I seized Bella from the kitchen, pulling her into my side and practically dragging her to her truck. As I opened the passenger door I became momentarily stunned. She didn’t argue about this. Maybe she would be on her best behavior after all? I didn’t question her new aplomb attitude; instead, I helped her up into her seat and then shut the door, making my way hastily to the driver’s side where I slid in with smooth grace.

I kept my pace contemptuous, or the best I could. But I was limited with her trucks internal speed limit. Normally I would be extremely aggravated, but not this evening. Everything was going well. The engine growled in anger when I broke the fifty mile per hour speed limit.

“Take it easy,” she rounded on me.

I hid my smile, thinking back to what I really wanted to give her for her birthday. “You know what you would love? A nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power…”

“There’s nothing wrong with my truck.” She didn’t know how wrong that statement was. But this was no time for arguments. “And speaking of expensive nonessentials,” she continued, apathetic, “if you know what’s good for you, you didn’t spend any money on my birthday presents,” she sniffed.

“Not a dime,” I replied with the merest flicker of a smile.

She gave a little nod, satisfied. “Good.”

Regardless of what her stipulations met for me, the rest of the family wasn’t hearing any of that. They all spent money and loved every second of it. Even Emmett. Of course, Rosalie was a different matter. Hopefully, though, she wouldn’t get angry at them. Would she? “Can you do me a favor?” I asked softly, keeping my voice low, human.

She shifted in her seat to face me. “That depends on what it is,” her tiny eyebrows crinkled together to give her a slightly perplexed look.

I sighed, brining her scent deep into my lungs, letting it have its way with me for a very long second before I let out a gust of air. “Bella, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Cut us a little slack, and don’t be too difficult tonight. They’re all very excited.”