rock just for her. I didn’t doubt she was aware of it as she flexed her butt cheeks against my lap.

“You’re almost naked…”

“Almost,” I said. “But I wore your favorite boxers. If the birthday boy gets what the birthday boy wants…”

“What does the birthday boy want?”

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