“Jesus, Parker.”
“And a few days ago, Cal was helping me build my bed frame, and we were joking, and there was heat and tension and—” I drop my hands. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to do this. Any of this.”
Sienna is quiet for a moment, processing. Then she starts laughing—genuine, delighted laughter that makes me want to sink into the terrace stones.
“It’s not funny!”
“It’s a little funny.” She wipes her eyes. “Parker, you have three men who are desperately in love with you. Who’ve waited six years for you to come home. Who are the fathers of your children?—”
“We don’t know that for sure?—”
“Please.” Sienna rolls her eyes. “Everyone with functioning eyes knows it. The resemblance is undeniable. The only question is which one is Liam’s father and which one is Noah’s.”
“Heteropaternal Superfecundation Twins,” I say quietly. “Twins with different fathers. The hospital confirmed it when they were born.”
Sienna goes very still. “Both of them? They’re both?—”
“Yes.”
“Does Charles know?”
“That the boys have different fathers? Yes. That those fathers are two of his three best friends?” I shake my head. “No. He’s oblivious. You saw him at dinner.”
“Charles sees what he wants to see,” Sienna says gently. “But Parker, you can’t hide this forever. Especially not now that you’re all living on the same compound.”
“I know.” My voice cracks. “We’re supposed to talk tonight. After the boys go to sleep. All four of us. About everything.”
“Everything?”
“Boundaries. The past. The boys. What happens now?” I wrap my arms around myself. “I’m terrified.”
“Of course you are.” Sienna pulls me into a hug. “But you’re also brave. You left when you needed to. Raised two incredible boys on your own. Built a life. And now you’re back, facing everything you ran from. That takes courage.”
“Or stupidity.”
“Sometimes they’re the same thing.” She pulls back, hands on my shoulders. “My advice? Be honest. All of you. No more secrets. No more running. Figure out what you want—not what you think you should want, but what you actually want. And then fight for it.”
“What if what I want is impossible?”
“What if it’s not?” Sienna counters. “What if the impossible thing is actually the only thing that makes sense?”
I look at her—this woman who married my brother, who’s built a life in this complicated world, who somehow makes it all work.
“How do you do it?” I ask. “Love someone in this life? Raise kids? Build something good in all this darkness?”
“By choosing it every day,” she says simply. “By being honest about what you need and what you can’t accept. By setting boundaries and enforcing them. And by trusting that the people you love will show up, even when it’s hard.”
“That’s terrifying.”
“Love usually is.” She smiles. “But it’s also worth it. Trust me.”
Through the French doors, I see Charles looking for us. Probably wondering where we disappeared to.
“We should go back,” I say.
“In a minute.” Sienna holds my gaze. “Parker, whatever happens tonight—whatever you decide—know that you’re not alone. You have me. You have Charles. You have family. And you have three men who would burn the world down for you and those boys.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.”
