“That’s not bad. I’ll take it.”
“I mean the child tourists,” I said.
“I’ll ignore that,” Tempest said. “Is this place low profile enough for everyone?”
“I think it’ll do nicely.” Iver straightened from where he’d been looking inside the refrigerator. “We’ll have to take appropriate precautions, split up when we adopt our identities, but it’s fine as a base camp. Quite literally a camp almost, in this case.”
“We’re so far from West Bend,” Oscar said. “Over an hour, and in the middle of nowhere. And everyone’s in a rental. No one’s being tailed. All precautions were taken.”
“And, the most important thing is that you even stocked champagne.” Iver said, holding up a bottle.
“You can thank Silas for that one,” Tempest said. “He special ordered it at the general store.”
“Silas, you’re growing on me,” Iver said as he popped the bottle. “I’ll pour glasses and we’ll toast the new grift.” There was a knock on the door and he scowled. “Now who is about to ruin a perfectly good toast?”
“That would be Luke,” I said, crossing the room. “Don’t worry - he’s all good. I was schooled on precautions they needed to take, avoiding a tail, all that.”
“I hope you’re not revealing all of the trade secrets,” Iver said.
“What trade secrets?” Luke asked.
“Is this the twin?” Emir asked. “You don’t look that alike.”
“We’re just brothers,” Luke said.
“Yeah, unfortunately,” I said, as Luke wrapped his arm around my neck, putting me in a headlock.
“Unfortunately?” Luke asked.
“Did you forget I was a wrestler?” I said, easily pulling Luke’s arm from his neck.
“Yeah, but I’m bigger, and older than you,” Luke said. “And fitter.”
“Is this what they do in Colorado?” Iver asked.
Tempest rolled her eyes. “Boys, please don’t destroy this place.”
I laughed. “Yeah, okay” I said, letting go of my brother’s arm. I pulled Tempest up against me, slid my hands around her to the small of her back, and kissed the tip of her nose. “Happy?”
“For sure,” she said. “You?”
“Very.” I was. I could have been anywhere with Tempest, anywhere in the world, and I’d have been so stinking happy. There was nothing that could change that.
Tempest
“Oh my God, with the kissy face all the time,” Luke yelled. “Get a room.”
“Shut up,” Silas said. “You’re just jealous.”
“What’s that about?” I asked, and Silas shrugged.
“He’s all gaga for some girl,” Silas said.
“So you’re giving him shit about it?” I asked. “Are you a total asshole?”
“It’s what we do,” Silas said.
“Where’s the other one?” Emir piped up from across the room. “Isn’t there a twin?”
“He’s in Hollywood,” I said. “He’s dating River Andrews.”
Emir started at me blankly. “Who?”
“She’s an actress,” I said. “Romantic comedies.”
“Oh.” Emir looked down and returned to what he was doing.
“She’s getting an award,” I said. “A big one. Elias went with her to the awards show. It’s going to be on live television.”
“It’s on in about twenty minutes, too,” Luke said as he walked around. “Is there a TV? I told Elias I wanted to see him in a monkey suit.”
“Ahem,” Iver clinked a spoon against the side of his glass. “A toast. If everyone would please pick up a glass of champagne.”
When we had, and the buzz of talking in the room quieted down, Iver cleared his throat. “Now,” he said. “When I found out that the most attractive member of our team had absconded to a little Colorado town with someone, I couldn’t imagine that it was true.”
Silas’ hand wrapped protectively around my shoulder. “Most attractive, for sure,” he whispered into my ear.
“Until,” Iver said, clearing his throat again. “Until I heard her talk about him. And then I understood that it was the only possible thing she could have done. Because when you find the person who makes you want to leave everything behind, you can’t do anything but that.”
Oscar held up his glass. “To Ariana and Silas.”
“Who’s Ariana?” Silas asked.
“About that…”
Silas turned to me. “Your real name isn’t Ariana, is it?”
I laughed. “No,” I said. “It’s Tempest. They know me as Ariana.” She yelled loudly. “It’s Tempest, guys. My given name is not Ariana.”
Oscar put his hand over his heart. “I’m hurt that you gave us a fake,” he said.
“I’ve known all along,” Emir said, opening up one of his laptops on the table he stood behind.
Iver turned toward him. “And you haven’t said anything, Emir?”
He shrugged. “You should just assume I know everything. Because I probably do.”
“I find that equal parts admirable and reprehensible,” Iver said.