“Thanks, old man. I knew I could count on you.” I smiled. “You are coming to his birthday party, right?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Maybe I’ll even have a few words with him.” He winked.

I got up from my chair, gave him a light hug goodbye, and drove home.

****

I was in the kitchen having coffee when Collin came downstairs.

“Good morning, Collin,” Ellery said as she kissed his cheek.

“Good morning, Mom. Dad,” he said as he looked at me.

“You’re going to need to go upstairs and change your clothes,” I said.

“Why?”

“Because you and I are going to play golf today.”

He looked at me strangely. “Huh?”

“We’re not going to the office. We’re going to skip work today and spend some father/son time together.”

“Oh,” he said in shock. “Okay. Does Julia know?” he asked.

“Does Julia know what?” she said when she walked into the kitchen.

“Hello, princess.” I smiled as she walked over and kissed me.

“Dad and I aren’t going to the office today. We’re going to play golf instead.”

“Good for you!” She smiled. “Mom and I are going maternity clothes shopping.”

“It looks like the Black family is playing hooky today.” Ellery laughed.

I got up from my chair and wrapped my arms around her. Even after all these years, her scent still drove me crazy. I brought my lips closer to her ear as I whispered, “We can play hooky together later. All night, if you want.”

“Mhmm,” she moaned. “I can’t wait.”

“Hello! Children in the room!” Julia yelled.

Ellery and I laughed and kissed each other goodbye for the day. Collin and I climbed into the Range Rover and headed to breakfast before tearing up the golf course.

“I love the omelets here,” Collin said as he took a bite.

“This was always your favorite place to eat breakfast.” I smiled.

Collin looked at me as he took a sip of his coffee. “Okay, Dad. Confess. Yesterday, you were about ready to fire me and cut me off and today, you’re taking me to breakfast and golfing. What’s up? Are you going to lecture me?”

Chapter 8

I sat there and listened to my father spill about his past. His women, his stalker, and the reason he was the way he was. I was blown away when he told me about his rules. It was hard for me to hear. I could see why I reminded him of himself. He saw almost the same behaviors in me that he once had. I felt sorry for him. I felt sorry that I had pushed him far enough that he had to relive his past. I told him that I was okay and not to worry. He could tell I wasn’t and said that he’d worry, no matter what.

“One day, son, you’re going to meet the love of your life.”

“I already did, Dad.”

“I’m sorry to break this to you, but no, you haven’t. Hailey wasn’t the love of your life and you’ll finally understand when you meet that special person.”

It didn’t matter what he said. Hailey was the love of my life and nobody could tell me otherwise. They weren’t inside my heart and they weren’t inside my head. Nobody had any clue as to how much I loved that girl and still did. After breakfast, we golfed for most of the day. It was great to spend the day with my dad. But no matter how much time I spent with someone else, Hailey was always still front and center in my mind.

“I need to talk to you about your birthday,” my dad said.

“What about it?”

“Your mom and I have to attend a charity function that we can’t get out of. So we’re going to take you out the day after.”

I smiled to myself because if I hadn’t already known, I’d actually believe him.

“That’s okay, Dad.”

“Julia and Jake are taking you to dinner, so don’t make any plans.”

“Okay,” I said.

He gave me a strange look and continued to golf. We finished up our game and then headed home where we took my mom, Julia, and Jake to dinner. After dinner, I came home and spent the rest of the evening with my mom and dad. That made my mom smile and it felt good to make her happy.

****

“Happy birthday, my darling baby boy,” my mom said as she walked into my room and kissed my cheek.

“Thanks, Mom.” I smiled.

“I made you all your favorite breakfast foods. So get dressed and come downstairs.”

I reached over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand with the hope that Hailey had at least wished me a happy birthday. Disappointment washed over me as I scrolled through all my text messages and not one of them was from her. I climbed out of bed, showered, and dressed before heading down to eat the wonderful breakfast my mom prepared for me. I put on my fake smile as I entered the kitchen.

“Mom, it smells great in here.”

“Thank you. Sit down and I’ll bring you your plate.”

“Happy birthday, son.” My dad smiled.

“Thanks, Dad.”

My mom set down a plate of eggs and French toast and then took her seat next to me. “I feel so bad that we won’t be able to take you out tonight.” She pouted.

“Don’t be, Mom. We can do it another night. It’s not that big a deal. I’m a big boy now.” I winked.

“Well, at least you’ll be with Julia and Jake tonight.”

Yeah, I thought to myself. As much as I loved my family, the only person I wanted to spend my birthday with wasn’t here.

I spent the rest of the day at the office, catching up on work that I’d been slacking on over the past few weeks. I decided that maybe it was time for me to throw myself into my work because this was going to be my company one day and I wanted to be just as successful as my dad, plus I wanted to make him proud of me.

“Happy birthday, bro.” Jake smiled as we shook hands.

“Thanks,” I said as I sat down at the table.

The three of us had a great dinner and I couldn’t wait to get home and really start drinking at my party. If there was a night that I needed to get drunk, tonight was it. The whole day had passed and not one word from Hailey. Once again, she had managed to break my heart and I let her. When dinner was over, I climbed in Julia’s and Jake’s Range Rover and they took me back to the penthouse.

“Now remember to act surprised,” she warned me.

The elevator doors opened and, suddenly, the lights went on and everyone yelled “Surprise.” A wide grin graced my face as I took a step back and pretended to be in shock.