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She hugged both her parents at once, letting them envelop her with their softness and warmth.

“You look great, honey,” Jeanette said.

“So do you,” Lola said. “Was the flight okay?”

“Totally fine.”

Her mom’s hair was dyed auburn and cut into a chin-length bob; her reading glasses hung from a chain on her neck. She smelled like Chanel No. 5 and Dove soap—like home.

“Happy birthday, kiddo,” Roger, whose graying hair had receded significantly since the last time she saw him, said. “The big three-oh.Jesus. Last I checked, it was your mother’s thirtieth birthday, so I’m really not sure where the time went.”

Lola laughed. “Mom still looks thirty.”

“No, I definitely don’t.” Jeanette grinned, her face full of deep laugh lines that told a thousand stories.

Lola hugged Colette and Jess. “I’m obsessed with your parents,” Jess said.

“Me too,” Lola replied.

After Lola finished hugging everyone around the table, she finally sat down and then eyed an open chair.

“Ryan, who is that for?”

“Oh, I totally forgot to tell you,” he said sheepishly. “I hope it’s okay. Giancarlo’s in town and wanted to have dinner with me. I told him I could only see him if he came to my best friend’s birthday, not thinking he’d actually come, but…” Before he could finish, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing a perfectly tailored suit and Prada loafers, approached.

“Giancarlo!” Ryan said, standing up to shake the man’s hand. “I was just telling Lola you might come.”

“Happy birthday, Lola,” Giancarlo said, sitting next to her. “Thanks for letting me crash your dinner.”

“Wow, hi,” Lola said, grinning. “I feel like I’m meeting a celebrity.”

He laughed. “Why’s that?”

“Your East Hampton house. It’s amazing. Thank you so much for letting us stay there this summer.”

“Oh, it’s my pleasure,” he said. “I was glad it was occupied by someone I trust.” He patted Ryan’s arm.

“What are you doing in town?” Lola asked. “Ryan said you live full-time in…” She trailed off, unable to remember where he called home.

“I wouldn’t say I’m really full-time anywhere these days,” he replied. “But my husband’s work keeps us in Los Angeles mostly. I’m here with our daughter. She just graduated college and insisted on moving to the big city.”

Lola’s parents perked up. “Sounds familiar.” Jeanette smiled. “They always want to go as far away as possible, don’t they?”

Lola rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “It’s not my fault California and New York are on opposite sides of the country,” she said.

“Where is she moving to?” Emmett asked.

“Well, that’s the thing,” Giancarlo said, taking a sip of water. “We spent all day looking at one-bedrooms downtown, and I swear, this girl is Goldilocks. Nothing wasjust rightfor her.”

“What is she looking for?” Ryan asked. “I’m sure between everyone at this table, we can ask around. Sometimes in New York, you just have to know the right people.”

Before Giancarlo could answer, the waiter came over and took their drink orders. Lola ordered a bottle of champagne for the table and a round of martinis for everyone.

She wasn’t going to get blackout drunk, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to have fun.

When the waiter left, Giancarlo said, “She thinks she’s going to be able to find a roomy loft in Soho with natural light, in a doorman building. Imagine? In the year 2024, finding something like that?”

Lola tilted her head to the side.