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“We’re twins,” Hunter says with a grin.

“Twins is two. Who’s he?” She points at Emmett.

“He’s our friend,” Hunter tells her. “Our very, very good friend. He’s like a brother.”

“Oh. I have friends, but they aren’t like sisters. I want a real sister, but Mommy said no.”

I can’t help but feel relieved about that. Courtney isn’t a terrible mom, but I’ve watched her with Nola. The hovering. The correcting. The way every outfit has to match, every activity has to be enriching, every moment has to be curated. It’s our mother all over again, just wearing a different face. And if Courtney had another kid, I know exactly what would happen—she’d start comparing them. Pitting them against each other. Picking a favorite and calling it fairness. The same thing Mom did to us. I leave the thought there and don’t poke at it too much, knowing that it’ll just make me angry if I do.

“Are you going to see the fireworks tonight?” I ask her.

She nods. “Mom’s taking us to the Space Needle to watch them. She said she bought tickets ages ago, so we have to go, and I can’t invite anybody else because the tickets were very expensive. I want you to come, though. If Daddy doesn’t come, will you come instead?”

I chuckle at that. “No, not this time. I’m sure your dad will be there. Your mom might murder him if he doesn’t.”

Nola laughs. “Yeah, she would.”

“Nola! Dinner!” Courtney calls from inside. She hasn’t spotted us yet or she’d say something a lot stronger.

I quickly give Nola a hug and a kiss and she runs off inside. Taking a long, steady breath, I feel like the tour has reached its natural end.

“Let’s go home,” I tell them. I’m referring to the apartment, but I’m also not. Wherever they are is home now… but there’s a more comfortable option.

Tonight as the year turns over and Seattle watches the fireworks, we make our own fireworks in my bed. They push my body to new limits, driving me out of my mind again and again as colorful lights flicker across the dark walls of my unlit room. We ring in the new year tangled up together, all of us connected in one way or another, love spilling over and around all of us.

January first dawns cold and gray, as it always does, but I’m almost too warm in the center of the bed surrounded by my men. Crawling out from between their limbs carefully so as not to wake them, I grab my phone and my robe and head for the kitchen. Little moments of alone time are as precious as every moment we spend together. The trick is going to be balance. I put some reels on to play while I make the coffee.

Hunter wakes up first and I make him a cup of coffee. Then Emmett, and I give him his black coffee. Beau wakes up last and he makes his own coffee, heavy on the pumpkin spice creamer with a touch of cinnamon today. I curl up on the couch with my own coffee, sitting in comfortable silence as I scroll on my phone.

That same ad pops up between reels, the one about selling your photographs, and I realize that I haven’t checked on that since I set it up. Feeling comfortable and safe enough to risk facing rejection, I open up the app. My dashboard loads and I blink. I sit up straight. I click on details and blink again.

Hunter is sitting next to me and I pat at him, my eyes still locked on my phone.

“What? What is it?”

“I sold photos,” I whisper. “Several photos. Different photos. Real orders.” I stand up, practically shrieking now. “I sold photos!”

Beau picks me up and spins me around. Hunter and Emmett are grinning at each other.

“You did it!” Beau says, squeezing me. “I didn’t even know you were trying to sell them.”

He sets me down and I grin. I’d be embarrassed, but I’m too excited. “I wasn’t really trying,” I confess. “I put them up there thinking maybe somebody might like something, I had no idea people would actually buy the photos!”

“But they did.” Hunter waggles his brows. “What are you going to do now?”

I’m breathing hard. I look at each of them, their eyes shining with pride. They aren’t telling me that it’s a fluke, they aren’t telling me not to get excited. They’re just celebrating with me and asking what I’m going to do next. I’ve never felt more supported. It’s almost making me dizzy.

“I’m going to add more pictures,” I decide right there and then. “I have a ton to choose from!”

I sit down with my laptop and start combing through my edited photos for the best of the best. Anything that isn’t up to par, I put in a different folder. I’ll either work on those some more or delete them, but all I want to see right now are the ones that are ready for sale. Beau sits down next to me on the couch, half-watching me as he scrolls on his phone.

After my tenth upload, I blink, letting my eyes rest. My gaze wanders and I see what Beau is looking at on his phone. Seattle apartments. Two to three bedrooms. Hunter is on my other side. He’s scrolling through job postings in Seattle. My heart swells. They’re trying to move here, for me. I look across the room at Emmett, who looks even bigger than he is in my little wicker chair. He’s also frowning at his phone.

“Absolutely not,” I say out loud.

They all stop scrolling and look at me.

“I’m touched,” I tell them. I squeeze Hunter’s and Beau’s hands and give Emmett a long look. “I really am touched that you guys would think about moving to Seattle to be with me, but no.”