I scoffed. “I am tired, Alex. I’m tired of putting my entire life on hold for this charade.”
His green eyes swept across my features slowly, and he sighed. “You volunteered for it, and besides, it’s almost over.”
“I didnotvolunteer.”
“Okay, but you showed up.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Alex smiled. “You’ve been very convincing as him. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell you apart.”
My eyes narrowed. “Wonderful. That just makes everything better, doesn’t it? That I’ve been able to fool the whole world outside of our father and our brothers.”
“Exactly.”
I leaned forward, my eyes locked on his. “You still haven’t answered my question. Am I going to have to be Jesse at the party this weekend?”
Finally, Alex shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. The real Jesse should be here by then.”
Relief washed through me, but it was followed quickly by the realization that my brother would be here soon, and that when he arrived, it was over for me. “Okay. Well, good. Are you sure, though?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
“Youthinkso?”
“Look, he said he was flying in this week and the party is on the weekend, so he should be here. We came to an agreement, remember? It’s done.”
“Yes, but Jesse’s version of an agreement is always open to creative interpretation.”
Alex ran a hand through his hair. “He’ll be there, Will. I’m confident.”
“That makes one of us.”
He shrugged a shoulder, already straightening up and glancing at the papers on his desk again, signaling that this meeting was just about done. “Don’t worry so much. It’ll be fine.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” I stood up. “I’ll make sure she’s there. Tell Jesse he has forty-eight hours to show up before I start making decisions for the both of us.”
Alex chuckled. “I’ll pass along the message, but he’s your twin. Why don’t you just tell him yourself?”
Why, indeed.Honestly, I didn’t have an answer for that right now.
When I got back to the townhouse after work, Eliza was waiting near the front door with a suspicious amount of enthusiasm brimming in her eyes. “You’re back!”
“Yeah? That’s usually how it works after hours.” I cocked my head at her. “What’s going on?”
She grabbed her coat. “We’re going for a walk.”
“We are?”
“Yes.” She flashed me a smile I couldn’t resist, her light blue eyes shimmering with joy. “Go get changed. I want to go exploring and you’re going to be my tour guide.”
“Great,” I said, unable to summon much enthusiasm at all, but despite all that, she still dragged me out of the house, and ten minutes later, we were wandering through the neighborhood.
What started as a short stroll quickly turned into a long walk, with Eliza stopping to admire trees, shop windows, and every building she deemed interesting, also chatting to every neighbor we encountered along the way.
As I watched her, it was like I could both feel the tension of the day bleeding out and a new, even worse tension mounting. There was officially a clock on the time I had left with her, and every passing minute was a minute closer to when I’d somehow have to let her go.
“I feel like we’ve crossed state lines,” I muttered after what felt like hours. “Are you about ready to go back yet?”
