I laugh and yank him down to sit next to me, but he remains standing. I look up at him. He picks up a bottle of wine and pours a glass for me and a glass for him. Then he grabs his glass and clinks a fork over it.

“Is there a speech?” Brad asks, midbite into the complimentary baguette.

“There must be a speech.” Gemma wrenches the rest of the bread from between her husband’s fingers.

“Please tell me it’s going to be short. I’m starving.” Renn slumps in his seat. “My body’s still on the Pacific time zone. I think I missed, like, two meals.”

“Patience, kiddo.” Joe points at Renn with his wineglass. “And there is no speech. Just a realization I would like to share with you a minute before this book comes out and I officially become a national embarrassment.”

We all wait to hear what he has to say. For Ever is dedicated to Dominic. It was Joe’s idea. Once the anger and disappointment had made their way through our systems, acceptance and forgiveness came next. Not that Dom had a chance to ask for any of those things. But see, forgiving people who hurt us is not about those people at all. It is about choosing to move on with our lives. Letting go of the grudges. Healing without depending on someone else’s journey.

“Well, I’m not getting any younger,” Pippa points out with a sweet fake smile, raising her cocktail in a toast. “Give us the deets, Joe.”

Joe looks down at me and smiles. My heart expands in my chest. I’m so proud of us. Of the road less traveled we have both taken to get here. We still haven’t reached our final destination, but wherever we go—we’re going together.

He opens his mouth, his eyes zeroing in on mine.

“The past two decades have been a crazy ride from start to finish. A lot has happened. But one thing stayed through it all. It made it possible, even when things seemed impossible. And that thing is called hope. Hope made me realize something important. The one thing that makes a person rich is not their money, or their talent, or even their connections. It is their hope. Where there is hope, there is life. And where there is life, anything is possible. I owe my hope to one special person. She is here today, and I have a feeling she’ll be here for a very long time. Which is good, because no one knows what tomorrow will bring. All I know is that tomorrow, life is going to change. Not only for me. For Ever.”