Move In

I lay on my bed that night, staring at the ceiling, thinking about Sebastian's offer.

The club was one thing... just a distraction, a few hours of pretending I could be someone different. Someone who isn’t painfully in love with her best friend. But this? This second offer is something else entirely.

'I can help you get Rowan.'

The words echo in my head, over and over.They sound too good to be true.

Of course I could use help. God knows I've spent years failing on my own. Maybe I do need someone like Sebastian. Someone calculating and ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes.

But here's the part that makes me uneasy. What's the point of getting Rowan to notice me, to love me, if I have to betray his trust to do it?

Can I live with the guilt? Can I look Rowan in the eyes every day, knowing I sold him out for my own selfish desires?

But then again... maybe I can. Maybe once he's in love with me, it won't matter anymore. He'll be too wrapped up in us to care about whatever information I gave Sebastian.

He'll forgive me. He has to.

Right?

God, I'm going insane.

My eyes drift to my bedside table, where Sebastian's number sits on a small piece of paper, written in his sharp handwriting. He'd slipped it to me after the club, right before dropping me home.

One week. That's what he gave me to think and come up with a decision.

Seven days to decide if I'm willing to cross a line I can never uncross.

I roll onto my back again, pulling the covers up to my chin. My mind won't stop spinning, torn between Rowan, Sebastian and the offer. Between what I really want as a person versus what I'm willing to do to get it.

Time passes slowly, my thoughts running in circles. By the time I finally fall asleep, the sky is already brightening.

Sunlight stabs through my eyelids and I groan, reaching blindly for my phone. When I finally pry my eyes open and look at the screen, my heart stops.

Ten missed calls. All from Rowan.

"Oh shit," I sit up so fast my head spins, staring at the notifications in horror.

Damn it. How did I forget?

I'd promised to come back to his place after seeing Paul. Promised I'd help more with the wedding planning. But instead, I went to the club with Sebastian and then came home and lost myself in thoughts.

Rowan must have been worried. Really, really worried. Ten calls is... that's not normal. That's Rowan in full protective mode, probably imagining I'd been kidnapped or hit by a car.

I dial his number immediately, my fingers trembling slightly. It rings once. Twice. Three times.

No answer.

I try again. Still nothing.

My chest tightens with guilt. He called me ten times and now I can't even reach him. He's probably hurt. Probably thinks I just blew him off without caring.

I sigh, dropping my phone onto the bed. That settles it. I'll go visit him after my shift at the café. I'll apologize, make up some excuse about my phone dying, help with whatever wedding catastrophe they're planning next, and everything will be fine.

Except Rowan doesn't wait for me to come to him.

At exactly 2:15 p.m. right in the middle of the afternoon rush, he walks through the café door.

I'm behind the counter, mid-pour on a cappuccino, when I see him. My hands freeze. Foam overflows from the cup, spilling across the counter.

Rowan's here at my work, looking worried.

His eyes scan the café until they land on me, and his expression softens immediately.

"Nova," he says, and just hearing my name in his voice makes my chest ache.

I set down the milk pitcher with shaking hands, grabbing a towel to wipe up the mess I've made. "Rowan. Hi. I'm so sorry, I—"

"Are you okay?" He crosses to the counter in three long strides, leaning over it to get closer to me. "I called you ten times earlier this morning. Ten times, Nova. You weren't answering. And then you called back while I was in surgery, and I couldn’t pick up, and I just... I needed to make sure you were okay."

The genuine concern in his voice guts me. Here I am contemplating betraying him, and he's worried about my safety.

"I'm fine," I manage, forcing a smile. "I'm so sorry. My phone died and I fell asleep early and I just... I forgot to charge it. I'm really sorry for worrying you."

The lie leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

He exhales slowly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. "Don't do that to me, Ladybug. I thought something happened to you."

"I know. I'm sorry." I twist the towel in my hands, not meeting his eyes. "I should have texted or something."

"It's okay." He reaches across the counter, and for one heart-stopping moment, I think he's going to touch my face. But instead, he just taps the counter twice. "Just... don't disappear on me like that. Okay?"

