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He could feel the anticipation rolling off her in waves.

“Don’t know. We will find out when he gets here.” Emmanuel wondered the same. The truth was, his feelings were mixed. Part of him wished Darsh had found his mystery twin, and the other wished he didn’t. Once the man was found, they couldn’t put the genie back in the bottle.

Darsh arrived sooner than Emmanuel expected. The couple had barely finished eating, and Ivy was still putting away the food when Darsh was ushered in by him.

“Hey man, why does it smell like a restaurant in here?” As Darsh asked, he walked in. Ivy wasn’t yet visible to him.

“Ivy and I were just having lunch.” Emmanuel hid his smile. It was better that the scent of their later activity was present versus their previous one.

“Nice. After I share my news, I’m going to grab some grub.”

“Hey, Darsh,” Ivy called out in greeting.

Darsh recovered quickly from the surprise of Doc being present.

“Ivy, aren’t you a vision?” Emmanuel rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics. Of course, Ivy looked beautiful, she always did. However, the man liked getting under his skin. It was Darsh’s personal pastime when they were all together. He kissed Ivy’s hand, and his lips lingered.

“You’re good. Let go of my wife’s hand,” Emmanuel admonished.

She, of course, just smiled at the men’s behaviour. It was nothing new to her. Darsh just laughed and placed another peck on her hand.

“How are you, Ivy?”

“I can’t complain. I heard you haven’t eaten. We have plenty of leftovers.”

“He is a vegetarian,” Emmanuel answered him.

“Actually, I’m a pescatarian.”

“Oh, we have crab bites. Let me get you some.” Ivy immediately reached into the bag to retrieve the container.

“That sounds delicious. Thank you, Ivy.”

“Aren’t you on the clock?”

“Yes. But your lovely wife and I are taking part in an ancient ritual of being a delightful hostess and wonderful guest. You should try it sometime.”

Darsh retrieved one of the bites from the container she held out for him. It disappeared as he popped it into his mouth. In a few quick bites, it was finished.

“Wow, that was superb.”

Ivy handed him the container. “Here you have them.”

“Thank you, Ivy. That’s sweet of you.” Darsh popped another one into his mouth and winked at Emmanuel. “I’ll finish these later.” He placed the container on the table. Just like that, all traces of humour disappeared.

“I think you both will want to sit for this.”

They all took seats, Emmanuel, and Ivy side-by-side while Darsh was across from them. He removed his Mac from his bag and placed it on the table. “I know. I told you it would take some time to find out who your brother is. While I do not have all the information. I have enough that I feel comfortable sharing with you.”

Emmanuel sat up straighter as he waited for Darsh to continue.

“His name is Leonardo Baldi.”

“So, his name is Leo,” Ivy said.

Thank God she spoke. He certainly couldn’t string words together. All of this was real. He realised then that a small part of him wondered… no, hoped he didn’t have a twin. Although it would result in them still not having an explanation for the paternity, it was preferable to this. Some stranger who shared his DNA had fathered a child and allowed someone to pin it on him.

“How did you find out who he was?” Ivy asked.

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