Chapter Twenty-One
Phoebe
Nova never shifts his intense gaze off Jake. Not even as he says, “We’re triplets.”
The truth bomb explodes at my feet.
I’m stunned for a long, long second. When’s the last time we’ve told someone the depth of our relationship? Uh, almost never.
Most of the time they refer to themselves as my older brothers—because they technically are. Just older by minutes instead of years.
I want to be just as excited about living inside the whole truth, but nerves are swarming me.
Jake’s brows rise in surprise. “Triplets?” He swerves his head to me. “You didn’t mention that.”
I shrug. “It’s not something I bring up.”
“Seems like a big fact about yourself.”
Oliver grins. “We treat her like a little sister, so she likes to distance herself from our triplet status.”
I roll my eyes. “They try to treat me like a little sister.”
“How much older are you guys?” Jake wonders.
“Fourteen minutes,” Nova says.
Oliver holds up ten fingers. “Double digits for us both.”
Still lording that over my head. The excitement of Oliver’s and Nova’s presence starts to recede. Why are they even here? Does this mean our mom is on her way? What about Addison and Everett?
Before I can try and ditch Jake, Oliver heads to the kitchen. “I brought donuts. Why don’t you join us, Landlord?”
“I wish I could,” Jake starts.
I look up at Oliver. “He’s actually on a one-man search party for Rocky.”
“I wouldn’t phrase it like that.” Jake side-eyes me again.
“How would you phrase it?” Nova asks curiously.
“I’m making sure her ex-husband isn’t crashing here. That’s it.”
Neither of my brothers bat an eye at the ex-husband title. Probably since Rocky has been too many things to me, not because Rocky gave them a heads-up about it.
“I don’t know how well you know her ex...” Jake trails off. Okay, now he’s prying for info.
“Too well, unfortunately,” Nova grumbles.
Jake stiffens in what I can only register as a protective stance. Great, Nova just validated Jake’s bad feelings about Rocky.
Oliver is only staring at me. His lip lifts in a sympathetic, knowing look.
When I was younger, instead of confiding in Hailey about liking her older brother, I told my brothers instead. Both of them.
Oliver has always had a knack for compassion. He’s like a heating blanket, able to dial up the temperature and even suffocate if he wants, but Nova is more like steel.
“Did he do something?” Nova wonders, reading Jake’s posture.
Jake just looks to me to verify or deny.
I’m not unearthing anything. “No, as much as I love this Rocky crusade,” I say with a prickly tone.
“There’s no crusade,” Jake interjects with an outstretched hand—as though he’s worried I’m going to fling myself into Edward Scissorhands’ arms if the Hate-on-Rocky parade continues.
Jake is a good guy.
And he’s been sniffing out Rocky’s bad-guy behavior since day one. After the boathouse party, it’s likely shot to astronomical levels. The rampant gossip has turned into a broken game of Telephone, all of which I’ve overheard at the country club.
Did you know Grey and his ex-wife fought for five hours?
Did you hear that Grey punched a wall?
Phoebe couldn’t stop crying. She was sobbing on her way out the door.
I heard she’s the problem. Couldn’t please him in bed. He deserves better.
Add in the fact that most everyone there was drunk and probably didn’t remember shit, it’s mostly all exaggerations and lies.
Jake could very well believe all of it for all I know.
A string of tension is cut when Jake sees the lilac donut box on the kitchen counter. “Those are from Seaside Griddle?”
Oliver nods. “I’m told only the best in town.”
Jake hesitates for a second, considering staying. Oliver and Nova must want more intel from my landlord. There’s no other reason to want him here. We all migrate into the kitchen, and I gather a couple beers from the fridge for my brothers.
Koning Lite.
I wish I was kidding.
Jake side-eyes the beer bottles, and I flush, wanting to tell him I bought a twelve-pack before I knew his whole name. But his phone suddenly rings with a chime that sounds a whole lot like an instrumental tune of “Bad to the Bone” by George Thorogood & the Destroyers.
He audibly groans while fishing for his cell, and instead of answering, he presses the button to silence the call.
“Who was that?” I wonder. Okay, now it’s my turn to pry.
Jake gives me a look like I broke a cotillion rule. “Did anyone teach you manners?”
Four different cotillion classes in four different states. Though, I did only finish one. We had to leave before I completed any of the others.
“Manners are a choice,” I tell him, sliding the beer and bottle opener to Nova. “And sue me for wondering who you hate enough to give that ringtone to.”
He blinks. “My mom.”
“Joke?” I wonder.
“No joke. Unfortunately.”
Oliver laughs, taking his uncapped beer from Nova. “That’s great. I like this one.” He tips his bottle toward Jake.
Jake looks between the three of us. “And what do your parents do for a living?”
The energy in the room shifts, but I’m not sure Jake can pick up on it. Dad is in prison. Has been since I was a kid.
