Page 78 of The Ruthless and the Strong

Max

I grinnedand shook my head when I noticed the curtains in my living room moving.

Today was my fortieth birthday.

I supposed to some, this would be considered a milestone.

It felt like any other day to me, but Olivia wanted to make a big deal out of this, so I let her have her fun. Hunter had let it slip while we were playing at the park last week that “Auntie Livia” was throwing a surprise party for me. It would no doubt take place at my house. Though I tried to muster up some excitement so as not to ruin anyone’s fun, something about today was bringing down a cloud of melancholy I couldn’t shake, no matter what I did.

It wasn’t that I was afraid of growing old.

It probably had to do with my life not being where I had seen it. Honestly, I didn’t know where I’d seen it going, but this probably wasn’t it. And it wasn’t even that I didn’t love my life. I had been content until a certain redhead moved back home, and now I was left… wanting.

I climbed out of the car and grabbed the groceries Olivia had sent me out to get this morning, telling me she wanted to stay home with Emma.

She was practically brimming with excitement as she said it. I let out a small laugh when I remember Mason rolling his eyes over her antics. It wasn’t like Olivia was good at hiding anything from anyone.

Even if Hunter hadn’t told me, I would have known she was planning something.

I walked to the front door, making as much noise as possible as I unlocked it, and when I opened it, I was bombarded with “Surprise!” yells from everyone in the room.

A quick look around showed me Olivia had invited Logan and Gage and their women. The tiny girl from girls’ night was there.

Kiera Hasting. I hadn’t seen her since then, but I knew she and Gage had gotten engaged recently, after they found out she was expecting.

Olivia and Mason were standing there with an excited-looking Hunter, who looked seconds away from bursting, and finally, in the far corner, stood Lizzie, wearing the biggest grin on her face.

Her long red hair was down today, curled slightly, and she wore minimum makeup. But Lizzie was naturally beautiful, and I was glad she didn’t cover up her freckles, which was just about my favorite feature of hers next to her big green eyes.

She shifted slightly on her feet when I kept my gaze on her, her fair skin turning slightly red. She looked around the room before bringing her eyes back to me, biting her bottom lip.

It was taking everything in me not to walk up to her and carry her out of the room.

I knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday then, and it wasn’t appropriate in front of company.

After a while, Lizzie rolled her eyes, and said, “Max.”

“What?”

Olivia let out a small sigh. “He knew about the surprise party, didn’t he?”

Mason laughed then, taking away the tension in the room, and everyone joined him. He pulled her close to him and whispered something in her ear. She scoffed and pulled away.

“How? I have been sneaky about it.”

I couldn’t hold in my laugh then, as I walked over to Olivia, shooting a wink at Lizzie beforehand.

“This looks wonderful, kiddo,” I said, pulling Olivia into my arms. She buried her face in my chest.

“You could at least act surprised,” she said.

“Sorry, I was distracted.”

She shot me a toothy grin. “Yeah, I could see that.”

I ruffled her hair before pulling away and greeting everyone. Gage and Logan looked amused about the whole thing, though I knew they would never say anything to upset Olivia. I shared a smile with them before I turned to the girls, giving a smiling Hayden a hug. She had definitely come a long way since Logan had met her. She seemed happier and lighter, as opposed to the cynical woman I had met two years ago, who had held onto her small group of people closely. Kiera was next, and though we didn’t know each other very well, I liked her charm. She wasn’t shy about meeting new people like Olivia, nor was she reserved like Hayden. And if the girls’ night was anything to go by, then Kiera had a wild and impulsive side.

Gage definitely had his hands full.

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