Page 71 of Sebastian

“There’s one more thing.” His cheeks turned a warm shade of red and Emma smiled.

“This is already too much.”

“I know, but it’s not only Luna’s birthday, it’s the day you brought your daughter into the world. You deserve to be celebrated, too.”

“You have. The locket, the stars, it’s everything.”

“Well, I also made you something.”

“You made me something?” she repeated.

“Yes, and just a fair warning, it’s probably nothing like you would make.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a small aluminum baking pan with a plastic lid. Emma could see the neon pink frosting and brightly colored sprinkles and her heart burst wide open.

“You baked me a cake?”

“I hope it’s okay. I just thought, it’s not a proper birthday without a cake, and I figured a seven year old girl would like bubble gum pink and rainbow sprinkles. We can make her one for her next birthday when she’s back in your arms and tell her it’s a family tradition.”

Emma burst into tears.

“Oh, no. Sprinkles, I’m so sorry. It was too much. I’ll put it away and we don’t have to think about it.”

“No. P-please, Seb. T-that’s the nicest thing a-anyone’s ever done f-for me. You baked m-me a cake.”

Emma felt his arms wrap around her as he pulled her onto his lap. “I just want to honor you today, Em. And for as long as you’ll let me, I want to honor Luna, too.”

“You’re too good to be true.”

“Hardly.” He tightened his grip on her, and she let herself sink into the safety of his embrace.

“Did you bring any forks with you?”

She felt the rumble fill his chest as he laughed. “You know what, I actually did.” His arms released her, reaching deep down into the bag sitting next to him. “I really do feel like I need to warn you not to have too high of expectations here, Sprinkles.”

“I already know I’m going to love it, Seb. Hand that fork over and let’s dig in.”

Emma placed the cake onto her lap, lifting the plastic lid away. Her fork dug in to the cake and she smiled as she lifted it to her mouth. Sebastian was sitting so still, as if he was holding his breath waiting to hear what she had to say about his baking skills.

It was delicious.

“This is amazing, Seb. You did a great job.” The smile that filled his whole face made her heart sing.

“I looked up how to make a box cake taste better. More butter, heavy cream, and an extra egg. I guess it does work.”

“It definitely does. Here, taste for yourself. “ She scooped out a bit of cake onto her fork and fed it to him, laughing at the smear of frosting she managed to get on his lips. Before he could lick it clean himself, Emma leaned in and kissed him.

“Mmm, the cake is good, but that kiss was amazing,” he said as she pushed the cake pan away and climbed onto his lap.

“Will you help me forget?” she whispered.

“No, Em.” When she raised a questioning brow at him, he smiled, brushing a small section of hair behind her ear. “We aren’t forgetting what today is. We are honoring it. I will help you remember what having hope feels like. I will help you remember how resilient, determined, and loved you are.”

“Seb.” She settled her head into the crook of his neck.

“Let me show you, Sprinkles.”

“I want the pain to go away.”

“I know you do, but that’s not something I can take away. I want to, Em, more than anything. But we aren’t going to get there today. You need that pain to keep going. To keep putting one foot in front of the other until we find Luna.” He tipped her chin up towards his face and pressed a kiss onto her lips. “And we are going to find her, Em. I promise with every fiber of my being, I won’t stop looking until she’s back in your arms.”

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