Olivia was crimson in the face as she stood between Roxie and Josephine, twirling her small silver ring around desperately. If only the ground would open and swallow her whole.

She couldn't believe Roxie had done this. She had promised to forget it was Olivia's birthday when she found out—thanks to Olivia's ninety-three-year-old great-grandmother.

Carlotta Casini had gone half-deaf with age and thought when she had trouble hearing people's voices over the phone, the one on the other end naturally couldn't hear her either. It made it rather uncomfortable taking phone calls from her, so Olivia had long ago learned to automatically put her on speakerphone whenever she called. Something she was seriously regretting now.

Her phone had started ringing while they were being pampered at Roxie's place, and seeing the display read 'Bisnonna,' Olivia answered with speakerphone as per usual.

"Buon compleanno, bambina mia!" Carlotta chirped in singing Italian. "Happy birthday, Liv!"

Olivia felt her cheeks heat up and hit the 'end call'-button before she knew what she was doing. She just needed to shut her great-grandmother up—immediately feeling guilty for hanging up on her.

She slowly turned to look at her friends, meeting Roxie's wide eyes, a look of surprise on her face.

"It's your birthday?"

Olivia didn't answer as her gaze danced back and forth between Roxie and Josephine. She was contemplating whether she could play it off as if her Bisnonna was a senile old lady who always got the dates mixed up. She settled for silence. Her cheeks were burning though, pleading with her eyes for Josephine not to reveal that she already knew.

"Why didn't you tell us it's your birthday? I would have gotten you something." Roxie sounded disappointed.

"I'm sorry, I just... I don't like the attention," Olivia tried to explain. "And, I mean, you've already given me a gift, really. This whole makeover arrangement." Her phone started ringing again, but this time Olivia ignored it, quickly putting it back in her purse.

"This doesn't count," Roxie disagreed, shifting her gaze from the ringing purse to Olivia. "I arranged this before I knew it was your birthday."

"Please, Roxie," Olivia begged, "can't you just forget it? It's honestly not a big deal to me."

Obviously, Roxie hadn't forgotten because a large cake covered in white and pink whipped frosting, with seventeen lit candles on top, was brought in on a serving cart by hotel staff at that moment.

Ricky, who had spotted Sebastian and Lincoln by the stage, followed in its lead to get up to them whilst Roxie grabbed Olivia's hand, dragging her down from the stage.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ricky asked Sebastian when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder and turned to see Roxie looking up at him expectantly. She sighed irritably when he just kept standing in the way and pushed past him, unknowingly shoving against his bruised ribcage.

Ricky caught his breath and suppressed an outcry of pain, bending over. Bitch! He pressed his lips together, trying to control his breathing, willing the pain to subside, and slowly stood upright, holding a hand against his side.

Sebastian cast him a puzzled look, but Ricky shook his head, letting him know to ignore it.

Unaware of the physical pain she had caused Ricky, Roxie turned to Olivia with a big grin, standing in front of the cake. "Make a wish."

There were a lot of things Olivia wished for at that moment. That she hadn't taken the call from Bisnonna for one.

When she looked up, she caught Ricky's eyes and felt the surge of a rush go through her, her heart beating faster with yearning. She lowered her gaze, but when she stole another shy glance, he was still looking at her, making her feel warm all over.

Ricky was struggling to breathe, but he couldn't stop watching her. There was something about the way she so shyly glanced at him with a small blush. It was refreshingly innocent and engaging. She was definitely what he considered pretty. Not like a model with sharp features, but a kind, gentle, and beautiful face. Without her usual big and chunky glasses, it was easy to see just how captivating her warm brown eyes were, emphasized by the makeup surrounding them.

She had actually caught his attention when he first started at St. Aquinas, having always been a sucker for brunettes with warm doe eyes like hers. But it quickly became evident she shied away from everyone at school. And as other girls showed interest in him, it didn't seem worth his trouble. He had put her out of his mind. Now, however, his initial attraction stirred again.

Olivia broke their gaze, and it wasn't until then Ricky realized he'd been staring, running a hand through his hair to snap out of it.

Olivia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, blowing out the candles. The crowd clapped more or less enthusiastically, and Roxie shouted for everyone to come up and have a piece of the cake.

People immediately pushed forward, making Ricky groan, irritated he was shoved ahead by the mass. Somehow, he ended up next to Olivia.

"Happy birthday," he said softly, leaning toward her ear and getting a whiff of her woody and floral-scented perfume. Standing this close did not hurt at all.

Olivia looked up at him, a little shocked he spoke to her. A small smile came across her face before she turned a deeper red, her heart beating, spinning her ring nervously around.

He was so beautiful. Not just handsome as he was from afar, but beautiful. His nose was perfectly straight, his lips tender and inviting. All his features were flawlessly proportioned with a strong jaw and high cheekbones. But it was his eyes framed by dark lashes and straight eyebrows that fascinated her. It was like they drew you in, demanding one's attention whenever you looked at him. One a clear blue, the other blue and golden.

"Thanks," she whispered in a mumble so low Ricky almost didn't hear.

"What did you wish for?"

Olivia bit her lip and shook her head. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Ricky looked at her with a curious grin, his voice low and gentle.

She looked up at him but quickly evaded his gaze. "It's embarrassing."

Roxie came bouncing up to them with two plates of cake—chocolate with two layers of creamy filling—failing to notice Olivia was talking with Ricky before she was next to them.

