Page 45 of The Dating Coach
"I make spreadsheets for everything," Henry defended, appearing with a cake that actually looked professionally made. "It's called organization."
"It's called being a Virgo," Karen countered, arriving with an armload of presents. "But we love you anyway."
Liam appeared from the kitchen, and my heart did its now-familiar skip at the sight of him.
"Happy birthday, Mia," he said warmly. "Ready for your first surprise?"
"This isn't the surprise?" she gestured at the decorated house.
"This is ambiance," Frank corrected. "Surprise number one is in the backyard."
We trooped outside to find a small group assembled on the deck – Dr. Sarah from the LGBTQ+ center, two girls from Mia's newly formed GSA group at school.
“We thought Mia might like a few more people to celebrate with,” Liam said quietly to me, as Mia was engulfed in hugs.
"You did this?" I turned to him, emotions threatening to overwhelm me.
"We all did," he said, but his hand found mine, squeezing gently. "She deserves to be celebrated by people who see her fully."
The party unfolded with the kind of joy I'd never experienced in our childhood home. Frank had indeed baked a rainbow cake ("Subtlety is for people without style!"), while Henry lost spectacularly at every video game despite clearly letting Mia win. Karen performed what she called an "interpretive dance of sisterhood" that mostly involved flailing but made Mia laugh until she cried.
But it was Liam's gift that broke me. He waited until the cake had been devoured and the other presents opened – books, art supplies, a pride flag for her future dorm room. Then he handed her a simple envelope.
"What's this?" Mia asked, opening it carefully.
"Next steps," he said simply.
Inside were documents—meeting schedules with Pinewood admissions counselors, information about swimming scholarships, and a letter from the swim coach expressing interest in having her train with the team after school hours. Everything she’d need to start turning her college dreams into reality.
"I can't..." Mia looked between the papers and Liam. "This is too much."
"This is exactly enough," he corrected gently. "You're brilliant, Mia. Pinewood would be lucky to have you. These meetings are just formalities – they're already interested."
"How?" She turned to me, eyes wide. "How did he—"
"He has connections," I said through the tightness in my throat. "And he used them all for you."
What I didn't say was that I'd found him up at 3 AM last week, writing emails and making lists of people who could help. That he'd called in favors from alumni, spent hours on the phone with administrators, treated my sister's future like it was his own family's.
Mia launched herself at Liam, hugging him fiercely. "Thank you," she whispered. "For everything. For saving my life."
"You saved your own life," he said, voice rough. "We just gave you space to do it."
The moment was too much – too perfect, too emotional, too everything. I escaped to the kitchen under the pretense of getting more drinks, needing a moment to compose myself.
I was standing at the sink, trying not to cry into the remnants of rainbow cake, when Liam found me.
"Hey," he said softly. "You okay?"
"You gave her a future," I said, not turning around. "Not just college information, but proof that she matters. That her dreams matter. Do you know what that means?"
His arms came around me from behind, pulling me against his chest. "I know what it's like to have dreams that don't fit your family's expectations," he murmured against my hair. "The difference is, Mia has you. And now she has all of us."
I turned in his arms, looking up at him through tears I'd given up trying to hide. "I don't know how to thank you," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "What you did for her, for us... I just—"
Something shifted in his expression, his eyes searching mine. "Gemma..."
The space between us seemed to disappear without either of us moving. I could feel his breath against my lips, see the way his gaze dropped to my mouth and back up.
