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“What are you doing?”
“Nothing. What are you doing?”
“Ah, I’m waiting for you to take me somewhere special for my birthday.”
Another glance at his watch.
“Alright, McKenzie, now you’re being weird. Why do you have to drop into the pub to see Bluey? You’ve got some drug deal going down or something?”
“Haha. Okay, we’re good.”
He took her hand as they walked across the road to the pub, opening the door and ushering her through first. She nearly fell back against him at the sight that greeted her.
“Surprise!”
All of her favorite people were there, with streamers, balloons and party whistles. Billy ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her legs. “Happy birthday, Mikky!” She picked him up and gave him a big cuddle as everyone surged forward to greet her. She glanced over her shoulder at Rafe as she was dragged into the crowd. She wanted to say something, anything, to acknowledge how special this felt to her. But the pull of the crowd was irresistible and so she went with it, greeting her parents, Juniper and William, Callum, Len and Bluey, the entire football team and their wives and girlfriends. It was overwhelming. When she got to Leah, she went to speak, but Leah took one look at her face and stopped her short.
“Bathroom. Now.”
With no opportunity to raise even a slight objection, Mikayla followed her.
“I swear, I leave you alone for, what, half an hour, forty-five minutes and you’ve made a mess of yourself.” Mikayla looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t think she looked too bad. Her eyes might have been a bit red, but her mascara was still good, and you couldn’t see that she’d been crying. Leah pushed her inexorably towards an overstuffed armchair in the corner of the room. “Sit.”
She gave herself over to Leah’s expert ministrations, which gave her the perfect opportunity to speak her mind. “You’re a sly one!”
“I know,” Leah replied with a grin, dabbing some creamy substance on the back of her hand, dipping her finger in it and wiping very carefully along Mikayla’s cheekbone.
“You let me go on and on about how I regretted not having a party. Oh, let’s go out tomorrow night, Mik. It won’t be a party, but it’ll be fun.”
“Yep.”
Mikayla leaned back as Leah reached into her bag for more makeup. “And when in the hell did you find the time to dress up like this.” She waved her hand up and down in front of Leah, taking in her little black dress, strappy high heeled sandals and immaculate makeup.
“I dropped you off and shot up to Juniper’s. We got ready there and we’ve been here about,” she stopped to check her watch, “ten minutes.”
“The cheek!”
“You love it.” She dipped a thick brush in a pot of powder but before she could dust it over Mikayla’s face, she stopped her, grabbing her wrist.
“I do love it,” she said, very seriously.
“Good. I’m glad.” Leah finished the touch up and gave Mikayla a quick scan. “You’re good to go.”
“Have you got a hair tie? I want my hair up if I’m gonna dance.”
Rafe watched Mikayla as she came out of the bathroom with Leah, her hair in a high ponytail and her eyes bright. She was looking for him. He knew it was going to happen. He braced himself. But nothing seemed to be able to prepare him for the kick he felt when their eyes collided across the room. It was getting worse. At times he felt almost overwhelmed when he looked at her, just this really intense feeling that overwhelmed him. He’d really started to notice it in Thredbo, especially after they’d made love in the shower the first morning they were there. But he had to admit, it was getting worse. Stronger. Harder to control. He thought she could sense it because she hadn’t been the same since then, either. She was a bit moody, a bit flat. He’d been seriously alarmed when she’d insisted that she didn’t want a party. Watching her push through the crowd towards him, her eyes shining, he was immensely glad he’d followed his gut instinct and organized the surprise.
“You cheeky bugger!” She threw her arms around his neck, planting a big, wet kiss on his lips, which he returned with fervor. “I swear sometimes you know me better than I know myself.”
“You happy?” He slipped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
“Ecstatic.” She kissed him again. “Thank you, Rafe. I really needed this.”
“You’re welcome.”
The bartender served the drinks Rafe had ordered while Mikayla was in the bathroom.
“Ooh, Midori Illusions? It’s like we’re teenagers again.” She kept her arm draped around his neck as she reached for her drink and took a sip. “Mm, the best.” She kissed him again.
