Page 15 of Best of Me

They both assure me they’re fine, and the three of us dig into the buttery, flaky, chocolate-filled goodness. “You made this?” I ask, in utter disbelief.

Natalie’s cheeks turn rosy. “Do you like it?”

“Like? More like love.” I polish off the rest of mine, licking the remnants from my fingers.

“Enough chitchat,” Jenny says, ripping the proverbial Band-Aid off. “I need answers about last weekend. Pronto.”

“This is gonna sound really lame, but could I try video calling my friend Ashley, so she can hear this, too?”

Jenny assures me she’s cool with it, and I try calling her. Unfortunately, she doesn’t answer. “Well, guess I’ll have to catch her up later.” I wring my hands in my lap, searching for the right words. “Duke and I…we have a history.”

“History how?” Jenny asks. “I thought he was with the same girl since—”

“Valorie,” I say, cutting her off with a nod.

“Yeah. You know her?”

I nod. “All my life. She’s my sister. My twin sister.” It’s so quiet in my living room after I drop that bomb, you could hear a pin drop. I honestly think I’ve shocked them silent.

“Wait. What? Really?” Jenny’s voice is tinged with incredulity.

“Really.”

“Well, then why did he lose his ever-loving shit when he saw you? I mean, y’all should be pretty well acquainted, right? What gives? Because Nate said he was in a bad way and that he’s been a total pill all week at work.”

“They work together?”

“Yup. Partners and all.”

“He…um…we…the last time I saw him—and my sister—was eight years ago.”

Both of their eyes widen, and Natalie all but shouts, “What? You went almost a decade without speaking to your twin? I can’t even go two days without talking to Nate. I…what?”

Even though I understand it, I cringe at her confusion, wondering how best to explain our complicated relationship. I give them the bare bones, watered-down version. “Val and I never had much in common growing up, and I went to school out of state on a scholarship. We just…kind of…grew apart.” The half-truth tastes bitter on my lips, but I’m not ready to share the ins and outs of it with them just yet.

From the way Natalie’s brow furrows, I can tell she wants to ask more about how we could’ve simply grown apart; thankfully, she doesn’t. Most people hear the word twin and automatically assume we have thatParent Trapbond kind of thing where we can finish each other’s sentences and feel the other’s pain. But our mother made damn sure that never happened.

“That’s intense, girl.” Jenny drains the last of her coffee. “I’m an only child, but damn. I can’t even imagine.”

I eye her skeptically. “You’re telling me Nate didn’t fill you in? Really?”

She rolls her eyes. “That jackass pulled the bro-code card on me and wouldn’t say anything. I even threatened him with no sex, and he still wouldn’t spill. Joke was on me, though. I ended up none-the-wiser and horny as hell.” A quick glance at Natalie and I can tell we’re both trying to hold back our laughter at her rant. Then she mutters under her breath, “Damn jackass,” and we both lose it.

Once our laughter subsides, Jenny adds, “Speaking of that jackass, our engagement party is three weekends from now, and we’d love for you to come.”

Smiling, I nod my agreement. I know I haven’t known them long, but I definitely think this is the beginning of two beautiful new friendships.

chapter nine

Duke

Two weeks later andsheis still on my mind. Her big, sad amber eyes and quivering, plump lower lip are taking up way too much real estate in my brain.

Fourteen damn days of trying to dissect what about her sets my teeth so on edge, aside from the obvious. Was it the surprise of seeing her? Or is it something more?

Three-hundred and thirty-six hours of fighting myself on the answer to the last question. My body is at war with all of the conflicting thoughts and feelings running through me faster than Usain Bolt during a one-hundred-meter sprint. Logic says it’s because she looks so similar to Valorie and is a stark reminder of all that I’ve lost. My inner Neanderthal wants something I’ll never voice, because it’s wrong. So. Damn. Wrong. My heart is angry and hurt because she should have been here all along to help with the fallout of her sister’s death—and with her crazy-ass mama. And my dick…well, that jackass must be in cahoots with my caveman brain, because every time I picture her wide, innocent, golden-hued eyes, and tight, lithe body—that I’ll deny noticing until my dying breath—he does a half-mast salute. Clearly, he’s a traitorous SOB and has gone rogue. The very thought is a betrayal to the woman I love—right?

After a shitty shift on day seventeen post-Mallory, thanks to being called out to a domestic with minors in the home—it ended in two arrests and the children in state care—the only thing on my mind is a hot meal and a cold beer.

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