Page 53 of Knot Your Sunshine (Snugverse Romcom #2)

Warmth radiates up through my feet as I dig my toes into the sand. I close my eyes, listening to the sound of waves mingle with distant laughter.

"I still can't believe you have an assistant." Elena's voice drifts from the lounger beside me.

I crack one eye open to look at her. She's sprawled elegantly with designer sunglasses perched perfectly on her nose.

"Neither can I." I stretch, feeling my spine pop in three places. "But apparently checking emails at two in the morning while managing forty-one franchises is—"

"Forty-one?" Elena sits bolt upright, sunglasses sliding down. "Last time we talked it was thirty-something."

"That's what happens when you hire Naomi Quinn full-time.

She's like a legal ninja the way she cuts through red tape.

" I can't help the smile spreading across my face.

"Phoenix opened last week. Dallas next month.

Miami in the fall. Plus I still run the original Lakeview location.

Wouldn't trust anyone else with Grandma's legacy, you know? "

"How's is she doing, by the way?" Elena asks.

"More than okay. Ever since she picked up the scissors again a few months ago, she’s been demanding to help.

I managed to bargain her down to once a week, but it was tough.

She has no intention of stopping, especially now she can justify it as ‘lightening the load for her salon-tycoon granddaughter.

'” I grin. “But honestly, the clients adore having her. "

"Reminds me of my mom." Elena laughs. "Our Hawaii adventure basically reawakened her wild side. She and Julian are attached at the hip now. They were visiting last week and I caught them making out in my kitchen. MY kitchen. I had to spray them with water like cats."

"Oh my god, stop!" I'm laughing so hard my abs hurt. "That's amazing though, I'm so happy for her."

“Yeah, she really deserves it,” Elena says with a serene smile, sinking back into her lounger. "Like we do, taking this mid-year holiday."

I nod with a smile and close my eyes again, letting the warmth soak into my skin as I savor this perfect sense of inner balance.

A few yards away, Josh's voice rises over the waves. "The structural integrity is completely compromised if you don't pack the sand properly!"

"That's what I'm saying!" Cole's agreement is immediate. "The foundation is—"

CRASH.

James stands over the ruins of their sandcastle, bucket still in hand, grinning like a kid who just knocked over blocks. "Oops."

"JAMES!" Josh and Cole shout in unison.

"What? It was lopsided. Now we can either cry about it or start over and do it right." James's logic is met with twin glares.

Dorian doesn't even look up from his tablet in the shade. "Children," he mutters, though his lips twitch.

Elena watches them with fond exasperation. "Alphas."

"Men," I correct, and we both dissolve into giggles.

Keanu chooses that moment to jog past, doing lunges in the sand.

I shield my eyes from the sun. "Keanu, what are you doing?"

"Getting warmed up for the jet skis!" He nearly loses his balance on a particularly ambitious lunge. "Can't have subpar form on the water, Sunshine."

Noa appears behind me, and I feel cool sunscreen drip onto my shoulders before his hands start working it in.

His thumbs find knots I didn't know I had, then deliberately trace over each of my three bonding bites.

Stars of pleasure burst behind my eyelids at his touch on those sensitive spots, and I can't suppress the soft moan that escapes.

Through our bond, I feel the sudden spike of my alphas' arousal, and it draws a soft purr from my chest.

Elena snorts. "Get a room."

"We have a whole resort." Noa's voice rumbles low, hands still working magic on me.

Heat floods my cheeks that has nothing to do with the sun.

I sit enjoying the pampering for a moment.

Then, eventually, Noa leaves to grab the jetski keys.

Josh returns to explaining the physics of sand compression to James, who's building his own castle while nodding along, pretending to listen (Josh is too absorbed in his lecture to pick up on it).

Cole just watches the whole scene unfold, mouth slightly open, eyes wide.

"I know I've said this before," Elena says after a moment, her voice soft as she watches them. "But I'm so proud of you, Mia. You built your empire and found love."

