“Crawford you got a visitor!”

There was just an hour left on my shift, and I doubted Magenta had popped in wearing nothing but a trench coat to wish me a happy birthday. Even though that would be a great way to end another two day shift.

I made my way towards the big red doors that were open to the public who often stopped by with food, phone numbers and other offers. Today I was hoping for food.

“Aunt Mae.” I grinned when I spotted her, looking like a birthday cake herself in her silky white dress with confetti colored dots all around the hem and neckline. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Happy birthday young man. I’ve brought you enough food that you and Magenta can spend a full day in bed making beautiful little babies.” She shoved a pie plate at me that smelled suspiciously like peanut butter and then another, warmer casserole dish. “Peanut butter pie and cornbread chili casserole. Enjoy.” She kissed my cheek, rubbed off her hot pink lipstick and left the station as quickly as she’d arrived.

That was weird. I never told Aunt Mae my birthday, and while I didn’t believe the woman was connected to the spirit world as she claimed, I also didn’t think she’d broken into the town records to find out when to bring me a casserole. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past her.

“What’s all that?” Scott stood and walked over to the kitchen, peeling back the aluminum foil on the casserole dish.

“Food. For my birthday.”

“Oh yeah? Happy birthday, man.”

“Thanks.”

“Yoohoo, where are you Davis Crawford?” The sound of the old woman’s voice had Scott laughing and I snatched the pie from his hand.

“Dick. In here Mrs. Crinkle, I mean Betty.” The stylish older woman strolled in looking like she’d just come from a day at the country club in her lavender pants and matching blouse, pearls in her ears and not one single curl out of place.

“Such a handsome boy. A handsome birthday boy,” she corrected. “I come bearing gifts. Shepherd’s pie and my famous chocolate fudge cake. Some people call it The Babymaker.” She winked at her over the top hint and sauntered off.

Fifteen minutes later there were two more desserts and three more casserole dishes on the firehouse countertop.

“How in the hell do they know it’s my birthday?”

Scott shrugged. “Who cares, which of these can I eat?”

“None. You heard the women, I’ll need that food to sexually satisfy my wife.” I grinned as I thought about how excited Magenta would be over all the food. “Now I just have to get it all home without making a mess.”

“I’ll put some in my car and follow you home, rookie. And I promise to eat no more than a slice of whatever is closest to the steering wheel.”

I ignored the rookie comment since he was doing me a favor. “Thanks. Maybe I’ll even let you stay for lunch.”

Scott laughed. “And maybe I’ll make it to your place before the food is all gone.” He bent over the colorful array of casserole dishes and groaned. “I’m going to post my birthday all over social media and all over town just to make sure I cash in like this.”

We finished with our shift duties and loaded up the cars before making the short drive home. The block was more crowded than it normally was, at least half a dozen cars were there that weren’t normally. I didn’t think much of it since Belle Musique was a small town that held lots of quirky events which drew tourists from all over.

“Something going on in town today?”

Scott shrugged. “No clue. Unless there’s food or women involved, I don’t pay much attention to that stuff. There’s too many to keep track of anyway.”

That pulled a laugh from me because it was so true. It seemed like every other day there was a new event that temporarily flooded the town with tourists and dollars. “Come on inside.” I pushed the door open and froze. There were at least a dozen people in my living room including kids and dogs.

“Happy Birthday Davis!”

That’s when I noticed the birthday banner in cursive and glitter, the balloons and streamers. In the middle of the chaos I spotted Magenta, wearing a smile and looking too mouth-watering in a flowing white shirt and another pair of jeans that made me want to do nothing but slowly peel them off her and have my way with her. Her lips quirked into a satisfied smile and I couldn’t take my eyes off her, especially the pointy cardboard birthday hat she wore that looked just like a firefighter’s helmet. “Happy Birthday,” she mouthed the words over the roar of the group.

“Thanks,” I mouthed back, still stunned as the crowd closed in around me, offering up birthday greetings and belated well wishes on my marriage.

Zeke’s laughter sounded above the rest. “You look stunned man. Nash, pay up. Apparently secrets can be kept in this town.”

At his words, Nash pulled a twenty from his pocket and smacked it into his friend’s hand. “Color me surprised.”

I looked over at Scott who’d already abandoned me, heading through the back door where more food could no doubt be found. “I’m stunned,” I finally answered. And touched that Magenta would go through the trouble of planning a party for me. It had to mean she felt something more, didn’t it?

“Happy birthday, Crawford.” The other guys from the firehouse were here as well. “We can’t stay long since Abe is holding down the fort right now, but when your woman invited us, we knew we had to come.”

“Yeah,” Scott agreed as he slid beside me with a plate piled high with barbecue. “If by invite, you mean she threatened bodily harm if we didn’t show up. Luckily the food is worth the risk.” He grinned and left once again.

