He stared at me with the same cold expression his brother gave, his intense gaze impossible to read.
When he told Heath what I did, Heath would be pissed at me again…because I didn’t trust him like I said I would. I assaulted his brother and caused a scene on the sidewalk, ruined any chance for him to ever like me. “I’m so sorry…” I turned around and walked away even though my car was in their direction. I was so mortified, I’d rather round the corner and wait for them to leave before going back to my car.
When I turned the corner, I leaned against the wall with my head against the bricks, drowning in self-loathing. When Balto told Heath what I did, it would be bad. Heath assured me that fights were just fights, that they didn’t mean anything, but I suspected this would be different.
Oh god.
Seven
Heath
Balto stood in front of the liquor cabinet in his living room, pulling the doors to reveal a stash of booze big enough to last until the apocalypse. Since he wasn’t drinking as much as he used to, his stockpiles probably didn’t deplete at their normal rate. “What do you want?”
“Vodka.”
“Just vodka?” he asked incredulously, pouring himself a drink.
“Yeah. With a splash of another kind of vodka.” I took a seat on the couch, glancing at the TV.
Balto turned around with the drinks in his hand and moved to the couch beside mine.
I stared at his face, my eyebrow immediately rising to the ceiling. “What the fuck happened to you?” His entire right cheek was discolored like a huge guy punched him so hard he’d cracked Balto’s cheekbone.
He slid the glass toward me before he took a drink of his own. “Glad you asked…” He took a deep drink before he returned it to the coaster. “Why didn’t you tell Catalina we’re twins?” He rested his arms on his knees as he stared me down, clearly annoyed with me.
The question caught me off guard. “What does that have to do with anything?”
He pointed at his face. “Because she did this to me.”
I stared at him blankly, unable to process what I’d heard.
Cassini emerged from the kitchen, wearing jean shorts and a t-shirt that showed her small pregnant belly. She had a plate of snacks and set them down on the table. “Balto and I were out having dinner, and she saw us walk out.”
I stared at her, imagining Catalina’s horror when she saw me with someone else, and knowing my brother, he’d probably groped his wife in public. Catalina had to see that and assume I was a pathological liar.
“She came after my husband hard,” Cassini said. “And when I told her he was my husband…the look on her face.” After the food was on the table, she sat on Balto’s knee, her arm wrapping around his shoulder.
Balto secured his arm around her waist. “I explained who I was, but she didn’t believe me.” He raised his hand. “Because of this. Heath, she lost her shit, exploded like a volcano. So, I took off my shirt and showed her my bare arm and chest so she would see I had no tattoos. She finally backed off.”
I dragged my hands down my face, finding the situation obnoxious and hilarious. “Jesus…”
“She apologized then took off,” Balto finished. Now he stared at me, the same way his wife stared at me, like I owed them some kind of explanation.
I dropped my hands and released a quiet sigh. “I told her I had a brother, but I guess I forgot to mention that other part…”
Balto rolled his eyes. “That’s not something you just forget.”
“Well, I did, alright?” I grabbed the snacks off the dish and placed them on a plate, eating like nothing happened.
Balto raised an eyebrow. “Is the conversation over?”
“What do you want me to say?” I countered. “It’s not like Cassini got the wrong idea about everything.”
“I know my husband would never fool around, so that was the last thing on my mind,” Cassini said. “I was just worried she might stab him or something. She was furious.”
“Devastated,” Balto said. “Truly, deeply, devastated.”
I continued to eat, trying not to imagine the scene.
“Tears,” Cassini said. “Heartbreak. Insults. It was a fucking soap opera.”
“You want me to apologize?” I asked incredulously. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tell her I had a twin. My bad.”
“No,” Balto said. “I just want you to know how attached this woman is to you. You said it wasn’t serious, but it’s pretty fucking serious. You should have seen her face, Heath. And I’ve had ice on this injury for two days, and I still look like shit.”
“This happened two days ago?” I asked in surprise.
Balto nodded. “She didn’t mention it?”
I shook my head.
“She’s probably embarrassed,” Cassini said. “It definitely wasn’t her finest moment.”
I put the plate down and finally addressed the situation. “Yeah…she’s crazy about me.” I grinned like an asshole, giving a slight shrug. “She saw a text from one of my girls a few nights ago and lost it. So, this is a subject we’ve already dealt with recently. I guess I’m not surprised.”
“And it looks like you’re crazy about her,” Balto said.
I didn’t bother to deny it. “A bit.”
Cassini smiled slightly. “So…what does that mean?”
“It doesn’t mean anything. I’ll enjoy her until it’s over.” I chose to live in the moment, not think about the painful day when my world would crumble around me.
“Why does it have to be over?” Balto asked. “Come clean about what happened, then give her some space.”
I shook my head. “No. It’ll never work.”
Balto raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve seen her with her father…they’re really close. They have that father-daughter relationship you see in family movies. You know, ridiculous and cheesy.” I bowed my head. “Once she knows the truth, she’ll leave me. And worse, she’ll hate me. So, no, I’m not gonna tell her. The second I do,
