Chapter 7
Silas
I took a big gulp of wine and crammed a fresh-baked cookie into my mouth, ignoring the sharp ding-ding-ding of my phone’s notifications.
Jamie, who usually reserved his baking prowess for the dogs, had taken pity on me and whipped up a batch of fresh chocolate-chunk-walnut cookies. He used dark chocolate, and it paired beautifully with the red wine I was guzzling like it was Kool-Aid.
Now I was ensconced in the couch, content to stay there forever.
“Your phone is blowing up,” Maverick pointed out.
“Yep.” I shoved another cookie into my mouth, avoiding the begging eyes of three dogs. Jamie’s two Labs were tough enough, but I had a real weak spot for the little French bulldog that had moved in with Jamie’s boyfriend, Hank, a couple of months ago.
“You don’t even want to hear what he has to say?” Jamie asked tentatively.
“Wha’ er’ oo ere.”
Jamie’s brow creased. “What?”
I swallowed my cookie and smacked my lips. “What’s there to hear? He already gave me his farfetched story.”
“Maybe it’s true,” Maverick said.
I laughed sharply. “Right, because we live in a rom-com where there’s two gorgeous, sexy-as-fuck twins running around romancing wedding planners. C’mon.”
“To be fair, only one guy romanced you,” Maverick said.
“Exactly! Because he’s one man. One lying, cheating, deceitful, unfaithful, unattainable, untouchable—”
“That’s a lot of adjectives,” Maverick said.
“—unacceptable, undeniable asshole!”
Jamie winced. “I just can’t believe someone would do that. It’s awful.”
“Plenty of men lie,” I said with a tired sigh, having exhausted myself with all those adjectives.
I lifted my cookie, then lowered it, unable to take another bite. My stomach was sloshing with chocolate and wine, and nausea was creeping up my throat.
“It’s not like you to get so worked up about a guy,” Maverick said. “This one really got to you, huh?”
“It’s not like I care about him,” I said dismissively. “He fucked with my job. That’s not okay.”
Maverick tilted his head, staring at me, and I shifted uncomfortably. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” Jamie asked, adorably befuddled.
“Silas actually liked this guy,” Maverick said. “It takes a lot for a guy to impress you.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So,” he said slowly, “maybe if he was that impressive, you should hear him out. If you don’t believe the twin story, ask for proof, but don’t run away without answers.”
I swallowed hard. “I’m not running.”
Maverick looked pointedly at my phone with its jumble of missed calls and messages.
I groaned. “I’m not ready to feel like a fool again. I swore I’d never end up in this situation again, and I’m so fucking mad at myself.”
“Again?” Jamie prompted.
I winced. “It’s a long story.”
“Good thing we’re here all night,” Maverick said, sitting back, arms crossed.
“What about Damon? Don’t you want to go love up your hunk of a man?”
“Not until I know you’re okay, Sy. So spit it out.”
I turned to Jamie. “Hank isn’t going to want to hide out in his bedroom all night.”
Jamie waved it off. “He’s got snacks and a movie. He’s fine.”
I dropped my head back against the sofa, too drunk and tired and full of cookie to think of a way to divert them.
“Just tell us,” Maverick said. “You were there for my freakout about Damon.”
“Yeah, and you watched me fret over my straight friend who I thought would never want me,” Jamie put in. “We’ve all been there.”
“Not like this.”
Maverick and Jamie exchanged a look. Wordlessly, they moved in a little closer on each side of me. Maverick laid his arm across my middle, squeezing gently. Jamie rested his head on my shoulder.
“We’ve got you,” Maverick said.
I swallowed hard. “I was engaged.”
Beside me, Jamie gasped in shock. Maverick just squeezed me a little tighter, silently offering to hear me out.
“He left me at the altar. In front of all our friends and family.”
“Oh, Silas.”
I pushed to my feet and took a few steps away. “I don’t want to talk about this. It was a long time ago, and he was an idiot, and I deserved better.”
“Of course you did!” Maverick said. “I can’t believe you never told us.”
I shrugged. “I moved on before I met you guys. And besides, I dodged a bullet. I have fun with men. A lot of fun. I don’t need more than that. I’ve got my career. I’ve got my friends. I’ve got my family.”
Jamie made a pained sound. “You deserve a good man.”
I snorted. “Yeah, because that’s really working out for me, huh? The first guy I let my guard down for and this bullshit happens.”
“I’m sorry,” Maverick said, so sincerely I wanted to cry, and I didn’t fucking cry over men anymore. That was the old Silas. The new and improved me moved the fuck on.
“Silas,” Jamie said tentatively. “Unless he’s really committed to this lie and using AI, Bryson does have a twin.”
I turned. “How would you know?”
He held up my phone where a new text had just come through. A photo of two guys, identical, standing together. Then another photo popped in.
And another.
Them at Christmas, looking ten years younger. Them at a birthday party wearing matching grins. Them holding up a big fish by the lake, at age about twelve or thirteen.
“What the fuck?” I whispered, staring at the messages, some of my certainty leaking away.
Another message popped in, this one from Caitlyn.
Please be my wedding planner, Silas. Bryson is telling the truth! My groom has a twin, and his twin really likes you. And why wouldn’t he? You’re amazing. And Bryson is a great guy, an honest guy, I swear! You’d be such a cute couple.
I scrolled through the messages that had come in while I ignored my phone, including a voicemail from Carol Ann.
I hit play.
“Silas, a man who insists he’s not the groom came by. He showed me his driver’s license. I believe he’s telling the truth, hon. It sounds like a terrible mix-up. Call if you need anything.”
A dozen texts from Bryson. Several earlier ones from Caitlyn. Each growing more frantic as I refused to answer.
“Silas?” Maverick said. “You okay?”
I shook my head, staring at the evidence, as my stomach churned. “This can’t be right. He can’t be telling the truth.”
“This is a good thing,” Jamie said. “Right?”
That did it. My stomach lurched, and I ran for the bathroom. “I’m gonna be sick!”
I hurled myself to my knees in front of the toilet.
“Welcome to life in a rom-com,” Maverick said dryly while I heaved. “Looks like gorgeous twins are running around after all, and you, my friend, made yourself sick over one of them.”
I hurled for a few minutes, and when I came up for air, I glared at Maverick. “You’re not comforting.”
He chuckled. “I know. I’m just enjoying this.”
“Seeing me miserable?”
“Seeing you care about something.”
Jamie pushed into the bathroom with us, as if it wasn’t already crowded enough, and handed me a glass of water.
While I sipped, he stroked my hair back from my sweaty forehead. “You’re going to be okay, Silas. Everything will.”
I closed my eyes, the comfort almost too much to handle.
The news that Bryson wasn’t a liar should be a relief. I should be happy. I was, for Caitlyn’s sake. But the mixup was a good thing, because it woke me the fuck up.
One night, and I’d been falling apart over this guy. I’d been with Michael months before I felt even a fraction of that. If Bryson had the power to upset me so much this quickly, I needed to stay the fuck away from him.
Because I hated how weak I’d been for Michael. Hated how he’d shattered me. How hard it had been to pick up the pieces and move on.
And I’d be damned if I ever let that happen again.