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“The best one by far,” I answer with a yawn, ignoring the way my body is sayingAgain.
“I’m running you a bath,” Brecken voices, getting up and padding naked towards the spiral stairs. Returning a few minutes later, he rolls me up from the bed and throws me over his shoulder.
I giggle as he walks down several flights of stairs to my steam-filled bathroom, marveling at his tight ass and the beautiful divots in his lower back. Carefully, he lowers me into the still running water before soaping up a wash cloth and smoothing it over my skin.
I smile at how lucky I am, lifting a hand and tracing it along his jaw. His hair looks well-fucked, his muscles glorious. “I’m yours,” I tell him affectionately.
“I love you,” he replies, tenderly fussing over me. After washing my hair and drying me off, he lifts me out of the warm water. “Get dressed; I’ll see you for brunch.”
“No special instructions on what to wear?” I sass.
“Later,” he promises.
“You need to give me back the panties you keep stealing from me. I’m running low.”
“Don’t know what you mean,” he answers with a soft smile. “Besides, there’s a whole trunk full upstairs.”
With a wink, he opens the bathroom door and heads up the stairs. I follow, watching him disappear behind the ancient front door as I continue to my room.
Light streams in through the narrow windows, the April sky a bright, crisp blue. A light flurry of snow is forecast for later, but it won’t disrupt our plans to ski.
After selecting a navy wool dress and long brown boots, I pick out some sexy underwear and stockings. Then I blow dry my hair. It’s got long now, falling to my lower back in loose, soft waves. Going for the minimalist look, I apply some black mascara and dark liner on my top lid, adding some highlighter to my cheekbones.
Ready, I check my mobile.
Emily:Happy Birthday! Hope you have an amazing time today! xxx *cake emoji* *champagne emoji*
There’s a picture of her drinking from her mug that reads Sexy Bitch. She’s captioned it with the words: Toasting your special day!
Betsy:Enjoy the last year of your twenties! Thinking of you xx
Justin:Have a good birthday. Come visit soon. Em and Betsy are being über-bosses and I need saving. J x
Their messages make me smile, but I’m sad about the missing messages I’d normally wake to on my birthday, on any day. I’m sad about the phone calls that will never come. Picking up a photo frame from my desk, I study the much-missed faces of my parents and sister.
Grief never goes. Some days, it’s an unendurable punishment, inflicting all sorts of agony on my soul. And on important days like today, when the little rituals we’d have as a family are no longer part of my day, no matter how much I try and follow them, I drown under that loss.
Wiping my eyes, I take a final look in the mirror before heading downstairs. Voices carry toward me from the kitchen. I recognize Sofia’s quiet laugh, and Diana’s strong, cultured voice. Going by the effusive greetings, Rachel and Ethan have just arrived too.
Keeping watch, Luca spots me as I make my way towards them. Meeting the wider family never gets old. I love the way they have gathered me into their bosom and their hearts.
Just like when I first met him, Luca’s mouth hitches in a half-smile. What I know now that I didn’t know then, is that it’s his signature look, one that’s happy, content, invested.
“Here she is! The birthday girl!”
In the following seconds, I feel the attention of a dozen gazes, then the commotion of multiple greetings being called out, and of celebratory comments. I let The Moms descend on me first, each of them flooding me in kisses and perfume. I get a hug from Bella before The Dads, who collectively I’ve recently decided to capitalize as a given name, follow. Jasper. Ethan. Connor.
Balthazar waits until the very end to congratulate me. He cups my face, kissing me on each cheek, his sapphire eyes sparkling with merriment. “You make me so proud. Happy birthday, Winter.”
“Thank you,” I say, feeling overcome with emotion. The continued welcome this family shows me never dims, and after my earlier sorrow I feel choked up with emotion again.
Any side conversations have completely dried up, everyone’s focus on us. Me. “Thank you all for coming.”
“Come and take a seat,” Sofia instructs, smiling happily. “Open your presents.”
A pile of wrapped gifts sits on the walnut table. There must be a minimum of twenty, all covered in sparkly, glittery paper, or hidden inside shiny gift bags.
“Oh wow. Look at all of these!” I say, surprised, but also unsurprised. This family always goes big.
