“You should be,” he grins, setting food down in front of me. “I can be domestic when required.”
Zach huffs quietly.
“Rarely.”
Jackson ignores him, dropping into the seat across from me, his gaze flicking over my face briefly.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I nod. “I feel… good.”
Elijah’s thumb moves slowly against my thigh.
“You look it.”
Zach nudges the plate slightly closer to me.
“Eat, Lia.”
I do. Slowly. Carefully. They don’t rush me. They don’t overwhelm me. They just… stay.
Jackson reaches across at one point, brushing his fingers lightly against my wrist.
“I love you,” he says casually.
Like it’s nothing. Like it’s everything.
Zach leans down, pressing a kiss to my hair.
“I love you.”
Elijah’s hand tightens slightly, his voice quieter but just as certain.
“I love you.”
The words settle deep. Warm. Steady. Real.
“Write today,” Zach adds gently after a moment. “Let it out.”
I nod softly.
“I will.”
Jackson leans back in his chair, stretching slightly and then his phone buzzes.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
His expression shifts immediately. He glances at the screen, something tightening subtly in his jaw before he stands.
“I’ll take this,” he says.
No one stops him. No one questions it. But I watch him as he walks out of the room and something in my chest tightens. Zach presses another piece of toast into my hand.
“Stay here, baby,” he murmurs.
