Page 168
“Daddy.”
“Auguri, figlia mia!” He kisses the side of my head and holds me tight, and I close my eyes for a moment, letting myself be his little girl again.
“Thank you, Daddy,” I manage, my voice breaking.
When I finally step back, I look between them, still trying to understand how they're both standing here in Wyoming.
“How…?”
“Lily called us, and we decided to come,” my mother explains, linking her arm with a very pleased-looking Lily.
“Lily!”
She looks absolutely delighted with herself. “What?”
I glance at my parents again, shaking my head because I still can't quite believe they're here.
“Your parents are staying at our B&B for a few days,” Lily adds.
I pull her into a hug. “Thank you.”
“Oh, honey, there's no need for that. Your parents are just wonderful.”
I look around the room, taking in the familiar faces, the balloons and the tables crowded with food. My parents are here, Chiara is beside me, and the Hawthornes have somehow managed to make me feel like I've belonged to this family for years.
Everyone I love is here.
Well… almost everyone.
For a moment, I wish Damiano could see this. I wish he could be standing beside me, laughing at the ridiculous amount of trouble everyone has gone to for a birthday I wasn't even planning to celebrate.
Then my gaze lands on the cake.
“Lily…”
“What?”
“You said cake.”
“There is cake.”
“You said a little cake.”
“It's not that big.”
Cas looks at it. “Mama, that thing could feed forty people.”
Lily waves him off. “Nobody asked you.”
I laugh despite myself.
Penny comes rushing over and pulls me into a hug.
“Happy birthday!”
“You lied to me too.”
“I did no such thing.”
