She grinned, and he rolled his eyes. “You only think you’re the center of the universe, Bristol Montgomery.”
“My mama told me so, so I totally believe it.”
“As your mother should,” his mother said. “Now, go, have fun, but make sure you say goodbye before the end of the night. Or if you can’t because you’re the center of the universe and are busy, just know that we love you. And our gifts are on the table. We can’t wait until you come over for dinner.”
“I told you not to get me gifts.”
“Of course, we did. It’s for your birthday,” Andie said. “However, we also donated to a charity like you asked us to in the invite.”
Marcus smiled and slid his hands into his suit pockets. Bristol did really well in her career. She had albums made, had even been nominated for a Grammy once. She toured the world and was an actual soloist. People begged her to come and play for them.
So, she did really well and was good at saving her money. He made sure of that, as did the rest of her family. She didn’t want to blow her earnings on flashy things, even though Bristol loved the shiny. So, her invites had asked for no gifts but said if the guests wanted to do something, they should donate to their favorite charity in her name.
Most people had adhered to that, but not family. Family wanted to do both.
He hadn’t gotten her anything. Well, he had, but in retrospect, it was probably a really stupid idea. And it was something he’d made, something that he’d likely never show her. Not when he kept digging himself into a hole.
“Okay, I’m going to go make sure he parties a bit,” Bristol said, tugging on his arm. “Come on.”
“I’ll go wherever you lead me. As always,” he said dryly, and his sisters tittered behind him.
He flipped them off, then moved out of the way of his mother’s hand. She was really quick, though, and still caught him on the ear.
“Marcus Stearn.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
She laughed, and he kept his arm around Bristol’s waist as they walked from couple to couple and group to group.
“You having fun?” she asked as they made their way around the next couple, a glass of champagne in each of their hands.
A little too reminiscent of ten years before. He sipped slowly, needing a clear head for this.
“I am. But the question is, are you?”
She turned on her heel and looked up at him, her blue eyes wide. “Of course, I’m having a good time. You’re here. Everyone’s here.” She added the last part quickly, and he frowned. He didn’t have time to dwell on it though, because she continued. “I love birthdays, but I’m really more of a fan of everyone else’s birthdays.”
“For someone who is always the center of attention, you sometimes don’t like it, do you?”
“Pretty much. But Mom wanted to throw this for me like she did for my twenties. However, she promised that for my fortieth—dear God—we’d go to Vegas for a road trip.”
Marcus grinned. “That sounds like a blast.”
“Yeah, we’ll do a Montgomery road trip for my fortieth, and of course, you’ll have to come.”
“Because I’m an honorary Montgomery?”
A pause. Then a bright smile. “You know it. Thank you for coming tonight, Marcus. I know you’ve been a little busy lately.”
There was a question in there, but he didn’t answer. They hadn’t had their regular weekly lunches for the past few weeks, nor had they been hanging out as much as usual. Yes, he had been avoiding her, but he hadn’t known what to say.
He really wasn’t good at this, and he knew he was ruining it all. But he was really afraid that he was going to fuck things up. And he couldn’t. Not when she already meant so much to him. It wasn’t like she was really going to want to be with him. It was only a bet. And she had clearly forgotten. She hadn’t brought it up yet, in all this time.
Bristol loved teasing him about shit like this. If it really mattered, she would have already been teasing, or maybe would have even gotten down on one knee with a ring at this point. That was who Bristol was. And he fucking loved it.
He just hated the stress right now.
“Happy birthday,” he said softly, and Bristol looked up at him, grinning.
“Thank you. Now, I have to start saying my goodbyes to a few people, and my thank yous, but you don’t have to hang out with me the whole time.”
Marcus shook his head. “No, I’ll hang out with you. And I am sorry that I haven’t been spending as much time with you recently. I’ve been busy.”
“With that new project?” she asked, and he knew she was honestly interested. Bristol might be the exact opposite of him in some ways, but she loved what he did, just as he loved what she did.
“Yeah, that.” He knew it sounded off, but he couldn’t help it. While he did have a new project at the library that he was working hard on, that wasn’t the reason for his absence of late. No, the reason was all her, but she didn’t need to know that.
Not now, not ever.
By the time they said goodbye to everyone, and the Montgomerys started to clean up, Marcus’s family and hers were the only ones left, aside from a few stragglers.
He really didn’t want to be under the microscope of any of the Montgomerys, considering that Bristol’s brothers were big and constantly glared at him recently. He didn’t know why. It wasn’t as if they knew what his and Bristol’s promise to each other entailed. If they did, they’d likely kick his ass. Or try. But it was as if they knew something had changed. At least, on his end. Because Bristol seemed the same.
Didn’t she?
“Okay, I think that’s it,” Bristol said, putting her hands on her hips.
“Head home,” her mother said from the side of the room.
“No, I’m going to help clean up.”
“The birthday girl doesn’t help clean up.”
“Yeah, she makes the mess,” Aaron, her younger brother, said. They flipped each other off while their mother scowled at them both.
“Act like a nice family. The others will learn the truth about us if you don’t.”
“You know I have a pillow that says something similar to that,” his mother said as his family came up.
“I think I have something embroidered that says that, too,” Mrs. Montgomery said. Then the mothers began laughing and talking with each other.
His family started to help clean up and mingle with the Montgomerys, and Bristol just leaned back into him, grinning.
“I’m glad our families are friends. It makes everyone so…happy, you know?”
Marcus nodded, barely resisting the urge to kiss her on the top of the head like he usually did. It somehow felt different now. “Yep. It’s a good thing.”
Her mother spoke up again. “Now, really, go. Your feet have to be hurting in those heels.” Marcus looked down the length of Bristol’s body, did his best not to focus on certain curves, and winced.
“Why are you wearing five-inch heels?”
“They were pretty. And my feet are numb.”
“Go,” the Montgomerys said in unison, and his family agreed.
Marcus tugged on her arm. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”