Music of the Heart (9 page)

              Ava nodded her head in agreement as she shoved more barbecue in her face.

              “Then, Laken and Reed are going as a sexy princess and her prince.  Ellis and Jake are going as a cop and a robber.  And now that just leaves you.  What’s it going to be Ashleigh?”

              “I have no clue Merritt.  Why don’t you just tell me what you have either found or already bought or had made for me and I will wear it.”

              With her guilty look on her face, she quickly gets up and walks to the kitchen and brings a hanging bag out.

              “Okay, I may have helped you a little bit.  In my defense, you have been busy and I knew if I didn’t give you a little help, you would never find anything.  So, tell me what you think.”

              I should be worried by the look on her face especially after she asks me what I think.  I look up to see a barely there nurses outfit. 

              “What the hell Merritt?  Where is the rest of the costume?  That is the shortest nurse’s dress I have ever seen!”

              Not only is there a slutty nurse outfit, she has had it decorated with sequins and a tag that says ‘Nurse Hot Lips’, white lacy thigh highs, and sky high red mary jane high heels.  I might as well be a hooker.

              “There is no way I can wear that!  I am sure the parents of all the trick or treaters won’t appreciate my boobs being in their kids faces when they come for candy.”

              “It’s not that low.  Besides, it is already done and now you don’t have to worry about anything!  Just say thank you Merritt and we can have dessert.”

              I say thank you and just shake my head.  There is no winning with Merritt so I guess I will just have to settle on the slutty nurse.

*********

              The next Friday arrives and it’s my 25
th
birthday.  The girls and I are spending the day shopping and then they are taking me to lunch.  We decided to visit some of the fun boutiques on the streets of Buckhead and then go to the Sweet Peach Café for lunch since it’s one of my favorites.

We walk in the door and instantly, I am overcome with that crazy feeling I only get when Cross is around.

“Merritt, did you invite the guys to eat lunch with us?”

“No.  Why?  Did you want me to?”

I turn my head and start looking around without answering her and immediately lock eyes with Cross.  Of all the places to eat on my birthday, Cross had to be at the Sweet Peach. 

We order our food and then Merritt leads us over to see the guys. 

“Hey boys.  What are y’all doing today?  And why are you in casual clothes?”

“Someone Reed and I convinced Cross to play hooky today so we all took off and just stopped to grab some lunch.”

Dixon and Reed both stand up and hug me and whisper happy birthday in ear so everyone around doesn’t hear and come over.

I thank them and then we head over to our own table.  Our food is brought out and is delicious as always.  No one has said anything to me about Cross because they know there is nothing to talk about.  The girls want so badly for the two of us to hit it off but I’m pretty sure I am not the type of girl he goes for.   

              “Thanks for lunch girls.  You know the way to my heart is through the Sweet Peach Café.  Too bad I didn’t think of opening this place first.  If the owner ever wants to sell it, I would be happy to take it off his or her hands.”

              I notice as I am talking, the girls exchange a subtle look at the mention of the owner. 

              “What?  What did I say?”

              “Oh nothing.  We’re just glad you are enjoying your birthday lunch.  So, what time does your family get in today?”

              Nice change of conversation by Ava.  I can tell whatever is going on will not be talked about right now so I don’t push it.

              “They were going to leave around noon I think.  Try to get here before work traffic begins.  I wish they would just stay with me but they have plans to go to the aquarium and a few other places tomorrow and want to be able to just walk and not get the car out.  I thought about taking them to Fins tonight for my birthday dinner.  What do you think?”

              Everyone is agreeing my family will love Fins when Jenna comes towards our table with one of their dessert specialties – miniature caramel cakes.  They’re bigger than cupcakes but smaller than a whole cake.  It’s plenty for all of us to eat together.  Sitting on top of it is a candle and after she sets it down, she slips me a note.

              The girls know better than to sing out loud to me so they whisper sing instead.  We all grab our forks and dig in.  It doesn’t take long for the guys to come over but Cross is no longer with them.  I sneak a glance at the note and see that the cake was from Cross and he wished me a happy birthday.  I want to thank him but he’s nowhere to be seen.

              After we finish the cake, I look at everyone, “Well, I need to go and get ready for tonight.  My family is coming over early to spend some time together before we head to dinner.”

              Everyone says their goodbyes and I head home to shower and change clothes.  I called my mom and she said they were about thirty minutes away so I go ahead and get ready and sit down to work on some new lyrics to kill time.

              About an hour and a half has gone by and I hear my doorbell ring.  I ran to the door expecting to see my sweet two-year-old niece standing there but instead am greeted by an enormous bouquets of flowers.

