Chapter 85 Angelo’s Birthday
"You've been wronged." Linda sighed, hating that she couldn't help much. "He'll regret missing out on such a great girl like you."
The grievances and heartache that had already faded were stirred up by Linda's sympathetic words. Joanna's nose tingled, and her eyes reddened.
She didn't know if Chris would regret it, but in the days after leaving the Coopers, she had thrown herself into her career. Seeing patients recover and leave the hospital, seeing the dresses she designed worn by celebrities at various events to showcase their beauty—these things made her happy.
Joanna stayed at the hospital taking care of Linda for three days, and she fully understood the design concept for this charity piece. She could start working on it anytime.
On the fourth day, although Linda still couldn't be discharged, she was already worried that her accident might affect Joanna's work.
At her urging, Joanna boarded the flight home.
She contacted Angelo in advance. His collaboration with the research institute had just been finalized, and he was also thinking about heading back.
The two of them packed up their things simply, bought some souvenirs from abroad, and headed home.
This time there were no annoying people on the plane. Joanna calculated whether she had brought enough gifts.
She didn't know many friends in Austin City. Besides Sandra and Fiona, there were only Peter and her colleagues at Grace General Hospital.
Angelo, on the other hand, had bought a lot and spent a long time checking his luggage.
Joanna was a bit curious. "I don't think I've ever seen Angelo hanging out with friends, and your relatives haven't appeared either."
From what she remembered, she had only performed surgery on Angelo's uncle.
The faint smile on Angelo's face was unreadable as he asked, "Want to meet my friends? They're married with families, and every time we meet they pressure me to get married. If I bring you along, they might mistake you for my girlfriend and tease us. If Joanna doesn't mind, there's a gathering right after we land. I could take you with me."
"No, no need, Angelo!" Joanna's cheeks flushed a bit. She touched them—they were still warm. "I was just asking casually."
Angelo laughed. "It's okay. I'm happy you're willing to enter my world. Joanna, I didn't mention it before because I was afraid you'd feel uncomfortable, but if you don't mind, I'll share my life with you."
The two had communicated often before, but it was mostly centered around Joanna's matters.
So Joanna's understanding of Angelo was somewhat shallow, to the point that she hadn't had a chance to repay him all this time.
Joanna thought for a moment and asked, "Angelo, when is your birthday? I don't think I've ever given you a gift. I hope it's not too late now."
Angelo glanced at his watch, his voice tinged with regret. "Unfortunately, in four more hours, my birthday will be over."
In his original plan, he was supposed to spend his birthday back home, but he hadn't expected things on Joanna's end to be delayed.
However, to return home together, he was willing to wait a few more days.
Joanna froze. She had thought the worst-case scenario was that she'd already missed Angelo's birthday.
She hadn't expected it to be today. She panicked. "The plane lands in half an hour. I won't have time to buy a gift! Wait—does that mean the gathering you mentioned is your friends throwing you a birthday party?"
Angelo nodded. "It's okay, I don't need a gift. No one has wished me happy birthday today yet. Does Joanna want to be the first?"
"Of course!" Joanna took a deep breath. "Angelo, happy birthday! The gift might be a bit rushed, but after you finish the party, you can send me the address and I'll come find you!"
She lowered her head and started searching on her phone for what gift to give Angelo, completely missing the disappointment that flashed in Angelo's eyes.
How he wished that one day he could bring Joanna to meet his friends—as his girlfriend.
After the plane landed, Angelo insisted on taking Joanna home first, but eventually they parted ways at the subway station.
Joanna hurried off to find a cake shop. Her phone order was too rushed and might not be ready in time, so she could only pick up the ingredients and make it at home herself.
As for the gift, she had already chosen one.
It was a tie. She had seen Chris give this brand to friends before. With time so tight, she didn't have time to prepare a more thoughtful gift.
After setting Angelo's birthday as a special date in her phone, Joanna finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Looking at the time, it was already close to midnight.
She quickly called Angelo. "Hello, Angelo? Where are you? Can you send me the address? I'll come pick you up."
"Who's calling? Angelo's been hiding a girlfriend at home and won't bring her to meet us."
The male voice on the other end sounded a bit flippant. Joanna was startled.
That wasn't Angelo's voice.
But after some commotion on that end, the phone quickly returned to Angelo's hand. He said wearily, "Sorry, my friend speaks without thinking. Don't mind him. I've sent you the address, but it's too late now. Let me come to your apartment instead. Don't go out."
Joanna could hear a hint of drunkenness in Angelo's voice. Even after drinking, he was still worried about her going out alone at night. She felt touched.
"It's okay, Angelo. I always carry pepper spray with me!"
Ever since being kidnapped and drugged, Joanna had long ago learned to protect herself. She wasn't afraid of going out alone.
"Is it to guard against Angelo, the wolf?" That flippant male voice rang out again, teasing them. "Beautiful lady, come let us meet you!"
Joanna wasn't afraid of socializing either. She laughed. "Next time when there's a proper opportunity, let's meet and get to know each other formally!"
"It's a deal then."
The man was pushed away. Angelo glared at him disapprovingly, then grabbed his suit jacket and headed out. "I'm leaving first."
The friends behind him exchanged glances and laughed.
Joanna arrived half an hour later. Worried about running out of time, she brought both the cake and the gift.
"Angelo, happy birthday!" Seeing Angelo, Joanna smiled and handed him the gift. "It was too rushed. I hope you won't mind."
Angelo could tell the tie was a last-minute purchase from a boutique, different from the custom-designed pieces he usually wore, but this brand of tie wasn't cheap either.
And the most heartfelt gift was the handmade cake.
He didn't particularly like sweets, and such a beautiful cake—he'd rather take it home and treasure it.
But Joanna had already opened the cake and handed him the utensils. "Angelo, try it. I used very little sugar."
Angelo cut a piece. The sweetness was light, with a subtle hint of mint.
As he was eating, Joanna suddenly smeared a bit of cake on his forehead.
Angelo, who usually paid great attention to his appearance, now had his face covered with a patch of cream. His imposing figure looked a bit comical.
Joanna burst out laughing and leaned against Angelo. "Angelo, you look a bit silly. Don't tell me you've never had cake smeared on you before!"