Both twins froze.
“Did he know it was you?” Jenny asked.
“Yup,” Candace answered for me. “The whole time.”
I slid my fingers into the small, heated, bubbling water bowl Jenny had placed in front of me. “It sounds awful. And it was. But… we’d been talking for almost two months before he asked me out. He told me he’d liked me since Falkirk first lookedat Elion. Then he found me on a dating app. Called it divine intervention.”
“You couldn’t tell it was him from his profile photo?” Jenny asked, trimming my cuticles.
“No,” I admitted. “But I didn’t have one either.”
“Anonymity,” Jennifer murmured. “Of course.”
“That’s why the celebs have their own app,” Jenny added.
“Back on track,” Jennifer ordered. “What happened after the ‘surprise, I’m your potential merger partner’ moment?”
“She stayed,” Candace said, beating me to it.
Jennifer blinked, a hint of disapproval tightening her mouth. “Okay… and then?”
“We talked,” I said. “He said he didn’t tell me because he was already falling for me, and he knew if I’d recognized him, I never would’ve agreed to meet.”
Jenny’s face eased. “That’s… kind of sweet.”
Jennifer frowned. “Or manipulative. Very hard line there.”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out,” I sighed.
“Has he reached out since?” Candace asked, voice sharp.
“Yes.” My tone dropped. “We’ve been talking since last night.”
Candace’s head snapped toward me. “Seriously? And you didn’t tell me?”
Guilt pricked under my skin, and I dipped my head, suddenly far too focused on the way Jenny worked.
“Are there still feelings?” Jenny asked gently—a pointed contrast to Candace’s glare.
I watched the steel-gray polish glide across my nails, buying time. “Yes, I think there are.”
As I spoke, I realized I needed to hear it—know it—too.
“Then that changes things,” Jenny said.
Candace’s face scrunched, disdain sparking in her expression.
“I agree,” Jennifer added. “But that’s quite a time investment. Lie or not.”
“You cannot be serious.”
Jenny turned to her, pointing her nail file like a warning. “I get it. You want to protect her, fine. But if you spent nearly two months falling for someone, would you just walk away?” Her brow arched. “No. The ‘what if’ would eat you alive.”
She went back to work, and Candace’s shoulders dropped.
“I think that’s why I’m still talking to him,” I said, turning toward her. “I’m not ready to walk away.”
Jenny and Jennifer nodded, but Candace stayed quiet.
