Page 117 of So Steady

“So, change!” Sam picked up her pink cotton dress. “Put this on! Tabby, find her sandals!”

With her sisters’ help, Nicole whipped off her pjs and put on the dress, dragging the comb Tabby found through her hair and applying Sam’s chapstick.

“You look great,” Sam said, shoving her out of the door. “Good luck. And don’t worry, I’ll stop Tabby from yelling shit out of the window.”

“Thanks.” But she didn’t head for the stairs, instead she held her twin’s gaze. The mirror she was born looking into. “Sammy…do you think this will work? Me and Noah? Really?”

Sam didn’t smile. She didn’t roll her eyes. She seemed to take her question as seriously as she’d asked it.

“I knew you were crushed out on each other,” she said slowly. “But I didn’t think anything would come of it. Noah’s so closed off, I didn’t think you could handle that.”

Nicole’s heart sank. “Oh.”

Sam shrugged. “But I clearly don’t know shit. I didn’t know that Gil was stealing from me and I didn’t clock Noah for a crook, but you did. You see shit I don’t, so without turning it back on you, I think you’re the best person to decide if Noah can be what you want in a partner.”

Nicole nodded. “He said he doesn’t want to be a dad.”

“That doesn’t mean he won’t want to have kids withyou.” Sam smiled. “People do change, Nix.

“But—”

Sam held up her hand. “You asked me what I think, and here it is—when you’re around, Noah’s paying attention. He’s there for you in a way he was never there for me or Tabby or even dad.”

“Oh, Sammy, I’m sure that’s not true.”

“I’m not being self-pitying,” she said loudly. “But Scott showed me being loved is about being seen, and you and Noah see each other. In ways we just don’t, and we’re fucking twins. So the takeaway on my end is you should give it a shot. Also, he’s your Jacob. That’s clear to me now.”

“Great, thanks.” Nicole pinched her side and they both laughed, then they hugged.

“I love you,” Sam whispered. “I’m proud of you.”

The backs of Nicole’s eyes prickled. “I love you, too. I’m so glad I came home.”

“He’s coming to the door,” Tabby shrieked. “What are you cunts waiting for? Are you trying to make me lose my fucking mind?”

Nicole let go of Sam. “See you soon.”

“Always.”

And she flew down the stairs toward him, not thinking, just feeling. But maybe she should have been thinking, because when she opened the door, she did the most Bella Swan thing possible, she tripped over the front doorstep and hit her chin on the wooden steps.

Noah swore, crouched so their eyes were level. “Nikki! Are you okay?”

“No.” Her right knee and chin were throbbing, but her pride hurt the worst. “I can’t believe I fell again. Sam didn’t see, did she?”

Noah’s silence said that she had, and Nicole was sure she could hear giggling from behind and above her. She stood up, brushing her burning palms against her dress. “So, you were with Scott and Toby, right? You went to see Gil?”

“Nikki…” He shook his head. “I didn’t come here to talk about Gil.”

“Are you sure, because isn’t that his motorbike?”

“Maybe. Look, do you think I could get a kiss before we get into that?” He was grinning and she wanted to be mad at him, but the relief that coursed through her at the sight of him just felt too good.

She smiled, betraying her ego. “Maybe.”

“Close enough.” He pulled her close, but they didn’t kiss. Instead they swayed against each other slowly, drinking each other in.

“I’m sorry about…everything,” he said.

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