Page 80 of The Arrangement

There was no telling how long I’d slept when the mattress dipped with the presence of another body, though it was far from restful. But not even the aroma of fresh coffee could entice me from the cocoon I’d made of myself. It didn’t make sense that my body felt as bruised as my heart when nothing had physically happened to me. Yet here I was.

“Wow, really feeling the love, bro. And I even brought you your favorite coffee and everything.”

At the sound of my twin’s voice, I threw back the covers and attacked her with a hug. “What are you doing here? When did you get in? You didn’t have to come.” I’d have been embarrassed at how raw my voice was, except Alex was one of the few people on this planet who wouldn’t judge me for anything. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have included JD on that list. I knew better now.

She squeezed me back just as fiercely. “Of course I had to come. I’m only sorry I wasn’t here for you when you first got to town.”

I shook my head as we pulled apart. “You were busy being an environmental badass.”

“Yeah, well, I still hate it. Aunt Petunia told me about the storm and what happened at the shop. I’m a little surprised you’re not there now.”

I gave her a weak smile I didn’t feel and shrugged. “What’s the point? There’s no way insurance will cover even half of what needs to be replaced. I’ll be rebuilding from less than what I started with, and I barely had the funds to do it the first time.”

“I’ll help, and so will Aunt Petunia.” She squeezed my hands when I didn’t respond. “You know that, right? We’re here for you, always.”

“I can’t take your money, Alex. This was my dream, not yours.”

Her mouth twisted to the side in a frown. “You’re nottakinganything. I’m giving it. And I’m allowed to want my twin to be happy after four years of being miserable as hell.” The way she said “hell” sounded a lot more like “hail”, and I couldn’t stop the smile from twitching on my lips. God, I’d missed her.

Before I could say anything, the telltale sting in my eyes returned. I swore I’d cried more this summer than I had in my entire adult life put together. Unfortunately, even being wrung out didn’t stop the tears from silently spilling.

“Oh, Tulip, don’t cry,” she said soothingly as she wiped my cheek. Then she gave me a knowing look because she was my twin and I couldn’t hide shit from her. “This is about more than the shop being damaged or even the money to fix it. This is about James.”

Try as I might, I couldn’t stop myself from stiffening. “What makes you say that?” She tackled me back down onto the mattress, and I let out an “Oof.”

We rolled to face each other, almost perfect mirror images, and she gave me a sad smile. “Because it’s been five whole minutes and you haven’t mentioned him once.”

I screwed up my face in a scowl. “I don’t talk about him that much.” She raised an eyebrow, and I huffed. “I don’t.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being in love, Marc. I’ve loved hearing how excited you are when you talk about him. So, I’m really concerned that you’re here, and he’s definitely not.” I hadto look away from the understanding, theknowing, in her eyes. “Tell me what happened.”

I heaved a sigh that felt like it came from the depths of the Gulf, then, even though I wasn’t sure if my heart would survive it, I told her. I told her everything. I told her how he came to be in Fairhope instead of Jones. How I was a complete sucker for his ridiculous thighs. The way he made me feel when he stopped everything to hear me. How much I loved it when he called me “baby boy”, even though that should probably be weird.

I filled her in on the dirty details of when and how we’d hooked up. How he was vers and apparently I was too. Admitted how much I loved the way he teased me. The day slipped by as I shared how much I’d fallen for him. Aunt Petunia checked on us, and we periodically paused for bathroom breaks, food, and rehydration. Then I got to the storm and what had followed, including me storming out of the shop and essentially telling him to fuck off without looking back.

“Wow, Tulip. That’s… a lot,” Alex said once I finished my winding tale. She flopped onto her back to stare up at the ceiling, and I mirrored her.

“Yep.”

She smacked me in the stomach with the back of her hand, and I grunted. “I wasn’t just talking about him.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

She huffed and levered up to her elbows to look down at me. “Really, Marc? Nowhere in that story did I hear where you told him how you feel.”

I scoffed. “Kind of feels like I dodged a bullet.”

“You sure about that? Because from what I heard, it sounds like a lot of this drama could have been avoided if you’d been upfront with him.”

“Wasn’t like he said anything either,” I grumbled petulantly.

“Christ on a cracker,” she fussed, flicking me on the forehead for good measure.

I sat up and batted her away. “What the hell was that for? You’re supposed to be making me feel better, not abusing me.”

“No, I’m supposed to help you pull your head out of your ass. Look, I get it. Putting yourself out there is scary.” She held up her hand before I could interject. “Especially with your dating history. I know you’ve been burned before, but it seems like James did everything short of put a ring on it to make sure you knew he was there for you. Then your stubborn ass goes and blows up because he said one wrong thing in an already stressful situation.Onething.”

“It wasn’t just one thing,” I argued.