“Nope.”

“Welcome to my world,” I told him.

His body softened at that, finally relaxing. He reached out to caress the side of my face. “You’re not bad at kissing. You’re just scared. There’s a difference.”

Noah really was an amazing man, and I felt so lucky to be hanging out with him. I was struck with the desire to do something nice for him, to show him how much I liked him.

“We need a break,” I announced. “Switch places with me.”

Instead of getting out of the van, I climbed over the seats so he could move over, and then I got into the spot he’d just vacated.

I did a quick search on my phone and started following the directions. He reached for the phone, but I swatted his hand away.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked. “If you don’t tell me, that’s basically kidnapping.”

I just smiled. “It’s also called a surprise.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“Where have you brought me?” he asked when we got out of the van.

“You really were sheltered, weren’t you? This is called an arcade.”

He frowned briefly at me. “I know what an arcade is. I suck at driving so your first thought was, what, let’s play video games?”

“Not quite.” This time I reached for his hand and brought him inside. Just as I’d hoped, the two party rooms were filled with screaming kids and balloons. “You said your biggest regret was not getting to have or go to a birthday party as a kid. I found you two.”

“We can’t just crash some kid’s party. Or two parties.”

“Sure we can. You’re Malec Shadowfire. They’re going to be thrilled that you’re here.” I went into one of the rooms and waved. “Hi, everyone! Is it okay if we join you?”

At first there were a lot of confused looks from both the adults and the kids until one little blond toddler came over to him, his mouth hanging open. He stared up at Noah and then uttered a single word. “Malec.”

Then all of the kids were swarming Noah, shouting questions at him, hanging on to his legs, tugging at his hands. One of the parents approached, asking if she could get a picture of him with the children. He said sure, and there were excited giggles and some very adorable pictures taken.

After dozens of photos had been shot by all the adults, I said, “You guys, I think Malec Shadowfire needs some birthday cake.” One of the moms nearly broke her own neck in a rush to cut Noah a piece of cake.

I, however, did not get one.