Page 57 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“Actually, you know what?” A wide grin split his face, showcasing his dimple, and he let out an evil chuckle. “I should probably charge the repair costs to Eric, plus interest. God knows he owes me from all those times I lied to your parents, covering for him.”

I couldn’t respond, because the grin had transformed his surliness into sunshine, inviting me to come closer and bask in his warmth. Maybe he’d done me the favor because of Eric, but right now, I didn’t really care. I just wanted to stay in this spot and be on the receiving end of his smile and kindness.

Before it was time to say goodbye.

I forced myself to snap back into the present and pushed the check back at him. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that. But it’s my car, so I’ll pay for it.”

Alec sighed, then nodded. “Okay. Thanks again for the éclairs.” He suddenly perked up. “Which reminds me. I’ve got something for you, too. Wait here.” He leapt up the stairs to his room and came back a few minutes later with a blue paper bag.

It was my turn to be suspicious. “What’s that?”

“Your present. Happy birthday.” He handed it to me.

My eyes widened. “You… remembered?”

“Yeah.” Red tinted his cheeks as he gestured for me to open the bag. “I didn’t know what to get you. I hope you like it.”

My jaw went slack when I pulled out a plaid pajama set.

In mint green.

My favorite color.

Here’s the thing: most—90 percent, maybe—of my wardrobe consisted of striped and plaid designs. On any given day, I’d be wearing either a striped tee, or a plaid shirt, or a dress in any of those motifs. I’d been known to own other types of clothing, but if one took a sweeping look at my closet, the emerging pattern would be clear as day.

Which meant Alec had been paying attention to what I’d been wearing.

I swallowed to get past the thick lump of emotions lodged in my throat. “You shouldn’t have,” I whispered.

“Too late, I already did. You can retire those holey Hello Kitty pajamas.” His cheeks now resembled a ripe tomato. “Anyway, when I asked about your plans this morning, I thought we could go for lunch to celebrate your birthday. There’s an awesome Italian restaurant that makes the best wood-fired smoked salmon pizza in the entire city. The entire country, even. You haven’t lived until you’ve had one of those.”

Oh.

“Then fucking Mike Chang had to go and ruin my plans.”

OHHHHH.

That’s why he was upset this morning.

He quickly clarified, “I wasreallylooking forward to that pizza.”

I reached out and gave him a hug. “I love this, Alec. Thank you.”

His fresh soap smell surrounded me, and I greedily inhaled it, not even stopping myself from burying my nose in his neck, or caring if he could hear the brass band booming behind my rib cage. My heart was full, overflowing with awe and gratitude. This man not only remembered my birthday, but gave me an extremely thoughtful gift (in my favorite color), and had even planned a birthday lunch (of my favorite food, too) for me. I could feel my self-control slowly slipping, falling more and more under his spell, as his hand gently, absentmindedly, rubbed my shoulders.

Brain to Ellie, a small voice addressed me.Remember the Stay on Track Plan?

Yes. Yes, I do.I reluctantly pulled away, not meeting his eyes. He got up and padded toward the kitchen, beckoning me to follow him.

“I hope you have no plans tonight. Because what you’ll be doing,” he announced with a wink, “is celebrating your birthday with me.”

“Whatever happened to limiting our social interaction?”

“It’s your birthday. We’ll make an exception.” He uncovered a dish on the kitchen counter, revealing mouthwatering fried noodles, with sliced chicken, eggs, prawns, and veggies. “I made some mie goreng earlier, because we have to have noodles on our birthdays, right?”

I was the human equivalent of a goldfish. Eyes bigger than five-cent coins, mouth hanging open, at a loss for words.

“I also ordered some food from Java Spice.” He pulled out a few takeaway containers from a brown delivery bag. “We’ve got some sate ayam, oxtail soup, and gado-gado with extra peanut sauce. When Mr. Tanujaya heard that it was your birthday, he even threw in some pandan cakes for free.”

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