Hi guys! Sorry that I've been MIA. I'm in the middle of a summer college class that has kept me really busy but I was able to find some time today to finish this chapter. Enjoy and thank you for sticking with this story!

Eddie J: Hey you! Since we're celebrating your big day today, Happy Birthday! I can't wait to see you tonight. I would've called but Scarlett doesn't know how to stay asleep past six and I know your shift ran long last night so call me when you see this message. I love you so much.

Jamie smiled as he set his phone on the nightstand. There would be something different about this birthday. It wouldn't be another one of just going to his Dad's house for dinner, opening a few gifts, and calling it a day. He would actually be with the woman who brightened his world more than he even thought possible.

He picked up his phone off the nightstand again and dialed her number. After the first two rings, he was greeted with the sweetest voice, "Hi Mr. 'aime!"

"Hi Munchkin," he replied gently. "How are you sweet girl?"

"I good! Happy birthday!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Thank you sweetheart. I can't wait for your party tomorrow. Are you excited?"

"Yeah! I so 'cited!" He heard Eddie's voice in the background. "Mama comin, Mr. 'aime!" He smiled as he heard her little footsteps run and hand Eddie the phone. "Here go, mama!"

"Thank you, baby," she said to Scarlett. Eddie put the phone up to her ear, "Hold on a second, babe."

"Alright," he replied.

She hoisted up Scarlett onto the barstool and set her plate in front of her. "You stay on the stool, okay? Tell me when you want to get down." Scarlett nodded and proceeded to eat her breakfast.

Eddie put the phone back up to her ear as she walked into the living room, "Hey you. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," he answered with a smile. "I'm ready to see you."

She smiled, "Me too. Just a few more hours. I have a few little surprises for you too. There's one that I know you're really going to like," she said suggestively.

"Oh yeah?"

"Mhmm."

"I can't wait to see it." He took a deep breath and tried to shake out the ungentlemenly thoughts that were going through his head. Just a few more hours, Jamie thought to himself. "Is everything ready for the party tomorrow?" he asked, changing the subject.

She looked around at her rainbow infested living room, "Yeah. Everything's done. How are you?"

"I'm good," he answered. "Still in bed. I honestly might go back to sleep. I'm pretty comfortable."

"Well," she uttered, lowering her voice and walking off into the bedroom, still keeping an eye on Scarlett who was eating. "You should get all the rest that you can get because you and I are gonna be up pretty late tonight."

"Jesus woman." He glanced at the time and sighed, hoping that the hours would go by quickly. "You're killing me here."

She let out a small chuckle, "I know."

There was a moment of silence before they heard a small voice call out, "I doneeee!"

"I think that's for you," Jamie said with a small chuckle.

Eddie laughed, "Yeah. She was pretty quick. So, I'll see you tonight? Seven o'clock?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. I love you."

"I love you, too. See you tonight."

She smiled, "See you tonight. Bye."

"Bye."

That evening, after sending Scarlett and a box of party decorations with Hattie, Eddie stood in her bathroom, assessing her reflection in the mirror. She wore a maroon, scalloped lace top that accentuated her ample chest perfectly and styled her blonde tresses with simple waves.

As excited as she was about tonight, she was also a little nervous. It's been a long time since she's been with anyone, the last time being... well, when Scarlett was conceived. After breaking the news to Aaron, he stopped the physical side of their relationship because he just found it "too weird" being intimate with her and knowing that there was a baby in there. Also, she was still a little self conscious about her figure. There was still a few stretch marks and a pudge or two that she wished to get rid of.

The sound of Jamie knocking on the door got her rooted back in the present. "It's open," she called out as she quickly applied more lip gloss then went out to greet him.

"Hi," she greeted as she walked over to him and smiled to herself as she saw that he was carrying a small bouquet of flowers.

"Wow," was all Jamie could muster as he laid eyes on her. Eddie was always a vision to behold but tonight, she was even more so. "You look... damn."

She laughed, "I'll take it that I look pretty good." She pointed to the flowers, "Are those..."

"Yes, these are for you," he answered, handing them to her.

"These are beautiful, Jamie. Thank you," she responded as she laid them on the table then went back and wrapped her arms around his neck to give him a proper greeting.

"You're a knockout, Eddie," he said, tightening his arms around her waist. "A complete knockout. I'm pretty damn lucky."

"I'm lucky too, birthday boy. Tonight's suppose to be about you, not me."

