She slid into the booth and placed the present in front of me. “It’s not much, but I wanted you to have it.”
I ignored it, looking at her with the same bewilderment. My arm moved over the back of the booth once more, subconsciously claiming her so the dogs would stop sniffing. When I glanced at her left hand, I noticed the princess cut diamond ring I gave her, shining more brilliantly than any other piece of jewelry anyone else wore. “What are you doing here?”
“Liam told me you were celebrating your birthday here with friends… I thought I was also a friend.” Her attitude slipped into her tone, offended that I wasn’t touched by the gesture.
I didn’t see her as a friend—but I didn’t tell her that. “How did you know it was my birthday?”
“How about you stop asking a million questions and just open your present?” She sat up straight with her arms on the table, the curve in her back so deep that it made her ass look even bigger.
I stared at her, slightly embarrassed she was there, but I was even more embarrassed because I was touched by the gift.
Kent watched us. “Asshole, your wife got you a birthday present. Put a smile on your face and open it.” He slid out of the booth with the girl he’d been flirting with. They traveled to the bar to get another drink.
Leaving me alone with her.
She kept watching me, and when I didn’t open it, her eyes started to fill with sadness. “I finished at the theater, and I wanted to stop by and give this to you. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or ruin—”
“You just caught me off guard. That’s all.” And I never let anyone catch me off guard. I grabbed the present and ripped through the wrapping, revealing a picture frame. It was a photo of my mother and me. It had been taken on Easter Sunday. She was in a white dress with her fingernails painted in pastels. I wore a collared shirt she’d gotten me for my birthday. It was the last holiday we’d celebrated before she died. My hand started to shake as I held the picture, remembering that spring day so perfectly.
“I noticed you don’t have any picture frames on your desk… I thought you could put this up. Abigail found the picture for me.”
The only reason Abigail helped her was because she liked her…and she wanted me to lighten up.
Arwen kept watching me as I stared at the picture.
It was difficult to pull my gaze away because I wished my mother were still here. I wished I could put the frame down, then look up and see her face. My heart had hardened into stone, so I hardly ever felt anything…but this made me feel so much. When I couldn’t look at it anymore, I turned the picture over onto the table. “Thank you…” I still hadn’t looked at Arwen yet, unsure what to say to her. She’d just chased away an easy lay, but I couldn’t care less about getting pussy anymore.
She pulled the picture back toward her. “I’ll take it back to the house for you. I thought I could hang out with your friends, but it looks like you guys are all doing the same thing…” Picking up women to take home.
“How did you know it was my birthday?”
“I caught Abigail sneaking a cupcake to your room.”
She did it every year—even though I asked her not to. “I’m pretty tired. I think I’m ready to head home.”
“I didn’t mean to scare off your date.”
“If I really wanted to take someone home, I would make it happen.” Now the idea of taking home a random woman felt anticlimactic. I didn’t feel the angry bitterness in my chest anymore. Now there was warmth there…so I didn’t want something meaningless.
“Alright.” She rolled up the wrapping paper and grabbed the picture frame. “I guess I’ll see you at the house.” She slid out of the booth and rose to her feet.
Once again, every man in the room turned to gawk at her, to check out her perfect legs, petite waist, and sexy-as-fuck tits.
I didn’t like it.
I got to my feet and circled my arm around her waist.
She flinched at the touch but brushed it off just as quickly.
When we walked out, I saw the blonde give me the coldest stare. She felt replaced by a woman so beautiful she couldn’t possibly compete. Kent winked at me from the bar then gave me a thumbs-up, telling me to go for it.
We left the bar, and I walked her to her Mercedes a few blocks away at the curb. I didn’t want her walking around dressed like that. I was surprised she made it to the bar without being accosted by ten different guys.