“I love you, too. All of you. Even you, Emmett.”
Emmett snorts. “I’ll accept your love, counselor, but only if Brody admits he loves me, too.”
It’s a joke, but suddenly I’m not laughing. I look around—at Georgia, at Miles, at Emmett, at this crazy mess—and realize there’s no point in pretending anymore.
“I love all of you,” I say, voice steady. “That’s the truth. I’ve never had anything like this, and I don’t ever want to lose it.”
Georgia beams, lifting her head to look around. “This is who we are,” she says, certainty ringing out in her words. “Thefourof us. No matter what anyone else thinks.”
Miles nods. “It’s all ours.”
Emmett rolls on top of us, burying his face in Georgia’s hair. “I love all of you, too, but I definitely love Georgia best.”
“I’m wounded deeply,” Miles says chuckling.
We all start laughing and can’t stop.
Damn, this life is good.
Chapter 27
Georgia
Key West. We’re going to Key West now.I grip my coffee mug, staring out across the waters at the sun rising. We were supposed to port in St. Augustine and head back home from there, but after everything…
We just needed a little more time. And I’m thankful for that.
“Look who’s already up,” a voice comes from behind me. I turn to see Brody emerging, a soft smile on his face.
He’s wearing gray sweatpants and nothing else, making my thighs clench. He pauses when he meets my eyes and then settles his gaze over my T-shirt and shorts.
I let out a sigh, and he takes the mug from my hands and takes a sip. His free hand lingers on my lower back, and I lean into his arm.
“You can have that,” I say, peering up at him. “I’m not feeling the hot coffee.”
Brody chuckles. “I could see that. It doesn’t bother me.” He tips it back and downs the rest of it, while I crinkle my nose. I let out a giggle as he finishes it and then hands me the empty mug. “Problem solved.”
“Perfect,” I nudge him. As I do, Emmett stumbles up to the railing beside us. I glance over to the aviators perched on his nose and the banana in his hand.
He waves the peel at us. “I never want to get off this boat and if you make me, I’m suing.”
“Who would you even sue?” I retort, and he looks at Brody, then at me, then at the sky.
“Whoever has the deepest pockets,” he grins, teeth bright against his tanned skin. “Isn’t that right, counselor?”
Miles appears from behind me, book in one hand, coffee in the other, glasses sliding down his nose. “Please don’t start some kind of civil suit,” he says sarcastically, “I already have a backlog of lawsuits. The last thing I want to do is deal with your dramatic ass.”
There was a time when this would have scared the shit out of me. When I would have obsessed over who I was supposed to stand next to, who was allowed to touch my waist, whose jokes I should laugh at. But now, it’s justcomforting.
Brody’s thumb traces lazy circles on my back, almost absentmindedly, while Emmett leans against the rail on the other side of Miles, shoulder to shoulder.
“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” I say, glancing around at the guys.
“Doing what?” Miles asks.
“This,” I gesture at us.
Brody’s hand tightens on my back, Emmett grins, and Miles’s eyes soften behind his glasses.
