She looked around this incredible group of people and wondered how she got so lucky. The past two years had been a lesson in how to belong, how to be loved. She’d had a lot of baggage to work through and so had Trent. Dropping the bombshell on his family about his true parentage hadn’t been easy for him, and occasionally his old fears still raised their head.
But he was better at putting himself first when it was required. Better at chasing things to fulfill his own dreams, while still maintaining the thing she loved about him most: his generous, giving nature…inside the bedroom and out.
Together, they were becoming the people they’d always had the potential to be.
But as she looked at the sea of sandy-blond heads and matching blue eyes in front of her, there was still the barest twinge of sadness underneath it all. Deep deep down, there was still a little part of her that wanted her father to be celebrating with her. Their relationship had suffered a blow when she left New York, but they’d been starting to rebuild it. They Skyped every few months, and when she’d gone back to New York six months ago for her cousin’s wedding, they’d had a nice dinner. It had been a little awkward, sure, but her father had made some admissions she hadn’t expected…like how he’d underestimated her.
How he understood now that she needed to follow her passion in order to be happy.
Small steps.
“You guys are the best.” Her voice trembled a little, but she hid the tears pricking her eyes by ducking down to pull out some plates from the bottom cabinet. “We may as well get started. There’s so much food. I hope you’re all hungry.”
Everyone dove in, eager to fill their bellies and their hearts. Liv surprised Cora with a cake that was frosted—sorry, iced—to look exactly like the cover of her book. The design was perfect, right down to the shimmering gold font and the violet-blue background and the stars and moon and the golden caterpillar in the middle.
Just as Cora was about to text Trent to tell him to hurry up, she heard the rumble of the ute pulling up to the house. A door slammed and a second later, keys jangled as Trent came through the front door with a huge bouquet of flowers in his arms.
“Oh my gosh.” Cora headed over to him, shaking her head. “You’re too much.”
He planted a hot kiss on her lips, snaking his free arm around her waist and holding her tight. “No matter what I do, it’ll never be too much. You deserve it all, Cora.”
“How did I end up with a man like you in my life?” She touched his face, wonder filtering through her system. She loved this man so much, it made her entire body vibrate with joy. “I have no idea how I got so lucky.”
“Well, don’t be showering the praise on me yet.” He pulled a face.
“Don’t tell me you forgot the ice,” she groaned. That was the whole point of his trip out. “Liv bought some nice champagne.”
Trent laughed, slapping her on the butt. “I’m yanking your chain. It’s in the car. Why don’t you go grab it and I’ll get these flowers into some water?”
“They’re amazing.” The bouquet was a spray of rainbow flowers—pink roses and purple irises and yellow gerberas with green fronds. “Thank you.”
“I’m so proud of you,” he said, echoing the words their family had shared with her earlier. “You inspire me every day.”
“Same,” she whispered. They kissed again, harder this time and to shouts of “Get a room” from Nick and Adam and laughter from the others.
Shaking her head and wondering whether it would be inappropriate to kick everyone out of her house so she could drag Trent back to bed, Cora headed outside. But the second she stepped through the front door, she froze. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating.
Her father stood in front of Trent’s truck, looking a little tired and a little disheveled, but still as well-dressed as always. “Hi Cora.”
“Dad.” She shook her head. “When…?”
“That husband of yours was adamant that I be here to help you celebrate.” Her father came over to her and pressed a hand to her shoulder. They didn’t have the easy affection of the Walters family, but her father being here was a big deal. “He called and told me that if I wanted to make up for not