CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
"Hello, Dylan. Happy birthday again," Kane said as he walked into their parents' place.
"Thank you. Isn't it great to have two birthday parties? I should do it again next year—throw a party that Mum and Dad aren't crazy about attending so Mum will hold another one here."
"Good thinking, bro," Kane said, patting Dylan's head patronisingly as they headed for the games room.
"Brenda wanted to come tonight but I told her it's family only," Dylan informed him. "She's waiting for her next invite from you, and she's bugging me about it. Next time she annoys me, I'm giving her your phone number."
"What? No! Dylan, I'll kill you if you do," he threatened as a delicious aroma hit his nostrils. A table was set up against one wall of the games room, and it was laden with food.
"Jesus. How many people did you invite, Dylan?"
"No one. Just family and the twins' girlfriends. Mum thought I was going to ask some of my friends to come. She forgot I already celebrated with them last week."
"It doesn't matter," Linda said as she offered her cheek to Kane. "You can all come back tomorrow and eat the leftovers."
"I bet that was your intention all along, Mum," Kane said with a grin as he went to hug his dad.
"It was your fault, Kane," his dad said. "Your mum loved it so much when you were here for two weeks that she's enticing you guys back with her cooking."
"Don't worry, Mum," Dylan said, rubbing their mother's back. "We'll pack all the leftovers in takeaway containers and we'll freeze them when we get home. Then every night, we'll microwave them and eat them. It'll be like you feeding us for a week except that we're not physically with you."
Linda shook her head at Dylan's cheeky response.
Faye and Ray arrived, carrying a cake each.
"Yes!" Kane said. "You should always make two cakes every time from now on, Faye."
"I don't really have a choice. You and Ray complain to me all the time that you never have enough."
"How can you complain, bro?" Kane asked Ray. "You live with her. She makes it for you all the time."
"Not anymore," Ray said with a pout. "She said she didn't want me to get fat."
"I said it's unhealthy for you to eat too much cake. I didn't say anything about you getting fat," Faye retorted.
"So you'll still marry me even if I get fat," Ray joked, snaking his arms around Faye's waist.
"I'll still marry you even if you're as big as an elephant," Faye responded, placing her arms around Ray's neck and tiptoeing for a kiss.
"Oh, please," Kane said with an eye roll. "You'll make everyone sick with all the sweetness we have to consume with our eyes."
The engaged couple ignored him and continued their kissing. He still couldn't believe how Faye managed to turn Ray from a private kind of person to someone who was ultra-comfortable with public displays of affection.
"Everyone's here," Linda announced as the twins and their girlfriends walked in and greeted everyone.
"Let's eat. I'm starving," Dylan said, rubbing his hands in anticipation as he approached the buffet table.
"Isn't Brenda joining us tonight?" Faye asked.
"No. She wanted to come but I said it's family only," Dylan responded, filling his plate with food.
Uh-oh, Kane thought. I'd be busted.
"So," Faye whispered to him, "you're not ready to include Brenda in our family gatherings? Brad brought his new girlfriend. They've only been going out for a couple of weeks."
"No," he whispered back. "After Hannah and Jasmine, I don't want to bring another woman here too soon."
"Ah," Faye replied with a nod of her head.
He hid a relieved sigh. He knew Faye wouldn't stop snooping if she thought something was out of place.
He'd been doing so well with not mentioning Jasmine to anyone in the past week. Wasn't that a sign of recovery? Sure, she still occupied his mind every minute of every day, but the fact that he could shut his mouth about her must mean he was making good progress. Well, he'd like to believe that or he would cave in with the heaviness of losing her.
He busied himself with plating some food, grateful no one was looking at his eyes to see the sadness there.
A phone rang loudly and Dylan fished it out of his pocket. Dylan groaned and shoved the phone in front of him. "Here, you answer that," his brother said.
He glanced at the screen. Brenda.
"No. She's calling you," he said, turning away from Dylan.
"This is the tenth time today, Kane. All she wants is to talk to you. If you don't take this, I'm giving her your phone number," Dylan said, exasperated.