Chapter 8 - The Christmas Eve That Finally Felt Like Home
The following year, Christmas Eve returned.
Snow covered Boston again.
Bellinis was busy.
Lily no longer worked there.
Mr. Bellini had promoted her to manager after the DeLuca family invested in the restaurant, but Roman made one thing clear.
"No special treatment."
Lily agreed.
She wanted to keep the place because it had been the beginning of everything.
Mr. Bellini still called her the girl who cleaned tables on Christmas Eve.
Lily called him dramatic.
He called it sentimental.
She called it old age.
He threw a napkin at her.
The restaurant was full.
Families.
Friends.
Children.
Couples.
Laughter filled the room.
Lily stood by the window.
Ava slipped her hand into hers.
"Remember?"
"Remember what?"
"The first night."
Lily smiled.
"When you came into the restaurant."
Ava nodded.
"I wanted you to come home."
"You were bossy."
"I saved you."
"You kidnapped me."
Ava laughed.
Roman entered.
He wore a black suit and the silver cufflinks Lily had bought him.
His eyes found her immediately.
He smiled.
It still did something to her.
They had been married for almost a year.
Lily still loved the way he looked at her as if she were the only person in the room.
Anna and Lena arrived.
Her mother looked happier than Lily had ever seen her.
Lena had started nursing school.
She was determined to build a career helping people.
Her past no longer owned her.
It explained her.
It did not define her.
The evening became a family celebration.
Ava performed a Christmas song.
Roman pretended not to be emotional.
Lily caught him wiping his eye.
He glared.
"Don't."
"You cried."
"I did not."
"You absolutely did."
Ava shouted from the stage:
"Daddy cried!"
The entire restaurant laughed.
Roman sighed.
"Traitors."
After dinner, Lily stepped outside.
Snow fell softly.
Roman joined her.
"You okay?"
She smiled.
"Very."
He leaned against the railing.
"Do you ever miss the old life?"
She looked at him.
"No."
"Not even a little?"
"Sometimes."
He nodded.
"Me too."
"What do you miss?"
"The man I was before I had a daughter."
Lily looked surprised.
"Why?"
"Because he didn't understand what he was capable of losing."
She touched his hand.
"He understands now."
Roman smiled.
Inside, Ava's laughter echoed.
Lily looked through the window.
For years, Christmas had meant seeing other people go home.
Now she understood something.
Home wasn't the apartment.
It wasn't the mansion.
It wasn't the restaurant.
It wasn't even the city.
Home was the people who noticed whether you were there.
The people who saved a place for you.
The people who said your name when you walked through the door.
Ava came outside.
"Lily!"
"What?"
"I have something."
She handed her a gift.
Lily opened it.
Inside was a small frame.
A photograph of the three of them.
Roman.
Ava.
Lily.
Beneath it, Ava had written:
OUR FAMILY.
Lily cried.
Ava hugged her.
"Why are you crying?"
"Because I'm happy."
Roman stepped outside.
He looked at the picture.
"You like it?"
Lily nodded.
"I love it."
Ava looked up.
"You are staying, right?"
Lily crouched.
"Yes."
"Forever?"
Lily glanced at Roman.
He smiled.
"That's the plan."
Ava hugged them both.
No one knew that at that exact moment, across the street, a dark sedan was parked.
Inside sat a man Lily had never seen.
He watched the family through binoculars.
Then he made a call.
"The girls are together."
A voice answered.
"And the DeLuca?"
"With them."
A pause.
"Then wait."
The man closed the phone.
He did not know that Roman's security team had already spotted him.
The danger was not over.
But Lily didn't know.
May you like
Not yet.
Because this time, she wasn't alone.
