Chapter 5 - Ryan #2
“No, I’m seeing him next week.” Frank didn’t attend events where alcohol was served, which was why he hadn’t been present at my stag do either. “I’m going on a fishing trip with him before the wedding though, so he doesn’t feel like he’s missing out.”
“You’re a good boy,” she murmured distractedly, patting my arm. “It’s a shame Xander couldn’t make it either.”
“Yeah.” I sighed. Mum loved Xander almost as much as she’d loved Dominic. “He’ll be back soon though.”
Her lips pinched as she surveyed the guests. “You could’ve warned me it was going to be fancy. I stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Don’t be silly, June,” Kate said, giving Mum a quick hug as she joined us. “You look beautiful as always.”
“You do,” I said, kissing her cheek. “This is a gorgeous dress.”
“It’ll do,” she muttered, plucking at the skirt. “At least I’m dressed better than the others.”
Alarm bells began to ring distantly. “The others?”
“I can’t wait for you to meet Max,” Mum said, taking Kate’s arm. “Isn’t it wonderful that he’s made it back in time for the wedding?”
“He has?” Kate shot me a questioning look over Mum’s head. I shrugged sheepishly. “Well, that’s excellent news.”
“I’m so happy to have them back,” Mum continued enthusiastically, tugging Kate away “You’re going to love them.”
Kate’s brow furrowed, but I was the one to ask the question. “Them?”
“Here they are,” Mum crowed triumphantly, coming to a stop looking at someone in the crowd. “Kate, this is Max and Dominic.”
I closed my eyes briefly. This couldn’t be happening.
But I opened them to find it was, indeed, happening. Cutting through the crowd and coming to a halt in front of us were none other than my erstwhile twin and Dominic.
Yet he has the nerve to call me Shadow. Should call himself it given he spends all his time in Max’s.
Mum was right—neither Max’s nor Dom’s outfits fit in. Both were in T-shirts and jeans. Dom hadn’t even bothered with a coat, despite the definite chill outside.
Didn’t seem to matter though, not when their mere presence commanded respect. No one would likely even notice they were underdressed. Their confidence was different from mine. Natural. Unquestionable.
Bastards.
Dom’s face was unreadable, his arms crossed over his chest. My eyes lingered on his arms. This was the first time I’d seen so much of them uncovered.
I couldn’t quite make out his tattoos, and the artist in me was begging to get closer.
To examine whatever Dom had deemed important enough to permanently mark his skin with.
Gradually, my gaze moved northwards.
To find Dominic watching me.
I flushed at his mocking smile. He’d obviously caught me looking.
Grinding my teeth, I looked away.
Mum was already busy with introductions. “Kate, this is Max.”
“Oh my,” Kate said faintly, her head whipping between the two of us. “You weren’t kidding when you said you’re identical.”
My twin gave her a lazy grin as he picked up her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. “I don’t know about that. I’ve always been the hotter one.”
I rolled my eyes internally. If Max was trying to piss me off, he’d have to choose a different avenue. My days of letting jealousy control me were long past.
“And this is Dominic,” Mum said proudly. “Max’s best friend.”
I pretended those words didn’t hurt. They shouldn’t have. As far as Mum was concerned, Max’s friend was all Dom had ever been.
There was no connection between the two of us in her mind. Which was fine. Grand, even. The fewer people who knew about us, the better.
Suddenly a different future flashed through my mind. One where Dominic was at my side. Where Mum was introducing us to others. “This is Dominic, Ryan’s fiancé.”
I shook the ridiculous thought from my head. Even if we’d stayed together, it wasn’t like we’d have ended up married. Dominic had never promised me forever.
“There’s no rush, Ryan. We’ve got forever.”
Okay. Let me rephrase that. He’d never promised me forever and meant it.
“Lovely to meet you,” Dom said, finally looking at Kate. His throat bobbed before he forced a smile. “You’re even more beautiful than the picture Ryan shared.”
Kate giggled. “My, aren’t you the charmer.”
The dead expression in Dom’s eyes was anything but charming. Thankfully, before he could say anything more, someone called Kate’s name.
“Excuse me,” she said, shooting me an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time,” Dom muttered under his breath. I glared at him, surprised to see Max doing the same from the corner of my eye.
“Oh, there’s Margie.” Mum waved at someone on the other side of the room. As always, she was oblivious to what was happening. “I’ll be right back too.”
Then it was just the three of us. Max and Dom shoulder to shoulder, and me facing them.
Alone.
“Thanks for not kicking us out,” Max said quietly. “I didn’t think we should come, but I was overruled.”
Dominic’s smirk told me exactly who’d overruled him.
