That One Moment (Lost in London #2)(21)

“I can buy my own cake,” she says, leaning her back against the brick wall. She watches me take my change back with a coquettish look that makes it hard for me not to smile.

“You can’t buy your own birthday cake…That’s bad luck or something.”

“Superstitious much?” she asks, grabbing one of the boxes from my hands.

My brows lift, but instead of answering her question, I change the subject. “So why didn’t you get your birthday cake yesterday?”

Her blue gaze casts down and a slight look of discomfort mars her pretty features.

“Did I hit a button?” I ask, frowning.

She swallows and shakes off my query. “It’s nothing. I just never really enjoy celebrating on my actual birthday. It’s like…a thing with me. There’s always so much expectation for the day to be perfect and for you to hear from all the right people. The anxiety and the pressure and the specialness of that one day a year annoys me. Life isn’t like that. It’s not perfect. It’s unexpected. Birthdays aren’t always a great day. Sometimes they are sad. And now I’m rambling.” She gestures over to a small metal patio table and chairs nearby and adds, “Enough of that! I hope you like surprises!”

As we sit down, my curiosity about her is only piqued more. She’s definitely got some strange hang up about her birthday. I know asking more questions will only make things more personal, so I decide to shift my focus to the box in my hand. When I open it, I find a chocolate frosted cupcake with a white sprinkled dusting on top. Before I remove the wrapper, I peek over to watch Vi open hers.

She’s got a soft smile on her face like she’s sharing some private memory with herself as she peels back the wax paper. She chews on her lip excitedly before opening her mouth and sinking her teeth into the white frosted cupcake. Her eyes close in ecstasy.

“I win,” she groans, the streetlight casting a warm glow on her platinum blonde hair.

“Win what?” I ask, attempting to conceal my look of amusement.

“Life,” she beams, then licks the bit of frosting stuck to the arch of her lip.

I huff and take a bite. “Okay, I might see what you mean now.” I have to physically restrain myself from closing my eyes and moaning.

“Told you,” she says, extending her cupcake to me. “Let me try yours.”

“No!” I exclaim defensively.

Her blue eyes turn to saucers. “Are you joking? Why ever not?”

“It’s mine. You’re winning life, I’m winning the afterlife. This cake is life-changing. I’ve died and gone to heaven…and they serve cake.” I turn back to my coveted dessert, but secretly smirk at her exasperated huff.

“I can’t believe you!”

I shoot her a dangerous glower. “I’m not a sharer…of many things.” I slide my eyes down to her bust in a possessive stare and then sink my teeth into another bite.

Her amused face falls in response to my serious expression. Her eyes are locked on my mouth as I chew, and she draws her lush lower lip into her mouth and bites down on the pink flesh. My gaze drifts to her lip and then shoots back up to her stunning blue eyes.

Christ, this is so wrong.

“But it’s my birthday,” her voice is husky as she shifts to the edge of her seat and rolls her shoulders forward, extending her line of cleavage.

That, coupled with her flirtatious smile, makes me feel things in all areas south of my neck. Suddenly, I am desperate to kiss her. “You said yesterday was your birthday.”

She shrugs her small shoulders that are nestled inside my large jacket. “Close enough.”

Just then, my eyes widen as I realise I’ve lost track of time. I glance down at my watch the second 11:11 ticks over to 11:12.

“Fuck,” I growl.

“What’s wrong?”

I shake my head, my previous mood evaporating instantly. “Nothing. Here,” I hand her my cupcake and refuse the offer of hers.

She looks hurt and confused, her eyes full of questions, but I don’t have time to worry about that. I lean over and alternate gripping the cuffs on my wrists and curse myself for losing track of time, tonight of all nights.

“Are you about done?” I ask, my tone short and clipped.

“Quite,” she snaps and slips out of my jacket, depositing it on the table in front of me. She chucks the barely eaten cupcakes into the nearby bin and begins walking back toward her flat.

Fuck. Now what? I snatch my jacket up and hustle to catch up to her, tossing it back over her goose-pimpled shoulders. “Would you please keep this on? It’s brass monkeys out here.”

“I don’t need it!” she snaps and turns to face me. “Look Hayden, thank you for walking me to get cake, but I can’t keep up with your mood swings. I’d just like to say goodnight.”

I exhale and slice my hand through my hair. I’ve hurt her feelings. That wasn’t what I was going for. I just got caught up. “I just—” I start but stop because I don’t know how to say all of that without sharing every sordid detail.

“You just what?” she stamps her foot. I idly make a mental note that that’s the second time she’s stamped her foot at me and it’s cute as f*ck. But I shouldn’t be noticing how anything she does is cute.

“I just have a lot going through my mind, Vi. You heard my speech tonight. It’s no bloody secret. 11:11 is kind of an important time on my radar and I missed it.”