Page 153

Jude parks and turns off the engine.

Nobody moves.

I stare through the windscreen at the family waiting for us. Lily and Josh are there, along with Cas and Penny, who has baby Noah tucked against her chest. Ethan and Summer are standing with Mia, while Dex and Lexy are talking to Grace. Asher is there with Liam, and even Jace has flown in to be here today.

All of them.

For Damiano.

My throat tightens.

“You okay?” Jude asks.

I nod. “Yeah.”

Chiara reaches over and squeezes my hand. “Let's take Dami home.”

Fuck.

I close my eyes for a second, trying to get a hold of myself before I nod again.

“Yeah.”

Jude gets out, and by the time I open my door, he's there. He doesn't reach for the urn or offer to carry it, though. He simply waits, and I appreciate that because this is something I need to do myself.

At least for now.

I step out of the truck, and Lily comes towards me immediately. Her eyes fall to the urn in my arms before returning to mine, and without saying a word, she pulls me into a hug.

“Thank you for coming,” I whisper.

She pulls back and cups my cheek. “Oh, sweetheart. We wouldn't have missed this for the world.”

My lips tremble as Josh steps forward and kisses the top of my head.

“Good to see you, kid.”

Then his eyes move to the urn, and his jaw tightens.

“Good to have you home too, son.”

Oh God.

I press my lips together as another wave of tears hits, and beside me, Chiara makes a broken little sound.

Josh looks at her. “You must be Chiara.”

She nods, quickly wiping beneath her eyes. “I am.”

“Damiano talked about you.”

She laughs softly. “Nothing good, I hope.”

“Mostly complaints.”

“Sounds about right.”

That gets a few laughs, and somehow, I can breathe again.