The Designated Twin

26. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Finley

My eyes blink open to sunlight pouring through the tent, creating a red haze around me. My chest is heavy. In fact, my entire body feels weighed down.

Once my vision fully returns, I realize it’s because a human is sprawled on top of me, a nest of red curls covering my face. I spit out a few strands that occupy my mouth before gently combing Lorelei’s hair away from my eyes. Biting back a laugh, I bend my neck to look around her head. Her head rests just below my chin, her chest on my stomach, and her legs tangled with mine.

She’s literally on top of me.

And how in the world did I sleep through that happening?

I lay my head back down and revel in the fact that Lorelei not only said she liked me and is willing to try things with me, but also that somewhere in the middle of the night, she (consciously or subconsciously, I don’t know for certain) felt the need to crawl on top of me.

The woman who boasted that she sleeps alone. Who doesn’t like physical contact with people. Who keeps to herself…

Is. On. Top. Of. Me.

I resist the urge to pump my fists, though I couldn’t if I tried from the way she has me pinned down. I know everyone is thinking that this is highly inappropriate and wrong, but I’d like to suggest that their mind is in the gutter because, honestly, this is the most adorable image. Cuter than babies being christened in the palace or, or… puppies.

She feels safe. She feels protected. She feels seen.

By me.

Which is the only reason she’d fall asleep.

On top of me…

I breathe in disbelief, but as I suck in more air, too much flows through the pipes, and a raging cough spews from somewhere deep within my chest.

Lorelei flails and scrambles to her feet, her hands pressing into my chest as she uses me as push-off. She trips on my feet as she goes to move away, and as she falls down, I’m too immobilized to catch her.

But have no fear…

She tumbles down and down, right back into her starting position on top of me.

I grunt in pain as her head slams into my chin, her body sinking into mine as I lay on the hard ground of the tent. A Korsan curse slips through my lips.

“Are you okay, Lorelei?” I wrap my arms around her to move her off me, gently placing her to my side as I shove down the muscle pain and the possibility of an entirely bruised body. I sit on my knees and examine her, her messy hair covering her face and her shirt riding up enough so that the pale skin of her stomach shows through.

She has freckles on her stomach.

How blasted adorable.

Boisterous laughter rips my attention from that sliver of skin, and Lorelei is starfished out on the ground, heaving and coughing with laughter.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” she exclaims, dragging her hands to cover her face. She mumbles through her laughter about Lucy getting story fuel from this scenario. “So embarrassing.”

Giving her one last look over to make sure she’s okay, I allow myself to laugh at the situation, too. And once I start, I can’t stop. The joy is immense. I mimic her pose and starfish out on the ground, my hand finding hers like it's my lighthouse on the ocean. We laugh and laugh until we’re facing each other, clutching our stomachs, with tears streaming down our face.

Her hazel eyes are bright, her cheeks pink, as I trail a finger down the side of her face and catch a tear. “Good morning, bae,” I finally manage to say as my laughter dies down.

She sucks in a breath and whispers, “Good morning. Did you know that saying good morning is a wish that one’s day would actually be a positive and eventful one? It’s not simply a nicety.”

I grin. “Then I wish you the best of mornings. I hope your morning is positively the best one you ever experience, despite how we awoke.”

“I think because of how we awoke, this will be the best morning I’ve experienced.” She beams before schooling her expression.

“Even better than Christmas morning?”

“Hm…” She lifts a finger to her chin. “Yes. I think so. I’ve never laughed so hard. Oh!” She sits up on her knees, suddenly alert and inquisitive. “Are you okay? I must have hurt you.”

I rise to my knees and shake my head. “I’m perfectly okay. Waking up with you sprawled on top of me was… something.”

She tilts her head. “Something in a good way or bad way? Sorry, I can’t tell.”

“Don’t be sorry.” I take her hands in mine. “Something in the best way. Waking up to your hair in my mouth and suffocating me is the absolute highlight of my existence. And I mean that with zero sarcasm. You can suffocate me every morning.”

She rolls her eyes. And after taking a deep breath, she gently pulls her hands away from me and combs her fingers through her hair before taking the black ponytail holder on her wrist and whipping the frizzy mess into a bun on top of her head. “We should get ready to head back. The trail will be more difficult due to the storm last night.”

“We’ll make it to the end. Together.”

She smiles softly, a certain calmness to her being that wasn’t present yesterday. “Hopefully so.”

