“Don’t lie to us, Remy.” My brother rubs his jawline, and I pray to God that he’s finding this awkward. I need some proof that he isn’t the hard bastard he’s currently portraying. “You were seen with him before you arrived here this morning.”
Her eyes widen; her mouth forms a round ‘O’. “Have you been following me?”
“Not me personally.” Bash shrugs. “But you must see how it looks.”
“Not really.” Remy is no longer looking at me. This is between her and Bash. “Why don’t you enlighten me?”
“You walk into our lives at the same time as your ex threatens our empire. You introduce yourself to my twin first, and then me, making sure that neither of us knows about the other. And George Quinn has been spotted outside your residence halls and the café where you work. Do you deny it?”
Remy releases a short, sharp bark of breath. “Would it make any difference if I did?” When Bash doesn’t answer, she adds, “That’s what I thought.”
She walks to the elevator, presses the button, and the door glides open. Turning around to face us, she no longer resembles the hunted. Something has shifted with Bash’s accusation.
“Thank you for opening my eyes, Bash, if that’s which twin you are. For your information, I wouldn’t help George Quinn if he promised me the Rinse on a gold plate. Or the Titan. Or anyother business that your family owns. You haven’t asked because you’re clearly not interested, but I’ll tell you anyway. I came here today to tell you that I’m pregnant. With twins. And the babies are yours.”
It’s unclear which one of us she was speaking to, but she steps into the elevator and presses the button to close the doors behind her.
Neither of us moves.
Part of me is proud of her for having the last word. The rest of me is numb, unable to process the bombshell she just dropped on top of our heads.
Remy Jones is pregnant.
Remy Jones is pregnant with twins.
Remy Jones is pregnant with twins, and one of us is the father.
There is no air in Bash’s office. My shirt collar is choking me, and I loosen my tie, although it offers no relief. Did someone break the air conditioning?
What the actual fuck.
I glance at Bash. His face is pale, his expression stony, and something stretched taut inside me snaps in two, so violently, I swear I can hear it.
“Nice fucking work, B. You sure told her, huh?”
He faces me slowly, dazed, silent. I’ve never seen my brother so floored. He always knows what to say or do in a situation; he was born ready to take on the world, and now it seems he has finally met his match. I would fist-punch the air on Remy’s behalf if I could coordinate my brain and my arm to work together.
Then his eyes come back into focus, but duller than before. “You slept with her.”
“So did you.”
This is a first for both of us. An all-time low. Even I’m scared of what will happen when our mom finds out.
Bash clears his throat. “This proves that she was using us.”
I shake my head. “Say it with some fucking conviction, Bash, or try again.” My hands are already balled into fists.
“She knew this would have the desired effect,” he mumbles like the words are sticking to his tongue. “She’s trying to get under our skin. She’ll sue the shit out of us, knock us down so that Quinn and his bride-to-be can swoop in and fucking destroy us. Then she’ll disappear off the face of the earth.”
I react blindly. My head is swimming in a sea of red mist, but my body acts on muscle memory. I pin my brother, my other half, up against the wall by his throat, and he stands there, eyes bulging, saliva collecting in the corners of his mouth.
“Where is she now then?” I grind my jaws to cracking point. “I don’t see her asking for money. I don’t see her accusing us of fucking her over. I don’t hear her threatening to go public with the news.”
Bash doesn’t fight back. We’ve never had a fist fight, never had a reason to before, but also because we’re evenly matched and it could get messy. And our mom would string us up by the balls and make sure it never happened again.
My brother blinks, and a single tear falls from each eye.
I release him, and he slumps onto the floor with his knees raised and cradles his head in his arms.
