Two Months Later

The golden light of the last gasps of summer glittered across the waves as they lapped at the shore. Robin had never been more content than she was at that moment while she waited for Hal to join her on the beach. The memory of the first time she swam in the ocean flashed over her mind. At the time, she had felt like a child, filled with awe and wonder at this amazing part of the earth she had never had a chance to experience before, while he watched with love in his eyes and that adorably sexy smile on his face. Since then, he had indulged her, and they went swimming almost every day.

It was later in the year now, though, and although the weather might have been nice above the water, it wasn’t warm enough for the water to retain its heat. The September sun just wasn’t as powerful, so instead, he took her on hikes and flew her over the ocean. She had nothing to complain about.

A rustling sound came from behind her, but when she turned, no one was there. The woods that came down to the small beach were filled with animals, so she brushed it off. The salty air coming in from the ocean caressed her skin, and as she lay back on the sand, her troubles seemed to melt away.

Robin was still worried about Caitlyn. She had refused to go to the new safe house with her parents and had transferred to a community college on the outskirts of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Ellie was letting her live above the magic shop the Scotswoman ran. It wasn’t the one she’d inherited from her grandfather, but it was hers and contained everything the original shop had. She also let Caitlyn work some shifts there to earn some money. The problem was, there was still something off about her sister. Something had broken in her, and Robin wasn’t sure how to fix it.

Sighing, she picked up her margarita and took a long sip, the salt and tequila biting her tongue. When she heard another rustle, she turned, glimpsing nothing but swaying leaves. Turning back around and taking another sip of her drink, she tried to focus on loosening the tension that had her body tightly strung. Ever since she had gained her freedom, she had struggled with the feeling that somehow she was going to get dragged back to Eclipse. She knew she wasn’t and that it was just anxiety in her mind making her feel that way, but nonetheless, the years of being prepared for Randall to do anything he wanted were making it hard to fully relax.

Hal cleared his throat behind her as he came up. She turned, expecting to see him with a book and a beer. What she saw instead stopped her heart.

Everyone was there—all the brothers, Ellie, Cin, Aster, Nimue, Caitlyn, even her mother. Hal stood front and center, holding a giant cake with candles.

A chorus of the traditional birthday song broke out, and Robin wanted to disappear. She hadn’t celebrated her birthday since she was sixteen; it was just after her seventeenth birthday that her father handed her over. No one in her family wished her a happy birthday that year, and no one ever knew it was her birthday after that.

“Happy birthday, Rin.” Hal smiled at her.

Everything she was melted in the warmth and love that flowed out of that smile. She loved his nickname for her. It was different from anything anyone else had ever called her, which made it all the more special to her.

“How’d you know?” Her voice was a whisper as she looked down at the decadent cake in front of her. The flames of the candles danced merrily in the breeze, while the frosting on the cake read “Happy birthday, songbird.”

“Your mom. She messaged me a while ago, and we figured a surprise party would be just what you needed.”

For the first time, Robin’s gaze took in everything behind Hal. Everyone, even Dem, was wearing a party hat and smiling at her. Streamers hung from the trees, and balloons were tied to their branches. Her eyes sought out the woman responsible, but when she found her mother, she wished she hadn’t. Tears streamed from her eyes as she covered the lower half of her face with her hands, muffling the sound of her sorrow. When she noticed her daughter looking at her, she turned and walked off through the trees. Robin knew she would eventually have to make peace with her mother, but the pain of everything was still too close. Even though it tore at her heart to see her mother upset, she let her disappear into the woods to cry in private. There was nothing she could say right now that would make her feel better. The only words she had were hard and a little unkind, but she was trying to work past that.

Alec and Thad carried out a cooler filled with beer, while Ellie and Cin did the same with one filled with snacks.

They had brought her a picnic on the beach.

Setting the cake down on the makeshift table, Hal grinned at her. “Make a wish.”

She took a deep breath and blew out the candles. Her brain blanked on making a wish. Right now she had everything she wanted.

