[EVE]
Even my brothers started thawing.
Damien stopped glaring. Dean stopped sharpening swords in front of him (although he did start polishing them more dramatically). Dante began calling him "Cole" instead of "Intruder #1."
They were still grumpy about it. But I reminded them, constantly, that I loved them. That nothing would change that. They were family. Permanent. Non-negotiable.
And Cole? He didn't try to replace them.
He just . . . fit himself in.
Like a guy trying to join a dance mid-routine, missing a few steps, stepping on some toes, but still managing to find the beat eventually.
Every bottle he warmed, every bedtime story he read in that embarrassingly enthusiastic duck voice, every moment Bean turned him into a walking food tray—I fell for him all over again.
