“I wanted to give this to you on our first date, but it wasn’t delivered until today.”
I widened my eyes as Damien handed me the box.
“But it’s not me birthday,” I said dumbly as I accepted the gift.
“I know.” He chuckled. “It just something I got for you to show you how much you mean to me.”
The girls all audibly sighed, and it took everything in me not to join in with them.
“Th-thank you,” I said, looking down at the gift, perplexed. “Do I open it now?”
“Yes,” Bronagh and Keela said in unison.
Damien snorted. “You can open now or later. It’s up to you.”
“Now,” I said. “I want to open it now.”
I untied the pretty silver ribbon that was perfectly wrapped into a bow, and I held my breath as I lifted the lid off the box and set it down on the table. I stared into the box, not really knowing what I was looking at. There was fancy wrapping tissue covering a folder of some kind, but sitting on top of the tissue was a framed document. I carefully lifted the frame into my hand, and I read the document. When I realised what it was for, my breath caught. I scanned it twice more before I lifted my head, and locked eyes on the grey ones staring at me intently.
“You bought me a star?”
A beautiful smile graced Damien’s face, and my heart thumped wildly against my chest.
“And,” I said, looking back at the document, smiling, “you named it Freckles.”
“Yeah,” Damien said, pride radiating from him in waves. “That way, when I look up at the stars at night, I’ll always see you.”
“Omigod,” Bronagh whispered, her holding on Nico tightening. “That is so romantic.”
I didn’t look up at Damien, but I was smiling so hard my cheeks began to hurt.
“Thank you,” I said, pressing the star ownership document against my chest. “I’ll treasure this always.”
When I looked up at Damien, his eyes were still on me, and I stood up, not being able to help myself. I needed to be close to him. I took another step forward, completely in a trance, until Alec spoke.
“Little bastard,” he said, breaking the silence and pulling me back into the moment.
Everyone looked at him.
“What?” Damien asked, frowning.
“You’re a little bastard,” Alec repeated.
Damien looked at Nico, then back at Alec and said, “Not understanding why I’m a bastard.”
“Little bastard.”
Damien’s lips twitched at Alec’s correction.
“Sorry, I don’t understand why you’re calling me a little bastard.”
Alec scowled. “Isn’t it obvious?”
“No,” everyone said in unison.
“Unbelievable,” Alec said with a shake of his head. “You’re a little bastard because you bought the woman a star. A fucking star. How the hell can we compete with that?”
The question was put to Kane.
“Buy your girl two stars?” he suggested.
Alec scoffed. “It wouldn’t be impressive since buying a star has already been done by the little bastard.”
“You could buy me a black hole,” Keela suggested. “I get sucked into one whenever you start talkin’, so it’d be perfect.”
I cracked up with laughter, and it caused Alec to glare at me. His focus on me only lasted for a moment before he looked at Damien and asked, “Can you buy a black hole?”
I laughed harder, and I snorted which drew a laugh from Kane. That was something I hardly ever heard unless Aideen was humouring him.
“Look at what else is in the box,” Damien urged me.
I did just that.
I removed the tissue from the box and was presented with a thick folder. Inside was another certificate, more documentation, a star map, the personal dedication of my nickname being an actual star, a colour photo of my star, the exact coordinates of my star, and a silver necklace with a heart and star pendent. I scanned my eyes over it all, before I picked up my necklace, and looked up at Damien.
“Will you put it on me?”
He smiled, took my necklace, then placed it on me when I turned and pulled my hair over my shoulder. I shuddered after Damien clasped the necklace shut because he placed a chaste kiss on my neck, but it felt intimate, way too intimate for the group of people watching us. I quickly turned to face Damien, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing my face against his chest.
“I love it so much,” I gushed. “I can’t believe you bought me a star.”
“Not just any star; a supernova.”
I pulled back. “What’s the difference?”
“A supernova is a star coming to the end of its life; it shines so brightly it can outshine an entire galaxy. It will still be in the sky for thousands of years, but I wanted a star that would outshine the others. I wanted something to represent just how much you mean to me.”
My heart beat so loud and fast that I could hear it in my ears.