Page 75 of Reputation (Tempt)

“What am I supposed to do, avoid her for the next year? Even if I wanted to—which I don’t—I can’t. I’m pretty sure she’s going to ask me to be her maid of honor.” And I had a feeling Knox was going to ask Nate to be his best man. I sighed.

“It’ll get easier,” he said. “We’ll get more comfortable playing these roles. Especially if we remember why we’re doing this.”

Right. We were doing this for Brooklyn.

I wasn’t sure I’d ever be comfortable lying to the people I cared about, but I didn’t say that. Instead, I tried to focus onBrooklyn.I felt a little calmer already.

“Well,” he said. “At least we don’t have to lie to my parents.”

I frowned. “I’m glad I don’t have to lie to even more people, but that makes me sad.”

“Don’t be.” He took a sip of his water. “It was so long ago, it feels like a different life.”

“Even so,” I said, studying him. “I’m sure you still miss them.”

He tucked his arm behind his head and stared at the ceiling. “I have some memories of them, especially my mom. But I was still so young when they died. I think…” He sighed. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s the idea of them I miss more than who they actually were. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah.” It made complete sense. “Like you’re mourning the idea of what you missed out on.”

“Exactly. Yes.” He turned and stared at me, as if he was seeing me for the first time.

“You forget—no mom.”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve…”

“It’s fine,” I said. “Really. I know how much my dads wanted Astrid and me, but sometimes…”

“You can’t help but wonder.”

“Yeah,” I said on an exhale. It was so nice to talk to someone who got it. I wasn’t sure I’d ever admitted that to anyone, even my twin.

“Tell me more about your childhood,” he said.

“It was…” I hugged a pillow to my chest. “Well, I always knew my family was unique. It didn’t help that people used to ask the rudest, most intrusive and insensitive questions.”

“That’s shitty. I get it.”

“It was, and I bet you do. But it also made us stronger. More of a team. Even if most people were well-meaning, it was still us against the world.”

“That’s how it was with Knox and me and our cousins. Though the five of us have always thought of ourselves as siblings.”

I nodded, considering. Maybe we were more alike than I realized. “Don’t you think they’ll question our engagement?”

“Nah,” he said casually, too casually.

“Mm-hmm.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“I imagine Knox is too blissed out with Kendall to care about anything else. Graham is too much of a workaholic to give a damn unless it concerns the Huxley Hotel empire. Jasper is…” He trailed off.

“Jasper is…” I prompted.

“Lazy. A shameless flirt.”

“Agreed.” I laughed. “At least to the flirting.” But his expression darkened. “And Sloan?” I asked, concerned that Nate’s cousin might be a sticking point. I’d only met her a few times since she lived in London, but she and Brooklyn had always been very close.

“Fortunately, we won’t have to see her very often.”

Be that as it may, I remained unconvinced. “If all the people closest to us are going to buy this,” I said, gesturing between us, “we’re going to need a good story.”

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