SOMEONE ELSE'S SHADOW

Two-2

I realize I probably should have led with something a little less shocking. “Sorry, I’m still trying to figure out this whole social etiquette thing.” I scrunch up my face and shake my head because that revelation isn’t any better than my first.

Lacey chews her pie politely, waiting for me to continue.

“Six months ago, I woke from a coma.” The fact still leaves me winded. “I actually have…amnesia. I have no idea who I am. I have strangers telling me about the person I once was, but I have absolutely no recollection of any of it.” I toy with my fork, flicking my thumb over the plastic tines. “The doctors don’t know if I’ll ever remember. So far, nothing, but…”

“But what?” she asks, swallowing, utterly intrigued.

Pausing, I once again get lost in the gentle hum pulsating in the air. “But this place…something about this place feels so…familiar. It doesn’t make any sense because I didn’t grow up here, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve been here before.”

Sighing, I dig my fork into the flaky pie crust, needing something to shove into my mouth so I stop talking. I have no doubt I freaked Lacey the hell out. Talk about jumping into the deep end. The unintentional thought makes my stomach drop.

We’re silent, both chewing pensively. As I deliberate what I just confessed, I find I can’t read the blank look on Lacey’s face. I wouldn’t blame her if she kept her distance, but she said she was my neighbor, which has me wondering how long she’s lived here.

Wanting a change of pace, I place my hand on the railing, shake out my hair, and strike my best model pose. “I don’t suppose I look familiar?” I know I look ridiculous, but that’s the whole point.

Lacey splutters up her pie, covering her mouth with her hand. “At the moment”—she’s doing a poor job at hiding her smirk—“you kind of look like Donald Duck.”

My pursed lips twitch before I burst into fits of laughter. “Well, at least I can rule out model,” I manage to choke out between chuckles. Lacey cackles along with me.

“What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“Yes, tomorrow.” She nods animatedly.

“I have no idea,” I reveal. “I have no idea what I’m doing. Period.” I have no idea why any of this is funny, but being with Lacey is like gossiping with an old girlfriend where everything is funny.

“Well, in that case, I insist you let me help decorate this place. We can go into town and grab a few things.” When something clatters loudly in my kitchen, Lacey’s eyes widen before she bites back a smile. “Maybe a lot of things.”

My heart swells at her suggestion because that sounds absolutely amazing. “Deal.”

I feel an inexplicable kinship to Lacey. I have no idea why, but she’s the first person I have met who I’ve been completely comfortable around. It could be because she has no idea who I was, and she’s meeting the new Peyton Lane 2.0.

Whatever the reason, I don’t question it.

“Let’s look at the master bedroom and see what we need. Maybe we could put in a hot tub.” She wiggles her eyebrows mischievously.

Her comment sobers me up somewhat. Looking over my shoulder, I examine the room behind me. It’s the smallest room in the house, and the hideous retro wallpaper transports me back to the 70s, but for some inexplicable reason, it’s perfect. When I peer upward, a single glow-in-the-dark star pressed to the ceiling cements my decision.

“I think I want to stay in here.”

“Here?” she asks, bearing her surprise.

I nod, chewing on my lip. “Yes. It’s the room that needs the most work, but it feels…like home. Weird, right?”

“No, not weird at all,” she replies a moment later. “It’s perfect.”

Silence falls over us, but this time, Lacey appears to be the pensive one. I don’t have time to question her, though, because yet another bang and crash vibrate off my walls as the distinct sound of happy paws skating along my flooring comes to life. We both turn and are greeted with nothing but trouble.

Empire stampedes into the room and charges straight toward me. Before I have a chance to move, he’s licking my face. Just like when I first saw him, a sense of happiness falls over me.

“Hey, Empire. Whatcha doing in here, boy?” I squish both his cheeks, laughing when his tongue licks me clean. “Is he always this friendly?” I ask Lacey, who is leaning against the railing, watching on in amusement.

“Yes, but only to the people he likes.”

“Well, in that case,” I coo, rubbing his floppy ears, “I’m honored. Maybe you could teach your owner a thing or two about friendliness. God knows he could use the training. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, didn’t they? Or maybe he’s just born an asshole,” I conclude, ending my tangent.

When Lacey straightens her back, I realize I may have overstepped a line. I have no idea exactly where she lives, but if she knows Empire, then she knows his master too. “s**t, I’m so sorry. That was really rude of me.” I gently coax Empire down, who sits by my side.

Lacey waves off my apology, however. “I take it you’ve met Cayden, then?”

Cayden.

My stranger finally has a name.

Her question drips with innuendo. Maybe he’s a notorious killjoy throughout the neighborhood.

Patting Empire on the scruff, I nod slowly. “Yeah, I think I offended him somehow.”

