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It was her first step toward healing from cancer, but we were too young to understand any of that.
He was a good dad.
He taught me right from wrong and how to love everyone. He showed me that I’m a strong person and that kindness always wins.
Family meant everything to him, and he took every measure he could to protect us. The one thing he couldn’t protect us from his passing. The pain of that was all too real.
He died while he was away on a business trip. It was a heart attack, unexpected and final.
My eyes fill with tears as I think about the last moments of his life. He spent them alone. What thoughts must have crowded his mind before he took his last breath?
I dart to my feet when I hear my front door opening. Swiping a hand over my face, I try to brush away the tears.
“Bianca?” Vivi asks from the other room. “Are you here?”
She’ll never learn to call before she barges in, and today I’m extra thankful for that. I drop the photo of my dad onto my bed. “I’m coming.”
Before I can get out of my bedroom, my sister appears in the doorway with a small bouquet of daisies in her hand. “I picked these up at the Farmer’s Market this morning.”
My heart lurches inside my chest, and the tears come again, but this time it’s different.
“What’s wrong?” Fear taints her tone as she steps closer. “Did something happen?”
I manage a smile. “I’m happy.”
Her eyes fill with tears too. “That makes me happy too.”
I draw her into my arms for a tight hug. “I think I’m in love.”
“What? With who?” She steps back instantly.
“His name is Roman,” I say quietly. “Roman Hawthorne.”
“Where did you meet him? What’s he like?” She brushes away a tear running down her cheek. “Tell me all about him.”
“He’s a good man.” I choke on a sob. “I think he might love me too.”
She moves my hair over my shoulder before she pats my cheek. “How could he not love you? You’re beautiful. You’re smart and so kind. You’re the best sister in the world.”
I manage a smile. “You are.”
“I’m second best.” She laughs. “You’re the one who has always been there for me. You’ve taken care of me for a long time.”
She’s done the same for me. “That’s what sisters do.”
“Maybe you and Roman will get married and have two daughters like mom and dad did.” She leans back. “They’ll be best friends just like we are.”
I’ve never considered Vivi my best friend, but that’s exactly who she is. We’ve stumbled through life’s challenges together, celebrated next to one another, and we’ve always cheered each other on.
I take a deep breath. “He has two daughters. Twins.”
“Twins?” Her hand darts to her mouth. “Like identical?”
I smile through a new rush of tears. “He’s a twin too. He has a twin brother named Matt.”
She laughs. “That’s wild. What are his daughters’ names?”
I reach for her hand to cradle it in mine. “Dora and Georgie.”
A single tear streams down her face. “Dora and Georgie.”
I nod.
“It’s fate,” she whispers. “Roman is your person, Bianca.”
“It’s early,” I confess. “I haven’t even officially met his daughters yet, but my heart split open when I saw them. They’re so beautiful, V.”
“Love moves at the pace it wants to.” She sighs. “It sweeps in when you least expect it and carries you away to your forever, so enjoy the ride.”
Chapter 41
Roman
A knock at my apartment door sends me in that direction, but Georgie beats me to it. Her blue eyes flash with happiness as she breezes past me with the biggest smile on her face.
If I could bottle those smiles and keep them forever, I’d never worry about tomorrow, but I do. My daughters have full lives ahead of them, and I admit I sometimes think about what life will be like when they start dating or how I’ll feel on their wedding days.
Georgie swings open the wooden door and squeals in delight. “Kita!”
Nikita Wolf scoops Georgie up and into her arms. “Georgie girl, how are you?”
Everyone in my inner circle can tell the twins apart. Dora’s hair is a few inches longer than Georgie’s, but the dead giveaway is their smiles. Dora’s is always wide. It’s a sign of the happiness she carries around within her.
Georgie’s is softer but just as inviting. The left corner of her lip darts up just a hair more than the right side.
“I’m good,” Georgie answers. “You look so pretty.”
Nikita smiles. “You do too.”
We all turn when we hear the thundering charge of Dora’s bare feet on the hardwood. She appears from around the corner that leads to the hallway. A pink ribbon is tied around her head. The frayed end is flopping in front of her right eye.
“What’s going on there?” Nikita holds in a laugh.
