“I’m fine, Reigna. I promise. I haven’t been in the office because I’ve been spending some time with Aléx on Obsidian Island.”
She heard Reigna’s intake of breath and started speaking again before Reigna could interrupt.
“And if you start up again about Aléx not wanting me, I promise I will hang up and turn my phone off.”
“You really like this man, don’t you?”
If it were only as simple as liking him. She wouldn’t go as far as to say she was in love with Aléx, but there was this underlying connection between them that she couldn’t easily walk away from.
“I do.”
“You sure he’s dealt with the mistaken identity thing? Being queen means I have a plane at my disposal. I can be over there before you can say, ‘Your Majesty.’”
Regina couldn’t help the bubble of laughter climbing up her throat.
“I know you can. But I promise, everything with Aléx is going great.”
“Okay?” Her sister’s inquisitive but playful tone traveled through the line as clearly as if she were seated right beside Regina. “Tell me how good?”
Regina swallowed the lump in her throat, hoping she didn’t end up regretting this. She knew even if she did, she loved her sister. She just wasn’t built to lie to her no matter how much she didn’t want to deal with her big-sister bullshit.
“If I tell you this, you have to promise me that you trust me, and you know I wouldn’t do anything stupid.”
“Regina.” Reigna’s skeptical huff made Regina smile.
“Promise. I really need my sister right now, and it sucks that I can’t share some really incredible news with you because you think I’m naive when it comes to people.”
The line was quiet. Regina could envision her sister biting her tongue until it bled to keep from antagonizing the younger twin.
“Regina, I won’t lie to you. I do think you’re naive when it comes to interpersonal interactions with people. Staying locked up in your lab all the time, you just haven’t had as much practice. But you’re the smartest person I know, and I do trust you. I just worry about you so much. You’re my little sister, and if someone is messing with you, they gotta fight me first.”
The image of her sister squared up in her royal regalia with her baby bump poking out made her howl with laughter.
“Chile, you are four months pregnant. The only thing you fighting right now is buttoned jeans.”
Reigna reciprocated with an equally loud howl of laughter before she said, “Girl, you ain’t ever lied. If it ain’t elastic, I ain’t wearing it. I’m over here giving the royal seamstress a fit because she’s had to modify all my fancy clothes with elastic waists. Apparently,elasticis like a curse word in the palace.”
Their laughter quieted before Reigna began to speak again. “Stop stalling. Tell me this good news. I promise, whatever it is, I’ll be supportive if it means as much to you as it seems to.”
There was the sister she loved. The sister who had always been there for her through all the rough times they’d suffered when they lived with their parents. This was the sister she could share everything with.
“Tomorrow… Aléx and I are getting married. You’re not going to be the only queen in the family.”
Regina waited for her sister to blow her top, to start yelling and telling her she didn’t have the sense God gave a goat. It wasn’t like she hadn’t been saying the same thing to herself since she’d agreed to Aléx’s proposal.
“He came to see me the morning after you and I fought,” Reigna said.
That got Regina’s attention.
“He did? What did he want?”
Reigna was quiet again, as if she were contemplating how to convey her next thought. Reigna wasn’t necessarily known for her calm. If you angered her, she would pop off in an instant. But as CEO of Gemini Queens, she’d learned to temper her anger when she needed to. Considering Reigna had gone radio silent after their fight, she knew her sister was doing everything in her power to curb her tongue. Regina couldn’t love Reigna more for that in this moment.
“Ostensibly,” Reigna began, “he came to apologize to me for accusing me of hiding his child from him.”
The hair at the back of Regina’s neck prickled, waiting for Reigna to drop the proverbial other shoe.
“He was sincere in his apology, but he also came for another reason.”
