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I spotted my dad sitting at a table with the other local men. He laughed at something, turned, caught my eye. He nodded and waved, and I smiled and waved back. He turned away, said something, made the men laugh.
I hadn’t seen him that happy in a long time, and pride swelled up through my chest.
Finally, we’d got it back. Everything that had been taken from us, we’d got it back.
And the little girl I just knew I was having, I was going to name after my mother. Little baby Anna.
“Colleen!”
I looked over as Tracy came bounding up. She hugged me tight and I laughed, hugging her back. “You made it,” I said.
“Couldn’t miss it. Wow, this is really something. Steven set it all up?”
“You know him,” I said. “Never does anything half way.”
“You want a drink? I’m so thirsty. And starving. Oh my god, and is that a table full of attractive men?”
“Attractive mobsters,” I corrected.
“What, you think you’re the only one that gets to date a gangster?”
I laughed, rolled my eyes, and pointed out the coolers. She grinned and walked over as I went to rejoin Steven at the grill.
He closed the cover and turned to me, his head tilted.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah.” I stood up on my toes and kissed him. “I’m great.”
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too. Now get back to cooking.”
He sighed. “That’s all I’m good for, huh?”
“That and something else.” I grinned, kissed him a little longer, and pulled back. “But Tracy’s here, so I’m going to go hang out with her.”
“Have fun.”
I gave him a long look and he smiled at me. I turned away and walked off, smiling, breathing deep, happy and comfortable.
This was my world, these were my people. I couldn’t think of a better life than this one, and it was all because of Steven.
Tracy looked up as I joined her at the coolers. She was trying to decide between a dark beer and a can of hard seltzer. “You look like you’re in a good mood,” she said.
“I’m in a great mood. Come on, pick something out, let’s go find you a man.”
She laughed, chose the seltzer, and followed me into the crowd.