My throat tightens unexpectedly. "I—I did get some help."

Josh must feel my gaze because he looks up, abandoning his explanation. A private smile crosses his face, and my stomach flips like I'm still that girl who met him at the airport six months ago, convinced she was just taking a business trip.

"That base needs more water!" James shouts.

"It needs less of your opinions!" Cole shoots back.

Josh turns back to them. "Actually, the moisture content should be approximately fifteen percent for optimal binding," he says matter-of-factly, pouring some water on their new creation.

Keanu abandons his lunges and runs over to help, but his enthusiasm sends his foot directly onto the castle's outer wall, making the entire structure tilt dangerously.

"KEANU!"

"Oops, sorry guys! But hey, destruction breeds innovation?" He grins sheepishly, then spots something behind us and suddenly looks even more excited.

Noa appears, dangling a handful of keys. "Ready for some real fun? Got us some really fast jets."

* * *

The jet ski bucks beneath me, and I scream half terror, half in exhilaration.

"Open it up, Sunshine!" Keanu shouts from the jet ski running parallel to mine, his hair streaming behind him like a black flag. "You've got this!"

I twist the throttle. The machine leaps forward, water exploding around me in diamond drops.

Josh appears on my other side, taking waves at perfect angles. Behind us, Noa follows like a protective shadow, ready to help if I fall.

Elena zooms past with controlled grace, her three alphas flanking her in perfect formation. She executes a turn so sharp it sends a wall of water over James.

"Show off!" James calls out, drenched and laughing.

We circle back toward calmer waters, engines purring as we bob on the gentle swells. My thighs burn from gripping the seat, and my hair whips around my face in salt-crusted ropes. I'll probably need an hour with deep conditioner to salvage it.

But right now, I don't care.

Josh pulls alongside, close enough that I can see his rare, full smile. "Want to race?"

"You're on!"

* * *

The beach towel stretches beneath us like a small continent. We needed the extra-large one because the concept of personal space doesn't seem to apply to us anymore. Not that I'm complaining.

Keanu's arm drapes across my shoulders, his lips pressing against my temple as he inhales deeply, a soft groan escaping.

Josh lies with his head in my lap, my fingers threading through his hair while he traces invisible patterns on my thigh.

Noa stretches along my other side, one hand possessively spanning my hip, thumb stroking lazy circles.

The sun hangs low now, painting everything in honey and amber tones that make the beach feel magical.

"Remember when you first revealed yourselves as my scent matches?" The words drift out lazy as the tide.

"You mean when we ambushed you in the conference room?" Keanu laughs. "And we thought we were being smooth…"

"Yeah, I thought I was under olfactory attack.

" I admit, laughing. "Three alphas I'd just met claiming to be my scent matches?

I was confused and terrified." I watch the sun sink lower.

"Every previous relationship had basically been an ultimatum, choose career or choose love.

And somewhere along the way, I think I'd convinced myself getting both was impossible…

that even wanting both was asking too much. "

Josh turns in my lap, looking up at me, his voice low. "And to think we almost ruined this..."

I cup his face, looking him in the eyes. "Good thing we figured it out."

Noa shifts, propping himself on an elbow to look at me properly. "Our badass omega, being the best partner and conquering the hair world one franchise at a time."

He pulls me down for a kiss, and when we part, breathing harder, Josh rises for his turn, his kiss precise and sweet. Then Keanu, all sunshine and laughter against my lips.

"I love you," I tell them, tell the ocean, tell the universe that gave me everything I never knew I could have.

"Love you too, Sunshine," Keanu murmurs. "More than Pele loved Poliahu."

"That's the volcano goddess and snow goddess who fought. He's saying he'd choose you over divine power." Josh's eyes soften. "And so would I. Every single time."

"I love you, my queen," Noa says simply, pulling me closer.

"Forever?" I ask.

"Forever," Noa confirms.

"Always," Keanu adds, nuzzling my neck.

"Until the stars burn out," Josh finishes.

***

THE END

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