Three whole years had passed!
A thousand endless days and nights—Elvis was being driven to the brink of madness!
He remembered it all too clearly: that birthday when Alicia had popped her head out of the kitchen, clutching a homely little cake, her forehead and cheeks dusted with flour, her smile sweetly naive.
It was the most unappetizing cake he'd ever seen.
The frosting looked like crumbling drywall, uneven and patchy, with bits of charred sponge peeking through.
"Ugly as sin."
"Hey, ugly or not, I made it myself! It's the thought that counts!" The girl pouted, her clear eyes flashing with defiance.
Elvis suppressed a laugh, dipped a finger in the frosting and smeared it across her flour-streaked face.
The spacious kitchen echoed with their teasing and laughter, so infectious ev
