Page 180 of Sebastian's Baby

The rest of the band greets me, and I give everyone hugs before we continue into the apartment.

“What the fuck?” I gasp as I stop dead in my tracks.

There are thousands of balloons filling my apartment. All of them have a picture of my face on them with the message, ‘Happy 30thBirthday, Sebastian!’ written underneath. Just…so many balloons.

“Are you shitting me?” I groan and then turn around to look at my friends. Heather has a shit-eating grin on her face, and I say, “This has to have been done by Heather.”

“Guilty as charged!” she announces as she snaps a picture of me. “I’m posting this to Instagram.”

I can’t believe she did this, but I also can. I had balloons with her face on them made for her and Harrison’s engagement party just to embarrass her. Not this many, though. All I can think about is how the fuck I’m going to get rid of them tomorrow.

“You’re lucky I love you, Heather Fletcher. Fuck knows why I do.” I shake my head and laugh.

We wade through piles of balloons to the dining table, where it’s piled high with dishes of Italian food that smell amazing.

“Is this from Giovanni’s?” I ask.

“Yes, it is,” Harrison tells me. “We picked it up on our way here.”

I spot my favorite dish and exclaim, “Osso bucco!”

“Forgive me now?” Heather asks as she takes a seat at the table.

“Yes, lover, all is forgiven.” I grin at her as the smell of the food makes my mouth water.

I take a seat, and Lita sits down next to me, so I turn and smile at her. I’m so pleased that she’s here with me in Chicago for this birthday celebration. She really is the best.

“What a relief. I was worried for a second,” Heather says in a dry tone.

“Are you sure you two have never screwed?” Blake asks. “Because I’m definitely getting the vibe that you two have had sex.”

I glare at him. It’s my fucking birthday, and he wants to be an asshole like this. I glance at Lita, and I hope that she’s not uncomfortable because I know I’ve asked her to keep my secret. She’s frowning at Blake, but seems okay.

I turn back to Blake to tell him to fuck off, but Harrison speaks first. “Is it any of your business if they have or they haven’t?”

“I’m just curious.” Blake shrugs.

“Since you’re not sleeping with either of us, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” Heather asks in a cold voice that I know means he should back the fuck off.

Blake, however, is unaware or doesn’t care because he gives her a smug grin and says, “I’m not hearing a ‘no’ from you, Heather.”

“Blake,” Hayden says in a warning tone.

Blake holds his hands up. “Okay, clearly it’s a touchy subject, but everyone’s heard the rumors about you two.”

Heather looks at me, and I shake my head at her because it’s my birthday and I’m happy to be home. As much as I’d like her to put Blake in his place, it might make Hayden leave, and I don’t want that.

“If you can’t tell the difference between truth and rumors, that’s on you.” Gabriel shrugs.

“How about we just eat this food before it goes cold, instead of talking about the millions of times Sebastian and I have fucked?” Heather rolls her eyes.

“Oh god, Giovanni’s food smells just as good as I remembered,” she says as she looks at the dishes on the table.

I pile plenty of osso bucco on my plate along with other food as well, while Lita takes a small selection of four different dishes. I’m pleased when she chooses some of the osso bucco as well, so she’ll get to try my favorite dish.

“I did promise that I would take you back to Giovanni’s,” I tell her. “We’ll have plenty of time to go, now that we’re living here.”

“I’m glad you guys are here now, but I’m sorry you had to move cities, Lita,” Ariana says with a kind smile.

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