"Well, since it's my birthday dinner, I want tonight to be about both of us. Are you good with that, Janko?"

She leaned up and stopped about less than an inch away from his lips with a mischievous smile. "Definitely," she whispered. He closed the gap and went in with one hand threaded in her hair and the other running over the swell of her bottom, pulling her more into him.

After a few minutes, they broke apart for air. She smiled up at him, laying her head on his chest as he pressed a quick kiss in her hair. "You hungry?" she asked.

He nodded, "Starving." She picked up the flowers off the table and walked into the small kitchen with Jamie right behind her.

"Who is this for?" Jamie asked, pointing to the race car balloon that was tied into one of the bar stool legs.

Eddie looked over and laughed, "For you. It's from Scarlett. She insisted that you just had to have it for your birthday."

Jamie shook his head with a laugh. Scarlett Rae was such a character and his love for the little girl grew by leaps and bounds the more time he spent with her.

"I'll have to thank her when I see her tomorrow," he said. "Can I help you with something, Eddie?"

"No, no," she chided gently. "You sit down. I got it."

He took a seat at the dining room table and waited patiently as Eddie served their plates.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jamie said excitedly as she walked over and set the plate down in front of him.

She nodded, "It is. I was having trouble deciding on what to make for tonight then Hattie reminded me how much you raved about her ginger chicken. She gave me the recipe."

Jamie kissed her hand, "You're way too good to me."

She returned the affection by kissing his cheek, "You deserve it."

"This all looks so amazing," he said as she sat down with her plate. "Thank you so much for doing this for me, Eddie. I know it must've been crazy trying to handle this along with Scarlett's birthday party"

"You're welcome," she said with a smile. "It wasn't a hassle at all. It's the least I could do to repay you for our date the other night." She lifted up her wine glass to sparkling rosé, a now favorite of theirs. "Cheers to you, Jamie. Happy Birthday."

He lifted up his glass and clinked it with hers then leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Thank you."

They put down their glasses and began to eat. "This is so good," Jamie raved.

She smiled happily, "I'm glad you like it."

They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Jamie spoke up. "Eddie?"

She looked up at him, "Yes?"

He put his fork down, "I want to talk to you about something."

Her stomach went into a free fall. "Okay," she uttered nervously, while putting her fork down and placing her hands in her lap.

"I love you," he began. "I think you know that and if I don't say it enough then please let me know so I can say it more. You're the most important person in my life and I don't think I've loved someone as much as I love you. You're everything to me, Eddie."

She sniffled and nodded quickly, giving him a watery smile. "The same for me, too. I love you so much."

He got up and knelt down beside her, taking one of her hands in his. "You and Scarlett have brought something into my life that I didn't even know was possible. I'm at my best when I'm around the two of you and I hate that after the three of us spend the day together, we have to go home to separate houses. Every time I go home, I'm always wanting to come back."

"Hold on," she interrupted with a whisper. "You want to move in together?"

Jamie smiled up at her and nodded, "No pressure but yes. You two can move in with me or we can find a new place. I don't want to live separate lives anymore. I know it seems crazy and probably way too soon but I don't think it is."

"Wow," she said.

"Just think about it. And if you say no, that's perfectly fine because I'll just ask you again in a year," he said, leaning up and kissing her cheek. "This whole speech wasn't just about that. I have something for you, too." He reached down in his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "This is not a proposal... yet," he assured when he saw the look on her face. "But I wanted to give you something to show that I'm committed to you and to us." He opened the box and Eddie gasped quietly. It was a small, dainty opal ring with a few stones adorning each side of the band.

"Jamie," she whispered shakily, wiping a few tears away. "It's your birthday. I'm suppose be gifting you things, not the other way around."

"It's MY birthday, which means I can give you a gift whether you like it or not," he joked, reaching for her left hand. "What do you think? Do you like it?" he asked anxiously.

She nodded immediately, "I love it. It's beautiful."

He took it out of the box and slid it onto her ring finger, "I love you."

She leaned down and put her hands on each side of his face, pulling him in for a long, sensuous kiss, "I love you, too."

They stayed together for a second before Jamie took his place back across from her while she admired her new ring. "I've never had a piece of jewelry as nice as this," she said softly. "Thank you."

He reached over and grabbed her hand, "You're welcome."

"I guess this means I should give you your gift now," she said, standing up and giving him a smile. "I'll be right back."

