“I don’t have plans, but why the last minute?”
“I was waiting to see if Henry would throw me a party and he isn’t. I came right out and asked him, and he said he didn’t think I’d want one. What the hell is wrong with him? He knows how much I love to celebrate my birthday.”
Connor walked into the living room and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “What’s this about a party?”
“Peyton is throwing herself a birthday party Saturday night at Tenjune.”
“Ah. Nice. That sounds like fun.” He smiled at her.
“You bet it will be. We’re going to party all night long.” She winked.
Little did she know that Henry had already planned a surprise party for her at Pacha on Saturday night. After a couple more glasses of wine and a lot of laughing, Peyton left, and I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Connor looked up from his laptop when I entered the room.
“Our son is very displeased with both of us at the moment.”
“Why?” I asked as I took off my earrings.
“Because of Laurinda.”
“Ah. I see. Well, he’ll get over it. I can come and help him out until he gets a new secretary.” I smiled.
“I don’t think he wants his mommy sitting outside his office.”
I turned around and gave Connor a stern look. “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with his mommy wanting to help out?”
He sighed. “Let me rephrase that for you, my love. I don’t want you sitting outside his office. His office is next to mine, which means you’d be sitting outside my office as well, and to be honest, it would be too much of a distraction.”
I smiled as I lifted my shirt over my head and took down my pants. I slowly crawled onto the bed and closed his laptop, taking it from his lap and setting it to the side.
“You mean this would be too much of a distraction?” I softly kissed his lips.
“Mhmm. Yes. Too much. I’d never get any work done.” His hand moved over the fabric of my bra.
“It could be exciting.” I straddled him and ran my fingers through his hair. “I could pretend I was your secretary and I could sit on your desk and take notes.”
“I could fuck you on my desk as you took notes.” His fingers unhooked my bra and his mouth traveled to my breasts.
“It wouldn’t be the first time, Mr. Black.”
“I’ll think about it, Mrs. Black. Now lift up that sweet ass so I can take off those sexy panties.”
I stood and stared at myself in the full-length mirror at the Valentino black sleeveless dress with the deep curving neckline and ran my hands down my side. Connor walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and stared at me.
“Is that what you’re wearing?”
I glared at him. “Yes. Why?”
“It’s nice.” He gulped.
“Nice? Is that all you have to say?”
“Yes, baby. It looks beautiful on you. Don’t you think you’ll be a little cold?” he asked as he walked into the closet.
“Why would I be cold? It’s warm out.”
“With the way your back is so exposed. I mean, there’s not much to the back of that dress.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine, Connor.”
“What about the front? I mean, it’s so low cut that your boobs might catch a draft,” he said as he slipped on his shirt. “Plus, you’re not wearing a bra and your nipples are hard. So you are cold. Maybe you should change.”
“What exactly are you trying to say, Connor?” He knew better than to start an argument about the dress. Or at least I hoped he did.
He walked over and kissed my cheek. “You look stunning and I love the dress. I just wish there was a little more material, that’s all. But if you love it, then so do I.” He smiled.
“Good choice of words, baby. And my nipples are hard because I’m excited that you’re staring at me and I know the dress is pissing you off, which is turning me on. Now hurry up and get ready. Is anyone driving with us?”
“No. The kids said they’d meet us at the club. And I’m not pissed off about the dress, Elle,” I heard him say as I walked out of the room.
We walked into Pacha and it was crazy. Connor took my hand and led us up to the third floor where we saw the kids and a room full of other friends.
“Hey, Mom.” Collin smiled as he kissed my cheek.
“Look at you, Amelia. You look gorgeous.” I gave her a hug. We were wearing the same dress, but hers was red.
I saw Connor shoot Collin a look and he shrugged. “Good boy, son. Good boy.” I smiled.
“No use, Dad. I’ve learned from Mom over the years and I’ll never win. So I don’t even bother saying anything.”
Connor rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around Collin and led him to the bar for a drink. Henry had texted me earlier and said that he and Peyton would be arriving at seven thirty. I looked at the time on my phone and it was seven fifteen.
“Hey, Mom. You look amazing. Is that Valentino?” Julia asked as she hugged me.
“Yes. You look beautiful, darling.”
I said hello to Jake, and Connor handed me a glass of wine. The music was loud, and I couldn’t wait to start partying. Connor and I walked around and talked to some friends of ours, and when I looked over, I saw Hailey approaching us.
“Connor, Ellery, it’s good to see you.” She hugged us both.
“Hailey. It’s good to see you too, sweetie. Your mom didn’t tell me you were back from Paris.”
“She doesn’t know. I’m here for her birthday. It’s a surprise.”
“She’ll be so happy. You look great. How have you been?”
“I’ve been okay.” Suddenly, a handsome young man walked up to her and took hold of her hand. “Marcus, this is Connor and Ellery Black. This is Marcus, my boyfriend.”
There was something about the way she said she was okay that didn’t sit right with me. As much as she tried to seem happy, her eyes told a different story.
As loud as the club was, Peyton could be heard throughout the state of New York. I looked up and smiled when I heard her scream and begin jumping up and down, hugging Henry in shock that he threw her a party. I walked over to her and gave her a big hug.
“Happy birthday, my best friend in the whole world.”
“Did you know about this? Did you, Elle? Because you didn’t tell me, and I thought we had a code!”
I laughed. “I knew, but I wanted it to be a surprise. For once in your life, Peyton, I wanted you to be surprised.”
Collin
I stood at the bar and talked to Jake while Amelia and Julia went to the bathroom. My stomach twisted when I saw Hailey talking to my mom and dad. I hadn’t talked to her since that day in the flower shop, except for a brief text message wishing me and Amelia a Merry Christmas. Our eyes caught and she gave me a small nod. Shit. I didn’t want Amelia to be upset she was here. When Amelia and Julia came back from the bathroom, she wrapped her arm around my waist and whispered in my ear.
“I saw her walk in and it’s fine. Let’s not make this awkward.”
I kissed the top of her head and then took a sip of my scotch. I took it that Peyton didn’t know she was going to be here because the minute she saw Hailey, she started to cry. We walked over to say happy birthday to her and to say hi to Henry.