Is this destiny?

Most of the guests moved toward the tables in the garden area when smell of a barbecue spread through the air making everyone hungry, even the ones who thought they are full of all the snacks they gulped down through the afternoon.

A group of twenty-something people was still around the rink, mostly bodyguards and few kids who were eager to compare skills with the outsiders, but the others succumbed to the irresistible scented invitation of meat, fruits and vegetables which sizzled on the six oversized grills.

Emma was next to Charlie with Tiffany and Mike at the same table and they munched on their food while observing Jarred and Mrs. Ronin.

Emma, Charlie and Mike keenly watched Jarred get fresh-off-the-grill chicken kebabs for Mrs. Ronin, and she accepted them with a smile. Then Jarred served her variety of salads, and she didn't refuse any of those either. Both of them were smiling and chatting about something which made Mrs. Ronin laugh occasionally.

At this point, it is obvious that Jarred and Mrs. Ronin are getting along well. 

"Do you think that mom likes Jarred?", Mike asked Emma. He saw that Emma responded with a shrug and he shared his opinion: "If she finds a man, she will be less concerned with our lives."

Mike's comment earned him as sigh from Emma. She decided to focus on Charlie and enjoy the rest of the party. She will talk with her mom later, when they go back to Charlie's villa. Emma paused while wondering if her mom will go with them. What if she goes to Jarred's villa?

At another table, JoAnna observed Sarah who is taking turns between eating and feeding grilled meat to Kitty while giving head-scratches occasionally. Panther's half closed eyes were a giveaway that Kitty is enjoying the treatment her mommy is giving her.

"You should not feed her that.", JoAnna told Sarah.

Sarah looked at JoAnna questionably.

JoAnna answered Sarah's silent question: "How will she eat exclusively raw meat if you are getting her used to all these spices?"

"It's just a pinch of salt and herbs.", Sarah protested. "What do you mean by eating exclusively raw meat?"

JoAnna scrutinized Sarah. "You plan to return Kitty to the wilderness, right?"

Sarah stopped chewing. "What?"

"It's a wild animal who stays for about eighteen months with mother until it's fully grown and independent. Don't tell me that you plan to keep Kitty here. She will not have a chance to find a mate and have cubs of her own and…"

"Stop!", Sarah exclaimed and added in a small voice: "Kitty is family."

JoAnna was not willing to let it go. "Sarah…"

"Anna…", Aiden called to stop JoAnna from talking. "Whatever you have to say will need to wait. This is Sarah's birthday party."

He turned to Sarah and rubbed her back to comfort her.

"Do you want to return Kitty?", Sarah asked Aiden. This is their house and Kitty is staying with them. Everyone can have an opinion, but decision will be made only by the two of them.

Aiden sighed. "I see Kitty as a part of our family. But JoAnna has a point, however we still have about six months until we need to decide. Until then… just in case… maybe we should stick to feeding her raw meat."

Sarah thought about his words and nodded in agreement. That gives her six months to get Aiden to forget the ridiculous idea of returning Kitty to the jungle.

"If I stop giving her grilled meat, does that mean that you will stop feeding her Doritos?"

Aiden's eyebrows shoot up. "What?"

"You think that I don't know how you are sneakily giving Doritos to Kitty?"

He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, if you know about it, I'm not doing it sneakily."

Sarah laughed. "No. It means that you need to improve your sneakiness."

Not long after, all the lights dimmed and Jamari, Imani, Tejan and Daniel pushed a large cart with a massive cake on it in Sarah's direction.

Everyone sang the "Happy Birthday" song while Sarah smiled and observed the cake.

The cake is shaped as a ring with a heart inside. The ring part is white while the heart is pink, and in the middle of the heart is: "Happy Birthday Sarah", written in dark red frosting.

21 lit up candles are in the ring area, waiting for Sarah to blow at them.

Sarah helplessly looked at the furthest candle. "How am I going to blow them all in one go?"

"You don't need to do it by yourself.", Aiden responded.

Sarah smiled and waved to everyone who was nearby to come closer.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and with the help of people who surrounded the cake, all the candles were blown.

Aiden took the knife and cut the first slice for Sarah. She cut the next one and gave it to him.

"Master did a good job with the cake.", Matias (aka the cook) told Sarah when he took over the knife to cut slices for other guests.

Sarah turned to Aiden. "You made this?"

Aiden grinned and wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

If she knew how much time and struggle it took to make that cake, she would take back her comment that he needs to improve his sneakiness. Aiden is great at cooking, but baking is a different thing. Those layers need constant mixing and chocolate needs tempering and one second of neglect and it burns and turns bitter and he forgot how many times he threw it away and started again. And he did all that without her noticing.

But seeing Sarah's blissful smile while eating the cake he made for her… it's all worth it.

"Do you like it?", Aiden asked expectantly when Sarah asked for seconds.

"I can't believe you made this. The crust is soft and fluffy and moist, and vanilla filling is velvety and sweet just right and it goes great with this thin layer of chocolate… strawberries and shaven almonds and everything is mind-blowing.", Sarah said in one breath. "Thank you."

Aiden leaned closer and kissed her temple. "Everything for you."

Sarah looked at him and smiled until her cheeks hurt. Yup, he is hers.

She opened her mouth to accept the cake he is feeding her, not noticing that she finished her seconds and was eating his slice as well. It was that good.

JoAnna pouted at the sight of a fruity cake, and her face exploded in a grin when she saw that they also have several other cakes and one of the options is her favorite ice-cream cake with vanilla and chocolate swirls. Jeff made sure to get few extra slices because JoAnna is eating for three.

Sophia was happy to sample all the cakes. She was never picky when it comes to cakes and they were all delicious. Felix watched her eat and he didn't dare say anything because if he mentions that she could not hold any food down until recently, Sophia will definitely shift it to the topic how he thinks that she is fat. So, he will keep quiet.

After the cake, they danced to burn some of those calories and later in the evening they all enjoyed fireworks which were released from a boat.

While observing the magnificent colorful explosions which reflected in the ocean, Sarah leaned into Aiden's embrace, remembering all the amazing things he did for her, to make her feel special on her birthday.

She took a mental note to start preparing for his birthday early enough, because she wants him to know how important he is to her as well.

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