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“Asshole.”

“Go sing.”

I stare at him, but he simply takes the beer from my hand.

“Have fun, Nora.”

My heart stutters.

Have fun.

The exact same words Damiano said to me this morning.

For one second, the room seems to disappear, and I can see his face again. His messy hair, his smile and the way he looked at me just before he kissed me.

I want you to have fun tonight.

I look back at Jude. He has no idea what those words mean to me, and I don't know how to explain it to him.

Instead, I laugh.

“Fuck it.”

I run towards the stage, and Chiara screams as I grab the second microphone.

I don't sing. I yell, loudly and horribly, so completely off-key that I can barely hear myself over everyone else's laughter. Penny throws an arm around my shoulders, and we scream the song together while Summer, Lexy and Grace dance behind us.

Somewhere in the crowd, Ethan has both hands over his ears while Mia dances on top of Cas's boots. Lily is clapping and taking a video with her phone, and Josh is laughing so hard that I wonder whether he'll be able to breathe by the end of the song.

My parents are sitting together, my mother smiling through her tears while my dad catches my eye and winks at me.

They haven't looked at me like that in a while.

And then I see Jude standing exactly where I left him, holding my beer and watching me with a smile that makes me laugh so hard I almost miss my part.

I'm twenty-seven, I'm a widow, and I'm still in love with my husband. I miss him so badly that some mornings I don't know how my heart keeps beating, and yet here I am, standing in a cowboy bar in Wyoming, screaming Taylor Swift with my new friends.

Both things are true.

Maybe that's what this new part of my life is going to look like. I'll always carry my grief, but perhaps there's room beside it for moments like this, too.

Suddenly, the doors to the bar swing open.

“Surprise, motherfuckers!”

Jace walks in, and everyone starts laughing.

“Uncle Jace! You came!”

Mia runs towards him, and he scoops her up, covering her face with kisses until she squeals. He sets her back on her feet and looks towards the stage.

“Hey, birthday girl!”

I wave at him while we're singing the last lines of the song.

“I call dibs on the next song!” he yells.

We all laugh as he makes his way towards the stage. When we come down, he pulls me into an embrace.