Center Stage
Page 33

She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her palms against his bare back. “Nothing else?”
“Maybe some thigh-high stockings. But, nothing else.”
She slowly nodded her head, and her curls brushed her shoulders. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Arianna was quiet on the ride to Zach and Regan’s. John wondered if she knew about the party. He’d done all he could to discourage any thought.
He wasn’t sure what he’d have done if she had put on her sweats and called his bluff to lounge and watch TV.
The ring case dug into his leg. He knew it had been dumb to just put it in his pocket, but as of yet, she hadn’t noticed.
He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I had a moment back home where I was feeling a bit selfish.”
“Why’s that?”
She let her shoulders drop and let out a long breath. “I was thinking that we were going out to Regan’s house for some big party, and that’s why I gussied up and then you were all smokin’ in your dressed up clothes.”
He grinned. She was flustered, and it was endearing.
Arianna pulled the strap on her seatbelt as though it might be choking her. “I was feeling bad that no one had done anything special for my birthday, and it’s just around the corner.”
“Tuesday. It’s Tuesday.”
She laughed. “You’re a keeper, Forrester.”
“Good.”
“But it hit me that I was being selfish. No one should get me a gift or throw me a party. You all sunk everything into the theater. You’ve all been thinking of me the whole time.”
“Still, it’s okay to want something special.”
“No.” She shook her head and set her eyes on him. “It’s not okay. How greedy is it to want a party? To want to have dinner with the people I love and celebrate my life.”
“It’s not greedy.”
“It feels that way.”
“So what do you want to do about it? Would you, at least, like to have everyone over for birthday cake? Forty is a very exciting age. You’re going to be amazing at forty, but then again, you already are.”
She chuckled, which meant she was lightening up. “You know, I would love that. Do you mind?”
“For you, anything.”
As they drove down the long road that led to her sister’s house, she could see the cars of her family. Why did she ever need a party when her family was there?
Arianna had learned to sit in the truck until John opened the door for her. He was old fashioned, and she needed to not be so eager and let him take care of her, just a little bit.
John opened the door and helped her down. She always seemed to land right in his arms. He gave her a soft kiss.
“I know it’s not your birthday, but would you like one of your presents anyway?”
She narrowed her eyes on him. She should say no, but she’d always been a sucker for a present. “Whatcha got?”
John smiled, reached past her, and pulled open the glove compartment. He took out an envelope and handed it to her.
Arianna quickly lifted the flap and looked inside—then up at him, speechless.
“You wanted to go on vacation.”
“You didn’t have to do this because I threw a fit over going somewhere.”
He gathered her in his arms again. “I told you all that because I’d already bought the tickets.”
“You’re too good for me.”
“No, but I think we are just right for each other, and we came along at just the right time.”
Arianna rested her head against his chest. “Is this why we never made any moves on each other?”
“Maybe it was.”
The front door to the house opened, and Curtis stood in the doorway with Avery in his arms. “You know we’re waiting dinner on you two. I’m hungry. So stop being selfish and get your butts in here.”
Arianna laughed. She had John and her family. What more could she need in life?
John watched Arianna run up the front steps of the house and scoop Avery into her arms. Curtis kissed her on the cheek and then waited for him to walk through the door.
“Everyone is in the back, in the kitchen.”
Arianna walked through the house, and John heard the loud “surprise” that was shouted from her family and the many friends they’d had gather there.
Avery stirred in her arms, and she held her protectively closer. She turned her head to look at John and she smiled. They hadn’t disappointed her. She was sure they never could.
Simone had quickly taken her daughter back, and Arianna went around the room and gave every guest there a hug and spoke to them as though they were the honored guest. There was something special in the way she could make each person feel as though he, or she, was the only one in the room.
Curtis moved in next to John and handed him a beer. “Did she know?”
“I think she wanted to think it was what was going on, but she couldn’t get it out of me.”
“She’d have been disappointed if we didn’t do this.”
John shook his head. “I don’t think so. She knows what everyone put into the theater, and it means the world to her.”
“She deserves that. I’ve never known anyone so full of energy and life than my own sister. I know that she will not only make that theater something special, but she’ll touch lives. She doesn’t know it yet, but she will.”
“Like Simone?” John motioned to Curtis’s fiancée, who was talking to a guest in the corner.
“She didn’t know she had it in her to change lives. But she changed one, and that seemed to be her calling. She’s establishing a foundation through the clinic to help people find jobs and receive clothing and food.”
He’d heard that, but hearing the excitement in Curtis’s voice made it seem bigger than life. “I think she’ll do great.”
Arianna headed toward them. She moved toward Curtis first and wrapped her arms around him. “I love you. Thank you for helping put this together.”
“Simone lives for this. Do you really think I had anything to do with it?”
She gave him a noisy kiss on the cheek. “Yes.” Then she turned to John. “And what would you have done if I’d put my sweat pants on and watched TV?”