“Because I’m just out of a walking boot and my dance moves are currently limited to ‘listing gently to the left.’ Not an ideal first date impression.”
Vaughn doesn’t smile. “Archie.”
I take a sip of coffee. If Vaughn and I are doing the brother thing, I should be honest.
I don’t need to tell him the Leo details, but I can give him the shape of it.
“There’s a guy I’m still hung up on,” I admit.
Vaughn’s staring at me, his jaw doing something tight.
“He kind of broke my heart,” I add.
“What happened?”
“I fell in love with him, but I don’t think he loved me back.” I deliver this with a shrug, aiming for casual, landing somewhere around devastated. I swallow hard and continue, “It’s my fault really. We were getting close, and I pushed him away because I was in denial about how much I loved him. But he’s stayed away…and I think that means he doesn’t quite feel the same way about me as I feel about him.”
“Archie—”
“It’s fine. I’m fine. I’ll get over it. Eventually. I mean, a heart can’t stay broken forever, right? It’s anatomically impossible.” I’m trying the joke thing, but I’m fairly sure it’s undone by the complete misery coating every word.
“Fuck,” Vaughn says.
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” I say miserably.
“No. Fuck.” Vaughn claws a hand through his hair. His face is doing something I don’t understand. It’s pale and tight and almost panicked. “Archie, Leo does love you back.”
I stare at him in shock.
I didn’t even mention Leo’s name. How the hell does Vaughn know I’m talking about him?
“What?”
“Leo loves you. He’s in love with you.”
My breath leaves me.
“You’re talking about Leo Brennan, right?”
He rolls his eyes. “Have you got a whole lot of other Leos who are in love with you?”
My face feels numb. Somehow, this conversation is taking a surreal turn I didn’t expect. The café carries on around us—the espresso machine hissing, someone’s spoon clinking against a saucer, the cute barista wiping down the counter—but none of it seems real.
“In fact,” Vaughn continues, “he loves you so much that he sacrificed himself so you would be happy.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Vaughn takes a breath. His hands are flat on the table and he’s pressing down like he’s trying to anchor himself.
“Leo originally hurt your ankle because he thought you were me,” he says.
“Yeah, I know that,” I say impatiently.
Vaughn’s mouth opens. Closes. Opens again. “Wait, what?”
“I figured it out right after it happened. It wasn’t that hard. A random man attacks me with syrup, and he happened to have worked at QuantumTech at the same time as you.” I wave my hand. “Anyway, let’s circle back to the love part.”
“Seriously, you don’t care that Leo hurt you because he was trying to get back at me?”
