Page 73 of Sinful Like Us

Because my older brother never did. And if I do anything in my life, Lord, let me have this. Helping Xander live when I couldn’t do the same for Sky.

You should’ve biked harder.

You should’ve biked harder.

You should’ve fucking biked harder.

My jaw tics.

I shove down my dad’s crushing voice, and I nod to Xander. “We’ll be able to execute the plan. You don’t need to worry about it.”

His mouth falls. “You really don’t think you’ll get caught? You two don’t look that much alike, man.”

The corner of my lip inches upward, just slightly, because Xander genuinely believes Banks and I look different. “That’s probably because you grew up around us. For other people it’s harder to tell the difference. Even worse when we’re not standing together.”

“But my parents will definitely know.”

“They won’t.” I don’t dig into those details, but enough confidence encases my voice that Xander starts frowning.

“Wait, did they get you two wrong?”

I don’t want to lie to him, so I say, “A few times.” I don’t mention how one of those was last week.

Xander immediately springs to his feet and steps away from the skateboard. Aiming for the door like he plans to hunt down his mom.

“Hey.” I extend an arm and block the door before putting a light hand on his elbow. “It’s normal—”

“That’s not alright.” A thousand emotions pour out of his expressive eyes. “They’ve known you and Banks foryears.”

“My uncles have known me mywholelife and some still call me Banks on accident.” I reassure him. “It happens, kid. It doesn’t mean they don’t care.” If I let that shit hurt me or affect me, I’d be in pain every week.

But when people see me—trulysee meand not justthe twinthat I am—it’s a rush. Like drinking the coldest ice water on a scorching summer day, and I feel that every moment I’m with Jane.

I almost glance back at the shut door.

I miss her.

And I’ve only been on-duty for an hour. She’s busy handling the logistics of maneuvering too many people to Scotland. Plus scheduling meetings with local wedding vendors while we’re there.

I’m good at multi-tasking, but that girl could surpass the hell out of me every time. I linger on that thought and almost smile.

Together we could juggle the world.

While I focus solely on Xander, I wear seriousness. He’s processing what I said. And he’s wincing.

“I’myourbodyguard,” I remind him. “You’veknown me for years. It makes sense that you can tell us apart better than your parents can.”

Xander bites his thumbnail, catches himself, and rubs his hand against his jeans. “Yeah you’re right.” He backs up and lowers to the edge of his bed. After a gulp of soda, he asks, “So how many people know about the twin switch anyway?”

“You want the whole list?”

He snorts out soda in surprise, then wipes his nose. “There’s a list?”

I go ahead and rattle off names.

All of SFO, Jack Highland (an exec producer of the docuseries), and the older famous ones: Jane, Maximoff, Charlie, Beckett, Sullivan, and Luna.

Mainly everyone who joined the FanCon tour.