2. Rowan
ROWAN
It’s got Kian’s fingerprints all over it. The same kind of mess that he always leaves behind with nearly everything he touches. At this point, it takes me less than a minute to realize that he has caused yet another one of his signature fuckups. I wish I could say I was surprised.
That said, two things about this particular fiasco are surprising.
The first is that it involves real women—their lives, their emotions, probably even more than that. And the second surprising thing is how smoothly and unexpectedly this girl reacts to the scene she’s just found herself in.
“Nice to see you here, Julianne,” I greet the generous benefactor who has been contributing to my family’s endeavors for years. “Apologies for not having introduced you sooner. Yes, this is my girlfriend, Leah.”
I’m surprised yet again as Leah’s hand tightens around my own. She’s nervous, flustered. Rightly so, considering what she’s just been put through in front of all these people.
Damn my twin brother for treating a woman like this. When will he ever learn?
Leah smiles politely. Then her eyes glaze over just a little bit, showing that her thoughts are elsewhere, while Julianne goes on one of her miniature monologues about her most recent ventures.
In fairness, my eyes glaze over nearly every time Julianne talks, too.
She’s an insufferably dull woman, but she donates a lot of money to my family’s charity. I’m kind of stuck.
After the awkward encounter is over, I attempt to cut through the crowd with Leah on my arm, guiding her toward the door in case she wants to leave before things get any more uncomfortable for her.
But just up ahead, I see three reasons why she isn’t going to make it to the exit.
The first being my father, and the other two being my brothers.
Practically the entire family, minus my idiot twin, just descended upon our path at once.
There’s no way around it; the charade is going to have to continue at least a little bit longer.
Not for the sake of my brothers, of course.
We are all well attuned to Kian’s antics.
But my father, whose face holds about as much emotion as an empty bottle, won’t tolerate anything messing up this charity gala.
And Declan, our eldest brother, would rather step in front of traffic than let Kian take the blame for his own actions. He’s always covering up for the bastard, even when it hurts the rest of us.
“Rowan,” our father says as he stops in front of us to talk. My brothers, Declan and Emmett, flank him on either side. “I didn’t know you had a girlfriend. Where have you been hiding her?”
My father wouldn’t know if I had a girlfriend, boyfriend, or a pet poodle.
He’s about as emotionally detached from his sons as it can get.
Still, there’s a family name to be protected, businesses to buffer, and a reputation to upkeep.
Which is exactly why, when I watched a stranger kiss my twin and immediately recognized it as another one of Kian’s messes, I stepped in before the crowd could react.
The lies came easier at first, when it was in front of a bunch of people I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about. It’s a bit harder to lie straight to my father’s face.
“No need to be embarrassed about the mix-up.” My father reaches out to take Leah’s hand and kiss the top of it. “People mistake Kian and Rowan for each other all the time. Even I do it sometimes. They’re remarkably identical.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes or say something that I know will get me a look of condemnation from Declan. It’s not an easy thing to hear your father admit that he can’t tell his own sons apart. If anything, it only further illustrates how much our father “checked out” after our mother died.
Leah gives him her hand and opens her mouth to say something in return. But before she can, I see Kian is walking toward us with his wife.
Emmett grins and shakes his head. I can’t read his mind, but I’m pretty good at reading his expression. And right now, he’s wondering what the fuck Kian is thinking.
“Our brother, a glutton for punishment,” he mouths silently.
My entire body tenses as soon as I feel it—Leah’s hand reaching back for mine as if reaching out for a lifeboat after being thrown overboard. I feel her fingers tap against the side of my thigh, searching. Without hesitation, I hold her hand again.
This is nothing short of a brutal round of introductions. I’m still not completely clear on what Kian has done here, but I have a pretty good idea.
Leah’s hand trembles against mine, and I instinctively rub my thumb against her palm to try and calm her. Poor thing—she had no idea about any of this, did she?
“I’m so happy to meet you,” Madeline says as she reaches out her hand to touch the side of Leah’s arm.
She’d hug her if she could, and if her swollen, pregnant belly wasn’t in the way. That’s just the kind of person Madeline is—accepting, generous, forgiving. Still, I don’t see her forgiving my brother for something like this if she ever found out.
“Kian didn’t tell me that Rowan has a girlfriend. I swear I’m the last to know everything. Welcome to the family.” Madeline’s smile glows as she rubs her round stomach.
Beside me, Leah’s eyes stare at the belly of Kian’s wife in a sort of stunned silence.
He played her. My bastard brother played this woman, strung her along like a side quest while secretly hiding her from his pregnant wife. Fuck, there really is no rock bottom for Kian.
“It’s—it’s very nice to meet you,” Leah chokes out her words as she tries to hide her horror.
I can’t imagine what she’s feeling right now.
“You’re Kian’s wife?”
All four of us brothers freeze. I can practically feel our collective held breath while we wait to hear Madeline’s answer and wait to see Leah’s response that will undoubtedly follow.
“Yes,” Madeline smiles and nods. “And this is our new little addition coming soon!” She pats her belly and smiles, oblivious to the fact that she’s smiling at her husband’s mistress.
“If you’ll excuse me,” our father says, spotting an investor that he’s about to go squeeze some cash out of at the far side of the ballroom. “It was nice to meet you, Leah. Hope to see more of you soon.”
