“Then you disappeared,” Pippa says, appearing next to us. “I saw you in the beginning, and at the end. Where were you during the show?”
I try to keep a straight face as she looks from Sebastian to me. The art of wordless communication was perfected in this family.
“I was around,” I say vaguely.
“Ah, here is the other set of twins,” Blake says, gesturing behind me. I whirl on my heels. Where Blake and Daniel look completely different, Christopher and Max are identical twins. It was obvious in the photos I saw, but I thought I’d be able to tell them apart if I faced them. As they come to a halt in front of me, I give up trying to spot differences. There aren’t any. They both have jet-black hair, dark eyes, and well-built physiques.
Sebastian introduces me, and Blake says, “Ava, you’ve met the party brothers,” he gestures at Daniel and himself, “now meet the serious brothers.”
Christopher and Max crack identical grins at their nickname.
“God, I missed being home,” Max says, while Christopher nods.
“We weren’t always so serious,” Christopher explains.
“That’s true, you pranked everyone.” Pippa wiggles between Christopher and Max and elbows them both in the ribs.
“Played their identical twin card as often as they could,” Sebastian tells me.
“We got away with it most of the time.”
Pippa snorts. “Once, Christopher wanted to profess his love,” she says, clutching her heart theatrically, “to a girl at school, and he asked Max for help. Max had to pass as Christopher a few times in the whole scheme.”
“Wait, why did you need Max’s help?” I ask Christopher.
“Logistics,” Christopher says vaguely, not looking half as amused as his siblings.
“Anyway,” Pippa continues, “everything went great until the girl kissed Max, thinking he’s Christopher.”
Ah, that explains why Christopher isn’t smiling, whereas everyone else—Max included—looks on the verge of bursting with laughter. Taking a good look at the Bennetts in front of me, I observe that all the men share their father’s build. They’re tall and have broad, strong shoulders.
“That was the last time we pulled a prank like that.” Max puts a firm hand on Christopher’s shoulder, and the latter finally smiles too. Both of them leave and the focus is back on Sebastian and me. Pippa is drilling Sebastian with her gaze.
“Please tell me Logan is taking good care of you,” Blake tells me, oblivious to the staring match between Pippa and Sebastian.
“Actually, I don’t see much of Logan, but Sebastian’s doing a great job.”
The twins stare at us in disbelief.
“If you’re in need of some real fun, you can always call me,” Daniel offers.
“Or me,” Blake says.
“Or both of us. Really.”
“Ava is a smart woman,” Sebastian says. “She’ll know to avoid you. Both of you.”
With that, Sebastian whisks me away.
“By the way, Summer is looking for you, Sebastian,” Blake says from behind us. “She wants to give you hell for missing her exhibition last week. We were there, but the moment she realized her favorite brother wasn’t going to show up. . .”
“I’ll find her,” Sebastian says over his shoulder.
“You are irresistible when you go all caveman,” I whisper to him.
“You haven’t seen anything yet.”
He treats me to Mrs. Bennett’s homemade lemonade.