Page 47 of Trust Again

“I have to go home,” Allie said, jumping up. “Something’s wrong with Spidey. Kaden said he’s not eating and he hid under the sofa after throwing up. That’s not like Spidey.”

Her eyes looked suspiciously shiny, and I could have punched us all in the nose. How could we have thought, even for a second, that it was a good idea to use this, of all excuses, to get Allie back home?

“He’ll be okay. Sometimes cats hack up fur balls,” I said, resting my hand on her arm. “Give me your keys. I’ll drive.”

Chapter 17

We got to Allie’s and Kaden’s apartment in record time. My friend had her seatbelt off before I could shut off the engine.

Thanks to her frequent hikes with Kaden, Allie had become pretty fit. She took the steps two at a time and reached her apartment door before I’d even gotten up the final staircase. She didn’t seem to care that I had her keys—she started banging on the door. Kaden opened it just as I made it up the stairs. He was holding Spidey, scratching the cat under the chin. Spidey was actually wearing a party hat.

“What the…” Allie managed to say before everybody gathered inside cried out: “surprise!”

It wasn’t like in the movies, and wasn’t totally in unison, but it did the trick.

Allie burst into tears.

Running to her, I embraced her from behind. “Surprise!” I chimed in and held her tight.

“Do come in!” Kaden joked, with a grin.

Allie sounded like she was choking and I let go so she could move forward. Immediately she was surrounded by our friends, who overwhelmed her with hugs.

Monica had done an amazing job: The whole living room was draped with paper garlands, lanterns, and strings of lights. A huge silver “20” and a bevy of other balloons floated above the dining table.

Music filled the living room and there was pizza and finger food on the table. My mouth was already watering.

“The surprise party was Dawn’s idea,” Spencer said.

“Come on, you and Kaden had just as much to do with it,” I added, returning Allie’s beaming smile.

“Thanks so much, you guys. You didn’t have to do this,” she said, her voice breaking. She leaned against Kaden and wrapped her arms around him.

“Oh yes, we did have to,” he said, his lips forming a grin against her forehead. “Just wait till you get your gift.”

“Hey, I thought the party was the gift!”

“Aw, Bubbles.” Now Kaden looked at me. “Isn’t she cute?”

“And how! The sweetest almost-birthday girl for miles around,” I agreed.

“I can’t believe you guys planned this all behind my back.”

“The look on your face was worth it. Even though I nearly spilled the beans after you read Kaden’s message,” I said, with a guilty look.

“Spidey is fine, so all’s well that ends well.” She sighed. “But what did I do to deserve all this?”

I stroked her hair. “You deserve everything good in this world, Allie Harper.” Her eyes were looking suspiciously wet again and I raised a finger in mock warning. “Don’t you cry again, girlfriend!”

Pressing her lips together, she flapped her hands in front of her face, willing her tears not to fall.

More of Kaden and Allie’s friends arrived while I busied myself with food prep. The party was fun, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the bad review of my latest novel. True, Professor Gates had complemented me for my writing style today, but the negative voice in my head was louder. It was dumb to obsess about this one bad review instead of basking in the opinion of a professor who knew what he was talking about. But I couldn’t help it.

“Psst!”

Looking up, I saw Spencer standing in the doorway to Kaden’s office. When I reached his side, he took me by the arm and pulled me close as he shut the door behind us.

“You still have to sign this,” he said, pointing to Kaden’s desk. A beautiful card with a photo of Coos Bay lay there in front of the two computer screens; in a looping script, the message on the card instructed Allie to save next weekend for a group trip to the coast.