Hal smiled down at her as he began plucking the candles from the cake. The thick white and yellow frosting stuck to the bottoms of the little wax sticks. As he collected them, he wiped the frosting off with a finger. Robin looked up at him, a hunger burning inside her, not just for the cake, although that looked delicious, but for the man who had brought such happiness into her life. When he held out his frosting-covered finger, she smiled and locked her lips around it, sucking his finger clean of the sweet treat. Hal’s own eyes filled with desire then. Her movements had ignited a flame within him that she knew they would quench later that night, once everyone else had left. The promise of the coming pleasure shone in his gaze.

“You know, some of us actually want to eat that cake,” Alec’s voice called out.

“Oi, leave them alone, ye big bully.” Ellie’s sweet chiding came a moment later.

Robin backed up, letting Hal begin to cut the cake. He slid thick wedges of it onto paper plates, leaving white and yellow smears behind on the cake sheet.

“I wasn’t sure what flavor you would like, so half the cake is marble with vanilla frosting and the other half is chocolate with a mint frosting, which is my favorite. His dimples winked at her as he smiled. She could see the slightly different colors of the frosting now that he had pointed it out, a fact she would have missed if he hadn’t said anything.

“I don’t remember, if I’m honest,” she said quietly, not wanting to bring the mood down.

His smile flickered for a second. It was so fast that if she hadn’t become so familiar with his face over the last few months, she would have missed it, and then it got even bigger. “Then you get to try a piece of each!”

He cut two slices and put them on a plate with the skinny ends facing each other. “Don’t want to mix the frostings and skew the results of your taste test.” He winked at her, and she went back to her seat.

The metal of the fork was cool in her hand as she picked it up, the tines slicing into the marble cake, creating a small mouthful for herself. The chocolate and vanilla flavors swirled on her tongue as the richness of the cake invaded her senses. Taking a sip of water to cleanse her palate, she tried the other slice. The tang of the mint frosting mixing with the sumptuous chocolate almost overwhelmed her.

“By the gods, woman, I could watch you eat cake for the rest of my life and be happy.” Hal’s voice came from next to her.

She hadn’t heard him sit down or been aware that she’d closed her eyes, but both had happened while she was taken in by the luxurious flavors that danced on her tongue.

Smiling, she took a long, sensual pull on her fork, the tines slipping slowly through her lips as she took another bite.

“If you keep that up, we will be leaving the party early.” Hal’s eyes, filled with lust, were trained with a laser-like focus on her mouth.

Robin giggled at the idea. He was heaven to her, and if he wanted to sneak away from the party, she would gladly join him.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with jokes and laughter while they ate and drank their way through the picnic. She had never been happier. As people left, the party dwindled down to just the two of them, lying on a blanket on the beach, watching the sunset.

Her life had turned from pure hell into pure magic.

“Take a photo with me.” Hal’s voice was tender and quiet, as though he was afraid of her reaction to the request.

Her heart swelled with joy at the thought of him wanting to document their lives together. After she nodded at her love, he took her by the hand and led her to the edge of the ocean before pulling out the phone and snapping a couple photos of the two of them. Before she knew what was happening, he picked her up and tossed her into the water. She squealed as she moved through the air, feeling weightless for just a moment.

The cold sucked the air out of her lungs, and as her feet connected with the bottom, she realized she hadn’t gone far. It was only waist-deep water. She lunged at Hal, tackling him down into the surf. Laughter rocked through his body as they rolled around, their hair getting matted with sand. When they stopped, he looked at her. The purity of the emotion shining from his eyes had her kissing him before she could stop herself. Sand coated some of her face, and when they parted, he gently brushed it away.

He pulled out his phone once more.

“A, how did your phone survive that, and b, I have to look like crap now.”

A bark of laughter escaped him. “A, it’s got a protective case, and b, you look amazing.”

Rolling over in the sand so he was on his belly just like her, he extended the phone and took a photo. The sun had stained the sky orange and pink behind them, and their faces were full of joy. It was the perfect photo.

A shiver rolled through her as the chill of the water finally hit home.

“Come on, let’s go get you warmed up.” Hal stood and picked her up, swinging her into his arms as he had on that first night he took her to the cabin.

“I hope you don’t just mean with a warm shower or sitting by the fire,” she teased.

“Wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.” He jumped them directly to the bedroom. “I was thinking something a little more intimate.”

A huge smile spread over Robin’s face as her heart rejoiced in the love that surrounded her, before he kissed her senseless and began to thoroughly warm her.