Page 114 of Oathbreaker

The beeping of the oven breaks the moment, and when I see the perfect chocolatey tops of the cakes, I give her a golf clap.

“Mine so wouldn’t turn out like this,” I say.

“It’s okay. It’s the thought that counts.” She smiles as she puts the cakes on the cooling rack.

“All right, so now to teach you how to make this frosting. It’s the hardest part of the whole cake,” she says.

When I audibly gulp, she lets out a laugh as big as mine.

It takes us another two hours to let everything cool and apply the frosting, but I reaffirm my initial opinion of Ella. She’s a ball of fun. She’s funny, intelligent, and wise beyond her years.

Veronica joins us with a sleeping Summer strapped to her chest in a sling carrier as we put the finishing touches on the cake.

“Win, you did this?” Veronica asks, wide-eyed.

All clean after taking a brief break in my room to change clothes and get flour out of my hair, I put the simple cake decorations on with a flourish. I place the three and five candles in the center beneath the arc of candy letters that spell out “Happy Birthday, Hunter.”

“I had help,” I say, turning to Ella.

She grins and raises her wine glass in my direction. “The decorations are all Winter, though,” Ella adds.

Veronica makes an impressed face.

“Can we please get on with this?” Leo’s beleaguered bellow sounds from the great hall where I’ve stationed him with Hunter and August.

I look at Ella, who wears a startled look on her face, before I call back, “Yep, just a minute!”

I light the candles and take small steps as I move through the house toward the hall. I refuse to let the flames go out, so I hold my breath too.

Once we’re right outside the door, I take a deep breath and start a markedly off-key rendition of Happy Birthday.

Hunter looks relaxed when we enter the room, and when his eyes land on me and the cake, his whole face transforms.

The hardness leaves it, and his brows relax. The smile that smooths across his face is gentle.

He looks young.

He looks happy.

“...and many more,” I finish singing.

“On channel four...” Veronica adds.

“And Scooby-Doo....”

“On channel two...” she throws back at me, and we both burst into laughter. The rest of the group eyes us like we’ve lost it.

Stepping closer to Hunter, I place the cake on the gleaming table before him.

“Happy birthday, baby,” I utter softly. My words are just for him. His eyes tracked my progress across the room, and now that I stand in front of him, I feel the heat from his gaze.

I feel the love too.

“I love it, baby. Thank you.” He kisses my hand.

Ella makes a retching sound from the corner, laughing and smiling brightly to let us know she’s just playing with us.

“You are so disgustingly in love with each other. It’s cute only because it’s you two. But wrap it up so we can get our sugar high,” she says, smirking.

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