Page 59 of Love Unwritten

“What?” I ask in a rough voice.

“Nothing.” She shakes her head, flinging a few drops of icing in the process.

“Oh, wait. You got something right…” I repeat her words as I smear a big clump of icing over Ellie’s cheeks. My thumb accidentally swipes across her bottom lip, and a spark of awareness shoots across my skin.

Ellie’s sharp breath feels like it was ripped straight from my lungs.

I pull back at the sound of Nico and his friends laughing to find my family looking at us with a range of expressions. My aunt has a certain troubling smile on her face, while Dahlia and Julian are whispering to each other, their gazes darting back to us with poorly concealed interest.

My whole face heats up at the unwanted attention, and I turn back toward Ellie.

Ellie seems not to care about everyone else as she asks me, “How do you feel about getting revenge on the little instigator?”

A small smile tugs at my lips. “I like the way you think.”

She smirks. “You grab him while I get the cake?”

I nod. With an impressive burst of speed, Ellie steals a slice of cake from the table while I lock my arms around Nico and pull him up high against my chest.

“No!” he shouts while squirming against me. “I’m sorry!”

To think I have spent all this time being jealous of the relationship she had with my son when I could have been trying to be a part of it instead. No one said we couldn’t share experiences with Nico together, but I made it impossible with the way I behaved.

From here on out, I will work on it.

Obviously, my problems with Nico aren’t going to magically go away because of a fun birthday party, but this is a fresh start. One that includes pushing my jealousy aside and appreciating Ellie’s relationship for what it is.

A genuine one.

“¡Papi!” Nico shouts.

Ellie lets out a soft laugh I feel more than hear, the sound making my chest feel all warm and tingly.

We share another look, although this time I’m quick to shield my true feelings. The ones I have no right to feel in the first place because this is Nico’s nanny we are talking about. She is permanently off-limits, regardless of how my heart trips up in her proximity.

Thankfully, she doesn’t seem to notice my dilemma as she slams the paper plate into Nico’s face while staring up at me with another heart-clenching smile that could bring a man to his knees.

I fear that, if I’m not careful, that man could most definitely be me.

Without me having to ask, my family volunteers to help clean up after the party once the last kid leaves. Lily is organizing all the food and cake leftovers while Julian, his mom, and I are on cleanup duty. Before Ellie had a chance to pick up a trash bag, Dahlia asked if they could visit the barn and go over everything the animals will need while we are away on our trip.

I didn’t want to burden my family with taking care of them, but they wouldn’t let me ask anyone else. I’m not the betting type, but I give Dahlia a week of mucking out stalls before she throws in the designer towel and asks Julian to take over her shift.

My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I drop the trash bag on the ground before checking who texted me.

It takes a single name to sour my stomach and ruin my good mood.

HILLARY

Tell Nico that I’m sorry I couldn’t make it.

She then sends a receipt for an electronic gift card to Nico’s favorite sneaker store.

I want to rage. I want to yell. I want to take my phone and toss it in the pond behind my house.

Instead, I type out a cordial reply.

ME