and the toast and jam, there was an array of pastries and croissants, cupcakes, bowls of sweets, and even a towering plate of doughnuts. In the center of it all was a somewhat sad-looking cake. The middle of the cake was sunken, and the frosting was roughly iced over the top of it. It was covered in sprinkles though, so at least it looked pretty.
“This looks amazing,” I said, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. They’d gone totally overboard, and I was lost for words.
Aiden came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He lightly rested his chin on my shoulder. “Well, you’re amazing, and we wanted to give you a nice morning.”
“This is more than nice.”
“It’s the cake, isn’t it?” Aiden said. “That’s what’s got you so speechless and shocked. I know it looks expensive, and you probably won’t believe this, but I made it for you myself.”
“What?” I let out a shocked laugh as I eyed the cake. It clearly hadn’t been bought from the store, but it looked surprisingly edible, and I was impressed at what he’d accomplished on his own. The fact Aiden had actually baked for me made my heart want to explode. “You really baked that for me?”
Aiden dropped his arms from around my waist and spun me round to face him. His eyes were lit up with pride as he nodded. “I did.”
“How did you manage to bake it without me seeing?”
“Well, it’s not too difficult when you sleep most of the morning.”
I glared at him, but the stern look only lasted a few seconds because I couldn’t keep the smile off my face. I was too proud of Aiden to stay annoyed at him. “I really can’t believe you baked for me.”
“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it,” he replied.
“Yeah, it took him three attempts to come up with that, and I think he added about fifty bucks to the swear jar in the process,” Elliot said, as he stole a doughnut from one of the plates and took a bite.
Aiden glared at his brother. “Dude, shut up.”
Elliot gave him a cunning smile. “What? I don’t want Clary getting delusions.”
“Leave your brother alone,” Jade said to Elliot. She smiled at me and passed over a plate. “Dig in, Clary. I hope you’re hungry.”
“I am now.” I didn’t know where to start as I eyed all the delicious food
I’d had zero expectations when it came to my birthday this year. But my morning with the Moores was better than anything I could have dreamed up. They showered me with presents over breakfast, and I well and truly stuffed my face with all the amazing food they’d arranged. Even Aiden’s cake tasted pretty good. It was slightly raw in the center, but we cut slices from the edges so you couldn’t tell it wasn’t cooked to perfection.
After breakfast, we drove past my parents’ house. They’d also blown up some balloons and tied them to the front door. As we got out of Aiden’s truck, they came outside and sung happy birthday at the top of their lungs from the front doorstep. I could see several neighbors peering out through their front windows to watch. Not for the first time this morning, my cheeks quickly turned flaming red.
I couldn’t have a party with my friends this year, but that hadn’t stopped my birthday from being awesome. There was nothing traditional about this eighteenth, but it was a birthday I wouldn’t soon forget, and I was smiling from ear to ear as Aiden drove us back to his house.
“Someone looks happy,” he said, as he helped me out of the truck.
“I’m actually having the best birthday,” I admitted. “And it’s all thanks to you. I’m not even upset that I won’t have a party this year.”
“You’re not?”
“Nope. Maybe every birthday should be like this. I…” The sound of horns honking down the street caught my attention. I turned toward the sound as the noise drew closer.
“What is that?” I slowly moved toward the street.
I froze as the first car came into view. It was a bright pink Jeep, and a buzz of excitement shot through me at the sight of it. There was only one person in town who had bad enough taste to drive such a hideously colored vehicle.
“Zoey?” I gasped. There were streamers attached to the car that were blowing in the wind, and she was waving a hand out the window.
“Happy birthday, Clary!” she shouted, as she slowly drove by.
I