Page 124 of Just the Wrong Twin

“With your help,” Nate said. “Thanks for everything.”

“Well, you have a day to get sorted before we crack the proverbial whip.”

“Can’t wait.”

“Five boxes,” Troll called from behind the Escalade. “I could use some help.”

* * *

Sonia halfway thoughtshe was making the dumbest move of her life. She knew, though, that she had to take a chance and let herself be emotionally vulnerable. She knew that she had to tell Nate in person how she felt to have any chance of a happily-ever-after. She missed him, the way he smiled and the way he kissed, the way he was all-in for anything he did. She wanted to talk to him and cook with him and make love very slowly with him—and she wanted to do that every day and night for the rest of her life.

She knew he’d assume she was being nice, or that she felt sorry for him. In reality, she was in awe of him.

Tobias’ driver was competent and got her to Boston in record time. She’d gotten Nate’s address from Pierce and given it to the driver. The GPS did lead them astray, maybe because it was a new subdivision, but the driver called someone and got them on track. It was late by the time they approached the apartment, and she could see that there were a lot of parks in the neighborhood. Trees and walkways and low buildings. It looked like a nice place to live. Her palms were damp and she wondered whether she’d been crazy to pack an overnight bag.

The black stretch limo pulled up to the building and Sonia checked the address.

“It’s this one,” the driver said to her. “Do you want me to wait?”

The green Mustang was parked out front.

It was time to believe.

“No, this is great,” Sonia said. “That’s his car.” The driver got out and opened the door for her, then retrieved her bag from the trunk. It was smaller than Katia’s had been. She smiled behind her mask. “Thank you.”

“Why don’t you take my number?” the driver suggested, sparing a glance for the windows of Nate’s apartment. There were only a couple of lights on and no signs of activity—but then, he could have crashed after they got back from Manhattan. It was almost midnight. “That way, if something goes wrong, you can give me a call. I’m going to get a coffee at that drive-through we passed before I get back on the highway. Even if you call in an hour, I won’t be far. I’ll turn back.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Tobias would want me to.”

“Your Saturday night will be trashed.”

“Tobias pays well for overtime. Don’t worry about it.”

Sonia added his phone number to her contacts list and thanked him, then waved as he drove out of the parking lot. It was wonderfully quiet after the sound of the car faded. She could hear music from one apartment with its windows open, and the rustle of the trees in the nearby park. The stars were starting to come out and she wondered whether there would be fireflies in the shadows of the trees later in the summer. She took a deep breath and approached Nate’s door, then raised her hand to knock.

There was no reply.

She rang the bell and heard it chime inside, but there was no answering sound.

Could he have gone out again?

She turned to look at his car and wondered. Could he have decided to stay somewhere else? What if they hadn’t come back to Boston, but had gone on to another job?

Pierce would have told her that, though.

She pivoted and rang the bell again, twice so it chimed more insistently inside the house.

A dog barked and Sonia thought she’d disturbed the neighbors before she realized the dog was outside. A guy was walking a German Shepherd on the path that led into the park, and the dog was pulling him back toward the apartment.

“Easy, Sheba,” Nate said, with a smile in his voice. “Just because I said I’d order pizza to make up for being gone doesn’t mean you’re going to score. It’ll be tomorrow anyhow.”

The dog barked again, obviously seeing Sonia at the door to the apartment.

Nate looked up and stopped cold. He stared at her for the longest moment, his features in shadow.

“Hi Nate,” she managed to say when the silence had stretched halfway to eternity.

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