Sweet Twins For My Brother's Best Friend: An Enemies To Lovers Romance (The Sweet Twins Collection)

Chapter Twenty Three

Hannah

Armed with my painting and Lucy again, I feel a bit lighter this time, though I’m unsure why. It’s entirely possible our “misunderstanding” is that I thought we were together.

But I hope not.

Once again, I hit the little metal button. Once again, I hear the buzz ring through. This time, his voice calls out, tinny through the speaker, “Yes?” and I feel a little jolt.

“It’s me,” I respond, and the familiarity in the statement – me, you know me – makes me smile in spite of myself.

Even in the midst of everythingng going on, Chris’ presence calms me.

“Oh! Come on up!” He sounds so joyful, and I wonder if he feels the same about me, if my voice comforts him.

I slip into the elevator with Lucy, and she sits next to me happily, her tail wagging and her body wriggling.

I always wondered why she seemed so happy around Chris, and now it seems obvious. Of course she was. She instinctively remembered him.

When we reach the door, he opens it before I even knock, his face flushed and his aura chaotic.

“Hi. I’m so sorry.”

He wraps me up into a bear hug, his fingers tucked into my waist, his nose against my neck. He’s warm and soft, and he kisses me lightly.

His eyes scan over to Lucy and light up. “And hello to you!”

The back of Lucy’s body wiggles chaotically with the energy of her excitement, her tail slamming against me as she tippy taps over to him, sniffing him and licking at his pant legs.

Chris crouches down to be on her level and pats her all over.

I feel my heart warming seeing him and Lucy together again. He always seems so at ease with her, like a younger version of himself. I think I can see what he would have been like as a young boy when he’s with her.

I hesitate to bring a tsunami wave crashing down on the moment, but I know I have to.

“Hi.”

“Listen, I just need you to know—”

“Can we sit down? Before anything else, I really need to tell you something.”

Hesitation and concern cross his ocean-blue eyes, so blue they look like colored glass.

“Is everythingng okay, Han?”

He takes it upon himself to release Lucy from her leash, and she rewards him with a few licks on the back of his large hands.

A memory flashes through my mind of his hands on me, his fingers inside me. I suppress it and sit down on his plush white couch, tucking my legs beneath me.

“everythingng’s okay. everythingng’s fine. Come sit, okay?”

Chris’s steps are hesitant as he advances toward me.

He sits down, his body so close that I can feel the heat emanating off him.

His thigh touches mine gently, small places of connection that have me leaping out of my skin. I keep wondering if we’re going to have a repeat performance or if it was a one-time thing.

“I’m on the edge of my seat here, Hannah. Let me have it.”

The words feel stuck in my throat, like they’ll change everythingng. They will. I know they will. But for the better, I think.

“I met with Julie.”

“I—why would you do that?”

The question’s fair. Last we spoke about her, I was keeping it a secret that she was even in town, and now I’m telling him that I voluntarily went and spoke to her.

I’d have more than a few questions if it were me, but the maturity of his age is showing. I feel like I can physically see him holding back, keeping his cool.

“I just kept thinking about what you told me about her abandoning Noodle. I felt so bad for you, especially seeing you with Lucy. I wondered if I could find her for you.”

As if on cue, Lucy comes and rests her head on Chris’ leg. He pets her face instinctively, his eyes still on me.

“That was so sweet of you,” he says gently, his voice dripping with tenderness, “but I think that ship sailed. It was five years ago, Hannah.”

“Well,” is all I say as I gather my thoughts.

“Well, what?” he smirks.

Before I can answer, he reaches out his hand and trails just the very tips of his fingers down my neck.

A shiver goes through my body, and he smirks even more, his eyes smoldering.

“What did you find out, my little detective?” His fingers brush my jawline. “Do you know you have five little freckles right…here?” He cranes his head toward me and kisses my jaw.

My body reacts, flushing a bright pink. I want so badly to drop the conversation right here and now, to sit on top of him and kiss him and feel him. But I know this is more important than that.

“She dropped Noodle in a dumpster by the art district.”

He recoils from me. “Why would you tell me that?” he asks, furrowing his thick brows in an expression of genuine pain.

“Oh! No, I’m sorry.” I stroke his face. “I didn’t tell you to be mean. It’s just that I found Lucy in a dumpster in the art district.”

“Okay? Hannah, I’m not following.” He readjusts, and I can tell he’s holding back, waiting for me to make sense.

“I found Lucy five years ago.” I keep my eyes on his, waiting to see the realization settle.

I see it, but I see his resistance, too.

“What are you telling me, Hannah?” he asks, his voice hesitant.

“It’s too much of a coincidence, Chris. I think…well, what do you think? She does seem to love you.”

I smile gently at him, trying to let him know that it’s okay to believe in what he thinks I’m saying.

His lips part gently, and he looks down at Lucy’s head on his thigh. “Do you really think so?” he whispers.

“I think so, yeah,” I tell him, petting Lucy with him.

“Are you Noodle?” I ask her. Her tail wags just a little, her eyebrows heavy over her brown eyes. “And…I painted this for you, but it’s not quite finished yet.”

I pull out the painting I made earlier, of Lucy’s face, her tongue lolling out, a deep purple, and the rest of her fur painted in golden technicolor.

“It’s beautiful, Hannah, it really is. Wow, I don’t even know what to say. You are…so talented.”

He kisses my lips gently.

“And so sweet.” His tongue runs across my lip. “You are the loveliest part of my life. And I never for a second want you to think that there’s anyone else.”

I freeze at the wording. “You don’t want me to think that…or there isn’t anyone else?”

“Hannah.” He nibbles on my bottom lip and brings my hand up to kiss the back of it.

“There is no one else. Julie called me and said she was worried about you.” A wry laugh escapes his throat. I watch his Adam’s apple bob.

“She said you were obsessed with me, that you stalked her. I knew it wasn’t true, but she…she threatened to tell Tyler about us, and so I let her drive me home since I had jogged to the restaurant. She tried to convince me that you were too young for me the entire drive back. And that’s it. I told her she was right, I told her I’d break it off. But that’s only because I wanted to give you the chance to decide if telling Tyler was worth it to you. Hannah, I’m yours completely.”

His kiss is soft on my mouth, and I can’t help but return the kiss, his words honey in my ears, his kiss honey on my lips.

I breathe in deeply as I reach my hands around his neck and slip my tongue into his mouth. I feel his tongue intertwine with mine as he holds my waist. My skin is electric everywhere he touches.

“I’m yours, too,” I whisper back. “You already have me, any part of me that you want.”