by G. Benson
“No. I am not telling you all the amazing food I will cook. You are in my—my black books?”
“Your bad books?” Hayden laughed.
“Sí. Eso. My bad book.”
“Where’d you learn that?”
“A book. And it’s true.”
“But you still love me, right?”
Her front door was approaching.
“Sí, cariño. Te quiero. Always.” But Hayden heard the mildly infuriated tone laced through it. Ah, the sound of her adolescence.
Hayden grinned. “I’ll call you when I know the dates.”
“Un beso. Adiós.”
“Adiós.”
She hung up and slipped her phone in her pocket. Well, that hadn’t gone too badly. As she approached the door, the doorman opened it. She grinned at him.
“Hi.”
“Hello,” he replied.
Hayden slowed down before walking in, pausing next to him. “I’m Hayden.” She held out a hand. “What was your name? I pass you every day; it’s weird not knowing it.”
He kept one hand on the door handle and shook her hand with the other. His smile was the kindest Hayden had ever seen.
“I am Nicolas.” He had a voice that deep and smooth, a slight accent on his tongue. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too. You don’t stand out here all the time, do you? It’s freezing.”
He chuckled. “No, I stand inside most of the time.”
“Good.” She gave him a wave. “I’ll see you around, Nicolas. Have a good day.”
“You too.”
Hayden scampered inside, heading toward the stairs. She could do this. For a second, she hovered at the bottom, staring up at them. She told her patients to get light exercise all the time. But the elevator would be so much easier.
Sighing, she started walking up, the sound of her feet bouncing off the walls of the stairwell.
Halfway up, she paused, breathing hard. Her legs were small. That was why. She took the second half more slowly. When she pushed open the door and wandered down to her apartment, she paused at the door, her hand buried in her bag to find her keys. As she rummaged, voices floated out from the other side of the door.
Fairly loud voices.
“—the hell?”
“Do you really think I haven’t planned this out?” That was Sam’s voice, as unaffected as ever. Hayden could just imagine her standing straight-backed, right near the door, her eyebrows high.
“Sam, I really don’t think you have.” Surprisingly, that voice, a male voice, was one Hayden knew too, she was sure. “You didn’t need to do this for me.” The man barely sounded mad, more tired.
Jon! It was Jon, from the opposite apartment. Wow, they really were friends, to be hanging out in Sam’s apartment. From what Hayden had seen, Sam didn’t really hang out with anyone. And she seemed perfectly content with that.
“I did need to do this. No one else was going to.”
What did Sam need to do for Jon that no one else would? Hayden should really announce her presence. Listening was rude.
She stepped closer and turned her ear to the door.
“Of course no one else would do this. This is an idiotic idea.”
“Why?”
“You’ll lose them too! For no reason.”
“For no reason?” Sam’s voice had gone an extra layer of cold, obvious even through the thick wooden door. “You think what they’ve put you through is no reason? Or that they would have done the same to me in the end was no reason?”
“That’s not what I said. And like you care that they would have done the same to you. You’ve shown that just by going through with all this.”
“Well, that’s true.” Sam actually sounded amused. Wow. “But I—you weren’t supposed to find out about this.”
So they were clearly talking about the marriage. Was Jon in love with Sam? No. That was stupid. That made no sense given what they were saying. But then why would Sam care if Jon knew?
What the hell?
“How would I not have found out?” he asked.
“Well, obviously, you would have. I was hoping it would be near the end.”
“You had a big reveal planned, didn’t you?” He sounded smug. Was he teasing her? This was so strange.
“No.” Hayden could practically hear the roll of Sam’s eyes.
“I still think this is a bad idea. There’s no need.”
“There is, and you know it.”
He sighed, and the door handle turned. Hayden flew backward, heat rushing to her face and her fingers trembling. She shoved a hand in her bag as if she was searching for her keys, but when the door opened, she was pretty sure that she looked like a deer caught in headlights.
Sam and Jon blinked at her. His hand held the edge of the door as he held it open, a slow, easy grin rolling over his lips.
“Why, hello,” he said.
Sam just stared at her.
“H…hey.” Hayden tried to smile and hoped it didn’t look shaky. “How are you two?”
They side-eyed each other and looked back at Hayden.
“I’m well,” Sam’s voice was measured. “How was your day?”
“Good. It’s freezing out.”
Jon’s hand ran down the door and fell away. He stepped forward, still grinning. “Pretty cold in here too.” He winked and walked past Hayden.
Sam gave a huff of irritation, but something like affection was on her face. “Go home,” she said.
“Already there,” he called out, his key in the door, and Hayden turned in time to see him vanish behind it. “Bye, lovebirds.”
When the door snicked shut, Hayden turned back to look at Sam. Sam shook her head, and walked back inside. Hayden followed her straight to the kitchen, dropping her bag on the counter.
“So.” Sam grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “How much did you hear?”
“Not much.” Hayden spoke too quickly.
Sam uncapped the water and didn’t take her gaze off Hayden.
“Okay, a little, but I didn’t understand much.”
Maybe they were lovers.