Mom... well, that’s going to be a tough one to explain.
“Boring corporate shit,” Nova says in a swig.
“Phoebe pissed them off enough that she got her trust fund taken away,” Oliver adds. “We’re just in town to make sure she’s doing okay.”
I guess it’s a decent cover story. At least I won’t have to pretend not to know some upper society ways if I came from it at one time. And maybe... maybe that is the truth? A piece of it at least.
Jake glances at me with more and more curiosity like he’s gathering pieces of my history. He won’t ever have the full picture, though. I can’t let him have it.
“You’re not on good terms with your parents?” He asks the question that he knows the answer to.
I shrug. “Not really.”
“You’re the kind of guy our mom would set Phoebe up with,” Oliver mentions. “If she met you, I’m sure she’d already have wedding invitations made.”
Oh God. I almost go for a donut so I can throw it at him.
Nova cringes at the idea of me dating.
“Thank God she’s not here, right?” I say to Jake. “I mean, in another life maybe I’d fake date you to get her off my back. But... that’s another life.” Why am I still talking?
“And thank God that’s another life,” Jake says bluntly.
Oh, ouch.
Does the idea of fake dating me really turn him off?
I’m roasting alive. Turning on my heels, I hide my face from him and then look up.
Oliver slips me a sweet smile into a sip of beer, like we’re in on a joke and Jake is the outsider. It relaxes me, and I already realize how much I really love having my brothers here.
“Well, I hope your stay in Victoria goes smoothly,” Jake tells my brothers. “If you need any advice about spots in town, Phoebe has my number.”
He spins around for the door.
“Wait,” I say, confused. “You haven’t checked the rooms for Rocky yet. You don’t want to look?”
His eyes flit to Nova and Oliver for a second then back to me. “I trust you.”
No, he doesn’t. I just think he’s not in the mood to go through my brothers.
“Thanks,” I say, accepting that fake little trust like a precious trinket.
He nods once and leaves.
Nova and Oliver are quiet for a standard five minutes. The three of us unspeaking as we settle more around the kitchen. Nova starts the microwave, and Oliver switches on the fan, creating more ambient noise.
I take one of the chocolate donuts with pink sprinkles.
It’s interesting how the three of us can be apart and come together again like no time has passed. It’s that way with the Tinrocks, too, but for me and my brothers there’s something deeper here.
We shared a womb together, after all. But it’s even more than that. We have that scarlet A from our dad’s missteps that sent him to prison. His absence left our mom with three kids to raise, and it was never easy. When I was six, we lived in a glittering penthouse in Chicago, and she’d been cooking nonstop since her new husband called and told her he was returning home early from his work trip in New York.
She was always a loving, dutiful wife to each and every husband she married.
And we were never her triplets. Usually, one of us was from a different marriage. Sometimes we were half-siblings. Other times, Nova was the eldest, and Oliver and I were twins.
Our relationships always varied but our truth remained close to our hearts.
Each of her husbands was different. Some worse than others.
Sheamus couldn’t stand Nova, and when he laid a hand on him, our mom packed our bags and left in the middle of the night. She gripped the steering wheel of her white Corvette. “I promise that won’t ever happen again.” Steely-eyed and remorseful, she braved a glance to Nova. He didn’t cry. He was glaring out the window, pain in his eyes.
“You hear me, spider?” She touched his shoulder. “It won’t happen again.”
But it did.
It happened in different ways to each of us because the men she married were never good men. The saving grace was knowing every house we lived in, every city we moved to, and every despicable man she married was always temporary. The moment our mom would find out what happened, she’d empty out their bank account and pack our bags once more.
We’d leave.
But she never made that promise again. Not after the first time. I think, maybe, she knew it hadn’t been a lie, but if she said it again, it would be.
Through it all, Nova, Oliver, and I grew closer. We were shelter, familiarity, and permanence.
Now they’re here in Victoria when they should be in Seattle, and their presence should bring the usual comfort, but my stomach is unsettled. They were helping keep my cover. Now what does Mom think?
I’ve never bailed on a job before. Not like this.
Before I can ask, Oliver tilts his head to me. “Ex-husband has you down?”
God.
“With Rocky, it’s an eternal hell—he never has me up,” I mutter, avoiding Nova’s intense gaze. They might know about my young crush and how Rocky never made a move on me, but I didn’t open up about the agreement Rocky and I made two years ago after that job. The Job That Shall Never Be Named. It felt too... raw.
Most of the time, it’s easier to be openly disgruntled than lovelorn.
Nova grips his beer in a fist. “Your landlord thinks something bad happened between you two.”
“Just small-town gossip. It’s been the same old, same old with me and him, and I’d much rather hear about you two.”
“Same old, same old,” Oliver says lightly. “I fuck around and tell. Nova fucks around and shares absolutely nothing.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” Nova retorts.
