Chapter 6

LEXIE

A soft knock on my door roused me from one of the best sleeps of my life. “Come in,” I managed to mumble, though I wasn’t sure yet who I was talking to.

Why was someone knocking...Was it a nurse? Was I in hospital? That would make sense as to why I had been so deeply asleep.

I forced my eyes to open, though they felt weighed down as if by lead.

There was a man standing quietly beside my bed, sporting a soft smile and holding a tray of food. Ollie.

My brain finally woke up properly. That’s right. I was at Markus and Oliver’s house.

I pushed down the covers that I had pulled up to my chin and glanced around.

“Good morning,” I managed and dragged myself up to a sitting position. “I’m so sorry if I slept in.”

Ollie chuckled good naturedly. “Don’t ever apologize for getting the rest you obviously need. I should apologize for waking you, but your brunch was getting cold, and I was... honestly, wanting to see you. Slide back.”

I moved as he requested, rearranging the pillows so I could sit with my back against the headboard, and luckily remembered to push the shirt down to cover my bare belly and lower.

“Here you go,” he said, sliding the tray onto my lap. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, or if you had any food allergies, or were a vegan, so I kinda covered all the bases just in case.”

Staring down at the laden tray, I couldn’t help but laugh at his warmhearted nature and intent. “Well, I’ve worked hospitality for five years, so I understand the worry. But no allergies here, luckily, and full meat eater.”

Not that I often had enough money to eat as well as I wished. Eating cheap often meant eating crappy food.

“This is just... wow. Thank you.” The tray was covered with our entire breakfast menu at the diner, all arranged on little plates. Eggs and bacon, toast and butter, sliced up fruit and a container of yogurt.

“You’re welcome,” Ollie said, grabbing the chair that looked matched the desk in the room, and sitting down beside the bed. “Please eat.”

I picked up the bacon and placed it on the toast, choosing to start with a sandwich of sorts. “Have you had breakfast?”

He grinned. “Yeah, hours ago.”

“Hours ago?” I repeated. “What time is it?”

“Nearly one o’clock.”

I almost choked on my toast, but managed to chew it enough to force it down before I asked, “In the afternoon?”

Ollie chuckled. “Well, you didn’t go to bed until, what? One-thirty?”

“Yeah... but I never sleep this late.” I couldn’t believe it. I’d never slept in until the afternoon. Ever.

But then again, I hadn’t plugged my phone in for my alarm to go off, so it was probably dead in my bag.

Ollie shrugged like it was no big deal. “You obviously needed it.”

I sighed and reached for a slice of banana. “Thank you so much for this, Ollie. For breakfast and for being so patient with me today. You probably had plans and need to go out. I’ll pack up as soon as I can.”

Ollie held up both hands. “Oh, no, that wasn’t the reason I woke you up. I don’t have anything I need to be doing. Well, I plan to go with you to wherever you’ve been staying and get all your stuff. You can stay here as long as you want. This bedroom is almost always free.”

I noticed he didn’t say that I could leave when I wanted. I wasn’t sure I’d ever actually want to leave a place I felt so safe.

“Ah... I don’t know what to say.” I wasn’t used to people being generous with me.

“Say you’ll stay for a while,” Ollie said with a grin on his gorgeous face. His eyes were as blue as the sky and his hair was a lot blonder in the daylight than I had realized last night.

Markus was the dark one. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Dark mood.

Ollie was full of lightness.

“I’ll look for another job first thing tomorrow,” I said, pulling myself away from musing about the brothers’ good looks and focusing on a plan for my future.

He shrugged. “Whatever. We’re not strapped for cash. We don’t expect you to pay for anything, so no hurry.”

“What do you do?” I asked, taking another bite of the crispy, greasy bacon. My stomach was in heaven.

“I’m an accountant,” he said, as though that wasn’t a big deal.

It was for me! “Wow.” College educated. White collar.

He wasn’t what I expected an accountant to look like. Weren’t they all nerdy?

He shrugged. “And Markus does garden landscaping. Private contracts, stuff like that.”

I smiled at him. “The brains and the brawn, huh?”

He blinked at me as though I shouldn’t have said such a thing. I probably shouldn’t.

“Not that I was inferring you don’t have brawn! Or that Markus doesn’t have a brain,” I reassured him, reaching for his arm. “You’re gorgeous! I didn’t mean to offend, I promise. It was a silly thing to say.”

Instead of yelling at me or stomping off like I half expected, Ollie laughed. “Oh, no. That’s not it. It wasn’t silly. Markus does have a lot more muscle than me. About fifty pounds worth. I just found it interesting that you instantly saw the way we complement each other.”

I tilted my head at him, my intuition picking up on something strange in his tone. This conversation was important to him and for some reason, he thought it may be important to me also.

I never ignored my intuition. “You know,” I said, “I was really worried about coming back here last night. I thought I’d never be able to fall sleep because I’d be too scared. And yet I slept, the best I have in... well, forever.”

Ollie’s eyes lit up with obvious happiness. “That’s great. I hope you always feel safe and secure here.”

