Page 139 of Lucky Mother Pucker

Intensity flickers in his mahogany eyes as he holds my gaze. I still can’t believe he did this for me.

We walk out of the restaurant, holding hands. Leo pulls out of the parking garage and drives in the direction of the house.

“That was the best night ever,” I say.

He turns to me. “It’s not over yet.”

I sit up, eager to find out what else he has planned.

“What else do you have planned?”

Just like before, he looks at me and flashes that sexy, knowing smile. “You’ll see.”

Chapter 50

Lucy

When I open the door to the house, it’s pitch black.

That’s weird. I could have sworn the lights were on when we left earlier.

A second later, the lights flip on. The entire living room is covered in streamers and balloons.

A bunch of people pop up from behind the couch and out of the kitchen and yell, “Happy Birthday, Lucy!” as they fire off confetti cannons.

I gasp, my eyes wide as I take it all in.

Nick, Poppy, Travis, Anna, Blake, and Briar are all standing around in birthday party hats. Wally comes running over to me, barking excitedly. When I see a happy birthday sign tied to his collar, I squeal.

I give him a kiss, then look up at everyone.

“Oh my gosh, you guys.” Emotion rises up in my chest. Happy tears burn my eyes.

My smile is wobbly. “This is…I can’t believe…” I sniffle and fan my face as I try my hardest not to cry.

I let out a snotty laugh anyway.

Anna, Briar, and Poppy run up to hug me.

“Sorry, I’m so emotional.” I sniffle.

“It’s okay,” Briar says. “I happy-cry all the time.”

“Me too,” Poppy says.

“Same,” Anna says through a laugh.

I instantly feel relieved knowing I’m not alone.

“When Leo told us you didn’t get a proper celebration for your birthday this year, we wanted to do something special for you,” Briar says.

I look up and see Blake and Travis walking out holding a giant sheet cake, the words “Happy Birthday to you, Lucy!” written in pretty cursive yellow frosting.

That wave of emotions swoops through me once more as the group starts singing, “Happy Birthday.”

Nick shouts impressively off-key. Anna frowns and elbows him. He looks at me. “Sorry, I think I might be tone deaf.”

I wipe the happy tears from my face as I laugh. “This is amazing, you guys. Thank you so much.”