Broken Course (Wrecked and Ruined #3)(33)

He reaches into the inside pocket of his motorcycle jacket, which is draped over the back of his chair, and pulls out an envelope of his own. I give him an apologetic smile then snatch it from his hands.

"Hmm." I stare down at a single printed piece of paper.

No pomp or circumstance, just black-and-white paper that was no doubt produced on his office printer. I begin to read the first few lines and my eyes grow wide.

"Is this…a plane ticket? To Puerto Rico? For next weekend?" I turn to find his gorgeous face beaming.

"I confirmed that Erica was pregnant to the Tribune in exchange for the Wicked Witch giving you next Monday and Tuesday off."

"What?" I ask in shock.

"It was bound to leak eventually. You’ve seen her. She can’t hide it forever, and rumors will start circulating soon. So, this way, the truth goes out and you get a four-day weekend for our trip to Puerto Rico."

"I’m sorry. What?" I repeat as Emma gasps from across the table.

"Happy birthday." He smiles and brushes the hair off my shoulder.

"Okay. I’m lost. One, we’re seriously going to Puerto Rico?" I ask but don’t give him a second to answer. "Two, what the hell happened to not talking about your clients?"

"One, yes. That’s your plane ticket." He nods to the paper in my hand.

"And two, Erica and Slate are family and were more than excited to help. I didn’t share anything without their permission."

I blink rapidly, trying to allow a minute for my brain to catch up. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Next weekend?"

"Yes," he says slowly as he begins to chuckle.

"That’s a really big first birthday present."

"It’s a selfish birthday present. I get to go with you."

"I get to spend the whole weekend with you speaking Spanish. I’m pretty sure I win there."

"Oh, tu no tienes idea quién realmente ganó."

"Yes! Just like that." I smile and pull him into a hug. "Thank you so much! I don’t even know what to say."

"You don’t have to say anything. Happy birthday, ángel." He leans in, placing an all-too-brief kiss on my lips.

When I turn my attention back to Emma and Caleb, they are silently watching us, Emma is chewing on her bottom lip as her eyes sparkle with happiness. Hell, even Caleb looks sentimental from our exchange.

"I want to go to Puerto Rico too," Emma whines, looking up at Caleb.

He shakes his head and looks back at Leo. "Fucking hell. I’m never living this one down."

"Sorry, man." He laughs then takes a sip of his water.

"Okay, Caleb’s next," Emma announces pushing a small, unwrapped box in front of me.

"It’s not a present."

My eyes flash to Caleb to find him looking down, uncharacteristically nervous.

"Yes it is," Emma disagrees, cuddling under his arm.

"It’s not a present," he repeats.

"Shhh. It will be to her," she whispers in a way that almost makes me nervous.

Unable to contain my curiosity, I reach forward and lift the box open.

"Oh my God." I choke on the sob that tears from my throat, and maybe even my soul, as my eyes make contact with the one thing that I never thought I would see again.





"OH MY God." Sarah sobs, and tears immediately flow from her eyes.


I study her carefully, trying to figure out what the hell is going on. But as I glance into the open box sitting in front of her for an answer, I only become more confused when I see a simple gold necklace with a half of a heart that says: st ends.

"Shit," I hear Caleb cuss from across the table.

I glance up at Emma to gather some clues. She’s watching Sarah with an anxious expression as if she’s trying to make heads or tails of her reaction.

Sarah remains motionless, staring at the box with tears streaming down her face.

All I can do is try to comfort her. I move over an inch, teetering on the edge of my own chair. But she remains stiff at my side.

"You okay?" I ask, kissing her temple.

"Where… How… I thought this was gone," she cries.

She reaches out with shaky hands to touch the necklace but pauses just inches away and brings her hands back to her mouth. I stroke up and down her back, unsure of what else to do.

"Caleb found it in a box last week along with some of her other things," Emma tentatively fills in the blanks.

Caleb clears his throat and finally speaks up. "I should have given it to you a long time ago. I forgot that I even still had it. I’m sorry," he tells Sarah, but she never drags her eyes off the necklace. "You’re welcome to come over and look through the box it if you want. See if maybe you want any of the rest of it."

"I want all of it," Sarah answers quickly as her eyes fly to Caleb’s. "I mean, if you don’t want it." She looks away sheepishly.

"I picked out a few things already. You can have everything else." He smiles warmly, fighting back his own emotions by kissing Emma on the head.

Sarah remains silent for another minute before jumping to her feet. "I need some air." Her tears are still consistently falling even as she tries to dry her eyes and compose herself.