Page 79 of For the Win

“I guess I never mentioned that my brother Asher is mytwinbrother.”

18

HARRISON

Arya stares at me.“Twins?”She looks back at my phone where Asher is standing against the railing of the Santa Monica Pier with his arm around the shoulders of a woman I don’t know.Her name is Camilla.

“Yep.Identical.He’s older by half an hour or something.”I shrug.

“That’s...who it was.”She closes her eyes.“You weren’t lying.”

“I don’t lie, Arya.”

She falls back into the chair, eyes still closed.“I’m so sorry.”

Maybe I should be mad, but I actually find this kind of funny.I get why she thought it was me.It’s happened before.“When we were teenagers, someone told my girlfriend she thought I was cheating on her.There was a big drama until everyone figured out it was Asher.One time I was going down an escalator in a mall and I saw Asher on another escalator and I started waving at him and yelling.I was waving at myself in a mirror.”

She chokes out a laugh.

“We used to fuck up our hockey coaches all the time.It was hilarious.”

She’s smiling but her eyes are still closed.

“Arya.Look at me.”

She opens her eyes and bites her lip in a cute and sexy way.“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.I get it.I’m not seeing anyone else.I don’twantto see anyone else.I don’t know how you could even think that.”

She looks like she’s in pain.“It’s me.I’m messed up.”

“We’re all a little messed up.But it’s not crazy that you thought Asher was me.It’s happened a lot.”

She rolls her head from side to side against the back of the chair.“I shouldn’t have...I should have trusted you...I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust anyone.”

I don’t know what happened in her “bad relationship.”Maybe someday she’ll tell me.Obviously she’s been hurt, and I fucking hate that.

I want her to trust me.I want that more than anyfuckingthing.

Pulling in a deep breath, I spy the pink rock on the coffee table.I pick it up and curve both hands around it.“Did this help?”

She gives me a reluctant smile.“Of course.”

“Good.”

“You should be angry,” she murmurs.“I didn’t trust you.”

“Yeah.It does bug me that you didn’t.If you’d gone up to Asher and talked to him, you’d have found out the truth.”

“Oh God!I couldn’t have done that!I was mortified.I just wanted to get out of there.”

“Yeah.I guess I understand that.And I’m sorry I never mentioned I have a twin.And you’ve never met him.But you’ll meet him tomorrow.”I set the quartz on the table.

Dad’s birthday party is tomorrow, and I convinced her to come.

“You still want me to come to the party?”She eyes me doubtfully.

“Just to prove I’m not lying.”I stick my tongue in my cheek.

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