Page 135 of My Destiny

Releasing her, I entwine my fingers with hers as I lead her towards the studio. When we reach the double doors, I stand back to let her do the honours.

“I’m nervous,” she says as she reaches for the handle. She has no idea what awaits her behind those doors.

“Surprise!” everyone calls out, and it startles her so much, she retreats a few steps. On cue, the DJ plays a happy birthday tune. She once told me she’d never had a party, so I had to give her one.

“What’s all this?” she says, swinging around to face me.

“It’s your surprise birthday party.”

“Here I go again,” she says, fanning her eyes. “I can’t believe you’re throwing me a party on top of all this.” She flings her arms around me, and I hold her tight. “It’s too much. It’s all too much.”

“And you deserve every bit of it,” I reply, placing a chaste kiss on her sweet mouth before turning her around. “Go. Your guests await.”

Shoving my hands into my pockets, I hang back to observe her as she goes around greeting everyone. Her smile is the brightest I’ve ever seen, and it warms my heart. The extremely long hours and every obstacle I faced during this mammoth project was so worth it.

There’s twenty people, including my family, Jill, and Chris, who had to sneak inside while I showed Brooke around the mezzanine level. The rest of the guests are from the dance studio, the ones she was closest to. I left those invites up to Ellen.

Ellen has been fantastic through all of this. Although she’s sad to be losing Brooke as her head teacher and choreographer, she’s been very supportive.

When Brooke finally makes her way back to me, I grab her hand and take her on a tour of the studio. The bonus of this place being so large was that I was even able to have a stage installed at one end where she can hold concerts.

“Look at all the mirrors and the ballet rail,” she says, running her hands over everything.

“There’s a small rail on the opposite side of the room for the little kids.”

“Perfect. I’m blown away by the sheer size of this room.” She spins around in a circle with her arms held out wide. I love seeing her so happy. “What’s that down there?” she asks, pointing to a curtained off area.

I move her to the centre of the room. “Stand there,” I instruct as I head in the direction of the stage area. The floor to ceiling, theatre-style red velvet drapes almost weren’t ready in time, having only arrived this morning.

After grabbing the remote, I go back and stand beside her. Once I press the button, my gaze is fixated on her. “Get out,” she says, smacking my arm. “A stage?”

“Not just any stage, a concert-worthy one.”

“I still can’t believe all this is really happening.” She holds her arm out towards me. “Am I dreaming? Pinch me. Actually,” she says, dropping it back down by her side, “don’t pinch me. If this is a dream, I want to savour it a little longer.”

“You’re not dreaming,” I reply with a chuckle. “Come on, let’s go join the others. You’ll have plenty of time to look around tomorrow.”

She slides her hand through my arm and wraps it around my elbow, as we walk towards her guests. “Look at all the beautiful helium balloons on the ceiling, there must be at least one hundred.”

“Three hundred, actually.”

“And the exquisite table setting. It reminds me of how grandly decorated the tables were the night I first met you.”

“One of the best nights of my life,” I say. “Except for almost losing you, of course.”

“You saved my life that night, and I’ll be eternally indebted to you for that.”

“Do you ever wonder if it was fate that brought us together?” I ask, because I’ve often wondered.

“Whatever it was, I’m grateful.”

The party is in full swing, and everyone seems to be having a good time, especially Brooke. I hired caterers for the event, as well as wait staff. Michelle and Mum offered to make the food, but I wanted everyone to be able to relax and enjoy the celebrations with her.

Even my father seems to be enjoying himself. I’ve even seen him smile on a few occasions. I half expected him to bail early or not show up at all. I was also taken aback when he turned up here this morning with my mother to help put all the final touches on the surprise.

After the second course is served, most of the women head to the dance floor, so I move down towards the end of the table to sit with John and my father.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done tonight,” John says, as his gaze moves to where the ladies are dancing up a storm. “She looks so happy.”