I laugh, heat flushing my cheeks. “We’re not fake anymore.”
Sasha’s eyes go wide. “Wait, are you guys actually together now? Like, for real?”
Taking a deep breath, I lay my cards down and look at my friends. “He told me he loves me. It took a minute for me to say it back, but yeah. We’re officially together.”
A happy squeal erupts from Noia as she jumps up from her chair and throws her arms around me. “That’s amazing!”
This startles the crap out of Goonie, who scrambles off my lap with a frustrated kitty growl before indignantly strutting away with his tail in the air.
“Awww!” Sasha joins in, leaning over to wrap her arms around both of us.
“That’s awesome!” Reyna exclaims at the same time Claire crows, “Good for you!”
As they clamor back into their seats, I can’t stop smiling. “It was... intense. We had a moment, and everything just clicked into place.”
“Can you tell us what happened, or is it too personal?” Sasha asks.
I nod, a lump forming in my throat as I remember finding him in his closet, surrounded by memories. “He was going through some old photos and letters. His parents’ accident report came in. Turns out his mom was pregnant when they died.”
The room goes quiet.
“No,” Sasha gasps, hand flying to her mouth. “Oh my God, that’sterrible.”
“Yeah,” I say softly. “He was really broken up about it. But being there for him, holding him... It put not only everything he’s been through, but what we’ve been through, into perspective. No matter how hard I tried to hate him, I never stopped loving him.”
Noia reaches over and squeezes my hand. “I’m so happy for you, Lizzy. Never doubted for one second you two were always meant to be together.”
A chorus of agreeable murmurs come from around the table.
I glance over at Reyna. She’s been quieter than usual, and I think it’s about time I asked her about how things are going now that she’s working closely with my brother.
“So,” I quip, giving her a pointed look. “How’s it going with Logan? You two have been working together for what, about a week now?”
She groans, tossing her cards onto the table. “Don’t even get me started. Your brother has been absolutely insufferable since he had to schedule us on the same shift.”
She’s not wrong. My brother has been a bit of an ass lately.
“Insufferable how?” I ask.
“He’s like... I don’t know how to describe it.” Frustrated, she waves a dainty hand in the air. “He’s always been a bit growly, but now it’s like he’s channeling his inner grizzly bear. Last week, I suggested we try a new computer program for keeping track of calls, and he literally snarled at me.”
“Snarled?” I raise an eyebrow, trying to picture my twin brother—the flirty and charming, if not somewhat broody firefighter—actually snarling at anyone.
“Okay, maybe not literally,” she admits, taking a large gulp of her wine. “But he did that thing where he rolls his neck infrustration and said, ‘There’s no point in fixing something that isn’t goddamn broken.’”
“Oh, boy,” Noia snickers, ducking her head into her wineglass in an attempt to hide her grin.
“It’s not just that,” Reyna continues. “Yesterday, Brex asked me to cover for him while he ran an errand during his lunch break, and Logan practically jumped down my throat about how I ‘shouldn’t be flirting with co-workers.’”
I exchange a knowing look with my friends.
Well,shit. Now I’m even more intrigued.
“Hold up,” I say with a tilt of my head. “My brother accused you of flirting with Brex? That’s... interesting.”
Reyna’s cheeks flush pink. “He’s being ridiculous. For one thing, Brex is a notorious flirt and a total womanizer. He’s like that with everyone.”
This is true. Brexton Saint—LFSR’s fire fighter helicopter pilot—does tend to get around. A lot. He’s even worse than Jax was before he and Sasha had their second-chance romance. His personality is all flirt, all the time.
