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Alden chuckles and slaps him on the back. “Not according to the government yet, but I will be.”
“That means you don’t have to pay taxes.”
We all laugh but mine stops short when Tori walks in behind Milo. She hesitates, her nervous gaze jumping between me and Alden. Her hands fumble with the hem of her jacket as she regards Alden. “Milo said you wanted me to come.”
Alden walks over to her. They’re both silent while she looks up at him. She reaches up and touches his jaw. “Alden.” His name is barely a whisper. Astonishment and anguish live in equal measure in her expression. He nods, looking her in the eye. “I’m sorry,” she says, bursting into tears.
He pulls her into a hug. “It’s okay.”
Tears fill my eyes as I watch them. She loves him too. Nearly twenty years of friendship between them—between all of us—has built a bond it took a lot to crack. But it isn’t broken.
She mumbles something against his chest, and he replies softly, “I understand. It’s alright. You don’t need to apologize.”
She swipes at the tears on her face and looks over at me. It tore my heart out when she didn’t believe me. But Alden is right. It was a hard thing to believe, especially after everything that had happened, and the way I dumped the information on her.
Milo and Alden exchange a look. Alden picks up the bag and Milo follows him down the hall toward the bedroom, leaving Tori and I alone.
Before she can say anything, I stalk over and hug her. Her arms instantly go around me and she squeezes tight. “I’m sorry I told you to go fuck yourself.”
“I’m sorry too. I just couldn’t believe it and I was worried about you. That you’d ruin your life.”
“I know.”
We release each other and she looks toward the hall where Alden’s laugh echoes. “They really were that identical. It’s unreal.”
“If the brain injury hadn’t changed him, we would’ve known. He’s more like his old self every day.”
“I’m thrilled for you, Ella. This has all been so horrible, but you got him back.”
“It’s like a miracle, I know.”
After a quiet moment, she runs her teeth over her lip. “Are we okay?”
“Of course we are.”
“Is it safe to come out?” Alden asks, peeking his head around the doorway.
“That depends on if you’re still wearing those slutty sweats.”
“Nah, I changed clothes.” He steps out in the hall and starts toward us wearing darker pants and a white tee shirt that fits him. “Milo likes to watch me undress. I just remembered that.”
“You need to work harder to remember I’ll kick your ass,” Milo gruffs, following behind him. There’s another knock at the door and Milo pops it open without asking who it is. “About damn time. Did you get lost?”
Smith and his husband, Harry, stand there with their arms full. “These country roads are a maze and my navigator tried to kill us. It sent us down a road that dead ends by turning into a fucking lake.” They come inside and Smith smiles at me over a pile of grease spotted bags in his arms. “We thought you might be hungry.”
Harry holds up a case of Alden’s favorite beer. “And that Alden might be too sober.”
“Get your asses in here,” Alden calls.
Tears turn to smiles and laughter as the night progresses. With everyone together for the first time since finding out who Alden actually is, it’s a celebration and a reunion rolled into one. We eat the two tons of fried catfish and fries that Smith brought. Alden, Smith, and Milo get into the beer while everyone sits around laughing and talking. I know they feel the same as I do. Just happy to have him back.
Once it gets late, Tori and I sit in the living room while the guys hang out around Milo’s little kitchen table. Their laughter filters in, making me smile.
Tori tilts her head at me. “Do you know when your baby is due? Or how far along you are?”
“I’m just at three months, due in early August.”
“Do you know the sex?”
