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I smirked at him, knowing he was trying to make me feel like I did a good job…Which I didn’t.
“I thought we didn’t lie to each other, Lincoln?”
“What?” He looked back at the mirror. “It looks great, no?”
“If you say so,” I shrugged.
He stood there momentarily, and I thought he was going to ask to stay, but he just helped me clean up the towels. He opened my door to leave as I was walking into the bathroom but then he turned around.
“Hey, Aubrey?” It sounded like a question, so I looked over at him.
“Yeah?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to look at your beautiful face again.” I felt my cheeks flush as he walked out the door without another word.
I couldn’t help but lay in bed and smile about how incredible today was. How normal it all felt. Even seeing Lincoln again, it felt like we would really be okay. I felt my eyes drifting closed, and I got a great night’s sleep.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Aubrey
Iwalked outside the following day, my birthday, and Lincoln was leaning on his car waiting to go running.
“Happy birthday, beautiful.”
He scooped me up into a big bear hug. His hand grazed my ass, and a tingle went through my body. His touch always does that to me. I slapped his shoulder.
“Put me down, crazy.”
My cheeks hurt from smiling. He slowly put me down then he took off running to try to get ahead of me.
After our run, I went upstairs and put the finishing touches on the song so I could show Elijah when he came for my birthday celebration. Lincoln invited him and a few others I grew semi-close to while I was here. Elijah just happened to be on a break for a few days.
About an hour later, I went down to help Liza prepare the house for all the guests. She wouldn’t let me do much, but I tried. It seems like this will be a lot bigger than I thought.
Liza and my mom talked about my childhood and some of the crazy things I’ve gotten myself into. My mom and dad brought all kinds of pictures, which made me super embarrassed, but at the same time, I was so happy that I honestly didn’t care.
The house was packed with friendly faces once four o’clock hit. It was good to see some of the people I’ve met here. Even Miss Mabel was here. Elijah and the rest of the band came by. I got him to sneak away with me to play what I had for him. He loved it and said they would consider it. I just had to send him a demo. He told me that if they chose to use it, they would be able to debut it at the Connecticut show.
He handed me the tickets I asked for. “I gave these to Link to give you, but he never got the chance to, so he gave them back to me, but they are yours if you want them. Do you need more than this?”
“Four is perfect. I’ll bring my sister and friends.”
“Fuck yes, please bring your sister. Tell her I’ll give her a VIP tour of the bus if she wants one.” He laughed that big laugh I’ve come to know.
I slapped him on his shoulder. “You better not corrupt my perfect little sister.”
He held up one hand and put the other one down on the sheet music like he was swearing on a bible. “I plead the fifth.”
I chuckled and rolled my eyes.
We went downstairs as soon as we were finished and found the party had moved into the backyard. Pops lit the fire pit and gave everyone sticks for marshmallows. Elijah brought his guitar, so he and some friends played some songs. Then he asked me if I wanted to play with him. Of course I did. We played a few songs that we both knew, like Better Together by Jack Johnson and Wonderwall by Oasis.
Elijah continued to play a little bit longer once I stopped. I was sitting with my mom and she leaned over and gave me a side hug.
“Tennessee looks good on you, ya know.”
I smiled at her. “I love it here.”
