Page 45

Miri

M iri bounced up the walkway and fished in her bag for her keys. The paperwork was signed and she was no longer unemployed. Her mortgage was no longer in danger and, best of all, all her demons were home and happy. It was a hell of a good day.

Pushing the door open, she kicked off her shoes and dumped her purse.

“So, which one of you is going to bend me in half and put my legs behind my head until I scream? I think today deserves a proper celebration, don’t you?”

She batted her lashes at Nico and Duke. They exchanged a quiet look.

“Uh, Miri—“ Nico started.

“No? That’s too bad.” Miri shrugged. His loss. Duke wouldn’t let her down thought. “And to think, I was going to lick your horns until you?—“

“Miri!” Nico snapped, his cheeks darkening quickly.

She paused in the living room door, her nose wrinkling at his sharp tone.

“What?”

“SURPRISE!” a chorus shouted as the light snapped on. A birthday banner stretched across the room, flanked on either side by a mess of balloons and a wide-eyed crowed in birthday hats.

Miri stared at her friends.. With everything going on, she had completely forgotten about her birthday.

Nicole unwound herself from Atticus—who looked oddly at ease with the paper hat on his centuries old head—and hugged her tight.

“Gotta say, I really thought we were going to surprise you, not the other way around,” she teased. “Can you really put your legs behind your head?”

Oh god. They’d heard. They’d all heard every dirty word that she had promised Nico and Duke. Was it too late to curl into a ball and pray to be struck by lightening?

“Is that a balloon arch?” Miri asked, desperate for any kind of distraction.

Come to think of it, how the hell did they get a massive balloon arch into her tiny living room?

“Yep.” Ace dragged her against his side for a quick squeeze and forehead kiss. “I used to work at?—“

“Wait. Let me guess,” Nico interrupted. “A brief stint as a birthday clown?”

“Hot air balloon pilot?” Duke guessed.

Kaz pushed past the two demons to clap his cousin’s shoulder. “Spent a summer as a carnie?”

Pressing her hand to her mouth, Miri choked on a fit of giggles. Ace shook his head. One by one, he shot them wounded looks and clutched his chest.

“I worked at a party supply store in high school. It’s like you people don’t know me at all.”

Miri turned her face into his shoulder, her laughter busting free. They were all ridiculous. Perfectly, utterly ridiculous and she loved every second of it.

Looking down at her, Ace’s pained expression morphed into a cheeky grin. The smiling demon bent his head to press his lips to hers. One hand sliding down her back, Miri jumped as he palmed her ass.

If they weren’t surrounded by all her friends, she might just take him up on the naughty gleam in his eye. Exactly how soon was too soon to end a party that had just started?

The front door banged open. Tearing herself from Ace’s lips, Miri’s head whipped around.

Ashley came running into the room, her feet skidding across the carpet. “Shit, did I miss it?”

“Yes, but it was probably for the best,” she grumbled.

Nicole laughed. “Ask Miri about how flexible she is.”

Miri shot her a glare. If she weren’t pregnant, Miri would be pelting her with spare birthday hats.

“Damn it, I got held up at work.” The blonde peeled off her blazer and tossed it on the couch. “You’re not going to believe what—no, no, it’s your birthday. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Dragging herself away from the monsters hovering over her every breath, Nicole looked her up and down.

“You’re not pregnant too, are you?”

“Hell, no.” Ashley looked back and forth between them, horror mounting on her tanned face. “Don’t put that bad energy on me, girl!”

Shrugging, Nicole took a sip of ginger ale. “I was just checking.”

Warmth bloomed in Miri’s chest. She loved her crazy friends so much. They were pushy and loud—just like her demons—but they were her people.

Miri grabbed the two women and dragged them in for a hug. Wait… she was missing one. Standing on tiptoes, she glanced around the room. A familiar freckled face sipped a soda from her perch on the arm of the couch.

“Marta! Get over here!”

She dragged her into the knot of limbs as soon as she was close enough.

“I love you guys so much!”

Nico cleared his throat behind he. “We’re, like, right here, Miri. At least wait until we leave the room to declare your undying love for someone else.”

“Oh, shut it.”

Ashley took a step back and nudged the group of women toward the couch. They collapsed into the cushions.

“Tell us how the interview went!” Ashley pressed.

“I got the job!”

“She got the job!” Nicole yelled. A chorus of cheers erupted around them.

Miri flushed, her cheeks burning as everyone celebrated. She looked around for some kind of distraction— or something large enough to hide from every one’s eyes. As much as Miri loved parties, she hated being the center of attention.

