Page 130 of P.S. I'm Still Yours

We hear the door creak open but wait until Jamie flicks the light on before jumping out from behind the island and shouting, “Surprise!”

“What the fuck?” Her hand flies to her mouth as she scans her surroundings, taking in the minibar and decorations.

She bursts into tears the second she realizes this is all for her.

We all huddle closer to her, hugging her one by one. It isn’t long before my turn rolls around, and I pull her into my arms. “Happy birthday!”

She laughs, wiping her face. “Did you do this?”

We separate. “How did you know?”

“Well, for one, there’s no way the guys had the brainpower to put this together, and I never even told the girls it was my birthday,” she explains, and I assume she didn’t tell them because she was dreading her first birthday without her dad. She’s only been friends with Brooke and Shay for a year.

“Are you mad that I blabbed?” I give her my best puppy eyes, and she cracks a smile.

“You’re forgiven.” She pulls me in for another hug.

We’ve just withdrawn when I spot him.

Kane’s standing in the doorway, the dark circles rimming his green eyes not nearly enough to dim his beauty. He must’ve gotten here seconds after Cal and Jamie.

He sees me right away. He’s wearing a leather jacket and a white T-shirt, rocking that effortless James Dean look.

That’s when I spot the cut on his lower lip.

Scar pops up behind him, and I swallow the gasp building in my throat.

Scar has a black eye.

The mother of all black eyes.

And it looks recent.

Did Kane and Scar get into a fight?

I force myself to mind my own business, retreating to the fridge to grab one of the seltzers I brought. I join the girls hanging out by the kitchen island, watching Brooke stalk toward Kane from the corner of my eye.

I might act like I couldn’t care less, but my blood is sizzling beneath my skin.

Brooke stops before him, flips her blonde hair over her shoulder, and introduces herself. Kane looks her up and down swiftly, giving her one of his panty-dropping smiles.

This is going to be a long night.

* * *

“Are you fucking insane? You’re going to break your leg.” Jamie laughs at Vince, who’s standing on top of the pool table, doing a ridiculous little dance and spinning his shirt over his head.

“A deal’s a deal.” Vince refuses to listen to reason, throwing his shirt at us and removing his belt as the guys laugh so hard they’re gasping for air.

A dare.

That’s what started this whole thing.

Kane bet Vince that he could beat him at every table game in his house.

I thought that was just Kane being cocky, and he couldn’t possibly beat Vince at pool, foosball, air hockey, and darts. But he did. Although not before Scar and Cal requested that the loser be punished with a dare.

Vince was pretty confident at first, but he realized he’d fucked up when Scar brought his fist to his mouth to muffle his laughter.

---