Page 118 of The Best Friend Power Play

"What's that sound?" I start to say when the front door opens, and Katie and Chester come charging in. "Surpri?—"

Silence.

Lots of silence.

It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop…two towns over.

"Well, well, w-well…"

They take us in, then turn to each other and without saying a word, slowly back out of the kitchen.

"We'll be back in a few hours," Katie calls out before shutting the door.

They're laughing so hard we can hear them from inside the house.

With the twins gone after their unexpected arrival, Hannah showers, gets dressed, and starts the long, slow, and arduous process of rebooting into human mode.

I sent them a text ten minutes ago saying they're welcome back anytime and explaining that last night Hannah checked off the final remaining item on her hot girl summer list.

They return with a tentative rap on the front door. I open it. "You guys don't have to knock."

Chester rocks on his heels, clearly enjoying himself way too much. "You n-n-ever know."

"Get in here."

They step inside, and we exchange hugs since we didn't get a chance to earlier. They're both looking well and a bit more tanned, which is nice to see.

"How is she?" Katie whispers, peering into the living room.

"Better. Just don't mention anything about alcohol for the next few hours, possibly days, and we'll be fine."

"Got it."

They converge in the living room, super excited to see each other after the longest amount of time they've ever spent apart, exchanging extra-long hugs.

I've loved having Hannah to myself these past few months, but I also love seeing her with these two. Nothing in the world is more important than family.

Katie and Chester take the two armchairs, so I join Hannah on our—I mean, her—couch.

"So what are you guys doing back so early?" Hannah asks. "You're not due for another two days."

"We took a leaf out of Culver's book and wanted to surprise you…" Katie explains, her eyes drifting down to our hands.

Yikes. When had I taken Hannah's hand in mine? Guess it's just something I do now.

I shift and discreetly let go of her hand and scratch my arm.

"Well, you certainly did that. When did you fly in, Chester?"

"Two d-days ago. Katie and I h-h-hung out in LA for a day, and then w-we drove up together."

"You were in LA?"

Katie smiles. "Twin thing. Wanted to spend some time with each other"—she makes a point of clearing her throat dramatically—"sorry, that's not a sentence I'm used to saying." An incoming pillow toss from Chester makes her laugh. "No. It was great, actually. We got to catch up and have some fun."

Chester looks at his sister and smiles. "Yeah. It was c-cool."

"Oh, you guys." Hannah starts fanning her face. "You're going to make me cry."

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