Page 127 of This is a Kissing Book

“Nervous?” he asks as we start our descent.

“A little. My brothers can be …” I search for the right word. “Intense.”

“I can handle intense.”

He’s an only child and I was until the triplets came along. He has no idea of the amount of chaos he’s walking into. Yes, Bryce, Brody, and Brian are adult-sized, but it’s a cover for them still being the naughty, snotty little boys they always were.

Mom practically vibrates with excitement when we pull up to the stucco tract house. She’s wearing a new mauve dress and has had her hair done for the occasion.

I rush into her embrace—there’s nothing quite like a mom hug.

“Juliana! And this must be Linc!” She pulls him into a hug like he’s already family. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

He arches a questioning eyebrow in my direction. Then, with a charming smile that makes everyone love him instantly—and makes thugs side with him rather than their boss—he says, “All good things, I hope.”

“Well, now I see why Juliana has been so secretive.” Mom winks.

Brad the Dad appears from the back deck, wearing his grilling apron. Within minutes, he and Linc are chummy. The obvious topic of conversation is sports. When Brad mentions Linc’s athletic build, he shifts on his feet and asks about the cuts of steak.

The anniversary party is in the backyard, complete with a live band and more flowers than at their wedding—Brad said he got Mom one for every day of their marriage. She’s practically floating on a cloud—so happy as friends and coworkers congratulate them upon arrival.

Then the triplets show up.

Bryce, Brian, and Brody are twenty-three now, recent college graduates who still move like they’re joined at the hip. They’re even bigger than when I last saw them. Gym rats with confident grins.

“Jules!” Bryce scoops me up in a bear hug that lifts me off my feet.

“Easy, caveman,” I laugh.

He sets me abruptly down.

Brody squeezes me like a python.

“Gentler!”

Brian starts to toss me over his shoulder, but I play their least favorite game, “Jules has no bones.” I make myself a dead weight and drop flat to the floor.

From down there, I point to my rather large and imposing guest, calling, “This is Linc.”

He extends his hand and helps me to my feet.

The introductions are a blur of handshakes and back-slapping.

Brian studies Linc’s face with a puzzled expression. “You look familiar. Have we met?”

“I don’t think so,” Linc says smoothly.

“Are you guys getting married?” Brody asks with the subtlety of a freight train blowing its horn.

“What are you, still seven years old?” Heat creeps across my face. “Kids, they say the darndest things.”

“Hey, our brainy sister deserves the best,” Bryce chimes in, ruffling my hair.

His comment makes me freeze. Brainy sister. I still carry the burden of the secret about my educational background—unbeknownst to them, I never completed college. Being home, I’m afraid Linc might ask to see graduation pictures because one of my mother’s favorite pastimes is showing off her photo albums.

None of them includes my graduation day because there wasn’t one. The truth makes me regret all the deep-fried deviled eggs I’ve devoured in the last hour. Mom can never find out that I didn’t really graduate. Neither can Linc.

After we play a few group games—Mom learned early on that she has to keep the boys occupied and still always plans lots of activities for gatherings—she pulls me aside while Linc is deep in conversation with Brad the Dad about pickleball.