Page 5 of A Little Complicated

“You sure?”

No.

“Yeah, of course. Thanks for driving. And for taking me tonight. You didn’t have to.”

“Are you kidding me?” He chuckles, squeezes my hand, and lets me go so he can pull into a parking spot near the back of the lot. It’s crowded with limos and high schoolers dressed like they’re about to step onto a fashion runway in Milan. A girl from my English class spots me in the passenger seat and waves as she loops her arm through her boyfriend’s.

Archer slides his car into park and murmurs, “I wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else, Lia.”

“Because you’re a saint.” I turn to him again and lean my head back against the black leather seat, focusing on the physical traits that make ArcherArcherand not his identical twin. My exhaustion already threatens to pull me under, and we haven’t even stepped out of the car yet.

“I’m not a saint. I’m your best friend.” He turns the ignition off but doesn’t reach for the door handle. Instead, he wipes his palms along his dark slacks. “You wanna talk about it?”

“Talk about what?”

“About the guy I’m replacing tonight. I believe Dylan called him…Mystery Man?” He tilts his head as the nickname rolls off his tongue.

I smile despite myself. Archer’s cute when he’s curious. When he’s trying to bring up a subject he doesn’t know how to broach. Then again, he’s Archer. The guy’s cute all the time, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. Archer Buchanan is basically the equivalent of the boy next door with a side of Prince Charming all rolled into one.

It would annoy me if he wasn’t so genuine.

How he isn’t already tied down is a mystery to literally everyone who’s ever seen him, let alone had an actual conversation with the dude.

He’sthatperfect.

“Not gonna tell me about Mystery Man, huh?” he prods when I’ve been silent too long.

Other than the fact he’s your twin brother, and I hate myself for opening up to him? Yeah, no. No, thank you.

Pushing aside how fucked-up this entire situation is, I give him a half-assed shrug andlie,“There isn’t much to tell.”

“You sure?”

I nod, then shake my head. “Honestly, I don’t even know anymore.”

“Was it serious?”

“I mean, we weren’t official, but…”

“But you wanted to be,” he concludes.

“I knew what I was getting into when we started seeing each other.”

“Doesn’t make it better, though.”

I pick at my cuticles in my lap as my entire non-relationship with Mystery Man circles through my head like water swirling down a drain. “I guess not.”

Scratching his jaw, Archer turns to me fully and rests his wrist on the steering wheel. “How come I never heard about him, Lia?”

“Mystery Man?” I hesitate, well-aware of theexactreason Archer never heard of him until tonight, and why I need to keep it this way. “Uh, I don’t know? We’ve never really been friends who talk about our dating lives.”

“Is there a reason we don’t talk about it?” he questions.

I lift a shoulder again and repeat, “I don't know? What do you think?”

“I think I’m happy to be here, Ophelia.”

Another smile touches my lips as I take in the man beside me. He’s dressed to the nines in a dark tuxedo with his brown hair combed away from his face and his chiseled jaw on full display, looking every bit the drool-worthy, perfect prom date I asked him to be. Honestly, I’m still not sure how he pulled it off so quickly. That’s a lie. Even in sweats and a T-shirt, I’m pretty sure he’d pull off the perfect prom date title with ease. Yet here he is, with me. “Surprisingly, I’m happy you’re here too,” I tell him. And it’s the truth. I didn’t think it would even be possible to smile tonight, and Archer’s helped me accomplish it more than once already.

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