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She raises an eyebrow, but before she can say anything else, a hand settles lightly against my lower back. I know who it is before I even turn.
Jude.
He's wearing dark jeans, boots and a plain grey T-shirt stretched across his chest, his hair slightly messy, as though he's run his hand through it on the way inside.
His eyes move over my face.
“Happy birthday.”
He pulls me into his arms, and I smile as I hug him back. “Thank you, Grumpy.”
“Nora, I want you to meet someone.”
I turn to find Grace standing beside a tall woman with long brown hair and hazel eyes behind a pair of glasses. She gives me a tentative smile as Grace gestures towards her.
“This is Cassie. She's my best friend and our neighbor. She grew up with us too.”
“Hi,” Cassie says, holding out her hand. “I'm so sorry about Damiano.”
I shake it. “Thank you. You knew him?”
“Of course she did,” Grace says. “She was running around with us when we were kids.”
I search my memories, recalling Damiano telling me about Grace's best friend, who was apparently just as quiet as Grace was loud.
“He talked about you!” I smile. “He called you Cassandra, didn't he?”
Cassie rolls her eyes. “He said Cassandra sounded more Italian, so he refused to call me Cassie.”
I laugh. “That's Dami for you.”
She smiles, and I give her hand another squeeze before letting go. “I'm happy you're here.”
“Me too.” She glances towards the long table, where Lily is talking to my mother. “I'll go and say hi.”
She gives us a little wave and heads towards them.
Before I can say anything else, Penny takes my arm.
“Come on.”
“Where?”
“We have important business.”
She drags me towards a thick binder sitting beside the karaoke setup, with Grace and Summer following close behind.
“Taylor,” Penny announces.
“Obviously.”
The man running karaoke looks up from his equipment. “Which one?”
Five women stare at him until he sighs.
“Right. That's going to be my whole night, isn't it?”
“Probably,” Grace says.
