Fated (A Chris Evans Series)

Trust Me

With Chris' fortieth birthday done and dusted, it didn't take long for Denise's twenty-fourth birthday to arrive. And though she had celebrated the birthdays of her family members extravagantly that year, she took a different route when it came to her own; unexpected from someone who loved birthdays as much as she did. Denise was basically that one character in every sitcom that prepared for their birthday, months prior to it. She'd think about whether she wanted a big party, a small gathering, time with her core group of girlfriends, or just a quiet date night with Chris. She'd consider themes, possible outfits, and cake flavors. She'd even start a mental registry so that she'd have the answer when she was asked "what would you like for your birthday?"

Ever since Denise was a little girl, she'd absolutely loved the 25th of August. The date was practically sacred in her family with all the fuss she had created over it; fuss that had only increased throughout the years. Hearing she didn't have anything planned for her twenty-fourth surprised everyone, especially Donovan; her older brother who was born two years and one day ahead of her. After almost twenty-four years of being her older brother, and eighteen conjoined birthday celebrations, he was familiar with the high regard his sister had placed on birthdays.

Donovan could still remember how upset she was when he got into Cornell and had to move to New York because they couldn't celebrate their birthdays together anymore. It didn't stop them from completing their yearly ritual of being the first to wish the other happy birthday though. She always made sure to call him a few minutes before his birthday, and he'd do the same for her on hers. The girl came out of the womb asking about her birthday cake, yet in the year 2021, she was acting as though she didn't even want one.

All her family and friends thought she was insane considering she had more to celebrate other than turning twenty-four; she'd wrapped her first ever Hollywood film. If anything, she needed a party to wind down more than anyone else. And while Chris agreed with that, he went along with Denise's plans not to do anything. Not just because she was his wife and he obliged to her requests, but because he knew she would not be able to concentrate on her birthday when that was the same day the first day of screenings began. Still, he didn't want her spending special day stress cleaning their entire house. Reviews were going to come out when they came out, whether or not she celebrated her birthday or remained cooped up in the house wasn't going to change what people were going to say about her film.

"Happy birthday." Denise startled when she heard her brother's voice, dropping the sponge she'd been using to scour the kitchen sink. She turned around to see him carrying her son, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "I'm confused, you're canceling your birthday to scrub a sink? You couldn't do that tomorrow?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Chris called me," he answered.

"Why?" She was even more confused.

"No idea," he shrugged. "All I know is that I'm responsible for this little guy until tomorrow morning."

"What?" She yanked off her rubber gloves. "Why would we need you to be responsible for him? We're home. Chris!" She called then briefly turned her back onto her brother and her son to rinse her hands. Donovan took that as an opportunity to leave, grabbing the diaper bag Chris had packed for him on his way out. "What-" she glanced over her shoulder when she heard the front door close. "Did he just-" she scoffed. "Donovan!" She was about to rush out after him when Chris caught her wrist.

"Whoa," Chris chuckled. "Relax, hon. That's your brother that has our son, he's not some stranger."

"I know that, but why is my brother taking Jack? And where's Dodger," she looked around, unsuccessfully spotting their dog. "Did he take Dodger too?" She asked and saw Chris nod. "Why does my brother have our son and our dog?"