Will After breakfast, I dropped Eliza back at the house. As she climbed out of the car, I swiped my tongue across my lips. Now that we were back, my mind tried to remember things were going to have to be different between us. “You’re sure you’ll be alright?” I asked, knowing Jesse would’ve just taken her at her word earlier that she would be just fine instead of asking again. “I can—” “I’ll be fine,” she said, looking at me like I’d just asked her if she knew how to breathe. “I ran a whole estate on my own for years.” I sighed. “Fair point.” “I think I can survive a few hours alone in a townhouse.” She ducked back into the car and blew me a kiss. “Go do your mysterious job and don’t worry about me.” “Yeah, okay,” I agreed, wishing that fucking kiss had been for me. “It’s not mysterious, though, but I guess I’ll see you later?” “See you.” She hesitated for a beat. “If I happen to reorganize your brother’s kitchen cabinets while you’re gone, will you let him know that it comes from a place of love?” I groaned. “I knew staying here with you was going to be a mistake. Will is pretty particular about his stuff. I mean, it’s not like his spices are alphabetized, but there is a system in place. Or so he’s told me.” She laughed and finally disappeared inside, and I stayed in the driveway for just another beat before I took off. Being back was already hard. The estate, the castle, and the entire United Kingdom had felt like a different world. A different life. Here, I was constantly reminded that my time with her was running out and that very soon I would be handing her over to my brother. I couldn’t actually imagine going through with it, but the reminders were everywhere, including that conversation we’d had over breakfast. Ten minutes later, I walked into our offices and found Alex exactly where I’d expected him to be, behind his desk looking like he’d already ruined three people’s mornings even though it wasn’t even nine a. m. yet. He glanced up when I walked in. Grinning, he stood and spread his arms open wide. “Will! You’re alive.”
“Barely.” “How was jolly old England?” “Jolly and old,” I said. “Foggy. Damp. Gray. In other words, it was pretty good.” “How’s Eliza?” He shook my hand, sinking back into his chair after he let go. “We’re still on track, right?” I sat down across from him and dragged a hand over my face. “Eliza is fantastic.” He was frowning when I looked at him again. “That sounded complicated.” “It is.” Alex leaned back in his chair, but his green eyes were boring into mine. “Why is it complicated, Will? What’s going on?” I exhaled slowly, deciding to start with the easier stuff. “Housing.” “Housing?” “Yes, like where are we going to live?” “That’s the crisis?” He blew out a heavy breath and smiled. “Fuck. You almost just gave me a heart attack. Housing isn’t a crisis, man. Choose a house and buy it. Problem solved.” “It’s more complicated than that,” I said. “While we were having breakfast this morning, I realized something.” Alex gestured vaguely. “Yeah, okay? I’m listening.” “Everything I say and do now has to align with what Jesse would want.” My jaw tightened. “As of right now, Jesse doesn’t have a house in Chicago. We don’t even know if he’s actually going to move here, so for now, Eliza and I are staying at my place.” “Okay. I’m still not seeing the problem.” “The problem is that I can’t just choose a house and buy it, Alex,” I snapped. “Jesse has to do it. Eliza knows we’re staying at my brother’s place, for now, but that meant having to talk to her about where she’d like to live eventually.” “And?” “And Jesse won’t live in a sprawling manor in the countryside.” Alex snorted, probably before he could stop himself. “No. He definitely won’t.” “That means I can’t promise Eliza a sprawling manor in the countryside, but that’s what she wants. Well, she wants the countryside. With or without a sprawling manor, but I think you get the point.” Alex considered it for maybe half a second before he shrugged. “Okay, so then don’t promise her one. Let them figure it out later.” My eyes narrowed. “That’s your solution? Don’t promise her one.” “Yes.” “Brilliant.” I scoffed. He smirked at me. “Yeah, I know, but thank you. I’ll be here all week.” I stared at him as he shoved a hand through his hair and stared right back at me, finally leaning forward slightly and folding his hands on the desk. “Will, I need to get Jesse onboard. That’s
my priority right now.” “I thought you were working on it.” “I am, but...” He trailed off, sighing before he brought his gaze back to mine. “At this rate, you might just have to marry her.” My heart did something strange and dangerous that felt like an actual flip-flop. “Don’t joke about that.” “I’m not joking.” “Yes, you are.” My teeth ground, but what he’d said had planted a seed de ep in my chest and I couldn’t just let it go. Not if there was a chance. A beat of silence passed between us before I finally just asked. “Is that actually a possibility?” Alex didn’t answer immediately, his expression completely serious. He inhaled a slow, measured breath. Tension tightened his jaw and his posture locked as he gave his head a firm shake. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Which means he’s absolutely thought about it. I tried to listen to him and not get ahead of myself, but fuck. He’d just said there was a possibility that I could marry her, and there was no way I could just sit there and ke ep calm if that was true. The next thing I knew, I was on my feet and my phone was in my hand. “I’m calling Jesse. Let’s find out where he really stands on all this.” “Please do.” Praying to every deity available once again, I dialed my brother, hoping he’d actually pick up this time. The last time we’d talked had been when he’d hung up on me, and before that, he hadn’t been taking my calls for weeks. But today, he answered on the third ring and my heart lurched all the way to the top of my throat. “What?” “Hello to you too, little brother.” “I’m busy,” he grumbled. “What do you want?” “Well, you’re about to be busier, because what I want is to talk to you. Not tomorrow or next week, but today. Right now.” He paused. “What does that mean?” “It means you need to tell me if you’re going through with this marriage. Because if you are, you need to get on a plane and get over here, and if you’re not, I need to know. No more games, man.” Jesse groaned. “Really? You too?” “Yeah, me too, asshole,” I said without hesitation. “Your time’s up. I want an answer, Jess. Right now. Are you in or are you out?” There was another long pause on his end of the line. He finally let out a long, loud breath. “I’ll fly out there later this week. Tell Alex I acc ept the offer he made last night. He’s got a deal.”
