Philip leans back in his chair, his eyes moving between Gabriel and me. “How long has this been going on?”
“A few weeks,” I answer. “It started here.”
Philip nods slowly but doesn’t say anything else. The silence stretches, and I feel Gabriel tense beside me.
“Dad,” Gabriel says, and there’s a note of desperation in his voice. “Say something.”
Philip takes a breath and sets his wine glass down. “I received a call from Blaine Ashford a couple of weeks ago.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Marshall,” Mom says sharply, and I realize I said that out loud. “Not in front of Audrey.”
“Please,” Audrey says, rolling her eyes. “You think I haven’t heard all of it before?”
Gabriel leans forward, his hand still gripping mine. “What did he tell you?”
“He told me something I didn’t believe,” Philip says. “Something about you two being together in a way that, and I quote, stepbrothers shouldn’t be.”
My stomach drops. I open my mouth to defend us, to explain, but Philip holds up a hand.
“And I told him,” he continues, “that it was none of his business. That if my boys wanted to tell me something, they would do so themselves.”
The relief that floods through me is so intense I feel lightheaded. Beside me, Gabriel lets out a breath that sounds like he’s been punched.
“So,” Gabriel says carefully. “You’re not mad at us?”
Mom stands up from her chair and crosses to us, and I barely have time to process it before she’s pulling both Gabriel and me into a hug. Her arms wrap around our shoulders, holding us tight, and I feel something in my chest crack open.
“Oh, honey,” she says, her voice thick. “Of course we’re not mad.”
Audrey is up a second later, throwing herself at us from the other side, and suddenly we’re in a tangle of arms and warmth, and I can’t quite process what’s happening.
When we finally break apart, I look at Philip. He’s still seated, but he’s smiling, and there’s something gentle in his expression that tightens my throat.
“But,” I hear myself say. “Aren’t you supposed to be shocked? Tell us it’s wrong?”
Philip frowns. “What could be wrong about two consenting adults, not related by blood, liking each other?”
Mom sits back down but reaches across the table to squeeze my hand. “Besides, we… kind of suspected you boys might like each other more than just stepbrothers. We have for a while now.”
“You what?” Gabriel and I ask at the same time.
Even Audrey looks confused. “What do you mean?”
Mom’s smile turns knowing. “Well, the first hint came from you, actually,” she tells Audrey.
Gabriel and I turn to look at our half-sister, who looks just as baffled as we feel. “Me?” she asks.
“Yes, you, honey. I’d rather show you,” Mom says. She stands again and heads toward the house. “I have it with me.”
The three of us exchange confused looks. Gabriel’s hand is still in mine, and I realize we haven’t let go since we first reached for each other. I’m not planning to, either.
“Do you know what she’s talking about?” Gabriel asks Philip.
Philip’s smile widens slightly. “I have an idea.”
Mom is gone for several minutes. When she returns, she’s holding a folded piece of paper, the edges worn and soft like it’s been handled many times. She crosses to us and holds it out.