“Thanks for showing up guys. Take some food back with you.”

“Don’t mind if we do. Captain gave us thirty minutes with the promise we keep our radios on us.”

“Then don’t spend the whole time staring at my handsome mug. Go mingle and fill your bellies,” I told them, feeling grateful to have so many people in my life already.

When I was alone, I looked around the house and then the backyard in search of Mags. I spotted her sitting on the grass with Maddie’s son Max, deep in conversation. About what I wondered? Someone pushed a beer in my hand and I looked up to find Mason with a too serious expression on his face. “Thanks. Unless its poisoned?”

Mason’s lips pulled into a reluctant grin. “Do I have reason to poison you?”

We both knew he didn’t, because I’d done nothing other than marry his sister without his knowledge. “None that I can think of, but that hasn’t stopped you from throwing me the evil eye every chance you can.” I got the feeling he wasn’t all that happy for us, but I didn’t give a damn, especially since he was the reason I might lose Magenta.

“Mags likes you,” he said, ignoring my words while not denying them.

“I like her too.” I more than liked her, but I couldn’t tell her brother before I told her. Really told her, so she understood. Completely.

Mason turned to me with eyes so similar to Magenta’s, trying to figure me out, which was laughable because I was definitely a what you see is what you get kind of guy.

“She’s only ever thrown two parties in her life, and the other was for my eighteenth birthday. Don’t make her regret it.”

His words should have made me feel better about my chances of making things permanent with Magenta, but they didn’t. All they did was piss me off. “Maybe you should take your own advice.” He glared, but I was undeterred. “I’m doing everything I can to get her to stick around to make this work, but it’s you making things harder. Not me.”

He looked at me with his dark brows pulled into an angry scowl, but my expression remained impassive. “Right.” He left me with one final look, the kind that took place between two men who cared about the same woman. “Happy birthday, Davis.”

I didn’t know what his lack of an answer meant, but I hoped he wouldn’t continue to be another obstacle in my quest to make Magenta mine.

“Looking for someone?” Her voice was low and husky and playful. My favorite. And when she placed one hand over my heart, I covered it with my own, soaking up her heat and affection.

“Nope, I already found her.” Looking down at my wife, I felt my body warm with affection. And gratitude. “Thank you for all this. It’s…unexpected.” I still couldn’t believe she’d gone through the trouble of planning a party for me, and keeping the whole town quiet about it. “How did you swing it?”

She shrugged off the thanks, but I didn’t miss the blush turning that alabaster skin pink. “The only thing this town loves more than spreading gossip is a party and a surprise. I gave them both.” She glanced over at the table, now straining with all the dishes on it. “Not that they kept completely silent.”

“Nah, they all just dropped it off with birthday wishes. I spent the whole drive picturing getting some birthday loving and wondering how in the hell they knew it was my birthday.”

“Yeah? Tell me more about this birthday loving you pictured.” Brows arched, her lips quirked into a seductive smile.

I set my beer down on the nearest table and reached for her hips, pulling her curves flush against the hard planes of my body. “Well, it starts with a kiss,” I told her and fused our mouths together, savoring the taste of tangy barbecue sauce and a hint of chocolate on her tongue. The unmistakable flavor that was all Magenta sent fire racing through my veins and I couldn’t get enough of her, holding her tighter as I deepened the kiss.

The sound of clapping and whistling startled us both, but neither of us stepped back and I smiled against her lips. Magenta doubled down, wrapping her arms around me and pulled me close while she nibbled my bottom lip. When she finally pulled back with a grin, love for her surged inside of me at the sexy, hazy look of her.

“Happy birthday, Davis. I’m glad you were born.”

This woman got to me like no other woman I’d ever met. She was tough and prickly on the outside, but now I was starting to get a glimpse of the soft underbelly of Magenta O’Malley. “Thank you for this hoopla, Mags. Makes me think you like me a little.”

“I do like you, Davis. More than a little.” The words sounded good, but the pain that crinkled her eyes at the edges told me there was an unspoken ‘but’ hovering in the air. “And you deserve the hoopla.”

“Yeah?” She nodded and pressed her lips against mine. “That admission was the best birthday gift of all.” It gave me hope.

Magenta pulled back, mischief written all over her face. “Then I guess I should cancel the private gift waiting for you inside?”

She squealed when my grip tightened on her and I lifted her in my arms until we were face to face. “Don’t you even think about it, woman. I’ve got some peanut butter pie that I plan to eat off you later.”

Magenta swallowed and then licked her lips. “I don’t know if you mean literal pie or some kinky sex act, but I’m in Davis. Totally in.”

Just the words I wanted to hear.