Chapter Eighteen

An hour later, Sullivan was sitting at the kitchen table, laptop at the ready, working on a page error that had been generated with his latest upload and Spencer was completely sacked out on the couch, take full advantage of that ‘hooky’ time he’d been given by his client.

So much for brainless, Sullivan mused with a glance over his shoulder. More like brain dead, he thought, as Spencer snored softly.

Spencer yelled something unintelligible when a knock sounded on the door, waking up instantly and making Sullivan jump slightly in his seat, more at the yell than the knock.

“You go,” they said in unison, then Spencer groaned and pulled himself off the couch and ambled towards the door. He pulled it open, then smiled when he saw Brandt standing on the threshold.

“Brandt Brown,” he said, putting out his hand to shake Brandt’s. “Good to see you. What brings you down the road?” he asked, referencing the fact that they both lived on Ocean View Boulevard, only a mile or so apart.

Brandt grinned and returned the handshake warmly. “Slummin’, you know,” he said, his voice teasing. “Actually, I have some papers for you,” he said, reaching into his messenger bag.

“Oh god, they aren’t revoking the mortgage, are they?” Spencer asked in mock horror, only half kidding.

Brandt shook his head. “Nothing like that. For some reason, I got your inspection and pest reports sent to the office, and it’s something you should hang on to with your files in case you ever have to file an insurance claim or anything. I just wanted to make sure you had the originals,” he explained, handing over a sheaf of papers to Spencer. “How’s the house working out? Do you have any problems or questions or anything?”

Spencer shook his head. “No, man, it’s awesome. Eveyrthing is finally unpacked and where it’s supposed to be. We’re loving it here,” Spencer said. “I mean, the view alone…”

Brandt tilted his head quizzically, noting the pronoun. “We?”

Spencer reddened, suddenly realizing that in all the time he was working with Brandt, he’d probably never mentioned Sullivan.

Oops.

He did that, sometimes. They were so attached, he often thought of them in terms of one person, rather than two distinct people, and often neglected to tell people about his other half.

“Who’s at the door?” Sullivan asked, coming around the corner from the kitchen and looking towards the front door.

Brandt looked from one man to the other, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping slightly in shock.

Standing in the doorway by the kitchen was a mirror image of the man standing in front of him. He looked between them both, as though he were attending a demented tennis match, trying to wrap his brain around what he was seeing.

“You... you have a tw—“

“Twin, yes,” Spencer said, finishing his sentence for Brandt. “Brandt, this is my twin brother, Sullivan. Sullivan, you’ve heard me talk a bunch about Brandt – this is the man, the myth, the legend.”

Sullivan smiled and walked forward, extending his hand to shake. “Good to meet you; thanks for putting up with my brother to get us this place,” he said with an easy smile. “You probably more than earned your commission with this one,” he said, nodding to his brother with a conspiratorial smile for Brandt.

Brandt nodded absently. “Good to meet you, too,” he agreed. “I’m just… I can’t believe you never mentioned you had a brother. Who was moving in with you. In this house.”

Spencer flushed anew. “Yeah, I… I guess I never mentioned it. I was sure that I did, but…”

“You didn’t sign the mortgage papers, did you?” Brandt asked suddenly, directing his question to Sullivan.

“He was out of town the day we were going to do it. Remember, we rescheduled and you couldn’t be there? We were both there with the mortgage lender. We’re both on there, I swear,” Spencer said. “I’m really sorry, man. I thought you knew.”

“No, but hey, it’s no big deal. Just a bit of a surprise,” Brandt said, recovering his composure quickly. “You like the house?” he asked Sullivan, who nodded earnestly.

“I love the house,” Sullivan confirmed. “Amazing find, truly. You did great for us. I appreciate it.”

“So do you… do you know Lucy too?” Brandt asked, searching Sullivan’s face.

“I…” he faltered, unsure what to say, then making a snap decision. “I do.”

“Weird, she’s never mentioned you,” Brandt said, not unkindly. “I would have assumed he would have told me that Mr. Wonder Trainer had a twin.”

“Mr. Wonder Trainer?” Spencer interjected, amused.

Brandt shrugged with a smile. “My own personal moniker. She usually refers to you as Satan,” he said with cheeky grin.

“Very funny,” Spencer deadpanned. “Sullivan…”

“I’ve met her,” Sullivan said, unable not to tell the truth. “I filled in for Spencer one day when he couldn’t be there, and got to hang out with her. She’s really cool.”

Brandt nodded, but his eyes narrowed. “Did you tell her you weren’t Spencer at the time?”

“Well, no,” Sullivan said. “We don’t want to hurt her feelings, or make her feel like we were just passing her back and forth but…”

He explained his initial meeting with Lucy at the farmer’s market and his filling in for Spencer because of his illness, being sure to emphasize how much he liked talking with her, and that he never misled her into thinking she was with a stranger.

He had never felt like a stranger with Lucy, he thought in the back of his mind.

“Are you going to tell her there’s two of you? Or is this some weird thing you guys do with people?” Brandt asked, his tone bordering on suspicious.

Spencer put up both hands in surrender. “We’re going to tell her, of course. Just… she’s in a tough place right now with her new physical training, and I don’t want to give her any reason not to trust me. She’s really going for that Total Body Solution.”

“She’s been trying really hard,” Brandt said, biting back a grin at the name drop.

The name Lucy made fun of every chance she got.

“She has,” Spencer agreed. “And I don’t want to derail that.”

“So… you won’t tell her right now, but soon, when she’s a little more… settled?” Brandt posed it as a question, but his tone made it sound like an order.

The twins nodded in unison. “We will,” they said together.

“Soon,” Sullivan added quickly. “Really soon, I hope.”

Brandt looked them both up and down, all signs of conviviality gone. “Don’t break her spirit or her heart, either of you,” he said quietly.

Both men could hear the love and protection in the man’s voice, and nodded anew.

“Scout’s honor,” Spencer said.

“Were you a Scout?” Brandt asked skeptically.

“No, but I’m always prepared,” Spencer said with a small smile. “I swear.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” Brandt said, reaching out to shake both men’s hands. “Sullivan, nice to finally meet you. Spencer, good to see you again. If you need anything, let me know,” he said, stepping back onto the porch and closing his messenger bag. “And keep an eye on my girl,” he said over his shoulder as he walked back to his car.

“Will do,” Sullivan said softly, making Spencer look at him out of the corner of his eye.

“Me too,” he agreed, meaning it.

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