Page 67 of Harrison's Wedding

Hayden’s eyebrows are raised, but he opens the card on which Heather wrote out our birthday wishes, and smiles at me as he opens the box.

“Holy shit. A coffee machine?”

“Yeah. We know you love coffee, and this machine is apparently amazing. There’s also this.”

I hand him another box. Inside it is a selection of custom coffee blends that we picked out for him to use with the machine, along with special airtight containers to keep the beans in.

“The machine grinds the beans and everything,” I tell him.

“Wow, thank you.” Hayden puts the beans on top of the coffee maker box and comes over to give me a hug, then turns to look at the others, as well. “All of you. These gifts are amazing. I love you guys.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get all soppy. Happy birthday, old man!” Sebastian teases him.

We spend the day watching movies, drinking some alcohol, and hanging out. In the afternoon, Ally turns up and Sebastian lets her in through the gates.

“Hey, Ally. It’s good to see you again,” I say, giving her a hug.

“Hi, Harrison. Good to see you, too.” She smiles at me.

“Heather’s going to be here later.” A thrill of excitement runs through me because I’ve missed her this week.

“I know, Hayden told me. I can’t wait to see her.” Ally grins at me.

“I’m going to take Ally’s luggage upstairs; we’ll be back in a bit,” Hayden says.

“Uh huh. Sure. Go ‘take her luggage upstairs.’” Sebastian smirks.

Hayden flips him the bird and takes Ally’s hand as he wheels her suitcase toward the staircase. We all laugh as they walk away, then head to the theater to watch a film. When it finishes, we leave the theater room and head out to find Hayden and Ally sitting in the living room. We decide to play poker and get drinks.

We take seats around Sebastian’s large, oval poker table. It has a black felt top, custom made with the Cruise Control symbol in the center of it. The edge is black and padded, with cup holders inlaid into the table.

Sebastian sits facing the big windows in the room, with a view of the grounds outside. Gabriel sits to his left on the end of the table. Hayden and Ally take seats next to each other, facing Sebastian, and I sit next to Hayden.

As Sebastian deals out the first hand, I lift my glass of whisky and say, “To Hayden. Happy birthday, bro!”

“To Hayden!” the others toast him, and we all clink glasses.

I get a text from Heather a few hands into the game.

On my way! Can’t wait to see you.

I smile at my phone, happy to hear she’s on her way because it’s a bit later than I expected her to leave Chicago. I quickly send her a text back.

I was wondering where you were. Ally’s here for Hayden’s birthday. Love you.

I always miss Heather when we’re separated. It’s been happening more frequently as she’s gotten busier with Serenity. I’m happy for her, but the separations are painful. Nothing in my life is right when Heather isn’t with me. I’m dreading going on tour again because it will mean being away from Heather for long stretches again, just like withHeart Wide Open.

We’re many drinks in a few hours later, and I’m just taking a sip of my whisky when Hayden yells, “Heather!”

“My lover!” Sebastian adds, turning to face where she stands in the door.

Heather laughs, “Clearly, I’m about four drinks behind you guys. Happy birthday, Hayden!”

I put my drink down in the cup holder in front of me, then hand the deck of cards and dealer chip to Gabriel and say, “Here.”

I walk over to Heather, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her deeply. I slide my hands down to her ass and pull her roughly against me as I kiss her. Our friends whoop and cheer behind us at the show we’re putting on.

Heather and I are both breathless when our kiss ends, and I put my forehead against hers, looking directly into her beautiful blue eyes.

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