              I take the flowers and sign for them and just stare at them in awe.  I’ve never seen a bouquet like this and whoever sent it must know that tulips are my favorite flower.  There has to five dozen tulips in the arrangement and all different colors.  I quickly grab the card and to my shock, they are from Cross. 

              I’m standing here just staring at the flowers when the doorbell rings again.  This time I am greeted by the cutest little blonde haired, blue-eyed cutie pie in the world. 

              “Aunt Ashweigh!  Happy, Happy Burthday to you!”

              I get hugs all around from everyone as they walk in my house.  My niece, Greer instantly notices the big bouquet of tulips. 

              “Wow Aunt Ashleigh!  These flowers are so pretty!  Can I smell them?  Please?!?!”

              My mom and sister walk in as I pick up Greer to smell the flowers. 

              “Ashleigh, these are beautiful and there are so many.  Where on Earth did you get these from?”

              Thankfully I removed the card from the flowers before they got to the house so I decided to lie about who sent them.  The last thing I needed tonight was tons of questions about who Cross is.

              “Oh, the record label sent them for my birthday.  They are beautiful, aren’t they?”

              We talk a little longer and then head out to Fins.  As always, dinner was amazing.  My family raves about the restaurant.  After we ate, they head back to the hotel and I am so tired, I spend the rest of the night in soaking in a bubble bath with a nice glass of wine.  Thankfully, it wasn’t too long after that when sleep finds me.

CROSS

              I can’t believe the guys never mentioned to me that it was Ashleigh’s birthday today.  I felt like an ass not saying anything to her once they told me.  I ended up going back to the counter and telling one of my employees to bring out a few of the miniature caramel cakes to her table.  I also wrote a quick note and asked Jenna if she would slip it to Ashleigh for me. 

              After we left the café, I told the guys I had a few errands to run and that I would see them tonight at Merritt’s house to help decorate.

              Once I got in my car, I pulled up the florist I use and ordered five dozen tulips to be sent to Ashleigh’s house immediately.  After placing the flower order, I head straight to Phipps Plaza to try and find her a birthday present.  We may not get along right now but I can’t stop thinking about her and I want to get her an amazing gift.  Thinking jewelry is a bit much to give her now, I head to Saks and go look at the purses.  I noticed the purse she carried today and it was a Louis Vuitton.  I go over to that counter and ask for the newest and best one they have. 

              I end up leaving Saks with a new purse, wallet and keychain for Ashleigh.

              I run home and drop the gifts off and decide to go for a quick run before heading to Merritt’s house.  I spend the rest of the evening over there and she has gone all out.

              “Merritt, you have outdone yourself this year.  Why’d you go all out this year?  Usually you don’t do quite as much.”

              “Are you really that clueless?  Didn’t Dixon tell you?  It’s not just a Halloween party.  It’s a surprise birthday party for Ashleigh.”

              Well, fuck.  No one told me that.  Well, that helps me figure out how to give her this gift.  I’ll just slip it into the stack of gifts tonight.  I finish up helping everyone as much as I can and then head home to relax for the night.

**********

              After a lazy Saturday morning and afternoon doing nothing, it was time to get ready for the party tonight.  I was going to head over to Merritt’s house early to help the guys finish setting up some last minute stuff.

              I pull into the driveway and head around to the back to park out of the way.  Once I’m in the house, I see Merritt is in full party planner mode.

              “No, no, no, that doesn’t go there.  You need to set it up right here.  Wait a minute!  There are three bar areas set up so make sure you divide everything equally.”

              She sees me, stops to give me a kiss on the cheek and then instructs me to go to the den and help hang a few more decorations.

              The next two hours fly by and before I know it, guests are starting to arrive.  She had told Ashleigh to be there around 7:30 and the rest of the guests to come between 6:45 and 7:15. Ava has fixed enough food and sweets for an entire army and I am starving. 

              Around 7:20, Merritt gets on the stage and let’s everyone know Ashleigh and her family are about 5 minutes from being here.  I’m very curious to see what she’s dressed like and to see if she liked the flowers.  Now, I’m sitting here like a school boy waiting on his crush to arrive. 

Chapter Ten

ASHLEIGH

              There sure are a lot of cars here already.  I thought the party started at 7:30. I tried to come and help early but Merritt told me no way.  I was to spend the day with my family and celebrate my birthday some more.  No coming early to work.  So here we are, all dressed up for a fun Halloween party.

              I don’t ring the doorbell since I practically live over here when I’m in town.  For some reason, Ava and Laken keep texting me to find out where I am and when I will be here.  I send one last text as we get out of the car and tell them I just pulled up and will be in there shortly. 

              I open the front door with my family behind me and there is no one anywhere.  I find that odd since there are cars everywhere and it’s a huge party.  My niece takes off running and I guess she sees people in the large party room Merritt has so we head that way.

              As I round the corner, I hear, “Surprise!”