“Where are you two going?” Liam asks, looking between us.
“Out for breakfast,” I say. “There's a coffee place around the corner.”
“Let me take you,” he says. “Please. I'd be honored to take you both out for breakfast. I'm starving, and I want to hear everything about growing up as twins.”
“Breakfast sounds great,” Sadie says.
Hudson is waiting downstairs. If he's surprised to see two of me, he doesn't show it.
“Morning, ladies.”
“Hudson, this is Sadie, Avery's sister,” Liam says as he opens the door for us. “And yes, they're identical twins.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Miss Sadie.”
We settle into the back seat with me in the middle, Sadie on my right, Liam on my left. His thigh presses against mine, and I have to resist the urge to lean into him.
“So,” Liam says as Hudson pulls into traffic. “Tell me everything. What was it like growing up as identical twins?”
“Chaotic,” Sadie says immediately.
“Organized,” I say at the same time.
Liam laughs. “Already I'm getting different perspectives.”
“Avery was the organized one,” Sadie explains. “While I was more spontaneous.”
“Spontaneous is generous,” I mutter. “You were chaos personified.”
She arches a brow, glaring at me. “I prefer to think of it as creatively flexible.”
“You once convinced our parents you were me so you could skip a piano recital.”
“And it worked beautifully until you showed up wearing the same outfit.”
Liam is laughing now. “Did you do that a lot? Switch places?”
“All the time when we were younger,” Sadie says. “Less so now. Avery's too much of a rule-follower to find it fun anymore.”
“I just prefer honesty,” I say primly.
“See? Rule-follower,” Sadie teases.
Liam's hand finds mine, threading our fingers together. “I don't know. I've seen Avery break a few rules lately.”
I squeeze his hand in warning, but he just squeezes back, his thumb stroking across my knuckles.
Hudson pulls up to a restaurant in Tribeca. When Liam gives his name, we're seated immediately at a corner table with privacy.
“The perks of being a professional athlete,” Sadie says as we sit.
“One of the few perks worth having,” Liam says. He orders coffee for himself, watches as I order tea, and grins when Sadie orders the same. “Even your drink preferences are identical.”
“Not quite,” I say. “I take mine with honey. Sadie takes hers with sugar.”
“Revolutionary difference,” Liam quips.
We order food and fall into easy conversation. Sadie does most of the talking, telling Liam stories about our childhood, which he’s clearly loving. He keeps throwing me disbelieving looks.
