Page 231 of Twins for Three Bad Boys

That might be the strangest part of all.

We pull into the drive a few minutes later.

Home.

The word doesn’t scare me anymore.

Wayne kills the engine. None of us move.

It’s like the truck itself is holding the last of the day between us.

Then Fletcher opens his door, breaking the moment.

“Come on,” he says quietly. “Let’s get inside.”

We all pile out, stretching after the long drive, the air cooler here than it was on the road. It brushes over my skin, and I breathe it in like I’ve been missing it.

Because I have.

Wayne grabs our bags from the back without being asked. Rex lingers close to me as we walk toward the house, his hand brushing lightly against mine before catching it properly.

I glance at him, a small smile tugging at my mouth.

He just winks.

Fletcher unlocks the door and pushes it open, stepping inside first out of habit, his gaze sweeping the space quickly before he moves aside to let us in.

Everything is exactly where we left it.

The couch. The kitchen. The soft hum of the fridge. The quiet.

Safe.

I step inside, and my chest settles all the way down.

“I missed this,” I admit softly.

Wayne drops the bags by the door, his eyes on me. “Yeah?”

I nod. “More than I thought I would.”

Rex shuts the door behind us with a soft click, and suddenly it’s just us. No school. No confrontation. No past pressing in at the edges.

And I immediately know how I want to celebrate…

I turn slowly to face them all, the three of them, standing there like they’ve been holding the room in place while I’ve been catching my breath. My chest is full. My heart is loud. And I realize, painfully and beautifully, that I can’t hold it back anymore.

“I…” I start, almost trembling, “I love you.”

All three of them blink, just slightly—as though they weren’t expecting the words but somehow needed to hear them. My gaze shifts first to Wayne, the man beside me, whose hand is still resting lightly against mine, whose quiet steadiness has held me more times than I can count.

“I love you, Wayne,” I whisper, catching on the words. “I’ve been… I’ve been holding it inside, trying to figure out how or if I could even say it without it changing things, but I can’t pretend anymore.”

Wayne’s lips part slightly, not in surprise but in… relief? Joy? I don’t have to guess. His hand tightens on mine just a little, letting me know that this isn’t a mistake.

“June,” he says softly, “you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear that. And of course, I feel the same way. I love you too.”

I don’t pause. My eyes move to Fletcher next. His expression is always careful, always measured, but there’s a heat behind it I know too well. The man who’s never rushed me, who’s always given me space to breathe and make decisions, who’s been steady in every way I didn’t even know I needed.