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“I have been at his place every day this week. I’m enjoying myself.”
Nora covered her ears. “Little sister sitting right here.” We all laughed at her reaction, but she removed her hands and rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to know about my brothers’ sex lives, thank you very much. But I do like to see them happy. And you wouldn’t remember this, but I was one of the few people who knew you and Campbell were dating in high school.”
I blinked at her. “What? No, I don’t remember that at all.”
“He was a senior, and I was a freshman. Dad made him drive me home after practice sometimes, and we’d swing by Sonic.”
My cheeks heated. “Oh!”
I had no recollection of Campbell ever having Nora with him when he had come by Sonic. But she remembered that. My tunnel vision when it came to Campbell was intense.
Piper smacked her arm. “You knew this all along and never told us?”
Nora laughed. “Hey! Clearly, Blaire didn’t want anyone to know.”
“I appreciate it.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Piper said with a sigh. “I just hate not knowing things about my best friend.”
“Aww, love you, bestie.” I squeezed her tight. I turned back to Nora. “And where is your new roommate?”
“West went home for the weekend to see his family.”
“West, is it?” Piper drawled.
“Yeah. I guess his friends call him West. No one really calls him Weston.”
I smirked at her reddening cheeks. “Does someone have a crush?”
“What?” she gasped. “No way. He’s just…my roommate.”
Piper and I shot each other a glance. Yeah, right.
“Besides…I’m still upset about August. I saw him again Thursday at Starbucks and had a breakdown. West made us go get ice cream because I was sad.”
“That was nice of him,” I said.
Piper wrinkled her nose. “Sorry about August. You should forget that loser.”
“I know. I’m trying. I just…never dated before August. So, all of this is so out of my depth. He was the one, you know?”
Piper looked like she was going to tell her exactly where she could shove the whole “the one” business, but I quickly cut in, “I get it. First, find happiness and love with yourself, and the rest will be there, waiting when you’re ready.”
She nodded. “Thanks, Blaire.”
That was when the rest of the party came out of the house. They ushered the birthday girl, Helene Wright, into a chair. She laughed at the entire display as we crowded in around her. Then, Jordan and Julian came out of the house, carrying a brightly lit sheet cake between them.
Helene covered her mouth with her hands in delight.
It had been a hard few years for Helene. She’d moved to Lubbock to be back home after her cancer diagnosis. The boys had followed her here, and though she was fully recovered, she was much more fragile than she had been before. I loved that they wanted to do it bigger and better for her each year.
Campbell stepped up to my side, snaking an arm around my waist as he sang “Happy Birthday” perfectly in tune. It was unfair. No one should sing this song this well. He smirked at me, as if reading my mind.
Then, the cake was placed in front of Helene, and Jordan said, “Blow out the candles,” at the same time Julian cried, “Make a wish!”
Helene laughed, closed her eyes, and then blew out the candles, all in one long breath. She stood then and kissed both of her sons on their cheeks. Then, Sutton, who worked in a local downtown bakery, squeezed in and began to expertly cut up the cake.
Campbell drew me in a little closer, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “You’re my wish.”
My eyes met his, and the entire party fell away. I was here with him, and we’d never had this a day in our life. I hadn’t quite realized how much it would mean to me to be here with him.
“You’re mine.”
“I am,” he agreed. He tucked my hand into his. “Come with me. I want you to meet some people.”
“Okay,” I said, grabbing a piece of the chocolate cake and following him to where his family stood around Helene.
The family relations were interesting in the whole mix. The Wrights were Jordan and Julian’s cousins on their father’s side, but the Abbeys were their cousins on their mom’s side. So, the Abbeys and the Wrights weren’t related, but they were tied together through Helene. I thought it was beautiful. Especially considering I’d never had big, family affairs.
My mom was…well, Pamela. She and Hal had always celebrated holidays with me when I lived at home, but after that, it’d just kind of slipped away. And Dad was in Michigan, where most of my cousins were, too. I saw them on occasion, like if someone was getting married. But otherwise, we just lived different lives. I wished I had something special like this. I spent more holidays with Piper’s wonderfully large and festive Mexican family than my own.
