Page 70 of Yours to Break

Hudson made a soft sound in his throat, pulling Oliver’s legs into his lap, hands gentle as they skimmed over his thighs. “You can’t ask for too much,” he said. “There’s no such thing, not from you.”

Oliver’s lips parted like he wanted to argue, but I shushed him. I said, “If you asked us to move to another country tomorrow, we’d do it. If you wanted the kind of life where we disappear and live off the grid in the mountains somewhere? I’d learn how to build a cabin. If you wanted a castle, I’d find one to buy you. If you wanted the moon, I’d start studying rocket science tonight.” Oliver laughed softly in response.

Hudson nodded. “You could say that you want a tiny town in the south of France with a goat and a vineyard, and I’d be booking the flight before you finished the sentence.”

Oliver was staring at us now, wide-eyed and disbelieving, like we were speaking another language. He looked so used to being toldno, to being told to shrink himself down just to be tolerated.

I leaned in closer, brushing my thumb along his cheek. “We don’t love you on a budget, baby. There’s no ceiling here. You get everything. You’re ours, which means we will always do anything to care for you or make you happy.”

He blinked a few times, mouth trembling at the edges, and then he ducked his head like he needed to hide from all of it—our words, the weight of being cared for this completely. Hudson was already pulling him in, one arm looping around his back as I tucked myself into his other side, all three of us pressed together on the couch in a mess of limbs, warmth, and too much feeling.

Oliver didn’t say anything for a long moment, but he nuzzled into our sides, a blinding smile on his face.

And that was enough.

It’d always be enough.

25

Oliver

After much convincing and promising things that I would probably regret, Hayes and Hudson finally let me reconnect with Josh. They originally wanted him to come to the house for the visit, but I felt like that gave them a little too much opportunity to kill or maim my friend.

Reluctantly, they agreed to let me go to the coffee shop; accompanying me was non-negotiable.

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to explain to Josh that I was dating the twins and living with them. The last time he’d seen them, I’d told him I thought they were creepy. Also, Josh had been under the impression that I’d spent the past few weeks in New Jersey handling a family emergency. Luckily, we hadn’t yet gotten to the part in our friendship where daddy and mommy issues were discussed, so he wasn’t aware that I had no family to have a family emergency.

I wished that Hayes and Hudson would’ve consulted me before pretending to be me and texting Josh that lie, but it was too late now.

We pulled up to the coffee shop a few minutes before closing. He was wiping down the counter when we walked in—me first, the twins following behind me like shadows.

Josh’s face lit up when he saw me, but when his gaze moved past me and found them, he frowned a little, confusion written across his features.

“Hey, stranger,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I thought the family emergency might’ve come with a restraining order or something.”

I smiled, but it felt brittle. “Long story. I’m sorry.”

Josh looked at me, then at Hayes and Hudson, who had posted up at a corner table, then back at me. He leaned in slightly. “You’re okay, right? Are they bothering you? I can kick them out.”

“Oh, no, um…. they’re actually with me. And yes, I’m okay.” I dropped onto a barstool and picked at the edge of a napkin.

He raised a brow. “Okay…”

Josh nodded slowly, processing. He poured me a cup of coffee, nudging the little container of sugar closer to me.

“So,” he said, setting the coffee in front of me, “how’s the emergency?”

I looked into the cup like it held answers. “Resolved.”

“That’s vague.”

“I just don’t want to get into it right now. Maybe another time.”

Josh leaned on the counter, elbows resting near mine. “You just up and left. I was really worried, Oliver… And then I saw a For Sale sign on your store’s front door. Your replies to my texts were all one or two-word answers. I just…” He glanced over at the twins, lowering his voice. “This may sound paranoid and crazy, but didtheydo something?”

I flinched at how quickly he’d hit the nail on the head. The truth was tangled in my throat. I couldn’t come out and tell them that they’d kidnapped me and now I was dating them. He’d call the police.

“No, I just… hit it off with them?”

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