She was planning to stay until after my birthday. If all went well, I was hoping she’d stick around. Nervousness ran through me at the thought of her in my house. Family. Real family. As a foster child, it was a foreign concept that made me want to run the other way. It was hard enough to reply to her, letting her know she could come. I’d stood in front of the mail drop off for ten minutes before Davies came up, grabbed the envelope, and shoved it inside for me.
And when I tried to get it back out, he lifted me up and carried me away, caveman style. So now, she was coming and I kind of wanted to throw up.
Nerves. Not something I was too familiar with, at least not at this level.
My phone buzzed, and I answered as I flicked through the clothes in my closet. I really was going to have to go shopping again. Maybe online, so I didn’t have to go to the stores. I didn’t like shopping.
“Your birthday’s next weekend and this is the first I’m hearing about it? I thought I was your best friend,” Ami said through the phone. There was what sounded like wind blowing and grunting going on in the background.
“Ami, if you’re calling while you’re in the middle of beating someone up again, I’m going to hunt you down and beat you up myself.”
She snorted. “You can try.”
“I have uncontrollable power, I don’t need to try. All I need to do is sneeze and I’ll accidentally take you down.”
She chuckled. “You’ll get the hang of it. Now stop changing the subject. Birthday. The big two-oh. Why haven’t you told me? Now I have to rush through and get everything settled.”
There was a huge thud, followed by the sound of something shattering.
“Ami, call me when you’re done with work.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m partnering with Davies and Elliot, and they’re handling it. We’re almost all set. So, birthday, spill.”
I held back a laugh. “Nothing to tell. I’m going to be turning twenty. The invitation for them will be sent out tomorrow, after I talk with the guys tonight.”
“Hun, why the hell are you planning your own party?”
My eyes automatically went to the box on my dresser and the contents inside of them.
“After you talk to your hunks tonight, let me take this over for you. You shouldn’t have to plan your own party. There’s a whole lot of wrongness to it.”
My smile widened as my heart warmed. Ami kept talking, not even aware of how she was affecting me.
“You’re the birthday girl. Your job is to go out and get into trouble, it’s to smile and laugh and be happy while you leave the details to someone else.” She paused and my throat was too tight with happy emotions to respond to her. When I didn’t reply right away, she continued. “I know you’re a control freak, I know you need to know every aspect of everything going on around you. But, Sparks, this is your birthday party. You should never ever plan your own party. There’s a level of patheticness to it. So let me do it. Hand the reins over to me. I promise to take really good care of you.”
She finally stopped.
“Okay.”
“Okay? That’s all I get?”
I laughed. “I don’t know what to say. I never had someone who wanted to plan my birthday party for me. If I ever wanted one, it would have been up to me to put it together. In fact, this would be my first birthday party.”
“Freeze.”
I stopped talking.
“You never had a birthday party?”
“Never had time or a need. I have a reason now.”
Ami’s voice lowered. “Oh? Care to explain?”
“Is Davies still around?”
“He’s talking with Elliot.”
“Good. Neither can hear me.”
“Dish. Right night. I’m practically jumping up and down here. What is going on? What’s with the secrecy?”
“Calm down, Ami. I’m just going to make a special announcement at my birthday party.”
“Oh no, honey. I should have known. I didn’t think I needed to give you this talk, not at this age.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
She sighed. “Listen, I thought you’d know this by now, but when you have sex, it’s the number one rule. No glove, no love.” She sighed. “Do you know who the father is?”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“I guess it’s too late to give you the sex talk.” She mumbled something else that got garbled through the phone.
I coughed, choking on my spit, and then, unable to hold back, broke out in laughter. “Ami, I don’t need the sex talk. I’m not pregnant.”
“Oh, thank fuck. I’m not ready to be an auntie.” She sighed. “So what’s the announcement?”
I shuddered at the thought of a tiny thing growing inside of me. I was pretty sure Ami had the same reaction.
“Come on, Sparks, I’m dying of curiosity here.”
“Secret.”
“Aw, come on, spill.”
“Nope. Just for thinking I’m dumb enough to get pregnant, you’ll just have to be at my birthday party to find out.”
“Of fucking course I’ll be there. Do you really think I’d miss your first birthday party ever? Who do you take me for?” She kept grumbling as I flipped through my clothes and finally settled on a dark red dress mean to show off my legs.
“We’ll talk tomorrow then. I need to get ready for dinner. Make sure Davies and Elliot aren’t late. Everyone is going to be there tonight.”
“You got it, boss.”
We hung up shortly after, and I jumped into the shower, lost in too many thoughts about dinner tonight, my aunt tomorrow, and my first ever birthday party next weekend. I was a mess of emotions, excited and nervous, anxious enough to make my stomach feel like it was cramping. But underneath all that was something I rarely allowed myself to feel: hopefulness.
If everything went as I hoped it did, I was going to be a very happy woman for years to come. But first, I needed to get through tonight and for all the guys to agree before I could feel more confident about my choices.
