Page 20 of Sweet Possession
‘Happy 18th Birthday, Cora!’
“It’s not my birthday,”I said tentatively to Fox, finding him watchingme with a beaming smile.
“It was last week. Figured you probably didn’t do much to celebrate it,so we thought we’d have a belated party.”
I blinked at him a few times, unable to comprehend what he’dsaid. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a party to celebrate my birthday. Come to think of it, I couldn’t remember the last time anyone hadevenacknowledgedmy birthday.
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. How was itthatsomeone I’donly known for a couple of days had decided to do something as kind as throw me a party when my own father couldn’tevenfind it in himself to wish me a happy birthday?
“I…I don’t know what to say,”I said, managing to force the words pastthe huge lump lodged in my throat.
Glancing around the room again, I let myself take in every detail, notbelieving this was for me. Aside from the banner on the wall, pink and silver balloons were tied together and strung up in bunches of threes, and helium balloons in the number 18 swayed in the breeze from the air conditioning.
In one corner was a stack of wrapped parcels of all different shapesand sizes, and on the table, next to several pizza boxes was a chocolate cake, topped with candles making the shape of an 18.
“This isreallyfor me?”I said, skepticism coating my voice as I lookedback at Fox.
It allseemedtoo good to be true, andthatlittle nagging doubtthatIwas being lulled into a false sense of security roared to life once more.
“Yeah, baby girl, this is all for you. Come on, let’s get you somepizza,”Fox replied, pulling my hand again and leading me over to the table.
Only our path was blocked by the other man.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Cora, I’m Nash,”he said. He was holdingSavannah’s hand but he held out his other hand for me to shake.
I couldn’t help but cower into Fox’s side. Nash was tall and broad, likeFox but slightly smaller. His intense silvery-gray eyes held mine, and although he was smiling at me, all I could think of was how he had blackmailed Savannah into marrying him.
“Cora, Nash is my best buddy,”Fox said, dropping my hand to placeit on my lower back and causing a strange warmth to flood through me. One I’d never felt before.“I know he looks like a bonehead, but I promise you, he’s a good guy. Mostly.”
“That’s rich, coming from you,”Nash said, his tone jovial as I reachedout and shook his hand.“Shall we talk about all the boneheaded things you’ve done in your time? Maybe we should start with the time you got your balls waxed and cried like a girl.”
“Shut your mouth, Junior!”Moving his hand from my back, Foxlunged for Nash and playfully punched him in the gut. Nash responded by grabbing Fox in a headlock, and within seconds, the two of them were fighting, both men trying to get the upper hand while insulting the other.
The only fights I’d ever seen were when my dad was beaten up bymen he owed money to, andthatwasn’treallya fight. My dad never fought back.But watching the two strong men fighting and laughing, I couldn’t help the amused smile from pulling at my mouth.
Savannah rolled her eyes.“You get used to them, they’re always likethis,”she said, waving at the two men.“I swear, this baby is the size of a peanut and is already more mature than these two. Combined.”
She placed her hand on her stomach and the two men froze, all eyesfalling to her.
“You’re pregnant?”Fox said, his brows pulled up in surprise and adelighted smile formed on his lips. But he didn’t let Nash out of the headlock he’d managed to get him in.
“You bet she is. What can I say, my sperm is mighty powerful,”Nashreplied proudly from under Fox’s arm.
“Powerful? Dude, it’s taken youmonthsto knock her up. For aminute, I thought you were shooting blanks!”Fox retorted, rubbing Nash’s head with his knuckles.
“The only thing I’ll be shooting is your ugly face, cocksucker!”Nashsaid before throwing an elbow into Fox’s ribs.
Fox grunted as he let go of Nash’s neck. Once again, they startedwrestling, each trying to take the other one down to the floor.
“Congratulations,”I said, turning away from Nash and Fox to faceSavannah.
She gave me a warm smile, happiness shining in her eyes.“Thankyou, honey. It was a bit of a shock, but a good one,”she said, rubbing her belly again.“Come on, let’s tuck into the pizza, and we can take a bet on who will pin the other to the ground first.”
“You know it will be me,”Nash called out from where Fox had nowmanaged to get him down to his knees, and was hanging off his back.
“We’ll see, Junior,”Fox huffed.“You still fight like you did when wewere in school, like a little pussy!”
Fox and Nash gave up fighting when they were both breathless, anddecidingthatthey wanted pizza, they called it a truce. Joining Savannah and me at the table, they loaded up their plates with slices of different pizzas, my eyes going wide withjusthow much they could both eat.
