He buried his face in my neck again, his body quaking with laughter. “Well, I’m a hot mess, but I’m your hot mess. So I don’t care if you put ‘taken’ on my back or not.”

“You’re reinforcing bad behavior,” I said. “Specifically mine.”

He dropped his hands to my waist. “You’re smart. I trust you to make good decisions, even if I reward bad ones.”

A silver Toyota pulled into the parking lot, an Uber sticker on the window.

Declan straightened, his face suddenly serious. “I think that’s them.” He dropped his arms, taking one of my hands so we could stand side by side as we waited to see if this was the right car.

After a few seconds, two people emerged. The boy had the lean, unbalanced look of someone about to hit a growth spurt and fill out. He shoved his hands in his pockets, focused on the driver as he got their bags out of the back of the car. The girl was a few inches shorter, her long auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. She scanned the front of the building, searching for something.

The girl held out a hand to her brother to get his attention. “Rory. Look.” He looked up, both of them staring at Declan. I felt him still, his body stiff. He wanted nothing more than to scoop both of them up, but he was letting them take the lead. True to form, Declan wanted them to be happy so much that he put their needs before his own.

Noise continued around us—people talking, cars going by—but between the four of us, the moment was frozen and quiet.

Rory smiled, the expression as familiar to me as my own. Rory had Declan’s smile. Declan returned it, though his was tentative. Then, slowly, like they were skittish creatures who might bolt at any sudden movement, he dropped my hand and raised his arms out.

Tamsin let out a whoop, and then the twins ran forward, colliding with their brother. They didn’t say anything for a long time, just held each other while I collected their luggage and gave them a moment to themselves.

When Declan loosened his hold, all of them were a little teary-eyed. He pressed palms to their hair, their cheeks, like he was afraid if he stopped touching them, they’d disappear. “Look at you two. So grown up.” He pulled them both back into a hug, quicker this time. “I missed you both so much. Tell me everything. What have you been up to?”

I grabbed his arm. “Probably starving if you keep them out here.”

He pulled a face and sighed. “Right, we have all week.”

Tamsin held up her phone. “Don’t worry, Rory and I made an itinerary. After the wedding, we’re going to fit in as many sibling activities as we can.”

Rory rolled his eyes, but on him the expression was affectionate. “Tam is convinced we can fit years of bonding into seven days.”