Page 26 of Just Another Meet Cute
“It’s funny. It looks exactly like the jacket that Ian lost last week,” his sister, Anh, interrupted from the other table. “Remember when my car broke down on the highway and he had to come get me? Afterward, he rushed back to the hiking path to find the jacket.”
Ryan laughed. “I don’t know why. It’s a plain navy jacket. I bet …”
I couldn’t hear the rest of their conversation because there was a loud ringing in my ears when his sister said the nameIan. Surely, I heard her wrong. There was no way—it couldn’t be, because there was no Ian. There was just Ryan.
I cleared my throat. “Who’s Ian?”
“Ian, my twin brother.”
…
Twin brother. Twin brother. TWIN BROTHER.
The words echoed over and over in my head but it took a while for them to sink in. Like I had downed a mango slushie way too fast and my brain was still fighting the cold to work properly.
But if Ian wasn’t Ryan and Ryan was just Ryan, then that meant Ian actually existed. And if Ian existed then he was … he was …
Here.
As if I had conjured him by thinking his name too many times, a guy suddenly appeared at the doorway. Again, with the light behind him, like he was glowing. Still tall and lean like Ryan was, although now I could see that he was skinnier than his brother. He wasn’t wearing a cap this time. His hair was obviously shorter than Ryan’s and a bit darker. But the same eyes. The same perfectly straight nose. And even though he wasn’t smiling, I had a feeling that his dimple would be on the right side of his cheek. Not on the left like Ryan’s was.
Judging by the shocked look on Ian’s face, there was no doubt that this wasmyIan.
And that he definitely remembered me, too.
The urge to flee swept over my body, practically overwhelming me. I slumped down into my chair like my entire body was made of Jell-O—the cheap cafeteria brand that dissolved into liquid at the slightest touch. If I could, I would have slid underneath the table, too, but Ryan was still standing behind my chair, blocking my escape.
Thankfully, everyone else went back to eating their ph? like everything was completely normal. Even though my heart was pounding in my chest a mile a minute, and my palms were sweaty. And it only got worse the longer Ian stared at me from across the room. My palms, not my heart. I’m pretty sure at this point my heart couldn’t beat any faster without collapsing on me.
Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? Like the air had gotten too thick. Was seventeen too young to have a panic attack?
“Ian!” Ryan’s voice was so loud behind me that I visibly jumped in my chair. My fingers clenched the arms of the chair, pressing into the wooden grooves. “Come here, I want you to meet Nina.”
Ian blinked once, twice, before tearing his gaze away from me to look at his twin. “Who?”
“You know, the girl who saved my life outside Golden Cleaners last week.” Ryan’s hands lightly touched both my shoulders. “Nina, this is my brother, Ian.”
Oh God.I was wrong about my heart.
With each step that Ian took toward us, I could feel my heart beating louder and louder until it was ringing in my ears. Even though I knew it was pointless to hide now, I couldn’t help trying anyway. I ducked my head a bit and tried to avoid looking straight at Ian’s face. My gaze focused on his left ear instead. Specifically, his earlobe. “Hi.”
“So, it’s great to finally meet the girl who saved my brother’s life.” His low voice was a little hesitant. Like he could feel how awkward I was feeling. Maybe he was feeling it, too. “… Nina.”
Pulled by an invisible string, I glanced up when he said my name. Low and slow. His dark eyebrows furrowed together, making his face scrunch up with unspoken questions. Ones that I couldn’t answer without giving myself away. I quickly looked away again. “It really wasn’t a big deal …”
One of Ryan’s hands tightened on my shoulder as he scoffed. “Are you kidding me? I was crossing the street like a stupid idiot before you appeared out of nowhere to shove me out of the way. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be squished roadkill right now. Flat like a pancake.”
Cheeks flushing, my left hand rose to rub at the back of my neck as I studied the lace tablecloth. The tiny rip at the corner of my hand. A hole beside it thatwas big enough to poke my finger through. I didn’t test it though. Instead my fingers tugged at the jacket on my lap, stretching out the fabric on the sleeve. “I didn’t appear out of nowhere. I happened to be standing right next to you when the accident happened. Total coincidence.”
“Yeah, but that still makes him a stupid idiot for blindly crossing the street,” Kathy said with a giggle. “But what else is new?”
Ignoring his sister, Ryan continued gushing. “Seriously, it’s like fate knew that Ninaneededto be there at thatexactmoment to save me. I mean, what if you weren’t there? What if I didn’t stop by to pick up Grace’s stuff that Sunday? I wasn’t supposed to. Ian was going to pick it up, but he was too busy. Like I said, fate.”
“I didn’t know the accident was in front of Golden Cleaners,” Ian slowly commented. Each word rolled off his tongue, hitting me like arrows on a target. “You’re right.Iwas the one who was supposed to be there. Me.”
It wasn’t what he said, but the way he said it that made warning bells ring in my mind. Something in his voice. Even as my brain was telling me to keep my head down—to not meet his gaze—I couldn’t resist looking up at him.
To my surprise, Ian wasn’t even looking at me. Not at first. He was staring at my hands—no, my lap. Specifically, the navy jacket on my lap.
