Page 154 of His Secret

“Happy birthday!” The four of us shout the greeting, mostly in unison, and then Amelia blows her horn right after.

I snap several photos, capturing the surprise at both the loudness, and then the recognition of who’s here.

His face splits into a smile and then he looks at me, his eyes softening and head tilting just slightly. The shutter clicks a few more times, catching the appreciation in his gaze.

I lower the camera and smile at him.

He hugs his mom and Amelia, then shakes Charles’s hand before pulling me into a hug.

“Happy birthday, baby.”

He kisses me on the mouth. “Thank you.” A brief pause. “So, I’m assuming you’re not really sick.”

I laugh. “I needed an excuse to not go into work today.”

He grins and squeezes my hand before turning to his mom to talk to her. After a few minutes, he excuses himself to get changed, and then we all sit down at the dinner table to eat.

Once we’re done, Amelia grabs the cake, and we light the candles and sing happy birthday to him as he sits in embarrassment at the attention.

His parents leave first, since they have over a two drive to get home, but Amelia sticks around for a little while, and the three of us sit in front of the TV and talk for a couple of hours.

“Well, I’m gonna get to the hotel. I’ll swing by around lunch time, but then I fly out early the next day.”

We stand to give her a hug. “Thanks for coming out.”

“Anything for my brother,” she says. “And you too, Adrian.”

I put my hand on her head and mess up her hair. “You’re still a brat.”

Matías chuckles. “I’m glad I got to see you.”

“Me too. Happy birthday again.”

“Thanks.”

Once she leaves, the two of us plop back down on the couch.

Grabbing my hand, Matías looks at me. “Thank you for today. For doing all of this.”

I smile and lean in to kiss him. “You don’t have to thank me.”

“No?” he says with raised brows. “I was about to offer to show you how thankful I am for you…in the bedroom,” he says, jerking his thumb toward the stairs. “But if you don’t need to be thanked?—”

“No, no. I definitely need to be thanked. It was so much hard work.”

He smirks, leaning forward to capture my mouth with his. “I love you, Adrian. You’re the best thing to ever happen to me.”

My hand goes to the side of his face as I kiss him again. “I love you. I’ll never be able to express just how much, but I’m glad we have the rest of our lives for me to try.”

He hums low in his throat. “I like the sound of that.”

---