My response was to wave coolly at the buffet. Getting the two of them far away from me sounded like a solid plan. “Help yourself to food. I’m going to—”
Before I could come up with an excuse to leave, another man joined us. He was a few inches shorter than me, and heavily muscled. Good-looking too, with an easy smile and shining green eyes. “Fuck, it was easier to get through Sangin than that crowd.”
Military, I guessed. Apparently it wasn’t enough for the two of them to gatecrash; they’d brought a friend too.
“Got you both a beer,” the stranger said, handing one each to Max and Dom before turning to me apologetically. “Sorry, mate, didn’t realise you needed a drink too.” He did a double take, eyes wide and jaw swinging. “Wait, am I tripping?”
Max chuckled. “Nah, Mimic. This is my twin, Ryan.”
Understanding dawned in Mimic’s eyes. “Ryan?”
There was something about the way he turned to Dom as he said it that had my skin prickling.
“Yes, Ryan,” Dominic said, throwing an arm around Mimic’s shoulders. “Max’s twin. I know we might’ve put you close to one too many explosions, but surely your hearing can’t be that bad.”
“My hearing’s fine, it’s just that…”
I didn’t hear the rest of his words. I couldn’t. They were drowned out by this odd rushing noise in my ears. One that had started as soon as Dom put his arm around this hot guy’s shoulders. That grew louder as he pulled him closer into his side.
With the way Dom was now grinning down at him, it was almost deafening.
It was Dom’s voice that finally cut through the noise. “Isn’t that right, Ry?”
“What?” I tried to catch up, but my brain was stuck on the fact that Dom’s fingers were toying with the edge of Mimic’s sleeve.
“I was just saying that Mimic’s welcome here tonight,” Dom said smoothly. “After all, this is what you wanted.”
What? My gaze snapped up to search Dom’s face. An amused smile played on his lips as he waited for the realisation to unfold.
When it did, it took everything I had not to smack him in the face.
“That’s what you want? To see me move on?”
“Yes.”
Max cleared his throat. “Are you expecting Dad?”
“No.” I reluctantly dragged my eyes away from Dom and the man he was still touching. Much as I didn’t really want to engage with Max, he was the lesser of two evils right now. “He was invited, but I’m not expecting him. He didn’t RSVP to this or the wedding.”
He also hadn’t responded to any of the messages I’d sent over the years. He’d been checked out during our teen years, but since the divorce? He’d exited my life in every way possible.
Max exhaled slowly. “Fuck. Figured it was just me he ghosted.”
“Nope. It’s both of us.”
A beat of understanding passed between us. A recognition of the bond we’d once shared. That we should share now. I could have sworn there was regret in my twin’s eyes.
I broke the connection. It wasn’t my fault we didn’t share it now.
It was Max’s.
“He sounds like a cunt,” Mimic announced, his tone oddly chipper considering his words. “Want me to track him down and teach him a lesson?”
Dom gave that dark chuckle as he grinned down at the man in his arms. “Always ready to stir up trouble.”
My nails dug into my palms as my chest tightened.
“I need a word with you, Mimic,” Max said suddenly. He stepped between us, but for some reason, chose to face me. I couldn’t read his expression. Didn’t really try to, either.
I was too busy counting the inches between the men behind him. How they seemed to be decreasing with every new second.
“Right now?” Mimic pouted, leaning his head against Dom. “But this is so much fun.”
Dom chuckled, continuing to toy with the edge of Mimic’s T-shirt sleeve. Red begun to beat at the edges of my vision. “You can wait, Max. We’re having a pleasant conversation.”
My knuckles cracked.
Max’s lips thinned as his eyes dropped to my fists. “Pinecone, Mimic.”
Pinecone? I frowned as I tried to puzzle it out. Whatever Max meant was lost on me.
But not on Mimic, or whatever his real name was. He immediately stepped away from Dom with a dramatic sigh. “Always spoiling my fun.”
“Bitch at me at the bar,” Max said, taking Mimic’s arm and turning them in that direction. Before they left, he gave me a small nod.
I stared after him, trying to work out Max’s intentions. Had he been looking out for me? Or for Dominic?
Without context, I would’ve assumed it was for Dominic. But given how he was now glaring at Max with an expression akin to a bulldog chewing a wasp, I suspected that wasn’t the case.
Just what had gone down between them while they’d been gone?
This was my chance to move away. To leave Dominic here and find Kate. But it was like my feet had been encased in concrete. They wouldn’t move.
“Pinecone?” I heard myself ask.
“Military code.” Dom shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “Mimic was in our unit.”
“And now you’re…”
Dom smirked. “Now we’re here together.”
The rushing noise was back in my ears again. “If you think you’re going to get anywhere by trying to make me jealous, Dom, then you’re sorely mistaken.”