I got a notification almost immediately when I saw oliver saying :

I frowned in confusion " What are you doing here ? The girls were supposed to come again - I - what is going on here I'm confused. " Oliver smiled and took my hands as we climbed up the stairs completely ignoring me and my sudden outburst.

"OLI ! Help me understand ! " I waved our intertwined hands demanding answers . "You look beautiful" Placing a peck on my lips he shushed me . He once again swiftly ignored my question making me blush and still confused . It couldn't have been for my birthday, I had never mentioned my birthday.

" thank you "I mumbled.

Oliver pulled a chair for me to sit and he took a seat too . Today we weren't working , we were dining in . Our coworkers and manager smiled at us . They already knew about all this apparently.

I held the menu in one hand and waved Oli with it to grab his attention making his perfectly done hair fly around from the wind coming his way , he looked effortlessly handsome with just black pants and white t-shirt that was hugging his body perfectly. I was distracted for a bit until his eyes met mine making me snap out of my daydreams.

"Please , I'm so confused right now ? " I bent my head sideways wanting some explanation . " It's your birthday, unless you didn't know of course." He replied casually leaving me dumbfounded.

"I know what day it is- I mean how did YOU know ? I don't remember us sharing our birthdays as odd as that sounds " I scratched my head I was smiling now absolutely surprised.

"I saw it when you filled that college form ." He flipped through the menu which he had memerised wholeheartedly from working here . The menu was useless for both of us , we practically had it engraved in our brains .

I throw my head backwards my mouth slightly open "Ahaa" he took great care to such small details , he was great at analyzing and spotting such minor details about everything. I smiled "thank you , but ...." I trailed "the girls most have known too right ! That's why they took me to have the girls night ? " I stated / questioned.

All I got from him was a shrug as we both gave in our ordered . I had so many questions and so many thoughts running through my head. The whole day really caught me of guard and I was just enjoying eveybit of it .

Our orders came back , along with some fine white wine. He had taken a lot of time planning this apparently as the waiters seemed to be reading his mind . " So... I feel really really stupid to not know your birthday while you knew mine all along ... when's yours ?"

He shook his head debunking what I had just said " 31st of August " I nodded , it was a couple months ahead . I thanked god I didn't miss his birthday or it would have been really embarrassing. " you know, you're a virgo just like mom" I laughed .

" and that's good ? " he questioned confused . I giggled "there's nothing bad about it , it's just a fact I stated randomly don't mind me ... I'm not really into astrology I just know my sign and my mom's " I shoved some mushrooms to the side of the plate , i hated mushrooms .

" And what's your sign ? " he asked clearly intrigued for some reason. "Taurus " I swallowed then answered.

"Speaking of mom , I think she forgot she had a child 2 hours away from home. She didnt text me or call me for my birthday." I sighed , I wasn't disappointed , just puzzled , she never missed a birthday of mine , specially that I was her only child .

" she might be busy " Oliver assured me . " she must be , I'll call her now. "

Oliver nodded as I dialed her number.

I frowned " weird her phone is closed "

" call her again in a bit " he said when he saw the slight disappointment on my face. " I will " my lips curved in a small smile .

" I still can't believe you knew about my birthday all along ... I didn't really expect that. I'm so glad you do regardless , I'm having a great time " I blushed slightly when I saw him looking at me with so much lust in his eyes. He cleared his throat and he stood up and came right behind me.

His hands went to his pocket as a red velvet box came out. I looked at him in awe , his hands brushed my shoulders as he tied the most beautiful necklace I've ever seen . It was a simple crystal necklace yet it looked so sophisticated and elegant.

I held it in my hands " I love it ... so much." I gasped as I stood up to hug him. He kissed my forehead , his lips lingering for a while before leaving my skin. He pushed my hair behind my ears his hands slid down to my waist retuning the hug.

"I love you " he whispered so quietly that even I barely heard it . " I love you too Oliver "

He held my hands " let's go home " he gave me one of his dazzling smiles . I nodded as we both went back to our apartment .

●●●●●

"SURPRISE! " I heard many voices shout at the same time . But one voice caught my attention "MOM ?! " I looked at Oli who was laughing just like everyone else did . Our friends from college were there and of course my girls included.

I went to hug my mom " You guys knew ! " I pointed to everyone in the room . "And you ! " I pointed at Oli who leaned on the wall with arms crossed looking at me .

" so THAT'S why when I called you had your phone closed- you were on the plane ! " I backed away covering my mouth absolutely flabbergasted.

" and you guys had to pick something ... that was MOM? "

" and you took me to the restaurant to buy them some time didn't you????" I looked at Oli the mastermind behind all this .

" oh my god " I laughed after connecting the puzzle pieces. I hugged mom again "I missed you so much ! "

" I missed you more ! " we hugged tightly . I mouthed a thank you to Oliver as he mouthed you're welcome back to me. " It's great to finally meet you Oliver ! " mom went for a hug of course which he returned and greeted her back.

" sorry to cut short this lovely family reunion but I'm craving cake right now" lena raised her voice to grab all of our attention earning a laugh from us .

We had cake and and had some drinks , we talked and caught up with mom . It was a great night . Mom sadly had to leave tomorrow because of her work and everything . She was going to stay over just for the night and leave early in the morning.

" This boy really loves you. I approve of him being my son in law. " Mom whispered in my ears while pointing at Oliver who sat just in front of us . I nudged her " mom !" I whispered back embarrassed.

" He got in touch with me and bought me the ticket . I of course insisted and payed him back after a long argument. He only agreed when I mentioned something about me not disapproving of him. " Mom whispered in my ears then laughed.

I looked at him with so much love. " I didn't know " I told mom . " Ah William wishes you happy birthday , he sent you a gift too -it's in your room now - he sadly couldn't come. He got really caught up in his work. " William was my stepfather, we weren't really close but he loved mom and mom loved him back and that's all that mattered . After all he treated me just like a daughter of his .

" Tell him thank you for me , I'll call him sometime soon " I told mom before standing up and going to Oli .

I pulled him with me dragging him to our room . I looked around , it had a different arrangement . The beds were far from each other not close making one bed as before. I laughed " You changed the arrangement because of mom didn't you "

He nodded " Didn't want to leave a bad impression on her " his hands slid to my hips as he cupped them pulling me closer to him. His mouth descended to mine capturing me in a kiss .

"She loves you actually " I said hugging him. "Oh really?" He asked as he kissed the top of my head . I nodded enjoying the intimacy . His thumb brushed over my neck were he left a hicky" you covered it nicely " he commented on my makeup skills.

" So that's why you told me to cover it! " I pushed him away playfully. Usually he would have left me to go out without telling me anything- twice - only to find out later . 'It was a sign that I was his ' as he once said as an excuse.

" MAYYY! " I heard lena call from out side making me laugh . " let's go join them back " I pulled him to the door smiling sheepishly as he nodded. I went back outside to join them ; I was truly the happiest I've ever been.