Page 101 of A Dose of Pretty Poison

“No. I’m honest. And you’re delicious.”

I swear, his mouth is going to be the death of me one day. Whether it’s from the magic of his tongue, or the dirty things he says, I’m not sure. But it’s going to kill me.

Oh well. At least I’ll die satisfied.

Forcing myself to sit up, I smile at him. “Happy Birthday, baby.”

“Thank you.” He props himself up on his elbow and kisses my cheek. “Can it be my birthday every day?”

My nose scrunches. “Are you sure you want that? You’re already getting kind of old.”

“Twenty minutes.” he chuckles. “You could only go twenty minutes without insulting me on my birthday.”

I press my fist to my mouth as I giggle. “You walked right into it.”

His eyes roll playfully. “Can we just stay in bed all day? I just want to have you to myself, over and over again.”

“Yes,” I agree, because there is no part of that I don’t like. “But we have to leave by four.”

“Where are we going?”

“Your mom’s, for dinner and cake with her and Devin,” I explain. “And then I think Cam and Mali are going to come over so we can drink. Monty had offered his boat, but I turned him down.”

To be honest, I’ve been trying to distance myself from him—at least as much as I can, anyway. He’s a great friend and I appreciate all he’s done to help me, but he’s not worth losing my marriage over. I know what it’s like when someone wants to steal what’s yours, and whether his assumption of Monty is accurate or not, I don’t want him to feel threatened in any way.

Hayes’s lips purse as he looks at me. “I don’t know. Maybe we should take him up on that.”

What?“Babe, he would be there. This isn’t like last time. He saidwecould take his boat, meaning him included.”

“Yeah, so?” He shrugs.

“You hate Monty,” I deadpan.

His hand reaches out to take mine. “Yeah, but I have fond memories involving that boat.”

I melt, becoming putty in his hands. He can’t stand Monty, but spending his birthday on the same boat where he first realized he was falling in love with me is worth the guy being around on his birthday. Just when I think I couldn’t possibly love him any more than I already do, he goes and does that.

“Are you sure?” I ask. “Because it can just be the four of us here. He doesn’t need to come.”

He shakes his head. “Nah, really. It’s fine. A night on the boat sounds fun. Besides, soon it’ll be too cold for it.”

“Okay.” I grab my phone off the nightstand. “I’ll text him and let him know.”

Hey. Does the offer for your boat tonight still stand? Thinking we’ll all meet at the docks around six? That way we’re out there for the sunset.

It only takes a minute for him to respond.

Sounds good. I’ll grab Mali and meet you there.

I smile, sending him a quick thank you and putting my phone back where it was. “All set. We’ll head out at six and watch the sunset.”

“Great,” he says, reaching out to grab me. “Now get back over here. I just turned twenty-one, which means you owe me twenty more of your orgasms.”

Pretty sure that’s not how that works, but no part of me is about to argue.

LET ME TELL YOU,mama’s boys are so slept on. They know how to treat you with respect, have someone they can go to if they need ideas on what to buy you for a present, and most of the time, they put your pleasure before their own. Not to mention the way Hayes is with his mom is the fucking cutest. Their bond is unmatched. It’s like she’s not just his mother, she’s also one of his best friends.

She carefully carries the cake over with the lit candles as we sing happy birthday. Devin, of course, adds her own lyrics for the sake of roasting him. But as we get to the end of the song, where he’s supposed to make a wish, he smiles at me and pulls me onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me.

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