"Yes," Reece says simply, and the honesty in his voice makes us both turn to look at him. "Yeah, Jett. That's exactly what we thought. Not because of anything you did, but because it's what we'd do. We'd make it weird, make it complicated, turn it into something that hurt all of us."
Jett stares at him for a long moment, then looks at me. "Do you love him?"
The question catches me off guard, even though it shouldn't. "I—"
"It's a yes or no question, McKenna."
I could lie. Deflect. Change the subject. But I'm so tired of hiding, of being scared, of not saying what I feel because I'm afraid of what happens next.
"Yes," I whisper. "I love him. I've loved him for a while now, I think. I was just too stubborn to admit it."
Jett's eyes shift to Reece. "And you?"
"Since college," he says without hesitation. "Maybe before. I've been half in love with her for years, Jett. I just didn't know how to tell either of you."
For a long moment, Jett just stands there, processing. Then, slowly, her lips curl into a smile. "You two areperfectfor each other, you absolute idiots."
"What?" I blink at her, certain I've misheard.
"You're perfect. Both of you. Stubborn, emotionally constipated, allergic to honest communication—it's like you were made in the same dysfunctional factory." She's laughing now, even through the tears. "Iknewsomething was up withthat storage closet thing. Jace is terrible at keeping secrets. He kept smirking every time I mentioned you two."
"So you're not...mad?" I venture carefully.
"Oh, I'm hurt," she says, wiping her eyes. "I'm hurt you didn't trust me enough to tell me. That you thought I'd make this about me instead of being happy for you." She looks at Reece. "I'm hurt that you've both been sneaking around like you're in some kind of illicit affair instead of just...being together."
"We're sorry," I say, and I mean it. "We should have told you. We should have trusted you."
"Yeah, you should have." She crosses her arms, but there's no real anger in her stance. "But I get it. Sort of. You were scared. You're both great at self-sabotage." She pauses, then grins. "Wait, so when you said you couldn't come to book club that one time last month, were you—oh my god, I don't want to know. Actually, I do. No, I don't. Yes, I do."
"Jett—"
"No, seriously, were you at his place? Is that why you couldn't make it? Because if so, that's—actually, that's kind of cute. Gross, but cute." She's spiraling again, but in that uniquely Jett way where the anxiety morphs into humor. "And the Christmas presents! The ones he dropped off at your school. Iknewthat was weird. Nobody buys twenty board games for someone else's students unless they're—oh my GOD, Reece, you are so gone for her."
"I know," Reece says, and there's no embarrassment in his voice. Just truth.
Jett shakes her head, but she's smiling for real now. "Okay. New rules. No more secrets. I'm your best friendandyour sister. I want the group chat updates like everyone else. I want to be grossed out by how cute you are. I want to plan double dates with Noah. Got it?"
"Got it," I say, relief flooding through me.
"And Iwillmake this weird," she adds. "But that's different than being mad about it."
"We know," Reece says dryly.
Jett looks at both of us for another moment, then lunges forward, pulling us both into a hug that's somehow aggressive and loving at the same time. "You two better not screw this up," she mumbles into our shoulders.
"I've been shipping you since junior year of college."
"You have not—"
"I have a Pinterest board and everything."
"Jett—"
"I'm serious! It's called 'When Idiots Finally Kiss' and it has like three hundred pins."
Despite everything, I find myself laughing. This is so perfectly Jett—hurt and happy and making everything simultaneously touching and ridiculous. We stand there for a moment, the three of us tangled together in Reece's tiny kitchen, and I let myself believe that maybe this could actually work. That maybe we can have this—all of us—without losing anything that matters.
Then Jett pulls back, eyes bright with mischief. "So. Who's going to explain to me exactly what happened in that storage closet? Because Jace's version was very vague and I need details."