Chapter Four
We all managed to make it to dinner, which was exactly what I needed. Everyone was in good spirits. Even Dwight and Shanton were behaving, neither trying to tear the other’s throat out. That had to be good news, right? Usually at dinners, it was tense between them. Putting two alpha males together was always dangerous.
The last time the two of them were in the same room with me they almost broke out into a physical fight, but tonight, it looked like they were finding a way to co-exist. Shanton was talking with Dwight about a trip he was planning to take to see his dragon brethren out west. There was a shine of excitement in his eyes, and after going out west to find Padraig, I kind of understood why. There was a wilderness beyond the Mississippi River that we didn’t get here. Nature lorded over the lands on that side and it gave creatures a chance at living that they wouldn’t have found near civilization.
Our server moved around us fluidly as he placed our meals in front of us. His golden eyes remained on his task. When he got to me, I smiled at him.
“Thank you, Talver,” I said.
He paused and looked at me, eyes widening slightly in surprise. My smile broadened. Talver had been our server since we’d started our weekly ritual. He looked to be about my age, which didn’t really say much, just that he could be young. He had pure black skin, golden eyes, with two horns on his head. Tall, lean, and fluid, I thought he was more suited on stage than in a restaurant. I liked him. He was attentive, always making sure our drinks were full. And someday, I hoped to get him to let me touch his horns. They were adorable.
“Are you done?” Alijah asked with a bit of a bite to his words. He noticed me staring at the server. Talver heard the tiger shifter and moved faster as he finished attending to everyone before slipping out.
“Jealous much?” I asked.
“You don’t need to stare at him.” Alijah’s scowl darkened his eyes.
I smirked
. “You’re adorable when you’re jealous.” I leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips. His eyes widened slightly in surprise as the others chuckled. “Don’t worry, I promise the only people I’m interested are in this room with me right now. Now that we have all our food, how about a small toast?”
“For what?” Davies asked.
“To Venni, for being back to full health. He’s cleared to get into another fight again.” I lifted up my glass and the others followed along. “To Venni.”
We toasted and took a drink.
“I have another toast,” Dwight said and looked at me.
“More news?” I asked.
He smirked. “To Laila unsuccessfully hiding her birthday from us.”
The others went along with it, and I groaned. “Seems like everyone knows now.” I shot a glance at Venni. His lip curled into the tiniest of smiles as one of his eyebrows lifted slightly.
“Yes, birthday!” Davies grinned big. “What are we doing?”
“Depends.” I stabbed at my salad. “Will everyone be there?”
“Yes,” Dwight said. His word was law and since everyone there worked for him—except for Shanton—he’d make it happen. It had to be great to be the boss.
“Then, Ami is taking over the preparations for the party, so all you have to do is show up.” I eyed them.
Elliot flashed me a smile. “That we can do.”
“Next Sunday, right?” Alijah asked.
“Yessum.”
“We have some time. Were you going to keep that tidbit from us?” Davies asked. “Why hide your birthday from us?” He sounded hurt.
“No.” I shook my head, needing him to believe me. “I was going to bring it up with you guys now.” I glanced down and my cheeks heated as I asked, “I know you said that you’d all be there for my birthday, but I wanted to offer an official invitation. Plus, I was wondering if it’d be possible to go on a date with each of you alone this week.”
There was a moment of silence, and I held my breath. I knew Dwight said they’d all be there, but asking them like this, offering a formal invitation, it was weird and nerve-wracking. And I knew the dates were going to be hard, but I needed to have them before the party. I needed to verify they were in this with me, and that they were willing to show me a part of themselves that they normally kept hidden.
They always say that the worse that can happen is that the answer is no. I called bullshit on that, because sometimes, that was the worst thing that could ever happen. A no coming from people you cared about had a way of dashing hope, breaking trust, and warping emotions into something dark and bitter.
I knew, if they said no, I’d never ask them again. I wouldn’t hold any expectations of them being there for me. It was dark and depressing, but for me, a no from these guys would do that to me.
“I don’t know if I should feel offended or happy that you’re asking,” Rhett said. “You never have to ask if we will be there for moments like that. We will. And if something is in the way, well, we’ll take care of it and make sure we can be there. As for the dates, we’d be honored to spend some alone time with you.”
“Agreed,” Dwight said. “You don’t ever have to ask us for something like that and look like you’re waiting for us to punch you.” There was a slight growl to his words, and I met his eyes. Black Dog paced behind his eyes, upset that I was upset. My shoulders slumped, relief easing the tension in my body.
The others said something along the same lines, agreeing with Rhett and Dwight.
A genuine smile spread across my face, and I blinked back happy, relieved tears. “Thank you,” I managed to say around the clump of heavy emotions in my throat. I didn’t know it would be so hard to ask them such a simple request. “I spent some time with Venni yesterday, and I realized I didn’t really have that opportunity with everyone.”
“So, a birthday week?” Davies asked with a nod. “I like it. Just you, me, and wherever the night may take us.”
Venni cleared his throat. “Just as long as you realize it’s her taking you out and not the other way around.”