Jamie nodded as she walked off into the bedroom. He was pretty nervous about tonight, wondering how she'd react to the ring. Jamie knows he wants to marry her, he's been sure of that for a very long time. If it was up to him, he would've proposed tonight but he knows that would've been too much for her at the moment, especially since their relationship is still pretty new. But he hopes that she agrees to moving in with him. They lived together for three months during the undercover operation and he loved every minute of it. There was something about coming home to her and Scarlett that he couldn't get enough of. It's the family life he's always wanted.

Eddie walked back into the room and sat down, handing him a small gift bag, "It's not much but I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I'll love it," he assured, pulling out the tissue paper and finding smooth, black leather patent box labeled Nixon. "I'm guessing it's a watch?" he asked.

"Open it up and see," she answered, smiling when she saw his eyes light up in excitement after opening the box.

"Oh shit!" he exclaimed, giving Eddie a look that reminded her of an excited child opening their gifts on Christmas Day. "How did you find this one?!"

"It took awhile but Mr. Nixon was able to help me out. Turn out that the Cunninghams go way back with him." Eddie gifted him a vintage Ingersol San Jose Automatic Gunmetal watch, one that was very hard to come by. It was one that Jamie had briefly mentioned to her a few months ago, saying that he'd always wanted one because he always liked the one Joe use to have. They discontinued them many years ago but luckily, Mr. Nixon was able to help her out and track one down. It was pricey for sure, but seeing Jamie's excited face made it all worth it. "Read the back of it."

Jamie flipped it over and found it inscribed. He read,

The best is yet to come. I love you.

He stood up nodding then leaned over and kissed her. "The best is yet to come," he agreed. "Thank you, Eddie."

"You're welcome." Eddie glanced at their plates, seeing that they both were pretty much finished. She got up to go retrieve the dessert that her and Scarlett had made earlier in the day, pulling it out of the fridge and chuckling to herself about the way their concoction had turned out. The original plan had been to make a simple lemon cake, which is what Jamie preferred, but her little girl had other ideas. After adding an assortment of sprinkles, insisting that the frosting had to be a rainbow of colors to match her party theme and adding a tiny Hot Wheels car on the top as the finishing touch, the cake turned out to be... well, a hot mess. But she knew that Jamie wouldn't care, it would probably make him laugh out loud, which it did.

"Oh wow," Jamie laughed as she walked over to the table with the cake. "Looks like Scarlett had a hand in making it."

Eddie nodded, "Yeah. I knew it was a losing battle when she started adding the food coloring into the frosting."

"I like the car topper," he said as she set it down in front of him. "Nice touch."

"That was all her," she answered with a chuckle, moving the car to the side and placing one single, white candle on top and lighting it. "Happy Birthday, Jamie. I hope we get to spend many more of them together."

"We will," he replied with complete confidence. "I know we will."

"Blow out the candle," she urged gently. He nodded and closed his eyes for a quick second then blew it out. As Jamie reached for the knife to cut it, Eddie reached a hand out and stopped him.

"I think that cake will be fine until later," she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. He immediately caught on and stood up.

"Oh yeah?" he replied, grabbing her waist and pulling her into him.

"Yeah." She stood on her tiptoes, pressing a few small kisses to his lips while she walked him back into her bedroom. They made it over to the bed and she switched their positions, pushing him down onto it. "You wait right here. I'll be right back," she winked, walking to the bathroom.

"Trust me, I'm not going anywhere."

Eddie closed the door to the bathroom and uncovered the lacy, black negligee with a plunging neckline that she had hidden behind her bath robe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She had spotted it one day while her, Scarlett, and Hattie were doing some window shopping at the mall. After going into the store and trying it on, she loved the way it made her look. It was sexy, daring and something that she had never imagined herself wearing. But now, after slipping it on and looking at herself in the mirror, she wasn't so sure.

Realizing that she was taking a little too long, she quickly tossled her hair, applied a little more lip gloss and opened the door. Will he like what he sees?, she said to herself as he glanced up at her.

Jamie stood up from the bed without a word, walked over to her in three strides, and took her into his arms, leaning down and taking her breath away with the intensity of his kiss, giving the answer she was hoping for.

Well, I'm sure you all know what happens after that ;).

Next, Scarlett finally gets to celebrate her big day, Eddie discusses Jamie's move in proposal with Hattie, while Jamie has a heart to heart with his older brother, confiding in him about his feelings for Eddie.