tonight, other than to say “happy birthday .” She was so busy greeting all her
guests and mingling with everyone.
“I’m probably going to have to dance with Shannen at some point,” Jake
said, following my gaze as he slipped his arms around my waist.
I swallowed hard, trying not to blush at his closeness, but my heart was
pounding in every pore, reverbe rating through every tiny hair on my arms
and along the back of my neck. “She is the birthday girl,” I agreed.
“So you don’ t mind?” he asked.
“Nah,” I said casually .
Jake titled his head. “Huh. I was kind of hoping you were the possessive
type.”
I laughed as we turned in a tight circle. “Okay then,” I said, tightening
my grip on his neck. “No dancing with anyone else. Tonight you’re all
mine.”
Jake smiled but looked me dead in the eye. “No. From now on.”
My heart skipped. “What?”
“Yours,” he said simply , “from now on.”
“All right, everyone, if I can have your attention, please!” the DJ
announced. We were all sitting at our table at the top of the dance floor,
having just finished our dinners. Everyone quieted down gradually as
Shannen and her parents joined the DJ at the front of the room. “Shannen’ s
mother has put together a little video for the birthday girl’s big day, and
she’d like to share it with us!”
A big screen scrolled down from the ceiling as Shannen hung her head,
blushing and laughing. I looked at Chloe and grinned as Faith and
Hammond rolled their eyes. Shannen’ s mother did this every year, splicing
together old family photos and videos and embarrassing Shannen. It was a
time-honored tradition.
“I hope she still has the naked cowgirl picture in there,” Trevor said
excitedly , crunching on some ice cubes.
“And the naked firefighter one,” T odd added.
“Shannen sure liked to play naked dress-up as a kid,” Trevor said with
narrowed eyes.
“Is there anything the birthday girl would like to say before we get
started?” the DJ teased, holding the microphone out to Shannen.
She took it with a smile and looked over at our table. “Just . . . enjoy the
show!”
Everyone applauded, and someone in the back of the room let out a sharp
whistle. The lights dimmed and the screen flickered to life. Jake slipped his
arm around the back of my chair, and I cuddled into his side. He was all
warm and smelled of spicy crisp soap. In that moment I felt entirely safe
and was filled with a buoyant sense of possibility .
Yours , Jake had said. From now on. Every time I thought about it, my
skin tingled.
The video started with a close-up shot of a white tiled floor and a wet
leather boot. Then, suddenly , the camera swung upward and I was looking
at a gleaming deli counter , fluorescent lights, and what appeared to be