“Lorelei, I have to ask. Did you truly mean what you said last night? That you are going to try with me? We won’t get back to Juniper Grove and you’ll disappear?” This moment feels too much like a fever dream; my overthinking brain is a smidge worried.

She stands and holds out her hand to me. I take it as she hoists me. The petite woman is stronger than she looks. “I meant it. I don’t make decisions lightly and unless I’m positive. I also don’t say things I don’t mean.”

“I’m learning to trust that. So many women have led me on in the past, so please forgive my hesitancy.”

“Why don’t you tell me more about your fears as we pack up? You learned about mine last night, and I would like to know yours. I’m going to change real quick.” She motions for me to turn around, so I do.

“I’ve dated a lot, as you already know. I’ve always been a hopeless romantic, like your sister. I didn’t want to get married just to get married or to unite countries or for simple convenience. I wanted to marry for love, and the only way to find that love was to search for it. It was easy for me to get dates. I am a prince, after all. But I quickly learned many women will use a person for their own gain.”

Her bag zipper sounds in the background. “I’m listening,” she says, prompting me on. I stare out of the side of the tent, able to see shadows from the sun reflecting off the red fabric.

“Mamma has been pressuring me to marry Her Royal Highness Princess Karin of Vespen, a neighboring and friendly country of ours. She believes Karin is perfect for me and that a union between us would be beneficial to both countries. I, however, do not think Karin is good for me. She’s conceited, materialistic, and demanding. She suffocates me when I’m home or visiting Vespen for state affairs. I don’t love her and I wouldn’t choose to love her.”

Silence ensues for a moment. “I’m done,” Lorelei says, and I turn around. She wears a new pair of black leggings, an olive green athletic shirt, and white ankle socks that will be brown by the end of this hike. She maneuvers to my corner and sits, motioning me to go ahead and change. “Do you think your mother will accept a commoner?”

Like me hangs between us.

“She will,” I reassure her as I grab my bag. “Mamma loves me dearly. She loves me so much that she wants to control my happiness to make sure I am happy, but I’ve learned how to stand up for myself and say no where I need to. She respects my decisions even if it takes her a while to come around.”

I strip my clothes and slip into new black joggers and a heather gray t-shirt with our family crest on it. I continue, “Father is already overjoyed that I’ve found you. And yes, I’ve talked to them about you. As Lucy and Lorelei. They know about the switch. I don’t really keep secrets from my family.”

“I like that about you,” Lorelei says. “It killed me pretending to be Lucy and hiding that fact from everyone. Including you.”

“I understand why you did it. It wasn’t your secret, but your sister’s. You love her deeply and wanted to protect her.”

Lorelei sighs. “Yes.”

“I’m ready,” I say, shoving my folded night clothes into my backpack. She stands and examines the tent, then sets to rolling up the sleeping bags. Both of ours. Like we are truly a couple.

Which I guess we are now. The thought warms my soul, and inexplicable joy encompasses me.

“Lorelei,” I say her name in a whispered breath, take two long strides, spin her around, and wrap her in my arms, holding her tightly against me. After a moment, her hands come to rest on my hips, then she slides them around and up my back until she’s squeezing me in a sturdy embrace. I’m already so in love with her, and I don’t know what to do with myself.

She breaks free and pulls back, so I let her, my hands moving to grasp her forearms as she does the same. She’s smiling wide with a sparkle in her hazel eyes. “We should get going, Finley.”

“Right. I just can’t seem to let you go. Physical touch is my love language, just so you are aware.”

“Of course the man I end up with enjoys physical touch.” She laughs, dropping her hands. Then she twists her lips. “I don’t know what my love language is…”

“We can try to figure it out on the way back.”

“Agreed,” she says with a firm nod of her head. “But first. Food.”

“I’m so sorry, Lorelei. I don’t know how this happened.”

A helicopter hovers above us, trying to get as low as possible without hitting the trees. I know it’s Gabriel and Anders, but I don’t know why they are here as we have zero phone service out here. I trust them, though, so as they toss a long rope ladder down, I begin to mentally prepare to climb it.

“Finley, I don’t think I can do this.” The quiver in Lorelei’s voice tightens my chest. I wish I could snap my fingers and get us up this rope, but it’s not going to be that easy. She has her belongings at her feet and is pressing her hands against her ears as if she’s attempting to pop her head open with pressure.