As if sensing her discomfort, Kaz leaned down to drop a kiss on top of her head and placed a newspaper wrapped lump in her lap. She blinked at the awkward bundle. What in the world…?

“Oooh, presents!”

Clearly, someone wasn’t going to be in charge of wrapping holiday presents this year.

She tore into the paper to reveal a ruffled apron. Shaking out the fabric, Miri laid it over her lap and a grin curved her lips. Colorful embroidered flowers lined the hem in whimsical loops. And emblazoned across the chest in dainty embroidery? Demon in the kitchen .

“I love it!”

Kaz dropped a kiss on top of her head. “One of my sisters does embroidery for craft fairs. I had her do that one special.”

Miri hugged it to her chest. They were going to cover it in so many floury handprints.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s great— now open mine.” Ace shoved a neatly wrapped box into her lap and dodged Kaz’s slap on the back of the head. “If there’s a Best in Show award, I definitely win.”

She rolled her eyes. For Christmas, they were definitely going to have to do a secret Santa exchange, otherwise the gifting competition would end in bloodshed.

Miri lifted the lid off the box and laughed. A new, pristine pink yoga mat and leggings with tiny cupcakes.

“Is this your way of saying you want to go back to yoga with me?” she teased.

The cheeky demon blanched. “On second thought, maybe I’ll just take those back and get you a gift card… or cash… or a well-written card.”

“Weenie,” Nico coughed.

“That studio is a CIA front and no one can convince me otherwise.”

Elbowing Ace aside, Nico passed her a large padded envelope. “Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to wrap it.”

Miri ripped open the envelope. A thin frame slid out into her hand. She eyed the drawing behind the glass—a pink demon pinup girl with tiny horns, thick curves, and… wild red curls.

“Oh my god, it’s me!” Demon Miri even had tiny glasses perched on her little pink nose. “It’s so cute! You even drew my freckles!”

Nico’s red cheeks darkened. His eyes dropped to the floor even as the corner of his mouth curled into a smile. Miri carefully laid the drawing on the table and leaned over to hug the bashful demon around the legs.

“I love it. We’ll figure out where to hang it after the party,” she promised.

Nico smiled again and quickly waved Duke forward. “Your turn, big guy.”

The winged demon picked up a large box and placed it on the coffee table.

The room fell silent as they all caught sight of the immaculate wrapping.

Miri cocked her head to the side. Duke had to have hired someone to wrap the gift.

There was no way his giant hands could tie such minuscule bows…

not unless he used tweezers… but that would be crazy.

No one uses tweezers to wrap a present.

“I almost don’t even want to unwrap it,” Miri said. “It’s like art.”

“It’s just paper,” he promised. “You can rip it.”

Her hand fluttered to her chest. Rip it? Rip it ? She was looking at the Sistine Chapel of gift wrapping and he wanted her to tear it open? Clearly, Duke was unwell.

“Miri, I will wrap you another box,” he chuckled. “Just open it.”

God forgive her. Miri grabbed a handful of wrapping paper and tore it off before she could change her mind. She stared at the box peeking out from under the gift wrap. No… he didn’t.

Leaping to her feet, she tore into the paper with abandon. Miri settled back on her heels. He did. He really, really did.

Kaz leaned over and smacked Duke’s shoulder. “Dude, what the fuck? You got her a blender?”

“Everyone knows you’re not supposed to gift your girl appliances?—“

“Dumbass—“

Duke didn’t say a word. He ignored the criticism launching at him from the other three demons and smugly grinned at her shocked face. How did he know?

“It’s the Blendmaster3000!” Miri hugged the heavy box to her chest as tears welled in her eyes.

Was she going to cry? Possibly. “I’ve been wanting one for so long, but it was out of my budget.

They’re the best for blending vanilla paste!

And I can grind my own almonds for marzipan.

My old blender couldn’t get it even close to smooth enough?—“

Ashley snorted. “Nerd.”

Miri flipped her off and hurried to hug the big purple sweetheart. Not wanting anyone to feel left out, she stood on her toes and kissed each of her demons on the cheek.

“This is the best birthday I’ve ever had!”

Would it be weird to go straight to bed now so that she could wake up early to bake with her new presents? Miri’s eyes dropped to the chocolate cake waiting off to the side. Okay, she could wait a bit longer.

“Really? This is your best birthday?” Nicole asked, a handful of cracker crumbs raining on her sweater as she crunched. “What about that year there was a heat wave? And the water park opened early and your ex-boyfriend from high school was there when we went?”

Wes frowned down at his pregnant mate. “Why would that be the better than this one?”