Page 25 of Fearless to Love

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Maybe she knows how hard you’ve been working and thought she’d give you some time off to spend with your girlfriend now that she’s finished her book.”

While Franca liked Lily, she wasn’t that giving. There was more going on than either of them were willing to tell me. Leaning against the kitchen counter, I watched as she kept cleaning her already pristine kitchen and trying her hardest not to look at me. “What would happen if I went into Flux right now?”

Spinning around with wide eyes, Lily looked about ready to cry. “You’d ruin the surprise we’re having for you.”

It all hit me then. Lily and Franca were planning a surprise birthday party for me.

“Please don’t tell your sister. If she finds out that I told you, she’ll kill me. She’s scary when she wants to be.”

She wasn’t telling me anything that I didn’t already know.

“I promise I’ll act surprised.” Or at least try. Franca knew I’d be pissed, and she was using Lily as a buffer, so I didn’t kill her for throwing me a party.

Tears filled her eyes as she wrung the towel in her hands. “Are you mad at me?”

Striding over to her in two steps, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into me. “Not at all. My sister knows I don’t like parties or celebrating my birthday.”

Tilting her head back, Lily looked up at me. “Why don’t you celebrate your birthday or like parties?”

Letting out a breath I’d held in for far too long, I guided her into the living room and down onto the couch. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that Franca and I don’t talk about our parents. When you told me about your parents, I should have said something, but I haven’t talked about mine in so long…it’s so incredibly hard.”

Lily gasped, wrapping her arms around me and hugging me with all her might. “Dante, you don’t have to talk about them if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s about time I remembered them. They deserve to be remembered.” Leaning my head back against the couch, I looked up at the ceiling. “For my sixteenth birthday, my parents threw a huge party for me. Franca drove me around the city all day long so I wouldn’t know what they’d planned for me, but when a big storm came in, she took me to the hotel where they’d rented out a banquet hall. We were only a few minutes early, but when we got there my parents weren’t there. Unbeknownst to me, while I was having fun with my friends, Franca was repeatedly trying to call them.” I tried to blink back the tears that had formed, but I couldn’t push them back any more than I could push back the memory of them any longer. As a tear caught on the edge of my jaw, I continued. “When the police showed up, I knew something was wrong. The music was so loud, preventing me from hearing what the cops were saying as I made my way over, but I saw Franca’s face when she learned the news. I saw her scream even when I couldn’t hear it.”

Wiping the stream of tears from my face, Lily climbed onto my lap. Burying my head in her hair, I couldn’t get the image of my eighteen-year-old sister falling to her knees as her world broke apart. “I’m so sorry, Dante. I don’t blame you for not wanting to have a birthday. When she mentioned when your birthday was, I only wanted to do something special for you. Even though you don’t like your birthday, I wish you would have told me when it was. Didn’t you think I’d eventually wonder?”

Resting my cheek on the top of her head, I answered. “In all honesty, I’m so used to ignoring the first day of August every year, I didn’t think about it. When’s yours?” Now that she mentioned it, I was surprised we’d never told each other when our birthdays were, and I wanted to know Lily’s. I’d do something special for hers.

“March twenty-sixth so that makes me an Aries. I don’t know a whole lot about zodiac signs, but I do know that Leo’s and Aries are very compatible.” She rubbed her nose along mine and made a little sound that was almost a purr.

“I know absolutely zero about them so I’m hoping I’m a Leo.” I ran my hand down her back to cup her ass.

“You most definitely are,” she said with amusement.

Pulling her closer, I nipped at her chin. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Let me show you.” She turned to sit sideways on my lap as she pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jean shorts. I loved it when she wore them around the house. They were short. Daisy Duke short and cupped her ass perfectly. When she wore them, I was constantly hard.

She pulled up traits of a Leo and clicked on a picture. “Right here. It says you’re a lover at heart, a great kisser, born to rule, headstrong, and loyal to a fault.”

“Are you saying I’m a great kisser?” I kissed along the side of her neck.

“Better than great. The best.” Her hand skated up underneath my t-shirt. I loved the feel of her touch. The way her nails scraped along my skin driving me wild with want for her and only her.

Lily’s phone vibrated between us. Looking down, I saw it was Franca. For a brief time there, I’d forgotten what she’d planned. I only hoped I didn’t ruin it for everyone tonight. I wasn’t sure how I was going to react, and I was thankful for some time to get my head around it before I made an ass out of myself.

“I don’t know what Franca was thinking.”

Pulling back, Lily cupped my stubbly cheek with her tiny hand. “That she loves you and wants your birthday to be a positive experience from now on.”

I smiled down at her. Somehow, Lily made thinking about my parents bearable. “With you in my life, I can’t imagine it being any other way.”

“It’s a good thing she didn’t wait until you were turning forty and went with the whole over the hill theme. It might have backfired on her.” She laughed.

Yeah, that probably wouldn’t have gone over well.

“Soo,” I drew the word out, “what time are we supposed to be at the club for my big surprise?”

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