5. Leah #3
“He didn’t plan it,” I explain. “He saw me kiss Kian and realized what was happening before I did, and stepped in, pretending to be my boyfriend. Afterward, Rowan, Declan, and Emmett asked me to keep it up.” I look out at the city instead of at her.
“They know your pregnancy is high-risk, and they didn’t want anything to upset you.
All three of them are furious with Kian, but they didn’t want you to find out and risk your health or the baby’s.
They planned on telling you after you gave birth. ”
There’s quiet between us for a few moments as we remain on the balcony together.
Madeline looks back through the window and sees Kian talking with his brothers.
She sighs and looks hurt, but she seems to understand that I was deceived too.
I’m relieved that she isn’t holding it against me. I feel bad enough already as it is.
“Leah,” she says once she turns back toward me. “I’d like to ask you to do something for me.”
“What is it?” I ask, willing to do almost anything to keep from feeling guilty about the part I’ve played in all of this.
“I know it’s a lot to ask of you, especially considering all that Kian has put you through as well. But I want you to continue pretending to be with Rowan until after the baby is born.”
“Why would you want that?” I ask in surprise.
“Because gossip columnists already published a story about the woman who kissed the wrong twin. If Rowan’s girlfriend vanishes a week later, that becomes the story, and then the media will start asking questions.
My doctor has been very clear that I need to manage my stress.
I can’t have reporters on my doorstep for the next two months.
I need to have this baby first.” She glances at Kian through the window.
“And I don’t want him knowing that I know.
Not yet. If he finds out, he’ll spend the next two months lying and making it all about himself.
I can’t handle a scandal and a divorce right now.
I need to have this baby. Then I’ll deal with Kian on my own terms, with lawyers he hasn’t had time to prepare for. ”
“Of course,” I nod without hesitation. I know what this will mean—I’ll still have to play this part in public, act like I’m the girlfriend of my ex’s twin brother. But at least the lie of deceiving Kian’s pregnant wife won’t be weighing on me anymore.
“Thank you.” She musters a small smile. “And for what it’s worth, I don’t think that I am the only one those three are trying to protect.”
I follow her glance as she looks in at Rowan, Declan, and Emmett standing in the middle of the penthouse, still engaged in conversation with their father and brother. Rowan’s eyes catch mine, and I quickly look away.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
Madeline smiles. She’s truly a good person at heart; I can already tell.
“I mean the way that Rowan jumped in at the gala to save you from embarrassment in front of all those people. That wasn’t just to keep the secret buried or prevent a scene.
If it was, there were other, less visibly intimate ways to do it,” she says softly.
“Rowan is very thoughtful—always has been. But he rarely shows that side to anyone. But honestly, if I spent a lifetime being mistaken for my twin, I’d put a few walls up, too. ”
Her observation hits me hard. These brothers—all three of them, and especially Rowan—are protecting me, a woman with no family of her own. They don’t need to be doing any of this, not even for Madeline’s sake.
Rowan didn’t need to wrap his arm around me so tightly at the gala.
He didn’t need to promise me that he’d stay at my side tonight during the family dinner.
Declan didn’t need to pay for the back rent that I owed.
And even Emmett didn’t need to cook me mac and cheese well past midnight.
And the brothers definitely didn’t need to give me a free place to live.
Since the night I found out my ex was a lying, cheating dirtbag, I’ve been fighting everything and everyone, falling back on my oldest defense—be the first one to leave before I get hurt.
Kian was the first one I ever let in, and look where that got me.
But it isn’t only Madeline’s words, out here in the cool night air, that are chipping away at the walls I’ve built.
It’s Rowan’s eyes finding mine through the glass again as I look back at him now.
It’s Emmett’s smile when he catches me watching them through the window too.
And it’s Declan, who takes one look at my face from across the penthouse and starts steering his father toward the door, because he can tell I’ve had enough for one night.
When Madeline, Kian, and their father all leave Declan’s penthouse, Rowan gets ready to walk me back down to my condo even though there really is no need.
I could just leave things as they lie for tonight and deal with the repercussions of what I’ve just done after a night to sleep on it.
But I can’t. I can’t walk out of this penthouse without fessing up to the truth.
After all that these guys have done to both clean up their brother’s mess and to help me, I’ve broken my promise.
I turn around before putting my hand on the door to leave and look all three of them squarely in the eyes.
“There’s something I need to tell you.”