I toss onto my back the backpack that has my tent rolled up and clipped to it. Then, I grab Lorelei’s from her, which has a cooking pot attached to it, and slip my arms through it so that it’s on my chest. I finagle the bags around and lean in as close as I can to her and say, “I’m going to climb up with our stuff, and then I will come back down for you. We’ve got this. Everything will be okay. If Gabriel and Anders are doing this, it’s for a reason. I trust them.”

She begins to say something else, but I need to be quick, so I reach for the rope, the end of it dangling right at my kneecaps. I climb, my stomach dipping at the swaying motion. The closer I get to the helicopter, the harder it is to climb. The rope sways even more as I push through the force of the wind the blades are creating. I reach the top, and Gabriel and Anders help hoist me onto the helicopter. It’s impossible to talk without a headset, so Anders holds up his phone, and I scroll through articles stating that I was out here hiking and camping that leaked this morning. Then, Anders types that people are hiking out here to meet me and that others are gathered around my car in the lot at the head of the trail.

Curses rip through my head as I chunk the bags off me. How did this happen? Only a handful of people knew we were coming here. I’ve gone a few months without being noticed here in Mississippi. Why now? What changed? Karin? Is this her doing somehow?

Breathe, Finley. Let’s get out of here first.

I take Anders’ phone from him and type that I need to go back for Lorelei and I need a headset for her. He hands one over to me, and as I go to step down the ladder, I notice Lorelei is mid-way hanging on for dear life, a look of unadulterated terror covering her face. Cursing once more, I quickly climb down, moving around to the opposite side of the rope ladder. Once I reach her, our faces across from each other through one of the rung spaces, I loop one arm through the ladder and take the headset off, using one hand to place it over her ears. Which is as difficult as you can imagine it would be. Her hair is a disaster once I finally get both earpieces on her.

Her knuckles are white against the rope. I motion upward, telling her she has to climb. She shakes her head with enough force to swing the rope. Her eyes bulge with fear. I mouth, “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

She tilts her head in confusion, but I look up where Anders and Gabriel are poking their heads out the door. I signal for them to pull the rope, and they give me the okay sign.

Making sure my feet and hands are secure, I move around the ladder so that I’m pressing against Lorelei’s back, forming a cage around her. I place my hands over hers and tuck my knees into the dip of her legs, creating a seat of sorts for her. At that moment, the rope is jerked. Lorelei goes still underneath me, and I wish I could whisper in her ear that I have her. I hope she feels every ounce of me pressed against her right now. She’s safe. Even if she let go, she’d fall against me.

The rope jerks again and again as we are hauled up. Once we reach the top, I force Lorelei’s fingers to free the rope as my PPOs reach for her. She takes their hands and they lift her onto the helicopter before they grab me.

Once we are both on safely, I face Lorelei, whose face is abnormally pale, tears springing in her eyes as she breathes erratically. I open my arms for her, and she topples onto me, her arms wrapping around my waist and squeezing as if she’s still on the rope and may fall. She sobs into my chest, and I press one hand into her mid back while the other tangles into her hair. We stand there for a moment before Gabriel gently places a hand on my shoulder, indicating that we should get going.

Desperate to know the answer, I pull out my phone and type out the words: Why did you climb?

She looks at me through watering, hazel eyes as she takes my phone and types underneath my question: I couldn’t stand the thought of not pulling my weight to help out your heavy load.

My heart simultaneously leaps and sinks. She was thinking of me. Thinking of helping me. Even though the sound was deafening, she braved it. She took a step. She started the climb for me.

Little does she know that I would haul her anywhere, though. That I would climb a million rope ladders to keep her safe and at peace.

I love her, and by her actions today, I think—

I think she might love me, too, even if she can’t admit it yet.

She climbed the ladder…

Finding too much meaning within the clouds, I strap Lorelei into a seat, then I sit next to her and hold her hand the entire time on the ride back to Juniper Grove.

Lorelei opts to have her communication capabilities silenced in her headset, so I communicate with Gabriel and Anders through our headsets as they fill me in on the totality of the situation. Someone leaked that I was here, they haven’t found the source yet, we will come back for my car the moment everyone clears, Lorelei’s face is in the tabloids as the woman I am dating, Mamma is livid, Karin has nothing to do with this one, and Father is wanting me to come back home until things blow over.

And he wants me to bring Lorelei.