I still had no idea why I was feeling this way, though. Everything was coming together beautifully and I was a romantic, falling hard for my intended. It should’ve felt perfect, but for some reason, Jesse seemed to be pulling away from me.
And while I didn’t know yet how to stop it, I was absolutely determined not to let it happen.
CHAPTER 27
WILL
On Friday morning, I woke up with Eliza in my bed and knew immediately that I was in too deep.Catastrophically, irrevocably, going-to-need-therapy-after-thisdeep.
Mentally, I acknowledged it. I was just actively choosing to ignore it.
“Are you sure about wanting to come to the office with me today?” I asked, glancing at her as I pulled into the underground parking garage. “It’s going to be painfully boring for you. People around here treat acquisitions like they’re a blood sport, but if that’s not the kind of thing you’re entertained by, I doubt you’re going to enjoy a day at HQ.”
She smiled. Her expression was bright, curious, and completely undeterred. “Did you know that one of the key features of Elizabethan society in England was the enjoyment of blood sports? Those are my ancestors. I’m sure I can handle whatever qualifies as gory in the corporate headquarters of an American finance firm.”
I snorted trying to hold back surprised laughter. “Right, but while you may be named after her, you weren’t ever actually part of Elizabethan society.”
“Well, then, here’s another fun fact for you. I wasn’t actually named after the queen. The earliest use of my name can be traced back to?—”
“I haven’t even set up an office here yet,” I said suddenly, lying through my teeth as I parked. I hadn’t meant to interrupt her. This was just not ideal and I’d been nervous since she’d first asked to come with me. “I’m still transitioning back.”
“Yeah, that’s okay.” She was already unbuckling her seatbelt, clearly entirely unaffected by me accidentally cutting her off. “I’d still like to see the place.”
Fuck. This was a mistake. A colossal, identity-destroying mistake, but I had tried to talk her out of it every way I knew how and she was still adamant.
The second we stepped out of the elevator onto my floor, I felt the shift in the air. Every single person here knew who I was—and that Iwasn’tJesse. Most of them had never even met him.
“Morning, Will,” the receptionist called as we walked in.
Eliza frowned a little, glancing up at me when I just waved and kept walking. “That was odd. Although I suppose you and your brother must get that a lot around here.”
I shrugged, my shoulders tight as I led her down the hall. One of the analysts, Alex’s current favorite minion, came rushing toward me. “Will, do you have a minute. I?—”
“Later,” I said smoothly, not breaking stride as my hand settled lightly in the small of Eliza’s back to guide her forward.
She glanced up at me, amused. “Well, your brother certainly seems popular.”
“Yeah, they’ve really taken to him.”
Another exec passed us, slowing just enough to frown slightly. “Will? I thought you were in?—”
I waved him off like I had something extremely important to do, which was true. It was called avoiding complete and utter exposure.
As we turned the corner, leaving the baffled manager staring after us, Eliza let out a soft laugh. “You and Will must be very hard to tell apart.”
I exhaled through my nose. “It’s a real problem.”
“You don’t say.”
“Lifelong issue. Traumatizing, really.”
She bumped her shoulder lightly into mine. “You seem tense.”
“I’m always tense here,” I said. “It’s part of my charm.”
When she smiled at me again, I forgot for one brief second that I was actively committing fraud, but then I saw Nate. He was standing near the glass railing with Kate beside him, the two of them talking intently, but the second his eyes landed on me, his entire expression changed.
It landed somewhere betweenoh, for fuck’s sakeandyou absolute idiot.Kate followed his gaze, and when her eyes met mine, I knew I was in trouble. If looks could kill, I would have dropped dead instantly, collapsing right there on the polished marble floor.
