Three. The Perfect Number

Madison rushed around her dorm like a tornado. After four years of forcing herself into a life that wasn’t really hers, she was ready to go home.

Ready to go home to her brothers and the twins.

God, I haven’t seen those boys in almost four years. I wonder how they are.

The excitement of finally leaving her dorm and most of the people who lived there had her buzzing as she packed away her college life, one box after another.

Only one thing held her back from completely putting her college life behind her: Daniel.

She had to make a decision today. She was supposed to bring Daniel home to introduce him to her brothers and the twins.

Madison shivered at the thought.

The four of them had always been protective of her, chasing boys away any chance they got.

Would Daniel survive it? He’d said he was excited to meet her family.

What could go wrong?

Right?

She was grateful when her phone lit up with a text message to distract her.

That was the last thing she needed to hear right now. As if she wasn’t rattled enough, now Ethan was coming.Ethan Thompson, evil twin number one.

She still had things to pack. And now she needed to finish before Ethan walked in and made fun of her messy dorm room.

She knew that. And sometimes she’d even wished they’d come to visit her with her brothers, but they never did.

They’d called her almost every day while she was away, though. She’d never talked to them so much in her life as she had since she’d left.

Right. Focus, Madison.

The twins had always had this odd power to destabilize her.

Madison continued to fill boxes while her problem with Daniel swirled in her mind.

She was torn over whether she should continue things with him after graduation. He was nice enough, although he had been getting pushy about sex.

Something was missing when she was with him, some spark she kept trying to find but couldn’t.

They just didn’t fit together, if she was being honest with herself.

Madison was the classic girl next door: genuine, gentle, funny, ready to help, proactive, and integrated with college life. People were drawn to her constant smile and bright personality.

Daniel was a typical college football star. He was a womanizer and not committed to anything beyond that.

Sure, he was gorgeous. And sure, he was a charmer. But things had gotten different and weird after the first few months.

Madison had never felt strongly enough about him to give her full self to him.

They weren’t engaged—and absolutely not in love—so she was still a virgin.

At twenty-one years old.

Maybe if she gave it some more time, things would change.

Right on cue, her phone buzzed.

Suddenly, and for the first time, she couldn’t wait to see him. Not that she didn’t like him. On the contrary, he and Levi were like an extension of her brothers.

But Madison was the youngest of her siblings, and the only daughter, and all the boys in the house were very protective—when they weren’t annoying the shit out of her or making her life a living hell.

She had never had a personal life or a boyfriend until she left for college.

Why?

Because they’d prevented it.

Not a minute after she pressed send, the door of her room opened slightly with an audible crack.

“I thought once you knew I was coming you would run away.”

She would recognize his husky voice out of thousands.

When she turned to look at him, she almost gasped.

Ethan was indeed a handsome…man, she realized. Not a boy anymore.

He was at least six foot three of God’s finest work. Disheveled dark hair framed his manly face perfectly, showing off his bright green eyes.

A short black beard that she hadn’t seen before defined his strong jaw and gave him an even sexier look.

His shoulders were so wide and his muscles so defined that his clothes couldn’t hide them.

As she stared, his perfect lips curved into a smirk that spoke for itself. The way he was looking at her made her bite her lip.

Finally she found some words. “Trust me, the thought of running away was there. But I had too many boxes to do it all by myself.”

She smiled and pointed at the boxes on the floor before slowly walking in his direction.

He opened his arms to her, and she melted into them, letting her body sink into his warm embrace.

“I didn’t expect you to be so…grown-up.” His voice rumbled through his chest. He squeezed her a little against his body and kissed the top of her head, like he used to do when she was a kid.

She inhaled deeply to take in his scent. It had matured over the years but was still musky with a pinch of spicy mint, and she’d missed it.

“I can’t be a kid forever, now can I?”

Ethan eyed her dorm room critically.

“I don’t know,” he murmured. “Looks like you need help cleaning up after yourself like a kid.”

“Seriously?” She turned her back to him and picked up a box. “Come on. Let’s get moving. I can’t wait to leave this hell behind me.”

She straightened and looked over her shoulder in time to catch his intense gaze on her bottom, and she realized her short green summer dress wasn’t doing a great job of covering her curves.

She decided to ignore it.

After twenty-five minutes all the boxes were loaded into the car.

“Jesus, girl. I can’t believe how much stuff you’ve collected over the years! Good thing I came with the SUV.”

“Well, smartass, I’ve been here for four years, so I guess I have accumulated a few things.”

Ethan shook his head and gave her the cheeky smile she had almost forgotten about.

The hot weather and the two flights of stairs had left them both hot and messy.

A few locks of hair had tumbled down on his forehead and were slightly wet with sweat. He looked sexier than ever.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

Madison hesitated. “Not yet. I have to talk to Daniel.”

Ethan’s face changed in an instant. His eyes narrowed, and a frown appeared. “Is he really coming to meet your brothers?”

The twins had always been like that when she mentioned a boy. Especially Ethan.

As she studied Ethan’s face, she realized she’d already decided it wouldn’t be a good idea to have Daniel meet her family.

“Actually, I’m going to tell him it might be better to wait a while.”

“Why?” Ethan asked.

“I just have some things to think about.”

…Like whether Daniel was a guy she could see herself spending the rest of her life with, for starters.

Ethan’s mood visibly brightened, and a smile crept across his face.

Madison rolled her eyes. “Try not to look so happy about it.”

He put on an innocent puppy-dog look. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Flake.”

She turned around so he wouldn’t see her smile. “Whatever. I’m going to go tell him. Just wait here.”

Ethan nodded and leaned against the SUV. He looked like a model on a shoot.

Madison trudged back into the dorm toward Daniel’s room with her heart in her stomach. She wasn’t good at things like this, and she still didn’t know what she would say when she saw him.

Daniel’s floor was empty. Most people had left the day before.

“Here we go,” she whispered, approaching his room.

The door was slightly ajar, and the noises coming from inside were not the noises of people packing.

They were the noises of people fucking.

Madison walked a little closer and peeked into the bedroom.

She saw why she’d never really been sure about Daniel.

Her boyfriend was happily exploring Joanna’s body.

Joanna, who’d sworn Madison was her closest friend.

Instead of anger or jealousy, Madison felt a strange sense of calm as she pushed the door all the way open.

Daniel and Joanna froze and snapped their gazes to her. Daniel’s stupid mouth hung open, gaping like a fish. Joanna just looked pissed.

“Well,” Madison said. “Thanks for making this easy for me. We’re done.”