That tiny seed of hope in my chest exploded, spattering my insides all over my ribcage and making me feel like I’d just lost something vital. Because I had. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll tell him. See you later this week.” Alex grinned as I lowered the phone away from my ear and ended the call. “Fucking finally. I guess this means you’re off the hook, Will. Congratulations.” “Yeah.” Without anything more than that, I turned around and went to my own floor of the building, collapsing behind my desk and just staring out of my window instead of making myself economically productive. I should’ve been happy that this was over. Instead, by the time I finally got back to the townhouse that night, I felt like I’d been run over by a train. Several trains. Simultaneously. All of which had then backed up and run over me again, nice and slow to make sure there’d be absolutely nothing left by the time they were done. Shrugging out of my jacket, I hung it and my tie on the coat rack next to the front door and headed to the living room. I felt at least half-dead, but I still slammed to an abrupt halt in the doorway when I saw Eliza sprawled across my couch, blissfully comfortable in silky pajamas with her bare feet tucked underneath her. The coffee table was covered with an impressive spread of freshly ordered Chinese food. Noodles. Dumplings. Egg rolls. She’d thought of everything. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d cried, but I almost burst into tears at the sight of her in those goddamn navy blue pajamas, lounging on my couch like she’d been waiting for me to get home. With food, no less. She finally looked up as if she’d sensed me there, and I swore, the smile she gave me actually made my eyes burn. “Oh good. You’re back.” “Yeah.” I finally managed to convince my feet to move and blinked hard, doing my best to appear entirely unaffected. “Are we expecting someone? You ordered enough food to feed a village.” Her cheeks flushed, those blue eyes slightly brighter than usual. “Yes, well, about that. I panicked.” “You panicked? About what?” She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap for a beat. “The menu.” I laughed, but as I stood there watching her, so relaxed, happy, and completely at home in my house, that same dangerous thought cre eped back in. This is a future I could get used to.
But it wasn’t me she had been waiting for after work. It wasn’t me she would be ordering for by this time next week. It was Jesse. This was all for him, but maybe, just for tonight, I would let myself have it. I could let myself savor every moment and pretend she was mine. “I should start leaving you alone more often if this is the result,” I said, striding to the other end of her couch and sitting down. “Seriously, you did well.” “Don’t you dare leave me alone just for food,” she joked, poking at my leg with the chopsticks she’d just opened. “I’ve had Chinese before, of course, but I’ve never actually ordered it.” I leaned forward and opened one of the containers. “You could’ve waited for me.” She waved the chopsticks dismissively. “Google and I had a great time figuring out the menu. It was just a bit intimidating, but I managed. Besides, I’m sure you had a long day at your mystery job for the family. I figured food therapy would help.” “That’s very thoughtful of you,” I said, smiling. “Also, it’s really not much of a mystery. I’m in sales. I told you that.” “Yes, well, I’m extremely thoughtful when dumplings are in volved, and sure, you’re in sales, but you also dabble in operations and God only knows what else.” “It’s really not that interesting.” I grabbed a pair of chopsticks of my own and snagged a dumpling. “Hey, after this, do you want to go out and see the city?” She thought it over for a moment before she looked down at the food. “I’m fine here.” “Really? Are you sure? Chicago is pretty impressive at night. There’s a lot to do and see after sunset.” “Oh, I’m sure.” She gestured at herself. “I’m already in my pajamas and I’m not much one for nightlife. Plus, we’re pretending to be normal human beings, right? That means going to bed at a decent hour so we adjust to the time zone faster.” “Yeah, that’s true,” I said after a beat. “All of it. You really could’ve just chosen one reason, though. Even just saying you didn’t want to would’ve been enough.” “Variety is the spice of life,” she said cheerfully. “Besides, there’s no way you could argue with all that.” “I wouldn’t have argued anyway.” She looked up at me. “You’re welcome to go out if you’d like. Personally, I’m going to eat enough to qualify as a national security threat to the food supply and probably go to sle ep.”
