Chapter 20
After graduation, I ran out of excuses to avoid Aunt Grace’s invitation to “come home.”
She was as warm as ever—asking questions, fussing over me. I played along, answered politely.
It was almost… nice.
Until the front door opened.
I turned.
And there they were.
Landon and Logan Holt. The golden twin boys from my past.
They stood frozen in the doorway, like ghosts who’d forgotten how to haunt.
The second our eyes met, they stopped moving.
Three of us, trapped in this awkward silence, too many words we’d never said clogging the air between us.
Finally, I spoke. Cool and casual. “Lan, Lo. Long time.”
Logan’s mouth opened like he wanted to say something. Landon’s jaw tightened.
They both looked like they’d been punched in the gut.
Good.
Aunt Grace tried to defuse the tension, ever the hostess. “You two little brats. Four years away, and not one visit home—and now Savvy shows up and suddenly you’re back like dogs sniffing out a bone.”
She turned to me with a smile. “Why don’t you stay for a few days? I’ll cook us a proper family lunch.”
I smiled back, sweet as syrup. “That’s kind, but I was just passing through. My boyfriend’s on his way to pick me up.”
Dead silence.
Then Logan exploded.
“Boyfriend? What boyfriend? That’s bullshit—you don’t have a boyfriend!”
Typical Logan—still impulsive, still pissed-off at anything he can’t control. He stormed up and grabbed my wrist, hard.
Old me? I’d have cried. Begged. Folded.
But not today.
“Let. Go.” My voice was steel.
He didn’t move.
I glared.
He held on.
Landon stepped in, sharp as ever. “Logan. Let her go.”
“But—”
“Now.”
That did it. Logan let go, scowling, stepping back like a kid caught stealing.
I rubbed my wrist and said, slow and pointed, “You two spent four years overseas playing house with Bailey White. Don’t act like I wasn’t allowed to live my life too.”
Landon just smiled—soft, patronizing. “Savvy… come on. Don’t lie.”
“I checked. Four years, you didn’t date anyone. You were waiting for us.”
“And now we’re back. We’re done with Bailey. We want things to go back to how they used to be.”
