Page 14

Nothing Can Heal

Is there something between us, or am I completely off my rocker?

Either option is viable, if I’m being honest. She has always leaned her head on my shoulder. We’ve always been close enough that I could rest my leg against hers, and she wouldn’t immediately move hers. It’s easy. It’s comfortable.

Three kisses have thrown the equation a little off kilter for me, though.

Or a lot.

Feeling her melt into me the way she did back at the apartment is something I won’t soon forget.

She goes to her bed after we discuss the camp a little longer. We sleep in separate beds, the way it was always intended to be, but it feels somehow wrong.

I toss and turn all night—the exact opposite of what happened the last time we stayed at this hotel when I woke up with her in my arms and slept better than I had in a long time.

In the morning, we meet my parents at a breakfast diner before we head out of town .

It’s nice to see my parents. It’s low pressure despite the feelings that have coursed through me for ages, feelings really only my brother knows about—and even he doesn’t really understand the depth and complexity of them.

I’m not entirely sure I understand it, either. All I know is that it’s getting stronger. Somehow.

We have this shared history that bonds us together.

We spend half our drive home talking about people I haven’t thought about in years.

When we’re not chatting, we’re singing, and when we’re not singing, we’re reminiscing or sharing inside jokes.

No matter what the topic is, though, I know one thing for sure.

Everything feels so much lighter with her here with me.

When “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran comes on her playlist, we crack up about how she misheard the opening lyrics of the second verse in the song when it first came out and thought it was, “Nothing can heal.” She belted out those words with such confidence at the time that even now, we both still sing it that way.

It’s these little things that make the drive back to San Diego pass in a flash, and soon we’re pulling into the rental car return even though I wish the trip could last a little longer.

I spot Tanner’s fiancée’s SUV in the parking lot.

They’re here waiting for us, and they offered to take us out to dinner before they drive us home.

It feels like a double date.

To be clear, it’s not one. But it still feels like one.

“Sophie Summers, how the hell have you been?” Tanner asks as he hops out of the driver’s seat of Cassie’s car as his fiancée gets out of the front passenger seat, her blond hair in a ponytail swinging behind her .

She gives me a quick hug as Tanner embraces Sophie, and my eyes edge over to the two of them. I wonder if either of them will say something about my feelings for Sophie.

Jesus, I hope not.

Maybe this dinner idea wasn’t such a good plan after all.

I wonder if Sophie is attracted to my brother.

We’re identical twins, but attraction has as much or more to do with personality as it does with looks. There have been plenty of women who went for me over my brother and vice versa. And there have been plenty of women who were gorgeous on the outside but showed their true colors on the inside.

There are huge differences between us. A couple of inches in height, for one.

Tanner is taller and leaner, while I’m the shorter one with thicker and more defined muscles.

A lot of it stems from our very different positions.

As a running back, I need to be quick and able to break through tackles with my lower body strength, while Tanner needs stronger upper body strength to throw the football and manage plays.

I brush the errant thoughts from my brain. It doesn’t matter who Sophie is or isn’t attracted to. The fact is he’s engaged to Cassie, and the other fact is that I’m hopelessly in love with Sophie and have exactly zero plans to act on it.

Except, of course, to play the game in public and shower her with as much affection as I possibly can since we’re supposed to be engaged .

“It’s so lovely to meet you,” Cassie says to Sophie. Do not say you’ve heard so much about her. Do not say you’ve heard so much about her. Do not say you’ve heard so much about her. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

Jesus Christ.

“Tanner says you’re a high school teacher,” Cassie says, her voice inflecting at the end like a question. She leans in a little conspiratorially and says, “My kids are about to turn eight and six, and I need you to prepare me for what to expect.”

Sophie laughs, and Cassie laughs, and I feel like I dodged the first bullet of the night.

My brother catches my eye, and as I move over to give him our inside handshake where we slap hands forward, then backward, grab hands, shake once, fist bump, and hug, he quietly murmurs to me, “Everything okay?”

I raise both brows and nod as I press my lips together, and the secret look doesn’t seem to be lost on him. I can’t lie to him. He’d know anyway thanks to our twintuition.

He knows he’ll get the full story later when we can talk.

But for now, we’re taking our women out to dinner.

We head to our favorite steakhouse downtown, and we’re seated at a quiet corner booth.

Sophie slides in first, and I move in beside her.

My thigh touches hers, and neither of us moves.

I glance up and spot Cassie openly staring at the two of us, studying us as if she’s coming to her own conclusions about what’s going on here.

I tilt my head at her, and she glances back at her menu as if I didn’t just totally catch her.

“What’s everyone ordering?” Tanner asks.

“Surf and turf,” I say immediately, setting my menu down. “And some whiskey. Anyone else need a drink?”

Sophie raises her hand. “Me. Margarita, definitely. And I’m looking at the salmon.”

