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“Gia Russo, Danielle Murano, and Angelina Brando have arrived,” Yoda announced.
“Thanks, Yoda. I’ll show them in.”
She opened the door to see three smiling, if exhausted, young women, juggling Dani’s luggage and already planning their next get-together, this time in Dani’s home city of Minneapolis. Lina was urging Dani to rethink her decision about pursuing that coveted veterinary position in New York. Dani wasn’t flat-out dismissing the idea. And Gia was carrying a huge pastry box, which she immediately thrust at Casey.
“This came from my best dessert vendor,” she said. “They bake a blackout cake—as Lina would say—to die for. Brides give up the idea of a white wedding cake the minute they taste this. In this case, I had them make it as a sheet cake so the whole team could enjoy it.”
“There’s no real way we can ever thank you all for what you’ve done for us,” Dani added.
“But chocolate is always a good start.” Lina grinned.
“Wow, thank you so much—and come on in.” Casey was delighted to see the transition that was already occurring. All three girls were coming back to themselves—right down to Lina’s natural exuberance. And they were already bonding as sisters.
It was truly a pleasure to behold.
Upstairs in the conference room, the entire team awaited, all of them greeting Gia, Dani, and Lina as the friends they’d become. Emma didn’t lose a minute before getting plates, napkins, and utensils and then taking it upon herself to slice and serve the cake.
There were choruses of oohs and aahs as everyone tasted pieces of chocolate heaven.
“If I ever get married, I want this baker,” Emma said, savoring the bite she’d just taken.
“I’ll make a note of that,” Gia assured her. “Blackout cake it will be. I’m planning a birthday party for my uncle. This is his cake of choice, too.”
“Speaking of which, how are your parents?” Patrick asked. “All three sets.”
“Mine are weak with relief that the danger’s been eliminated,” Dani replied. “They’re meeting me at LaGuardia, and we’re flying back to Minneapolis together. There’s an enormous sense of relief that this whole thing is over, on every level.”
“Same with my parents,” Gia said. “All they want is for things to go back to normal and to not have to worry about my life being in jeopardy.”
Lina stared down at her cake. “It’s a little more complicated at my end, as you would expect. The process is slow.”
“How’s your father doing?” Claire asked gently.
“Physically, he’s much better. Emotionally, he’s still pretty shaken. Neil’s—Jimmy’s—betrayal hit him like a ton of bricks.” Lina paused and looked up. “It’s no secret to anyone in this room that my father knew who Neil was. But Angelo was his best friend. He took him at his word when he said he was making Jimmy disappear to protect him from being affiliated with the mob. He had no idea about the murders or the kidnappings.” She sighed. “Between that and making peace with me about lying all these years… it’s been tough.”
“But down deep, you know your parents love you,” Casey said. “And that will get you through this.”
Lina nodded. “The Russos and the Muranos have been awesome. They’re not only treating me like family, they’re completely sympathetic to my parents’ situation. They feel that, just as they are victims, so are my parents. There are no bad feelings at all.”
“That’s as it should be,” Dani said. “Given how close your family was to Neil Donato, this is even harder for them than it is for our parents.” She looped an arm around Lina’s shoulders. “It’s all going to work out.”
“Without question,” Gia agreed. “We’re one big extended family now.” She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. “And now we’d better run, or Dani will be chasing the plane down the runway. I’m sorry to cut this short.”
“No problem.” Casey put down her plate and went to hug each of the girls in turn. “But you’d better include us in your plans the next time Dani’s in town.”
“Promise.”
The girls hugged every member of the FI team, said their goodbyes, and followed Casey to the door. With additional promises to keep in touch, they gathered up Dani’s luggage and headed out.
Casey retraced her steps, returning to the conference room to see Marc, Ryan, and Patrick wolfing down their second huge chunks of cake with no signs of slowing down.
“We’re saving a piece for Hutch,” Marc said between mouthfuls. “He’s coming over right after work to celebrate with us. That should polish this baby off.””
Emma and Claire rolled their eyes.
“It’s a guy thing,” Emma said wisely. “I might rethink that future wedding. I’ll forget the husband and just opt for the blackout cake.”
“Heaven forbid, what if one of us wanted a second piece of cake?” Claire asked.
