“Not enough. I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
Eeeh! I’m Taylor Anderson’s. I can’t believe it. I began to giggle. I knew I was totally acting like all of the other girls, but I didn’t care. And I have to say, it was really good to be thought of as his.
“Okay, then, how about the park?” he said. “It’s not a date, right? And we won’t be in the house alone with Ms. Jenkins’s dirty mind inventing stuff. What do ya say?”
“Actually, yeah. Let’s go to the park. Hang on.” I ran into the kitchen and got the house key, then grabbed the ice cream cake and slipped a couple of spoons into my pocket. “What’s that?” Taylor asked as he shut the door behind us.
I locked the door. “Oh, just a silly cake my mom bought for me.”
Taylor pulled the package out of my arms. “Really? And that’s why it says ‘Happy Birthday’ on it?”
Dang. “What?” I leaned over his arm and looked through the cellophane top. “Sheez.”
Taylor chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, his other hand clutching the cake. I turned and waved at Ms. Jenkins’s window and watched the curtain fall. Taylor and I waited for a couple of cars to pass before we headed across the street. My feet began to sink into the soft sand.
“You know, I’ve never thanked you for what you’ve done for Georgia.”
“Georgia?” I grinned as we made our way over to the swings.
“I don’t know if you knew this, but Georgia used to be really shy.”
I pulled away a little to see him. “Georgia? Shy?”
Taylor stopped about three feet from the swings. “Yes. She was really shy. We were actually worried about it. She was so afraid of people that she would hardly even talk to anyone outside of the family. If she hadn’t improved when she did, my parents would’ve been forced to hold her back from attending kindergarten next school year. Georgia’s therapist recommended that she try ballet. It was really a last-ditch effort on my parents’ part to see if she would improve.
“She did, almost immediately. All it took was watching you dance. And she loved you. You were like a storybook ballerina come to life. I couldn’t help but spoil her when she wanted to bring something to your class. It was the first time we had ever seen her share with anyone besides us before. My mom cried the first day she overheard Georgia chatter about her new friends. Up until ballet, all the friends Georgia would ever talk to or about were her dolls. My parents and I owe you so much.”
I stepped away from him. “Taylor, I had no idea, none at all. I honestly thought Georgia was one of the most outgoing little girls I had ever met.” I laughed quietly to myself. “I’ve had a hard time getting her to be quiet long enough to teach the next move or step to her. She is such a sweetheart.” I paused a moment. “Which reminds me, since we are on the subject of sisters, I have a not quite-so-sweetheart sister I need to thank you for.”
“Me? All I did was follow a hunch to check Blake’s Facebook profile. I freaked out when I saw that Cassidy had left a comment saying she planned on meeting Blake that day.”
“You were freaked? You have no idea how disturbed I was when he showed up for my sister. I lost it. Seriously, I have never been so mad in my entire life. I don’t know what I would’ve done to the loser if you hadn’t shown up when you did. It would probably have been me in jail and him off for self-defense—if he lived.”
Taylor laughed and opened his arms wide, cake and all. “That’s my girl.”
His girl. I stepped back into his arms again, knowing I could cheerfully be held by him all day long.
“So when were you going to tell me it was your birthday?” Taylor playfully nudged me.
I smiled into his shirt. “Oh, I don’t know. I was going to wait and see if you were worthy enough to know. Maybe in about six months.”
“Six months, huh? That’s too bad.”
I pulled back. “What do you mean?”
“I guess you don’t want the present I got you, then.”
“What? You got me a present?” My jaw dropped. “No, you didn’t. You’re just giving me a hard time. Besides, you wouldn’t have. You thought I was going to slap you earlier.”
“True. False. And true. I didn’t, really. It was supposed to be a Valentine’s present. I got it around Christmastime.”
“You’re kidding me.” Taylor got me a present back in December?
“Nope. Here.” He set the cake on the ground and then put his hand in his pocket. “You’ve gotta close your eyes, okay?”
“Fine.” A bit skeptical, I agreed and closed my eyes. I felt Taylor’s hand as it slid down my forearm and clasped mine.
He chuckled as he tried to pry my fingers open. “It won’t bite, I promise.”
I grinned and reluctantly allowed my hand to release. Taylor placed something on my palm. It felt like soft fabric with a hard object wrapped inside.
“Okay, you can open them now.”
It was a velvet drawstring bag. I looked up at Taylor, then opened the bag and pulled out a really pretty charm bracelet. “Wow! I’ve always wanted one of these.” I watched as it glistened and sparkled in the setting sun.
“Do you like it? Each charm represents something.” He leaned over me. “See, this one is a heart, because every time I see a heart I think of you. My Chloe Hart. This is a basketball, because that was what I was playing when I first fell for you. Oh! Here’s a little mask for all of the Halloween parties you host. Here’s a paintbrush and palette to represent art class. Here’s a Bible, because I know how much you love church, and here’s—”
I couldn’t help it. I turned and stopped him with a kiss. I had no idea he knew me as well as he did, or remembered all of those things. It was the most thoughtful gift I had ever been given. “Thank you, Taylor. Really, thank you.”
“So you like it?”
“Are you kidding? This is the best gift anyone has ever given me.” Seriously, is there a sweeter guy in the world?
Twenty-Five
Prom
“Chloe, you look incredible,” Cassidy exclaimed as she walked into my room. Kate had just zipped up my new prom dress. I had told my parents not to worry about buying me a new one—I would just wear my old one from last year. But my dad wouldn’t hear of it. He was adamant that no daughter of his would wear a used dress when she was going on the arm of an Anderson.
“Thanks. I feel incredible.” I smiled as I glanced down at my dark bluish green iridescent gown. The skirt swept out like a princess with multicolored layers of sparkly tulle. In the mirror, I watched my hands as they fingered the smooth sequins that were stitched in a band around my waist, my new charm bracelet sparkling in the mirror. I liked the way the bodice had gathers of tulle that connected to a small band of more sequins that formed the neckline. But my favorite part was the wispy, glittering fairy sleeves that fell daintily over my shoulders and slightly down my arms. Unconsciously, my hand traveled up to play with one of the darker blue wisps of a sleeve. I was so glad my dad convinced me to get the dress. My old dress was pretty, but nowhere near as gorgeous as this one. I spun around so I could admire all of me in the mirror.
Kate sighed. “You do look elegant.”
“Thanks to your talent with hair. This updo is so awesome.” I giggled and watched in the mirror as couple of long, red tendrils brushed against my back.