I chuckled. “Thanks, but I’m fine here too. I’ve seen Chicago at night plenty of times and I haven’t really missed it.” “Fabulous,” she concluded. “In that case, I vote we stay exactly where we are.” “That’s the most convincing argument I’ve heard all day.” Both of us tucked in, eating our way through most of the insane amount of food she’d ordered. When she was done, she smiled and leaned back on the couch. “Do you know what I love?” My heart did that weird thing again, even though I knew she wasn’t going to say, You, Will. I love you. “What’s that?” “Movies.” Fuck, but yeah. Okay. I can work with that. “Movies, huh?” “Yes. Romance movies, specifically.” I thought back to all those books in her room and nodded. “In that case, I have something to show you.” “What is it?” “Just come with me.” Her eyes lit up immediately. “A secret?” I shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” “I love secrets.” “That’s slightly concerning.” I got up, motioning for her to follow me. “Right this way.” “Where are we going?” She jumped off the couch with surprising enthusiasm for someone who’d just consumed half of China. “It is in your brother’s house, right? This isn’t some way to lure me out?” “Nope.” I led her down the hallway and toward the back of the house, past my home office and down the stairs. “Watch your st ep.” “What is it?” she asked. “A basement?” “You’ll see.” She let out a giggle. “This feels mysterious.” “That’s the goal.” I pushed open a door at the end of the corridor and the lights flickered on automatically, revealing the in-home theater I’d had installed. There was a large screen at the front of the room and tiered seating. The chairs were massive and ridiculously comfortable. I’d chosen them myself because I, too, loved movies. Not that I could tell her that it was yet another thing she had in common with me, not Jesse. Eliza stopped in the doorway. “Oh my God.” “There’s the reaction I was hoping for.” I grinned. “What do you think?” “You have a movie theater.” “Will has a movie theater,” I said, sighing internally. “I just have use of it, but yeah.” “You’re saying that like it’s normal, but it’s not. You have a movie theater in your house. I live in a castle and we don’t have one of these.”
I laughed. “We try to stay humble.” She walked slowly inside, looking around like she thought she might be dreaming. “This is amazing, Jesse. Truly.” “You can pick any movie you’d like,” I said, swe eping a hand out toward the console. “If it’s on any major streaming service, we’ve got it.” Her gaze snapped toward mine. “I get to pick?” “Sure. You said you like romance and I’m not really an expert in the genre, so I can’t really help on that front.” She practically floated over to the console, and five minutes later, we were settled into the back row of seats while a movie I vaguely recognized as one of the greatest romantic tragedies ever filmed started playing. Eliza curled up beside me, tucking her legs underneath her. “This is incredible. We’re at the movies, but I’m in my pajamas and we didn’t have to go anywhere.” “I’m glad you approve. I don’t really use this room as much as I should.” It was pretty fucking boring being in here alone. Pretty sad, too. “It’s nice to have someone to share it with.” “This must be like what being on vacation feels like,” she said softly after a brief pause. “It’s glorious.” I glanced at her. “You’ve never taken a vacation?” “Not really.” “That’s d epressing.” And something I would have changed pronto if I really was marrying her. “You’ve seriously never been on vacation?” “I run a castle. When am I supposed to just slip away to the beach?” “That’s fair, but it’s still d epressing.” She smiled but focused on the movie once the opening credits were over. About twenty minutes in, her head slowly tipped sideways, landing on my shoulder. I looked down, realizing that she’d fallen asle ep. Even so, I sat there for a while, listening to the quiet sound of her breathing while the movie played on the massive screen, but eventually, I turned it off. Carefully standing up, I slipped an arm under her knees and the other under her shoulders, gently lifting her against me. She stirred slightly but didn’t wake up, so I carried her down the hall to one of the guest rooms, setting her gently on the bed. She sighed and curled into the pillow as I pulled the blanket over her. “Goodnight, beautiful,” I murmured, watching her for another beat before I quietly left the room.
Back in the kitchen, I poured myself a drink—and not a polite one. This was a stiff, glass-practically-overflowing drink, but it wasn’t overflowing for long. I brought it to my lips and drained a decent amount of the liquid inside in one long gulp. Then I cocked a hip against the counter and stared out the window into the quiet street. The truth had been settling in my chest with painful clarity all night long that I wasn’t going to be able to let Eliza go. Not really. Not after all this. I just didn’t know how to do it. After taking another long drink of my whiskey, I sighed, another problem following immediately behind the first. Because if I did let her go, and if she married Jesse like she was supposed to, how the hell was I ever going to have a relationship with my twin brother when Jesse would be building a life with the woman who had somehow become the center of mine?