“Can I ask you something?” I questioned, taking a spoon full of the rich yogurt, loving the assortment of flavors and textures that he’d added into my breakfast—or rather, given the time of day, my lunch.

He nodded. “Anything.”

“What’s with your brother?”

Ollie burst out laughing. “Ah... that is too broad a question to even begin to answer. Can you be more specific?”

“Well, I mean... you’re so different, and yet you’re also similar. You’re both good men, obviously, trustworthy and caring. You proved that last night. But Markus seems, totally different from you. I don’t know. I probably sound ridiculous.”

I wasn’t sure what I was asking, and realized I wasn’t being specific at all. I decided I needed to focus on my food rather than unravel this mystery right now. I took a sip from the glass of orange juice on the corner of the tray and took a bite of a sliced apple.

Ollie put his hand out and pressed against my knee. “Actually, you don’t sound ridiculous at all. Thing is, Markus and I aren’t just brothers, we’re twins.”

“Twins?” I asked, shocked. “Fraternal, obviously.”

“Yeah. Obviously. But we’re, um...” He shook his head suddenly. “I wasn’t sure if I should tell you this yet or not.”

“Tell me,” I said, feeling my intuition kick in again regarding the inevitability of this conversation.

He sighed. “Well, in our pa... err... family, there’s something called a perfect pair. It pretty much means a fraternal set of twins that are the opposite from each other in every way. One light, one dark. One tall and big, one shorter and smaller. One brains, one brawn. Usually, Markus is more light-hearted and funnier than me. I’m more serious. It’s like the list of every quality available got evenly divided up and distributed between us.”

My brows rose as he spoke. Sounded like perfection all tied up in two men rather than one. “But you’re both kind and generous,” I said. “And you have manners. It’s not like one of you is all nice and the other one is a serial killer, or something.”

Well, I hoped not, anyway.

Ollie cackled at that. “Ah, yeah. Well, our Mom would kick our asses if we didn’t show a basic level of respect. Especially toward women.”

I liked that. She sounded like my sort of woman. A mother someone could actually look up to. One I wished I’d had.

“And your dad?” I asked, trying not to sound too nosy, yet I wanted to know everything about these incredible men.

“What about him?”

“Is he... still around? Or did your mom raise you on her own?” I wouldn’t have been surprised, of course. Half of modern marriages ended in divorce.

“Oh, he’s very much still around,” Ollie said. “He’s a good man. You’d like him, I think.”

Something strange and warm curled around my heart that I couldn’t describe, but it was simultaneously uncomfortable and a feeling I wanted to experience again.

“I’m sure I would,” I managed before pushing the tray off my lap. “I need to run to the bathroom, sorry.”

“Cool,” Ollie said, hopping to his feet and racing ahead of me to the door. “I’ll go get ready, and we can fetch your things.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Ollie left and I hopped out of bed, tugging the shirt down as far as possible, then racing for the bathroom.

I couldn’t hear any other noises in the house, so I had to assume that Markus had gone out for the day.

Probably off chasing one of the many women he was talking about last night.

When I got back to my room, I slid on the fresh clothes from my bag. I was a little cold, but at least I’d packed fresh underwear.

When I grabbed my bag and walked out into the hall, I heard Ollie call out, “Hey, Lexie! Wanna swing by the diner and see if we can get your pay as well?”

Damn, I would love that! But... “Not sure my boss will be in today.” He probably would be, but the last thing I wanted to do was confront him.

Made me sick to my stomach to think about dealing with him, especially after the scene I’d caused last night.

I trotted down the stairs and shivered at the cool breeze coming in the open front door. “Damn... didn’t pack a sweater.”

Ollie immediately turned and picked up a hoodie that was sitting folded on the back of the couch. “I thought you might need one. Not sure it’ll fit, but at least you’ll be warm.”

It fit better than it should have. It was big in the shoulders, but too tight around my hips.

I tugged at it self-consciously. “I hope I don’t stretch it for you. My ass is too big, and my hips are rather wide. I’m sorry.”

Ollie snorted. “You’re fucking perfect. Don’t worry about any such nonsense.”

It was the first time I’d heard him swear, and although it almost sounded odd coming from him, the rest of his words certainly had the impact he’d aimed for.

I was stunned. “Ah...”

“Let’s go,” he said, swinging his car keys around his finger in a loop. “We can go get your stuff, then chill for a while. Take-out for dinner, maybe?”

I nodded in agreement as we walked out the front door and toward his truck. I felt as comfortable in his presence as if we’d been dating for years instead of having known each other less than twenty-four hours.

I wasn’t sure what to make of the easy camaraderie, and I wasn’t ready to ask him, in case that popped the illusion like a bubble.

I hopped in the car, toasty warm thanks to the hooded sweatshirt I wore that smelled of Ollie.

“So, where to?” he asked, turning on the engine.

“Oh, yes. An apartment on Castle Road.”

“Great.”

Ollie drove and I directed, and fifteen minutes later we were standing outside the rundown restaurant that I called home. Or had, for the last twelve months.

“I...” I swallowed hard. “I’m not one hundred percent sure he’s going to let me in.”

“Because of the owed rent?” Ollie asked, seeming a little nonplussed.