“That was my brother.”
Or maybe they—wait.
“What?”
“Jonathon is my brother.”
“Oh.” Not lovers, then. “Oh.”
Also, he said no one called him Jonathon.
“What?” Sam asked.
“That explains why he seemed familiar. You actually do look alike.”
“Yes, he mentioned that you had met. That’s how he knew we were married.”
Or he would have seen her ring. Hayden couldn’t help but notice it constantly, like now, as she took a sip of her water.
“I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to tell him.”
“I know. How could you?”
“He seemed more amused than anything.”
“Yes, well. It’s complicated.”
Hayden desperately wanted to know why but had said she’d stop pushing that. So she bit her tongue, literally. “Does he, uh, know it’s not real?”
Sam sighed, the water bottle going onto the counter. “Yes.” As Hayden’s eyes widened, she waved a hand. “He won’t tell anyone. It won’t be an issue.”
“But—”
“It won’t be.”
“Okay.” There were a thousand ways it could be, in Hayden’s eyes. But that wasn’t exactly Hayden’s problem. “So, you have a brother?”
“Yes. A very infuriating one. Do you want a bottle of water?”
“Thanks.”
Sam fished another from the fridge and handed it over.
Hayden added, “An infuriating brother, but one you like.” The affection in her tone had been unmistakable.
Sam seemed to consider her words for a moment, her thumb running idly over the rim of her bottle. “Yes. I do.”
That reaction was practically a love poem from Sam. “How old is he?”
“How old do you think he is?”
�
�I can’t figure it out.” Hayden’s hips dug into the counters as she leaned forward on her elbows, the marble cold under them.
“No one ever can. It’s how he gets into so much trouble. Or got, anyway.”
“So, by that, I’m guess he’s younger than I would think.”
Sam shrugged, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She clearly wasn’t going to help.
“Hm.” Hayden flicked the cap of her bottle under her finger, following it with her eyes as it skittered across the counter. “Well you said ‘got,’ so maybe he’s over twenty-one now, but he used to get into bars as a minor because he could look older?”
Sam half-shrugged again.
“You’re not helping at all. I’m going to say twenty-one.”
“Bingo.”
Hayden fist-pumped. “Right on the first guess. He looks older at times, then he grins and he looks like he’s a—”
“A cheeky five-year-old.”
“Exactly.”
Sam sighed. “That’s him in a nutshell. He’s charming and cheeky and gets into all sorts of trouble.”
“And you help him out of it?”
“He’s my brother.”
So Sam had a soft spot. “There’s a big age gap between you two.”
“Yes, thank you for pointing that out. It’s never occurred to me.”
Hayden snickered. “Sorry.”
“You’re not at all. And yes, over twenty years. My parents were indeed shocked about him.”
“I like him.”
Hayden had just decided that.
“Good. Because he’s apparently back, so be warned: he drops in from time to time.”
“Has he always lived next door?”
Sam hesitated. “No. I rented it for him. It’s a place he knows he can always go to.”
How loaded was Sam? To have both apartments? “That’s…nice of you.”
“I don’t know about that.” Her brow was furrowed, her thumb still running over the rim of her bottle.
“Did you not expect him to be here? Where has he been?”
Sam didn’t look up from her bottle. “College. Interstate. But it seems he dropped out.”
Interesting.
“Why?”
“Who knows with him?”
Hayden felt as if she’d peeled back a layer of this secret business and instead of finding a clue buried underneath, found there were more layers than she’d realized.
But Hayden knew when someone didn’t want to be pushed. And now was that time. Sam wasn’t so difficult to figure out, after all. Hayden turned around, bottle in hand, to go sit on the sofa and stopped in her tracks. She shook her head.
No, she wasn’t imagining things.
Opposite her, looking her right in the eye, was Frank. His yellow eyes looked smug. And to be fair, he had every right to be: He was in one of those hammock things that were at the top of those giant cat trees Hayden had always eyed when buying cat food for him but never even bothered looking at closely; they were super expensive. This one was so big the hammock thing was in the middle, not the top. The top almost touched the ceiling. Frank stretched and rolled onto his back, his legs in the air.
“Where the hell did that come from?” Hayden turned on her heel.
“I bought it,” Sam said simply.
Hayden looked again. It was huge. Really huge. It had ladders and platforms and boxes to sleep in. And it was next to the sofa. Like Frank was the king himself.
She looked at Sam again. “You bought my cat that?”
The green of Sam’s eyes sparked, a cheekiness that mirrored her brother’s. “I thought it was better than him sleeping on the sofa.”
Well, that was a total lie. Sam hadn’t cared he was on the sofa. In fact, the other day, Hayden had caught her picking him up and putting him next to her on it while she read.
Hayden was slowly grinning. “You bought it for him because you thought he’d like it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Sam picked up her bottle and headed for the stairs.
“You did!”
“No,” she called back without even turning around as she disappeared.
Hayden turned back to Frank. One foot twitched. He’d apparently fallen asleep in the last few seconds.
“You’re getting far too spoiled.”
