Rory lays her head on his shoulder. “Hey, Luci.”
Alec and I smile at Luc’s nickname. I’m not sure Rory understands how good that nickname is for Luc. He needs a constant reminder that he’s not ‘The Slayer.’ That he can simply be just Luc.
“We’ll meet you guys downstairs,” I tell them. Rory nods.
As Alec and I enter the hallway, Luc starts quietly talking.
Alec braces his arm as he slowly walks down the stairs. When Flynn asked him what colour cast he wanted, Alec picked blue. To him, it’s an orangey yellow colour.
There’s many drawings from Benji and Elsie scattered over it along with our names. He’s weirdly proud of it.
Mama glances up as she rests a few plates of chicken on the wooden countertop.
“That girl’s wounded deep,” Mama tells us.
I know her well enough to know Mama’s not talking about physically.
I nod slightly. I haven’t told Mama the full story. I wanted to talk to her before she ambushed Rory.
“She’s got scars that haven’t healed yet,” Mama says softly.
“We’re hoping being here will be better for her. And us.” I kiss Mama’s cheek, accepting the plate of chicken she hands me.
“And Jace?” Mama questions, raising her eyebrow.
Alec murmurs his thanks when he gets handed a plate.
“Jace is fine, Mama. So are the twins,” I tell her.
Before she can launch a full-on investigation, the sound of a horse whinnying draws our attention.
“Ah,” Mama wipes her hands, “that’ll be your father.”
I set my plate down and head out the front door as footsteps clamber down the stairs.
. . .
Rory ~
“We’ll meet you downstairs,” Dom tells us.
Luc waits until Dom and Alec are out to the door to how I am.
“I’m okay, Luci.”
Luc looks like he doesn’t believe me.
I stare out at the mountains and cows in the paddocks in the distance. “I feel like this is a dream,” I tell him.
“I know what you mean. That’s how I felt first seeing it.” Luc squeezes my hand. “But it’s not. You’re here—with your boyfriends.”
I smile like a fool. “I like that.”
Luc kisses the top of my head. “Me too, Butterfly.”
My arm curls around his waist and his arm drops over my shoulders.
I feel like ‘boyfriend’ isn’t a strong enough word for how I feel for them. They’re perfect. They’remine.
