Page 178 of Under the Summer Sky

Lily starts cutting the cake while Mia supervises, which mostly consists of repeatedly telling her that she wants a piece with a flower on it.

I'm halfway through mine when Penny drops a gift bag in front of me.

I stare at it. “No.”

“Yes.”

“We said cake.”

“We never said no presents.”

I turn towards Lily. “You people find loopholes like lawyers.”

Josh nods proudly. “Survival mechanism.”

“Open it,” Grace demands.

I sigh dramatically. “Fine.”

Most of the gifts are small, and they're all so wonderfully ridiculous that I can't stop smiling.

Penny gives me a cowboy hat because apparently I can't live in Wyoming, even temporarily, without owning one.

I stare at it. “I'm not wearing this.”

“Put it on.”

“No.”

“Nora.”

“Absolutely not.”

Five minutes later, I'm wearing the fucking hat.

Summer and Ethan give me a gift card for Sugar & Spice and a beautiful kitchen gift that Summer says she thought I'd enjoy using. I thank them both and give Summer a hug, already looking forward to putting it to good use.

Grace gives me a bottle of wine and a note that says, For emergencies. The Hawthornes count as emergencies.

“Accurate,” I tell her, making her laugh.

Then Jace hands me a tiny bag, and I immediately narrow my eyes.

“Why don't I trust you?”

His hand flies to his chest. “That's hurtful.”

“That didn't answer my question.”

“Open it.”

I reluctantly reach inside and pull out a little keychain shaped like a cowboy boot.

I stare at him. “That's… actually normal.”

“Turn it over.”

Fuck.