After our father walks away, the introductions continue.
“This is our eldest brother Declan,” I say, trying to get Leah’s attention off Madeline for a moment. “And Emmett, the charmer of the family.”
“Yep!” Emmett laughs. “I can’t deny that.”
“Of course not.” Declan shakes his head. “You love the attention. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Leah. And it would appear that you’ve already met Kian.”
Declan’s dig doesn’t go unnoticed, at least not by the four of us.
“Yes.” Leah’s cheeks flush a hot red, making her green eyes almost glow.
For a moment, it seems like she’s trying to swallow, as if something is stuck in her throat. Perhaps it’s the lie that she’s about to try and push down. But then, with her hand still gripping mine back tight enough to make it start to tingle, she lifts her chin and looks Kian straight in the eyes.
“Sorry for mistaking you for your brother. I’m really embarrassed. Thank goodness Rowan was close by.” Leah’s voice doesn’t shake at all.
She’s either the strongest woman I’ve ever seen or one of the best liars.
Cleaning up after Kian is something I’m used to, especially since I’ve spent almost my entire twenty-eight years of life doing it. But this girl sells the lie even better than I do. I’m not sure whether that’s impressive or sad.
Regardless, it’s not something that any woman should ever have to do.
“No problem,” Kian says, not meeting her eyes as he threads his arm with Madeline’s. “Nice to meet you, Leah. Enjoy the evening with my brother.”
With that, Kian, the complete fucking asshole, escorts his wife to mingle with some of the other guests. I’m burning with anger on the inside. On the outside, I remain as I always do—cool, silent, unreadable. Privately, I want nothing more than to punch Kian in the face.
“Well, that was unexpected,” Declan sighs as soon as it’s just the three of us brothers and Leah standing in the corner of the ballroom together.
Leah glances over at Kian, who is now laughing beside Madeline.
It’s impossible not to notice the hurt in her eyes.
“Thanks for saving me from total humiliation.” She lets go of my hand, and when she looks at me, I think she’s about to break into tears. “I think I’ll head out now before things get any more awful.”
“Hang on a second,” Declan intervenes. “Give us a chance to make this right.”
“Make it right?” Leah asks incredulously. Her voice is starting to crack, and it pulls at something inside my chest. “How could you possibly make any of this right?”
“I’m not sure,” Declan admits in his honest, matter-of-fact tone. “But I’d like it if you could give us the chance to try.”
Leah looks between the three of us. I’m honestly surprised that she isn’t bolting for the door.
“Do I have to stay at this event any longer?”
“Not much longer,” Emmett says. “We want to leave as badly as you do. But we’re expected to mingle. Rowan will keep you company if you’d like. Unless it’s too hard to—”
Emmett stops himself before saying the thing that we’re all thinking—that it might be too difficult for this poor woman to even look at me since I am Kian’s twin.
“Alright,” she says to our surprise. “But please, no more introductions.”
“I’ll keep you away from the crowd until we can leave,” I offer. “Then we’ll all go talk somewhere privately and sort through this.”
Leah nods, and Declan and Emmett go to rejoin the gala. I take Leah to a table at the corner of the ballroom to sit with another glass of champagne.
“I’m really sorry that this happened to you,” I say, running my hand through my hair as I gulp down half my glass. “And I’m sorry that you’re stuck with a replica of Kian. I’m sure this can’t be easy either.”
Leah drinks and eyes me over the rim of the champagne flute. I must sting to look at right now, looking back at her with Kian’s exact appearance—the same dark hair, blue eyes, even the same muscular, lean physique. It’s impossible for me not to look like my twin.
“You’re not a replica,” Leah says to my surprise when she pulls the glass from her lips. “Kian doesn’t have this.”
She reaches her finger up toward my face and touches the side of my left cheek where my dimple is when I smile.
“I saw it earlier, when you smiled at that woman while introducing me. Kian doesn’t have that dimple. You’re not the same.”
I don’t know what to say to that. I don’t know how to feel about this woman—my brother’s secret girlfriend.
I did it to protect our family’s reputation, or at least that’s what I thought I was doing in the moment.
But now, as I sit here with my body reacting to the touch of her fingertip on my skin, thinking about how she didn’t buckle under the emotional pressure that would have drowned most women, I can’t help but be stunned into silence.
No one has ever made me feel seen, and yet somehow this stranger, this woman that my twin brother treated like table scraps while he went home to eat at his wife’s table, has made me feel more alive tonight than I have ever felt in my entire life.
I watch as she finishes her drink, wipes her eyes with a napkin, and sighs.
“I still can’t believe it,” she says softly.
“I can’t believe that Kian lied to me about all of this—having a family, brothers, a wife.
And obviously he must have super wealthy connections that he kept secret from me too, because how else would all of you be a part of this gala inside this extravagant place? ”
She motions toward the ballroom and sighs.
“Connections?” I ask with a chuckle born not out of amusement but out of disdain for the way Kian deceived her. “Leah, we own this building, and this is our gala.”
Her eyes go wide to the point of saucers just as Declan and Emmett walk back over to the table.
“Ready?” Declan asks. “We’re done here.”