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Forty-Seven
DELILAH
“My babies!”
I threw my arms around Jace first, but only because he’d beat his sister to the Uber dropping me off. Liam was in the back, getting my bags. Duncan was paying the driver.
“Di-lah, MISS you!”
Oh my God, Jace’s face was filled with tears! My heart was going to explode!
“Me!” cried Courtney. “Di-lah, hug me too—”
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I swept Courtney against me, squeezing her so hard I was worried I might actually hurt her. And then I was hugging them both. Kissing their little cheeks back and forth, as the sound of crunching gravel indicated the departure of the car that had picked me up from the airport.
Eventually I let go of the kids, who began spinning across the leaf-strewn front lawn. Throwing my arms upward, I grabbed Liam and kissed him so hard he almost fell over. Then I did the same to Duncan.
“Where’s Julius?”
The guys’ smiles faded a little as they glanced at each other. Both of them answered at once.
“He’s… away.”
Well shit, at least I was gettingsomeof the truth. But it was also obvious they were hiding something.
“We’ll talk about this later,” said Liam, “I promise. Right now though, let’s get you inside and warmed up.”
I entered the mansion to the rich, comforting smell of an oak wood fire. The pot-bellied stove in the living area hadn’t been lit the whole time I was here, but right now it glowed with beautiful orange embers.
“Very nice.”
A few feet before it, in a tight semicircle, the guys had erected a sturdy, double-walled play-fence. Each level was made of a tough, unbreakable plastic, and was at least a foot taller than either one of the twins.
“What, no barbed wire?” I quipped.
“It’s on backorder,” said Duncan.
I smiled, stepping carefully over the fence. “Cuteandfunctional. You dads did good.”
The children watched me wistfully as I left them to approach the glowing, off-limits stove. It emitted a wonderful, soothing heat as I extended my arms and planted my body before it.
“Holy shit this feels good!”
Mortified, I immediately clapped my hand over my mouth. Jace and Courtney giggled.
“SHI—”
Liam clapped his hand quickly overJace’smouth, just before he could get the whole word out. After holding him there helplessly for a second or two, he put an end to the mimicking by distracting his son with half a Chips Ahoy cookie.
“Sorry,” I said. “I spent half the day in the airport.”
“Cursing at people?” laughed Duncan.
“Something like that.”
I’d cried when I left Rory and Luke behind this morning, then teared up again on the plane. Because although I’d told my sister and brother-in-law that I’d ‘think hard’ about their offer, I knew in my heart there was a different path for me to follow.
“Did you enjoy your trip?” asked Liam.