"Oh. Hi." She smiled and winked at Olivia, handing one of the plates to Ricky.

"Pixie." Ricky nodded as thanks, taking the plate, not even realizing he used the nickname he had been calling her in his head since she and Sebastian hooked up at the Banks party.

"Don't call me that." Roxie looked annoyed. "Here, take this." She pushed the other plate at Olivia and walked away.

"Oh-oh-okay," Olivia stammered, fumbling with both the plate and cake fork, trying not to get any frosting on her dress. Ricky automatically reached out a hand to help her. "Sorry. It's just these heels and my dress. Roxie made me wear it." Olivia looked down at herself, making sure she hadn't gotten any frosting on her.

Ricky followed her gaze down her body. The dress had a tightly structured bodice that hugged her small waist and pushed her round breast up. A warmth filled his stomach at the sight; they looked like they would fit perfectly in his hands.

"You don't have to apologize. You look good."

Olivia snapped her head up at him, her heart pounding in her chest. Was this happening? Was Ricky Stark von Linden actually complimenting her? Color rose to her cheeks, and she thanked him, biting her bottom lip shyly.

Ricky licked his own as a counter-reaction, almost bending down to her when he realized what he was doing and caught himself. He ran a hand through his messy quiff, confused at what he had been thinking. This wasn't like him. He never let himself fall for girls. He had fun with them and then sent them on their merry way. But this was Clumsy Casini, for crying out loud. He couldn't do that with her.

A large hand clapped him on the shoulder when Lincoln joined them. "Rox and Baz got a table for us. Wanna play some good old Texas hold 'em?"

"Sure," both replied.

Olivia had only taken a few steps when someone blocked her way, making her stop cold. "Chris? Wha— What are you doing here?" She felt an uncomfortable surprise at seeing her younger cousin, Christian, standing right in front of her. Christian was a freshman at St. Aquinas, and Olivia had felt confident he was going to be at her house for the party her mother had planned, not at the First Dance.

"What am I doing here?" Christian asked in disbelief, raising his dark brows as he stood with a plate of the birthday cake in his hands. "Shouldn't I be asking that question? Why aren't you at your party?"

"Shhh," Olivia hushed and took him by the arm, setting her cake on a table before dragging him off to the side. "Please, tell me you haven't told Uncle Alex I'm here."

Christian smiled as he prepared a bite of cake with his fork. "So, you ditched your own party. Does Uncle Will and Aunt Tina even know you're here?" He looked at her, but Olivia remained quiet, looking at the floor. "Man, I would not want to be you when you get home." He shook his head, smiling with a grin. "You do know the entire New York family is invited, right? There's, like, twenty-five, thirty people just waiting for you to show up." Christian smiled at Olivia with a gleeful gleam in his brown eyes, enjoying this more than he probably should. But this was Liv, his cousin who never did anything she wasn't supposed to. She always followed the rules to an annoying degree.

Olivia sighed. He was acting like a real jerk. "It's a long story. You haven't said anything to your dad, right?" she pleaded to know, taking a step closer as she looked up into his eyes, standing at a head taller than she.

"Not yet." He smiled, tasting the chocolate cake. "Mmm, this is good." He pointed at the cake with his fork.

"Chris." Olivia looked at him with a severe face. "Please, tell me you're not going to say anything. Per favore," she begged in Italian.

He looked at her as he licked the frosting off his fork. "I can't believe you skipped your party," Christian avoided her pleading. "Grandma and Nonno are going to be so disappointed in their duteous little granddaughter."

"Shut up." Olivia straightened and wrinkled her brows, irritated. If their grandparents favored her, it was only because she actually spent time with them, unlike him.

Christian laughed. "Uncle Will and Aunt Tina are going to ground you for the rest of the year for this. They're probably freaking out right now, not knowing where you are or what might have happened to you."

"Oh, my gosh." A shiver ran through Olivia, her face falling, and she covered her mouth. "I didn't even think of that." She looked at him with big eyes.

Christian finally became serious. "Oh, no." He shook his head. "I didn't mean to—"

"You think they'd go there?" Olivia looked concerned, seeking reassurance in her cousin's young face that her parents wouldn't think something like with Tom had happened.

"Can you blame them if they do? You want me to call Dad?" Christian pulled his phone from a pocket. "He can let them all know you're okay."

Olivia was quiet as she thought for a moment. "No. Not yet." If she gave in already, she wouldn't have proven any point. Then it would all be for nothing.

"You're sure?" Christian looked at her with skepticism.

"Yes." Olivia stood straighter, trying to be confident in her decision. "I deliberately left my phone at Roxie's so they couldn't get to me. I'll let them stew a little longer. But, I'll come and find you later, okay? And if Uncle Alex calls," she grabbed Christian's arm lightly, "don't answer."

"Okay..." Christian looked thoughtful, putting his phone away. "But then you have to do a month in the copy room."

Both Olivia and Christian did small jobs at the family law firm during the week. The absolute worst assignment was having to copy case files. You would be stuck for endless hours in the hot copy room with the big noisy machines.

"Two weeks," she bargained.

"Three."

Olivia sighed, rolling her eyes. "Fine."

"A pleasure doing business with you." Christian smiled, took another bite of the cake, and walked away. "You look nice, by the way," he called back, walking a couple of steps backward, looking at her.

Olivia smiled, her cheeks warming at the compliment. "Grazie."