ALEX.
The moment the front door opened and the twins burst inside, all the anxious knots in my chest loosened at once.
“Alex!” Sophie shrieked, dropping her backpack and running straight into my arms.
Lucas followed closely behind, laughing as he tried to hug me too, nearly knocking the both of us over in the process. I stumbled back a little, laughing and bracing myself against the wall.
“Okay, okay,” I said breathlessly. “One at a time. I missed you too.”
They smelled like sunshine and soap and something sweet—probably the cookies Madam Katarina insisted on baking whenever they visited her. Their excitement was contagious, loud, messy and impossible to resist.
“We had so much fun!” Lucas announced, already halfway into the living room.
Sophie rolled her eyes. “You say that about e
