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My heart races at the idea of them doing all kinds of things to me in a semi-public place like that.

“It’ll be so good, won’t it, firefly?” Ares says. “We can make you beg where anyone might hear. No one will care, but they’ll know you’re a dirty girl, on her knees, begging for cock.”

I have to hide my face in my hands because I’m getting flushed just thinking about it.

Ares laughs. “It’ll be a good trip,” he says and gets us on the road.

Almost a week later, we finally arrive in Hope Falls. There’s such a different vibe to things now, and I’m dazed and satisfied and still buzzing as we roll into town.

“Are your parents going to give you shit for being a few days late?” Tate asks Ares.

Ares rolls his eyes. “I don’t care if they do. They’re lucky I’m planning to see them at all while we’re here.”

We would have made it on our planned schedule, but things got away from us. We stopped as often as the mood struck us, including one memorable occasion when we pulled over on a small closed road and the three of them took turns fucking me over the hood of the car. It reminded me so much of how Callan did the same thing a year ago, but this time all the buildup was fun.

The whole trip was filthy, festive, and perfect.

It made us later than we meant to be, but whatever. Everyone can deal with it.

We find a place to park, planning to walk the rest of the way to the town square where the festival is already going on. I have about a dozen texts from my family reminding me that we’re supposed to be at the event currently going on today, so we head in that direction.

People call out to us as we walk, and Ares and I wave at the townspeople we’ve known for most of our lives.

“Cutting it close, aren’t we?” asks Lennon, the owner of the butcher shop in town.

“We’ll get there,” Ares calls back.

And we do, walking into the town square just a few minutes later. Ares is holding my hand, and Callan and Tate are as close as they can be and still walk properly. Callan offers to get me a hot cider, and I thank him with a smile and a kiss that goes unnoticed by exactly no one.

It’s still a small town, and even though us being together is basically old news now, people still love to have a reason to gossip. It doesn’t help that Ares and I are moderately famous, especially for a town like Hope Falls, so townspeople and visitors alike are eagerly staring.

Tate and Callan don’t seem to care at all. They don’t let the stares stop them from touching me the way they want to or dropping kisses to my cheek. There’s no pretending and no hiding. They’re all too happy to show how obsessed with me they are.

We greet people as we keep walking and soon enough we run into Birdie, who takes one look at all of us together and bursts out laughing.

“You’ve really got them wrapped around your little finger, don’t you, Brynn?” she asks, nodding with approval. “You love to see it.” She hugs me and each of the men in turn before bustling off.

Marnie approaches next, her son on her hip. He’s so much bigger than last year, and she hugs me with one arm. I’ve since filled her in on everything that happened, and we’ve been doing a better job of keeping in touch than we did before.

“You can’t roll into town quietly, huh,” she teases. “Brynn and her trio of hotties have to make an entrance.”

I snort, one arm still around her. “Marnie, even if we tried to sneak into town in the dead of night, it would still be front page news by morning. We’re just leaning into it now.”

“Can’t blame you for that,” she says. “How have your parents been about it?”

I shrug a shoulder. “Better, I guess. They’re stubborn, you know? And the stupid rivalry between our families has been going on for longer than Ares and I have been alive. At least they stopped being more upset about the fact that Ares is involved than the fact that I have three partners. That’s… progress.”

Marnie makes a face. “Talk about holding a grudge. The rest of the town is moving on, though. You and Ares starting that foundation helped a lot.”

In the summer of this year, Ares and I put our heads together and decided one of the best ways to get everyone over the rivalry was to do something together that benefitted the town. So we put our names and our money behind starting a foundation that helps kids get into music and the arts.

Birdie helped, handling the logistics and putting us in touch with her connections. It started as a way to say ‘screw you’ to everyone who still thought that the Thorntons and the Carters needed to be rivals, letting them know that we get to decide who we want to be.

My siblings got on board with it pretty quickly, throwing their names and funds into the project as a way to declare their support for me. Having them on my side has helped a lot.

“I think I see the two of them now,” the mayor says from the stage, and I whip my head around to see him beckoning to us.

I laugh, grabbing Ares’ hand so we can make our way up there. This year I’m not performing and Ares isn’t giving a speech. Instead we’re talking about our foundation and introducing the fundraiser we’re sponsoring for it.