"Okay," I whisper.

He smiles then, that warm Rowan smile that's always been my undoing. "Good. Now, can I get a coffee? I've been up since 5 a.m. and I'm running on pure adrenaline."

I nod, grateful for something normal to focus on. "The usual?"

"You know it."

I turn to make his drink. A simple black coffee with one sugar, the same thing he's ordered for years, and I can feel him watching me.

"So," he says casually, "where were you last night? After you left to see Paul?"

My hands still for just a second before I force them to keep moving. "Just... home. Tired"

"Right." There's something in his voice I can't quite read. "You sure you're doing okay, Nova? You've seemed... off lately."

Off. That's one way to put it. Heartbroken, desperate, and now contemplating betrayal with his twin brother might be more accurate.

"I'm fine," I lie again, keeping my voice light.

I can feel him studying me, trying to figure out if I'm telling the truth. But before he can push further, another customer comes up to the counter, and I use the distraction to turn away.

When I finally hand him his coffee, our fingers brush for just a second, and electricity shoots up my arm.

"Let's go sit, right?" he asks, and I nod.

I follow him to our corner, the same corner we've sat in countless times before. I took this job at the café not because I have any particular love for brewing coffee or the smell of espresso beans. But simply because it's a five-minute walk from the hospital where Rowan works.

Whenever he has a break, he comes here. And we sit. Always in this corner, tucked away from the main flow of customers.

He settles into his usual seat, and I slide into the one opposite him, wrapping my hands around my own cup.

"So, how's Paul?" he asks immediately.

"He caught the flu," I say, grateful for the safe topic. "But he's being treated by the orphanage's private nurse."

"That's a relief." He lets out a small sigh, taking a sip of his coffee. Then he pauses, his eyes finding mine across the table. "While I was trying your calls earlier, my mind drifted back to the night I... I introduced Jane. You wanted to say something."

My heart stops.

My hands tighten around my cup so hard I'm surprised it doesn't shatter.

"What?" The word comes out strangled.

He leans forward slightly, his brow furrowed.

"That night. Before Jane arrived, you said you had something important to tell me. Something you'd been trying to say for months."

Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

"I..." My throat feels like it's closing. "I don't remember."

It's a terrible lie. The worst lie I've ever told him. And from the look on his face, he knows it.

"Nova." His voice is gentle but insistent. "Come on. You looked so serious. You were about to tell me something, and then Jane walked in and—" He stops, something dawning on his face. "Is that why you left so suddenly? Did I... did I interrupt something important?"

Yes. You interrupted me trying to tell you I've been in love with you since we were kids. You interrupted me handing you my entire heart on a silver platter.

"No," I force out, shaking my head perhaps a bit too vigorously. "It was nothing. Really. I just... I was going to ask for advice about work stuff, but it doesn't matter anymore. I figured it out."

He doesn't look convinced. His eyes are searching my face, trying to read what I'm desperately trying to hide.

"You sure?" he presses. "Because you've seemed... different since that night. And you're my best friend, Nova. If something's wrong, if you need to talk about something, you know you can tell me anything."

Anything except this. Anything except the truth that would shatter everything between us.

"I'm sure," I whisper, dropping my gaze to my coffee. "Really, Rowan. It was nothing important."

There's a long pause. I can feel him still watching me, still not quite believing me, but not knowing how to push further without overstepping.

Finally, he sighs.

"Okay. But the offer stands, alright? Whenever you're ready to talk about whatever's bothering you."

I nod.

He takes another sip of his coffee, and I think maybe we're moving past this dangerous territory. But then he speaks again, and his voice is softer now.

"There's something I wanted to discuss with you," he says.

A knot forms in my stomach. "What's that?"

"Umm... Jane and I discussed," he starts, and there's something almost nervous in his tone. "Since she's moved in fully and will be staying with me, we wanted to ask if you would consider joining us."

I blink, not understanding. "Joining you...?"

"Like, Jane and I want you to move in with us for the next few months."

My mind reels. Move in? With him and Jane?