“Oh, me too! On both of those,” Cassie says, and it’s like they immediately bond because they want to order the same thing. “What about you?” Cassie asks, elbowing Tanner.

“The filet,” he says. “And tequila, obviously.”

“Straight tequila?” Sophie asks. “You still drink that?”

She remembers his signature drink? She leans across the table a little to tell this story to Cassie. “I remember this one time in high school, Tanner drank straight tequila until he puked in the bushes, and Miller had to drive us home.” She giggles.

Tanner tosses a glare in her direction. “As I recall, you were watering the bushes yourself that night, and that’s why you caught me.”

She holds up both hands. “Guilty as charged. But my excuse is that I was mixing beer and rum. Ah, to be young again.”

“Tell me about it,” Cassie says. “But I’m seven years older than the three of you. Between mom brain and old age, my memory of that time of my life is pretty much shot at this point.”

Tanner laughs as he tosses his arm around her. “My old lady,” he teases, and she rolls her eyes as he presses a kiss to her temple.

“Call me old again, and you’re sleeping on the couch tonight,” she says with a glare, and Sophie and I laugh at their banter. She turns to Sophie. “So you’ve known these two since high school?”

Sophie nods. “Miller and I had freshman English together, and we immediately hit it off and have been best friends ever since.” She leans her head on my shoulder, and I slip an arm around her.

“And now we’re getting married,” I blurt.

I glance around and see there’s no one within hearing distance, and when I look at Sophie, she’s looking at me. I give her a nod because I see the question in her eyes. Is it okay to tell them?

Sophie leans across toward Cassie again and lowers her voice.

“You asked me before about teaching high school, and the truth is…well, the truth is a long story, but suffice it to say I’m no longer teaching, and instead I’m focusing on publishing romance books under my very secret pen name that only two people knew about until a few days ago. ”

Cassie’s wide eyes are accompanied by a jaw drop.

“As my parents are conservative, I kept that little nugget from them and instead told them I’m moving to San Diego because Miller and I are engaged.

” She glances at me and then back at Cassie.

“And then the envelope was pushed a bit when we went to my old apartment to pick up the rest of my things, and we told my ex we were getting married before next season begins.”

“We?” I say pointedly.

Sophie giggles. “Yeah, that was all me.” She puts a hand over her mouth in jest. “Whoopsies.”

“So what are you going to do?” Tanner asks, his brows pushed together as he fixes his eyes on me.

I shrug. “Get married, I guess. But maybe wait until after the season.”

“Dude, do you really think that’s a good idea?”

I glance at Sophie. Yeah. I really do. I think it’s the best goddamn idea I’ve ever had.

I let out a heavy breath, and just then, the waitress comes by with our drinks. I guess if we’re putting on the act, now’s as good a time as any.

“That’s right. I can’t wait to marry this girl,” I say to Tanner, tossing my arm around Sophie and pulling her close.

She doesn’t stiffen. She doesn’t freeze. Instead, she seems to melt into my side again, as if we’re the perfect fit. She sets her hand on my thigh, and I just need her to move about six inches up and a little to the left, and we’d be good to go.

“And I can’t wait to become a football wife,” she says. She looks up at me, and I look down at her.

As the waitress walks away, Cassie says, “Well, you two certainly have the act down.”

Because it isn’t an act .

She knows how I feel about Sophie. Tanner knows how I feel about Sophie. The whole world knows how I feel about Sophie.

Only Sophie doesn’t know how I feel about Sophie.

And maybe if I drink enough whiskey tonight, I’ll get up the nerve to admit the truth.

Tanner holds up his tequila, and the women each grab their margaritas while I pick up my whiskey.

“To marriage,” Tanner says.

I guess I’ll drink to that.

“And to family vacations,” I say. “That cruise we talked about taking with the Nash family. Let’s plan it.

Let’s do it before next season starts,” I say.

I’m not sure why it comes out of my mouth, but the thought of a vacation with all the people I’m closest to—including Sophie—is just hitting right. Maybe it’s the whiskey.

Tanner glances at Cassie, who nods. “We’re in. We’re doing a July eighth wedding, and we wanted to do a Caribbean honeymoon anyway. What’s twenty or thirty more guests? We can leave right after the wedding and be back before rookie camp.”

“Are you sure you want us tagging along on your honeymoon?” I ask.

“The kids are likely coming along, anyway, so with the entire Banks and Nash family along for the ride, if everyone is in, that just means more babysitters,” Tanner says. He wiggles his eyebrows at Cassie, who laughs.

“Oh!” she says. “Can I plan it? I love looking up vacations, and I was planning to book something for our honeymoon anyway.”

We spend the rest of the meal chatting about cruises, where to go, and who might be able to join us, and I see the excitement in Sophie’s eyes.

I guess we’re really doing this.