“I will when you stop being such a controlling arsehead!”
Tugging hard, she redoubled her efforts to free her hands, to no avail.
Uffabut he was strong.
She changed tactics, falling forward to drive an elbow into his solar plexus. The breath left him with anoof!
Tristan groaned in pain, releasing her fingers.
Allie braced her palms on the counterpane, one to either side of his head.
She glared down into his chocolate-brown eyes.
Their mother’s eyes.
Eyes that were so dear to her.
Enough of this resentment and anger. They had already spent too many years as adversaries.
It ended now.
“You listen to me, Tristan Gilbert,” she declared. “I watched you be shot today. I experienced whole seconds where I thought . . . I th-thought . . .” Her bottom lip trembled uncontrollably. “I th-thought you had d-died.”
A tear spilled onto her cheek.
And then . . . another.
Her twin’s gaze softened.
She took a deep breath, allowing her emotions to tumble out, exposing her soft underbelly.
“I realized then that I love you, Tristan,” she continued. “I have always loved you and will never stop loving you. And you, damn you, are going to love me, even if I have to smother you in affection for the rest of our lives. We’re going to be best friends once more and support each other and tell each other things and listen to each other’s disappointments and wishes. We’re going to belong to one another. To becomeAllieandTristanagain. I won’t let you refuse me in this!”
Stunned silence met her tirade.
Tristan swallowed, the sound loud in the quiet.
“You love me?” he whispered, tone incredulous.
As if the thought were a novelty.
As if love were so scarce in his life, he couldn’t fathom it.
The last of Allie’s anger toward him crumbled.
“Of course, I love you, you lumbering oaf! It’syouwho have forgotten your love forme!”
“Never. I could never forget.” He was shaking his head now, looking so much like her Tristan, Allie feared her heart would give out. “I never stopped loving you. I never stopped missing you. I never stopped—OW!”
This time, Tristan’s yelp resulted from Allie having dropped her body onto his torso, sobs wracking her body.
Gently, her twin wrapped his one good arm around her. Allie assisted him by climbing fully onto the bed and curling against his uninjured side.
He held her as she wept.
Crying for the years they had lost.
Crying for herself and the aching loneliness of missing her other half.
