Chapter 105: Chapter Twenty-Four: The Fast and Fierce and Forever-5

Gramps wore his usual dark trousers and a light blue button-down shirt. Terrence met us downstairs, bowing formally to greet me and my grandfather. “Max, lovely to see you again and happy birthday. Mr. Moss, my name is Terrence. It’s good to meet you, sir. Your granddaughter is a fine young lady and a good friend.” “That she is,” my grandfather replied before eyeing the town car with a slightly bewildered expression. He said nothing though before getting in after me. If my grandfather was impressed by the blatant display of Luke’s financial status, he didn’t say. He kept his cool—very Bart Moss—as he accompanied me and Terrence to the penthouse. We heard the music the moment the elevator doors slid open and my heart started to pound. I didn’t know that many people in the city but the few that I did, I had hoped had made it some way or another. Terrence walked ahead of us and rapped a quick pattern of knocks on the door before he pushed it open. “After you,” he said, stepping aside to hold the door open. The moment I stepped through, a cheerful chorus of voices filled the air as confetti rained from the ceiling. “Happy Birthday!” A sea of faces greeted me—Jillian, Ryan, Alex, Zoe, Luke, Peggy and what looked like the entire marketing department from work with the exception of a few. I was probably grinning like an idiot but I didn’t care. Luke stepped forward and lifted me up by the waist, turning us both halfway around before lowering me enough to touch his lips with a kiss. “Thank you,” I murmured against his mouth. “Anytime, baby,” he said with a big smile before letting me back down on my feet. He kissed my forehead and stepped aside as if to present me to our guests, holding his glass up in the air. “To all the friends and family who came here tonight for Max, let’s raise our glasses for a toast to celebrate her life—one that we’re very much lucky to be a part of. I don’t know about you but I’m crazy about her.” “Cheers to Max!” Zoe yelled out, practically punching her colorful cocktail glass high up in the air. Everyone raised their glasses to the toast before several people came over to hug me. By the time they were done with me, I went searching for my grandfather who now stood by Luke’s breakfast bar, enjoying a bottle of beer and chatting with a couple of guys from Alex’s team. I only knew half of the people in the party, which had exponentially grown in the last half hour, but I didn’t mind. This was officially the first birthday party of my entire life. “Gramps, you shouldn’t be drinking,” I softly chided when I reached his side. “You know it screws up your stomach.” “I’m not too old to not be able to enjoy a rare drink, Max, but I’m also too old to miss out on one when only God knows if I’ll have another chance at it,” he said, lifting his bottle and clinking it against the vodka cran I held. “Go enjoy your party, kiddo. Don’t worry about an old man like me. I’ll be fine talking hockey here with the guys.” Taking his word on it, I left him alone. I was still watching him when Alex suddenly appeared beside me. “Glad he was able to make it. Your grandfather’s a stubborn man. He wouldn’t let me help him at all.” “He’s never changed and he never will,” I said, smiling at Alex. “But thank you for trying to get him here for my birthday. I owe you guys so much.” Alex just shrugged and took a swig of his beer. “We wanted to put something together for you but really, it was Zoe who took things to the next level. To say that she’s warmed up to you is an understatement.” “Zoe is an incredible person,” I said as our gazes both found her standing at the far corner of the room, talking eagerly with Ryan. “Whoever’s lucky enough to win her heart will never regret it.” “Hard to know who that is if she keeps giving parts of her heart away to every chap who comes along,” Alex muttered with a fairly detectable edge in his voice. I glanced at him and saw the dark look in his eyes as he watched Zoe and Ryan. I paused and let the undercurrents of the situation filter through me until they made sense. I slowly smiled. “I wouldn’t be so worried about Ryan. I have a feeling he’s set on someone who can’t really see how he feels whether she’s got her glasses on or not.” But before that conversation went any further, Luke voice sliced through the noise, deceivingly low but sharp enough to cut. “Mind if I steal my girl away, Rizzo?” Alex didn’t look deterred. He just raised a brow at Luke. “Do you really want an answer to that question?” I rolled my eyes and wedged myself between the two men. “Let me stop you two right now before you start another pissing contest.” Luke, infuriating as he could get sometimes, slipped a possessive arm around my shoulders. “Don’t worry, Max. I’m sure Alex knows where he stands.” “I’m standing right here, next to Max, because the fact that she’s my friend won’t change just because you’re in the picture,” Alex shot back. He wasn’t reverberating with tension as Luke was. In fact, he seemed slightly amused. “As long as she’s happy with you, you won’t have a problem with me.” I thought Luke was going to deliver some heated comeback because in some ways, he could still be a bit immature like that, but he surprised me when his stance eased. “I appreciate that.”