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“Everyone, hmm?”

“Everyone,” Everleigh and Harper said in unison.

Rolling her eyes, Ellie turned toward the window and looked out. They were finally on the road that led to their house, which meant it would only be a few more minutes until she would see Sadie again.

Gosh, when did I become this person?

Never in her life did Ellie imagine herself as the love-struck type of woman. But clearly things were very different now that Sadie was in her life. Ellie finally understood why her sisters always wanted to be with their wives and why her friends ghosted her when they got into relationships.

Shit.

Picking her phone back up, Ellie quickly opened up her text thread with Dylan. Dylan had texted days ago and Ellie had yet to respond, which wasn’t normally like her. Ellie was usually the friend who instantly texted back unless she was in rehearsals or a show. But in the last few weeks, that courtesy had only been extended to Sadie while most other messages went unresponded to.

Heyyyy sorry. Been a crazy few weeks at the Cape. Hopefully soon we can hang out and catch up!

Ellie hated sending the message, but she hoped Dylan understood. She wasn’t ignoring Dylan. Dylan was a great friend after all. They’d grown up together and were planning on starting the same college together in the fall. They had plenty of time to catch up and hang out.

At least that’s what Ellie told herself.

Her phone buzzed, signally a new message as they pulled into the driveway.

I know I’ve been stalking your Instagram. Ha. Enjoy your time with Sadie!

Blake parked the SUV beside their parents’ Jeep as Ellie’s eyes met Sadie’s through the tinted window. She was sitting on the front steps and slowly stood as she walked toward the SUV. Ellie waved at her, and Sadie waved back. For a moment, Ellie contemplated climbing over the backseat and over the luggage to get to Sadie faster than waiting for Alexis and Blake to get their kids out of their car seats first.

Everleigh must have sensed Ellie’s anxiousness, if her smirk told Ellie anything.

“What?”

“You gonna climb out the sunroof?”

“There’s a sunroof?” Ellie looked at the SUV's roof, only to realize Everleigh was teasing.

“Dude, were you seriously going to climb out a sunroof?”

“Shut up.”

“You’re not supposed to say that,” Harper, Alexis, and Blake all chimed in.

Finally, Alexis got one of the car seats out and put down the middle row for them to get out. Ellietriedto be the nice big sister who let her little sister and niece get out first, but they both seemed to be taking their time. And as soon as Ellie jumped out of the SUV, she made a beeline for Sadie.

Their embrace felt more amazing than Ellie remembered. She savored the way Sadie’s chin rested on her shoulder as her arms wrapped around her waist. Ellie didn’t care that her entire family was watching them; all that mattered was being back with Sadie.

After a few minutes, Ellie pulled away just enough to see Sadie’s face. There were more freckles on her cheeks and nose than the last time she saw her, probably from the sun. Ellie gently tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I missed you.”

“I missed you more.”

“Get a room,” Mason jokingly walked past them and into the house.

Their parents had picked up pizzas on the way home. Everyone was going to have a last meal together before they went their separate ways. Not that the Mackenzies knew what that even meant. More often than not, family dinners included not only the ones still living in the family home but everyone else as well. They had that special familial bond that people were jealous of, and Ellie never wanted it to be any different.

“Shut up.” Ellie stuck her tongue out at Mason who did the same.