Incarnate: A Dark Paranormal Romance (The Marked Saga Book 5) by Bianca Scardoni

Author:Bianca Scardoni [Scardoni, Bianca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bianca Scardoni
Published: 2019-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

18. EIGHTEEN CANDLES

As drained as I was after everything that happened with Trace, the Council, and then with Gabriel, I had somehow still managed to pull it together enough to make an appearance at All Saints. As promised. Frankly, with the way I was feeling, that was a huge accomplishment for me in and of itself.

“Eek! I’m so happy you came!” squealed Carly as she bounced up on her toes and wrapped her lean arms around my neck before spinning us around in a bouncy circle.

My heart immediately sank to the floor as memories of Taylor swooped in to gut me. Taylor used to hug me almost the same exact way and while I used to laugh, thinking her hugs were completely ridiculous, in that moment, there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t give to have just one more hug from her.

“You look smokin’,” said Carly as she continued to bounce up and down in front of me like an excited toddler. A tipsy toddler judging by the smell of alcohol on her breath. “The again, you always do.”

Burying the memory of Taylor, I pulled it together and smiled at her. “Happy birthday, Carly,” I said and handed her a pink envelope. I hadn’t had enough time (or notice) to actually go out and buy her something for her birthday, so I’d hoped that a cute card and a gift certificate at the local spa would make up for it.

“Oh, my gosh, Jemma. You didn’t have to! You are so sweet!” she cooed.

And just like that, we were hugging again.

This was going to be a long ass night.

To my relief, Caleb strutted up to us a moment later like a gift from the heavens, prompting Carly to finally unwrap her arms from my neck so that I could greet her brother, and you know, breath again. She immediately spotted someone else walking in through the door and ran off to go pounce on them.

Shaking my head at her, I turned back to Caleb and smiled. He looked handsome in his gray button up shirt and dress pants. His copper hair was brushed back and glistening with what looked like a small amount of gel, and his smile was plastered from ear to ear, showcasing his pearly whites. He sure cleaned up nice.

“Happy birthday, Cale.” I pushed up on my toes and kissed him on the cheek. I immediately noticed the edges of his face picking up color and knew that he was blushing. “I didn’t get you anything for your birthday because, well, you pretty much already have it all.”

“True,” he agreed proudly.

“So instead, I’m going to let you call in one future favor. Anything you want, any time you need it.”

His eyebrows shot up as he rubbed his palms together conspiratorially. “Are you sure you want to offer me something so dangerous, Blackburn? I mean, the possibilities are endless.”

I laughed. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“I’m not making any promises.” He winked and then threw his arm over my shoulder, walking us to the table they’d reserved for the birthday supper.

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