“Liar, liar, pants on fire,” Oliver says with a rising smile, then swings his head to me. “A blonde girl left his room last night.”
Oliver and I exchange a big grin while Nova takes the heartiest swig. Then tersely, Nova says, “Okay. Let’s talk about important shit.”
“You don’t think you’re important?” I tease.
“You are important, big brother,” Oliver says, coming over to him just to skate a hand over Nova’s shaved head.
Nova pushes Oliver’s chest with little force.
Oliver laughs, but when the bright sound fades, Nova’s “back to business” face returns.
I tear off a piece of frosted donut. “Does Mom still think I’m in Indiana?” I finally ask.
“No,” Nova says. “She thinks you, Hailey, and Rocky got sidetracked, and you’re all doing a job in this state.”
“She knows I’m in Connecticut?” Great.
“Rocky said it was the best route,” Oliver clarifies while he goes to start a pot of coffee. “Or else we’d all get caught in a lie and they’d be here tomorrow.”
Nova adds, “We told her your new job is more lucrative than the Seattle clip joint.”
“And she just... let you guys come?” I frown deeply. “They’d been planning the Seattle job for months...”
“It’s handled,” Nova says. “To tell you the truth, Mom started dating someone new, and I don’t think she wants you out there with him around.”
Oliver stares far away at the coffeepot. “I can’t wait until she bleeds him for all he’s worth.”
My stomach sours. “He’s that bad?”
Nova tips the beer to his mouth. “She could tell I was getting pissed.”
Oliver loosely threads his arms, leaning in the corner where the counters meet, his ankles crossed. “And I was on my way.”
“To getting pissed?” I ask.
He nods. “About there.”
“You were already pissed, Oliver,” Nova clarifies, eyeing our brother. “You threw a drink at him. With the fucking glass.”
“It slipped out of my hand.”
Guilt bites at me. For not being with them.
Nova turns back to me. “She actually asked us if you need help with your job, and that was the least subtle hint she could give.”
She prompted them to come out here.
I look to Oliver for more details since Nova tends to skirt around them. “What was he like? The boyfriend?” I wonder.
“Handsy,” Oliver says. “He gropes her in public. He’d probably do the same to you, if you were available.”
Available. Like I’m a hotel with a vacancy sign.
My mom, for as much as she taught me about seduction and influence, has always shielded me from her marks. Not in a competitive way. It’s more protective. Like she knows there is a seedy, rough part of our job, and it’s usually designated to the one who has to “encourage” the mark.
Sometimes... I do wonder if I do the same thing with Hailey. If maybe I learned that bit of being a shield for others from my mom.
I chew slowly on the donut, processing, and then I swallow. “You two do know that I’m not out here on a job, right?” Last time I asked Rocky, he said he told them everything but vaguely. Whatever that means.
“Rocky caught us up on all of it this morning,” Nova says. “You’re out here for real, and we didn’t want to mess that up for you.”
“No offense, sis,” Oliver adds. “But this plan of yours seems like it was fueled by crack cocaine. You and Hailey didn’t smoke up on your last job, did you? Or were there some magic mushrooms involved? A little peyote to cleanse the soul.” He mimes taking a drag.
Nova looks right into me at the mention of the last job. Carlsbad.
I swallow a rising lump. “No magic mushrooms,” I tell Oliver. “This is just a new thing. We’re seeing it through.” For as long as we can.
“Hmm.” Nova makes a gruff noise under his breath.
Oliver pushes away from the counter. “Well, it’s lovely that you want to be all Goody Two–shoes. But not all of us were built that way.” He holds up three fingers. “Scout’s honor I won’t wreck anything up for you and Hails.”
Oh no...
Oh no.
My eyes go wide. “You two aren’t doing a job here.”
“We won’t,” Nova says, downing the last of his beer. “Rocky already made us promise.”
Rocky.
A gross sentiment fills my body. I can’t describe it other than attraction toward that silver-tongued jackass, and I want the antidote. STAT.
“But,” Oliver says with a wry smile, “we’re not subscribing to your new-wave hipster style of living.”
I roll my eyes. “You mean being a good person.”
Oliver makes a gagging sound.
Nova cracks a smile. “He’s right. We’re sticking around, but we’re here on our terms.”
“And we promise not to fuck up yours,” Oliver says, resting a hand on my shoulder as he comes around me to pluck a donut.
He keeps his arm across my shoulders, and I find myself leaning a bit of my weight into my brother.
Their support means a lot, even if they’re drawing the same line in the sand as Rocky. I want to say that it’ll be easier with them here. But that’s not true.
Watching them mold a life for themselves that will be better than mine... easier than mine... is going to be hard to witness. I’m not sure I’m strong enough to stay on this path.
But I want to be.
I have to be.
I won’t screw up.