But she couldn’t shake the feeling of just how nice that had been of Sam.
~ ~ ~
“So, two weeks?”
“Does that work for you?”
A muscle twitched in Sam’s cheek. “Yes.”
“Sure?”
“I said yes.”
Hayden held up her hands. “Okay, okay. So you have it off?”
“I checked the three dates you suggested today, and it was the most suitable.” Sam made a face at the to-go coffee cup in front of her. “I know this is the best in the hospital, but it really isn’t that great.”
Hayden smothered a smile, despite her stomach rolling over. They were spending their coffee break discussing the trip to see Hayden’s family. They’d both secured the weekend off. The plane tickets would be booked that evening. It was happening.
Joy.
And while discussing it, they were having a coffee together, commiserating over their workplace’s bad coffee. Like happy work wives should.
“Don’t let Luce hear you say that.”
“Why?” Sam looked up from it sharply.
“Because they’re coming this way, and their girlfriend made it.”
Sam sighed. “Great.”
Luce and Sam were still learning to like each other. It was funny to watch, as long as Luce wasn’t picking at their relationship and looking for holes. In their fake relationship.
Keeping this from her best friend still felt awful.
Hayden smiled at Luce when they appeared next to the table. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Luce turned to Sam. “Good morning.”
Sam didn’t even smile. “Good morning.”
Awesome. Not at all uncomfortable or weird.
“Why don’t you join us?” Hayden asked.
Luce seemed to consider it for a moment. “Okay.” They slipped into a seat. “Clemmie is going on break in a second, so she may come over. Is that okay?”
“Clemmie?” Hayden was stumped for second. “Oh! The barista.” She grinned wickedly. “So we’re naming her now, properly? That’s the second time. That means it’s serious.”
Luce squirmed. “No.”
“Oh, please. It does too.”
“Naming her?” Sam interjected. “What on earth?”
It was Luce’s turn to light up, turning to Sam. And Hayden knew exactly why. They were about to dump Hayden in it. “If you name them, you get attached.” Luce looked far too delighted to be imparting this knowledge. “So we use nicknames to distance ourselves. A while back, Hayden here used ‘The Salesman’ for six months before finally using his name when she admitted they were dating.”
Oh, Hayden wanted to throw things at Luce. So badly. Sam turned to her, eyebrows raised.
“Really?”
“It’s stupid.” It was hard not to wince at her own behavior. “And shows my emotional intelligence.”
“Uh, hello.”
They all turned to see Clemmie, awkwardly hovering at their table. Luce’s face went all enamored at the sight of her, the look not one Hayden was used to seeing on her friend. It was kind of adorable.
“Hi.” Luce pulled a chair close, and Clemmie sat down in it. “This is Hayden.” They hesitated for a second. “And this is Sam.”
Clemmie gave a little wave. “Hi. I recognize you both.”
“Nice to meet you.” Hayden tried to sound friendlier than Luce had been with Sam. Which was not difficult.
“Hello,” Sam said.
“So,” Luce turned to them both, “what were you guys talking about before I interrupted earlier?”
And Sam dropped her in it, as if it were a new game for her and Luce to play toget
her. “We’ve got a weekend off in two weeks to go and see Hayden’s family.”
Luce’s eyes widened, and their mouth fell open right before they grinned at Hayden. “Seriously?”
Hayden sighed. “Yes. We’re staying with them for two nights.”
She didn’t know it was possible to crack up so hard that you could nearly fall off your chair, but Luce managed it. Clemmie just watched, bemused.
CHAPTER 13
A little under three hours.
That’s all it would take to get to Miami.
Sam closed her eyes on the takeoff, her lips a tight line and her face pale.
“Don’t like flying?”
She didn’t give an answer. Once they’d leveled off, the white of her knuckles slowly flooded with pink again and she opened her eyes, taking slow breaths.
“What?” Sam asked when she caught sight of Hayden’s barely concealed amusement.
“You’re not a big flier, are you?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
Hayden bit down a smirk and looked out the window. She really enjoyed flying—watching the land unfold underneath her, catching a view of things she’d most likely never see any other way. Fields and other patches of color splattered over the ground once the city was left behind. She could stare at it all for ages, especially when the sun was coming up, all blazing orange, like this morning.
“I’m fine, once we’re in the air.” Was Sam actually offering more information without prodding? That was new. Though another glance at her face showed her color hadn’t completely returned. Maybe it made her feel better just to talk.
“That’s good. And it’s a fairly short flight.”
“Not short enough.”
Hayden smirked and looked out the window again. Yeah, really not a flier.
Sam squeezed out of her seat next to Hayden and pulled out her laptop. Apparently, like always, she had an article to finish. Or read. For some people, this aspect of medicine—the constant call to learn, to innovate—was the joy of it all. For others it was the bane. Sam seemed to be in the former group. Hayden had always heard good things about the lectures and presentations she’d given, and she’d even been to one a few years ago, as part of her Continuing Medical Education hours. It was good. Intense, with a lot of information thrown at the audience, but good. She’d walked away with a headache, but she’d learned a hell of a lot.