I nodded, my stomach twisting. I hated admitting that I was behind and failing at such a basic life skill as paying my own bills. Ollie was successful. He had a good job. A house. He probably wouldn’t understand what it was like to have nothing.

My cheeks heated with shame, but Ollie didn’t seem judgmental in any way. He just turned to me and said, “Well, let’s go see, shall we?”

He took my hand and little frissons of electricity skittled across my skin.

I gripped his hand harder, as if I could keep a man like him on his feet. “You’re not gonna keel over again, are you?”

He laughed, then tugged my hand and together we ran across the road. “No. I think I’m pretty good right now.”

“What was that all about?” I asked, realizing I’d never asked. “The whole, weird, falling down thing you and your brother did.”

Ollie wasn’t looking at me now. “It’s a family trait. I’ll explain it to you another time. Let’s get this sorted for you first.”

I nodded and pulled my keys out of my bag. “There’s an external entrance up those stairs.”

I headed toward the fire escape only to find a note pinned to the ladder. Lexie. Come in through the front.

My heart lurched. “Uh-oh.” That wasn’t a good sign. I wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but I had nothing to offer the old man who’d rented the apartment to me. Nothing but more empty promises and the truth about my pay, which he was going to see as an excuse.

Ollie smiled gently, full of confidence. “Don’t stress. We can sort this out. It’s only money.”

I almost rolled my eyes. Only people who had enough money said, “It’s only money.” I’d never known that feeling.

Ollie walked me around to the front of the restaurant and pushed open the door, the bells ringing above our heads.

“Lexie, girl. Where’s my money?”

I suppressed the shiver of fear that coursed down my back. “Hello, Mr. Lee. I’m very sorry, but my boss hasn’t paid me for the last two weeks, and he fired me last night.”

The old Chinese man scrunched up his face. “No rent, no access to room. I will have to try and sell whatever you have up there.”

“Oh, please, no. Don’t do that. I’ll figure something out.”

My cheeks were blazing. If it wasn’t bad enough that I had to beg to get access to my clothes, Ollie was here to witness it as well.

Ollie put a hand on my shoulder. “Lexie, go up and grab whatever you need. I’m sure the gentleman and I can come to an agreement.”

Mr. Lee stared at Ollie for a moment, then nodded once.

“Ollie. No... I...”

“Go. It’s all good,” he said, as cool and calm as any man I’d ever seen.

“Ah... okay.” I raced out of the restaurant and up the fire escape, which was the only entrance to my apartment.

It was only one room, a studio with a tiny bathroom and toilet next to the even smaller kitchen space. But it had been safe and relatively clean.

And it had been mine.

I grabbed my old black suitcase and duffle bag and began to pack, prioritizing things I couldn’t replace. Photos. Identifying documents. Some hidden emergency cash that was nowhere near enough for rent.

More like a dinner or two.

Then clothes. The warmest, best fitting.

When my two bags were packed, I glanced around at everything I was leaving behind. Some blankets and pillows. Clothes and books. But I couldn’t carry them, and I wasn’t asking Ollie to come up here with me.

I walked out onto the fire escape and Ollie called up to me, “Toss anything down you want me to carry.”

I threw him the duffle bag first, then the suitcase.

“Anything else?”

I shook my head and carefully—because I was very likely to slip on the ladder and fall on Ollie’s head—climbed down once more.

“Everything okay with Mr. Lee?” I asked, trying to hide the fact I was puffing a little from the descent.

“Yep.”

Ollie turned and began walking back toward the truck.

I followed him, a little relieved but confused. “What happened in there? Did you get an extension for me?”

“Yeah, kind of.” Ollie opened the truck and slid my bag and the suitcase behind the seats. “I paid your rent, so you’re a month in advance now. You can move back, or just use it as a place to chill out or study. Or whatever else you might need.”

He was still loading my stuff in, but I was really confused now. “Hang on a minute. You paid my rent? For last month and this month?”

I didn’t believe him. That was almost two thousand dollars. Why would he do that for someone he didn’t even know?

“Yeah. So, if you didn’t get everything, you can always come back tomorrow or whenever. Hop in.”

I did as he asked, getting in the truck because I wanted to go back to his nice, clean house and have take-out for dinner, but I still had no idea why he’d done what he’d done.

The only reason someone had helped me in the past was because they wanted something from me. Sex or something equally gross, usually.

I didn’t want to insult him by insinuating that he’d been kind so he could get something out of me, though I didn’t have any other answer.

“Ollie, sorry to ask, again. I’m so incredibly grateful, but... why did you just pay all that money for me?”

He shrugged as he turned on the truck’s engine. “You needed help. I’m happy to give it.”

I could feel the truth behind his words, but there was so much more to it. “Ollie, what am I to you? A charity case?”

He laughed and my brows came together. I felt like getting out of the car and walking.

“No. No, I”m sorry,” he said, grabbing my arm before I reached for the car door. “Listen, you are not a charity case.”

“Then what am I?”

He sighed, then said in a voice I’d never forget as long as I lived. “Sweetheart, you”re my whole heart. You’re my future. You’re my everything.”