That caught the men’s attention and they all looked at me. “What does he mean?” Shanton asked.
“I’m in charge of the date. I pick you up, take you out,” I smiled, “and return you back to your house at the end.”
“Oh? And the goodnight kiss?” Davies asked, leaning forward.
I didn’t back down from his challenge. “It is mine to give.”
“You’re wearing the pants on the dates this week?” Elliot asked.
“I am.”
“This should be interesting,” Dwight said. Shanton snickered. Rhett didn’t look too excited about me taking the lead. Nor did Alijah. They were the doting kind and they couldn’t dote on me if I was in charge.
Davies and Elliot would go along with it easy enough, they were more relaxed about gender roles, but for the older men, it was going to be interesting. Shanton and Dwight shared a look and I knew exactly what they were thinking.
“I ask that you respect my request,” I said, looking at the two of them.
They froze and met my eyes, their expressions turning serious. I needed them to understand that I needed this.
“Just this week. Please?”
Shanton and Dwight shared another look before nodding.
“What’s special about this week, Laila?” Shanton asked.
“Just think of it as an exercise in the growth of my personality,” I replied. “This is important to me. I know it may seem silly to you, but I need this. Just this week. Then you can take me out on all the dates you want and let your bank accounts suffer for it.”
Davies snorted at that. “They’ll behave,” he said. “How can we say no when you ask so kindly like that.”
Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “Is there sarcasm in there? I feel like there is.”
He just shrugged and took a bite out of his cornbread. Apparently, to help with the high-end feel of the restaurant, they added real corn to their cornbread, and to make their specialty version, they also added in some spices to give it a little heat.
I rolled my eyes.
“I’ll send you everyone’s schedule so you can coordinate better with everyone,” Rhett said. “It’s a slower week than normal, so you should be able to find time with everyone before your birthday.”
“I’ll have Von reach out to you about my schedule to help set out a date,” Shanton said with a smile. “I’m looking forward to spending time with you.” His words were practically a purr. I didn’t even know dragons could purr.
“This week will be fun.” I smiled, taking in the men around me. My men. How did it even get to this? One day it was just me taking care of me. The next? Men wanted to date me. It felt… easy. Too easy? Was it supposed to be this easy?
“Stop overthinking whatever you’re overthinking,” Elliot said. I blinked and focused on him.
“Sorry.”
He smiled and nodded.
“Your aunt is coming tomorrow, right?” Shanton asked, thankfully changing the topic.
“Yeah.”
“How are you feeling?” Elliot asked, insightful to the confusing bundle of emotions whirling around inside of me.
“I’m scared shitless,” I said. “Never had family before. Even though it’s been a couple of weeks, I still don’t know what to think about that.” I glanced at all the guys. “I have an aunt. Me.” I shook my head. “It’s unreal.”
“And will be even more unreal when you see her,” Elliot replied softly.
I nodded. “Exactly. What do I do with an aunt? I don’t have a point of reference for her. I don’t know where to put her in my head, how to rank her, the expectations when interacting with her.”
“Laila, calm down,” Dwight said, halting my impending rant. “A relationship doesn’t have an equation to go with it nor is there a right answer. All you can do is talk with her and find a way that works for the two of you. You’ll figure it out.”
�
��There should be.”
“There isn’t. I already looked,” Elliot said.
Unable to stop myself, I smiled. “Men can never find something when they look for it. They always have to ask someone else to search for what’s right in front of their face.”
“Oh, ouch. That burns,” Davies said.
“But it’s true.” I pointed my fork at him. “Ami told me about the time you misplaced your gun.”
His eyes widened and flickered to Dwight. I snorted.
“I already know about it,” Dwight said calmly. Then he broke out into a feral smile and looked Davies right in the eye. The poor man only lasted a second before he looked down and away from Dwight. “Do it again and I’ll be more than happy to remind you why you should always know exactly where your weapon is.”
“Yes, Boss.” Davies managed to look regretful, his discomfort growing.
I couldn’t hold it in and broke out laughing. The rest of dinner went by quickly as we continued to tease Davies. When we finished, I gave each guy a goodbye kiss.
Elliot stayed behind, and I smiled. “Are you my escort home?”
He nodded. “Have to make sure you don’t get lost.”
I laughed and let him lead the way. Venni had driven me to dinner so I got into Elliot’s car.
Elliot didn’t take me home right away, like expected, instead he headed toward the outskirts of the city and up the side of a cliff.
“Are you kidnapping me?” I teased.
“Yes.” His smirk was boyish and perfect as he continued to drive on a bumpy road. “And yes, we are still within city limits. There’s an old factory up here. These were the service roads the truckers used. I just want to show you something.”
“Fine, I’ll try not to die of curiosity.”
He laughed as his headlights washed over an old building that was barely standing. He pulled around it to the other side, where the trees grew impossible thick. He stopped the car and turned it off.
I glanced around. “You know this falls perfectly in line with all those horror movies Davies likes to make me watch.”
“If you’re scared, you can hold onto me. I promise to scare away the riff-raff.”
Magical Collision Page 3