Her curiosity is piqued. “What makes you say that?”

Shrugging, I think back to our encounter. He’s undeniably handsome, but I have a sneaking suspicion he’s hiding a secret behind those eyes. I should know. I recognize the look all too well.

“I don’t know. Just a gut feeling, I guess. He practically ran away from me earlier.”

“I’m sure he didn’t run,” she offers, attempting to play down the situation.

But I remember he couldn’t get away from me fast enough. “He left skid marks in his haste.”

Lacey’s mouth twitches. “Don’t take it personally,” she says, turning serious.

It’s now my turn for my curiosity to be piqued. “He makes a habit of running away from his neighbors then?”

She peers down at her scuffed sneakers, toeing over a c***k in the wood before she finally replies. “The thing about Cayden is that he…” Her pause has me holding my breath, anxious to hear her explanation.

She chews her glossy pink lip, suddenly regretting saying anything. But I won’t let this go. I raise an eyebrow at her hesitation.

“Is that he’s really a nice guy but forgot he left the stove on?” I quip, wanting to lighten the mood. She smiles, but her struggle is visible.

I’m just about to tell her not to worry, that we all have secrets, but she inhales and exhales on a rushed breath as if she’s afraid she’ll lose her nerve. “The thing about Cayden is that he lost…”

But this conversation is bound to remain unfinished.

“Causing trouble again, I see.”

Our heads snap to the doorway where Cayden stands, leaning against the doorjamb with his arms and ankles crossed. His stance may give the impression that he’s casual and aloof, but the way his fingers are digging into his bulging biceps indicates otherwise.

Lacey instantly averts her eyes, gnawing on her lip, amplifying her guilt tenfold.

I don’t know who Cayden is referring to—Empire, Lacey, or me. But regardless, Lacey’s apparent retreat leaves me angry because I’ll be damned if she feels intimidated in my home. “I have no idea who you think you are, but you can’t just come waltzing into my room uninvited.”

I don’t allow his suffocating magnetism to intimidate me as I march forward and stop in the middle of the room, challenging him to reply. All he does, however, is infuriate me further when his wicked lips curve into a lopsided grin.

“Your room?” he asks, not concealing his surprise—or disgust, I can’t really tell.

“Yes, my room,” I reply with defense. “Not that it’s any of your business because this is the first and last time you’ll ever see it.”

My sass-infused comment deflates rapidly when Cayden deadpans me. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but I’d give a penny for his thoughts.

“It’s probably safer for you to stay in the main bedroom. This room has a leak, but that’s just my opinion.” He’s giving me interior decorating advice now? Just who does he think he is?

“It does not have a leak,” I argue, c*****g a hand to my hip and lifting my eyes skyward. Sweeping my hand toward the ceiling, I attempt to prove my point but am verified to be a big fat liar when a bead of water with its own zip code splashes onto my upturned face.

Closing my eyes in humiliation, I wipe my waterlogged face and shrug it off. “What are you, some kind of building connoisseur or something?”

With that irksome smirk still tugging at his lips, he kicks off the doorway and flippantly replies, “Or something. You ready?”

I know he’s not talking to Empire. Therefore, he must be addressing Lacey, who has remained awfully quiet during our exchange. Turning to look at her, I wonder why she looks like she’s just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

A sense of dread suddenly engulfs me. Just who exactly is Cayden to Lacey? He’s asking if she’s ready to leave…with him.

Have I just put my foot in it?

Are they dating? Husband and wife?

My cheeks burst into flames. I am so embarrassed. “I didn’t realize you guys were…close,” I settle on, fishing for the right word as I sweep my finger between her and Mr. Personality.

She nods, completely guilt-ridden, while Cayden scoffs playfully. “Not by choice.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask with bite, turning abruptly. I bump into a solid wall…of muscle, that is, as Cayden is standing right behind me.

His hands shoot out to grab my upper arms to steady me, and the moment we make contact, a hunger I haven’t felt before consumes me.

I am beyond horrified by my completely inappropriate desire, but the thought of pulling from his embrace feels like I’m committing the ultimate sin.

Our eyes lock, his gaze scouring over every inch of my face as he tongues his cheek, deep in thought. He has the perfect poker face. I have no idea what he’s currently thinking, but judging by the s**t-eating grin slathered on his perfect lips, he can read my inner turmoil with ease.

“It means”—he dips low, leaving mere inches between us—“that she’s my sister.”

It takes a few seconds for the fog to clear my brain, but once it does, I can’t shake my relief. He’s trying to intimidate me, but all he’s doing is riling me up. “Well, I suppose you can choose your friends but not your family. My condolences, Lacey.”

Lacey snorts behind me.

My statement may sound big and brave, but beneath that façade, I’m trembling like a leaf in fall.