Page 95 of Asking for Trouble

I looked out the windshield to find Aaron gone from the garage, the bay door rumbling open behind me, and a neon sign lit up on the wall across from me.

Come find me baby baby baby.

It perfectly mirrored the one he’d done that still hung up in Honey Bear Café & Bakery.

Laughter spilled out of me as I realized what he’d done.

A scavenger hunt.

Anticipation was sweet on the back of my tongue as I started the car, the engine purring like it never had before, and slowly pulled out of the garage. The door closed after me so someone had to be inside, but I left it alone and pulled out of The Fallen Compound to go to Honey Bear Café.

The owner, Lauren, greeted me with a huge smile and handed me a mini cake with a single candle.

“Happy birthday,” she yelled even though I was right in front of her.

I laughed as we shared the cake together, looking over at the sign Aaron had added to the wall beside the original.

It was a pretty blue ring.

“Mark’s Jewellery?” I guessed around a bite of lemon cake.

Lauren winked at me and sent me on my way with a brief hug.

I had never been to Mark’s Jewellery, but Mark himself greeted me at the door and led me inside. His almost wild grin was on his face as he handed me a black shopping back and gestured over my shoulder.

Where everything is evergreen.

My mouth split wide around the smile that formed at the clue.

I was tempted to open the shopping bag on my way to Evergreen Gas, but I refrained because I knew how much work Aaron had put into this surprise.

It was, by and away, the best birthday I had ever had.

Grouch had started to include me in his family celebrations and his wife always made a cake for me over the years, but this was different.

This was a celebration of not just me, but us.

It felt good after everything we’d been through, like a victory lap.

When I pulled up to the retro gas station that had been my home for so many years, Grouch stood by the doors with a handful of blue balloons and an enormous smile.

He had only just moved back to town, and it still felt like a treat to see him, so I gave in to temptation and ran to him, flinging my arms around his waist. His laughter rumbled through me as he squeezed me back.

“Happy birthday, Faithy.”

He was the only one who still called me by that name, but I loved it. It was the last good tie I had to my past, and I was happy to be reminded of it when he spoke my name like that.

Like something of value.

“Thanks, Grouch. Are you in on this game of Aaron’s?”

It was so like my man to make a game out of my birthday. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought he’d do something like this. He was as competitive as Curtains, and I knew he was trying to one-up the surprise party Mei and I had thrown for him at our house, complete with a dunk tank in the backyard we coaxed most of the brothers to take a turn in. He’d laughed so hard that day, I thought he was genuinely going to be sick from it.

In answer, Grouch jerked his head over his shoulder at a new neon sign glowing through the window.

Will you marry me, Blue?

My breath crystallized in my chest, freezing me where I stood.