More by Keren Hughes

pulled the lever to recline my chair and put my feet up.
    Before I knew it, it was time to go and fetch my little man from school.
     
    ***
     
    The week passed and before I knew it, I was elbow deep in cake batter. Party preparations were well underway and I was hoping to get it all sorted before Drake got home from work. He hadn’t been impressed that he had to work on his birthday, as he usually got a chance to book it off work. His new boss was being a pain, however, as Drake was one of the most knowledgeable people on his team and they were working a tough case, so she had asked him to work. I also didn’t like the fact that he was having to work, but it did give me a chance to organise his party without having to find a legitimate reason to get him out of the house.
    My mother-in-law, Lynne, was preparing food for the party back at her house and was due to arrive at 5:00 p.m. Meghan was busy decorating the lounge, blowing up balloons, hanging banners and streamers. Music played through the sound system and I danced around the kitchen as Lady Antebellum’s “American Honey” came on. I was in the middle of rolling the fondant to cover the main body of the throne cake when the doorbell rang. Drake’s brother Jack, his wife Leanne, and their son Taylor had arrived a tad earlier than I was expecting, but I was glad Ayden had somebody to play with. He had been up in his room putting the finishing touches to a birthday card for his Daddy, so I sent Taylor up to say hello and see if he was finished.
    “Anything I can do to help?” Leanne asked as she entered the kitchen.
    “Sure, you can pour me a large glass of wine. Help yourself while you’re there.”
    I liked Leanne, she was a good laugh—even funnier when she had been drinking. So many family parties had been livened up when she got up to her old tricks. Dennis used to say that she was rather irritating when sober, but she’d mellowed out since having Taylor.
    “So, a Game of Thrones themed cake then?” she asked as she nodded at what currently looked like a chair with wooden skewers sticking out of it.
    “Yep,” I agreed as I took the glass she proffered in my direction.
    “Is there anything I can do to help with it?”
    “I don’t know. Are you any good with modelling chocolate?” I asked as I took a rather large gulp of my wine.
    “I don’t know. Only one way to find out,” she said, giggling as she took an extra apron from the back of the kitchen door and tied it around herself.
    The day flew by and it was soon time to get into position in the lounge with Ayden, while the rest of the family hid in the dining room. The cake was finished, Leanne had actually really impressed me with her modelling chocolate swords, and my little Tyrion Lannister sat proudly on the throne, looking not too bad—even if I did say so myself. The decorations were up. Jack had given Meghan a hand and it looked impressive. Meghan had been busy finding Game of Thrones themed decorations for the last couple of weeks and I must say, she’d done a brilliant job. The dining room had been turned into a mini Westeros. Now it was time to see if Drake liked it.
    The sound of his key in the lock made me smile. I always greeted him at the door with a kiss, so I made my way to the lobby and waited for him to walk through.
    “Good evening, my love,” he said as he walked in and removed his coat. His eyes lit up when he saw what I was wearing.
    “Good evening, birthday boy,” I replied as I put my arms around his neck.
    Drake’s lips were on mine in an instant. My heart fluttered in my chest and my knees felt like they wouldn’t hold me up much longer. He sought out my tongue with his and turned the kiss a little deeper. His arms wrapped round me and I melted into his chest. We didn’t really have time for this, considering the family were all waiting, but every time Drake kissed me, time seemed to come to a standstill. I pulled away slightly breathless and looked into his