Page 95 of Fool Me Twice

A long moment passed as my friends stared at me.

“No, she’s not.” Maddie shook her head. “You’re a terrible liar.”

“Yeah,” Juliana chimed in. “You truly are.”

I rolled my eyes and threw up my hands. “I just can’t win, can I?”

There was a knock on the open door, and Rodrigo poked his head in. A swirl of heat and joy spiraled through me.

“Hello.” He grinned big. “I hope I’m not disturbing anything.”

“No,” I said. “Uh, not at all.”

Technically, the work day was over. Since Maddie was in town visiting for a couple weeks, I’d taken the opportunity to show her and Juliana my office. There were just a few people left on the floor, but I still didn’t want to be too loud.

“We weren’t being too rambunctious, were we?” I asked.

He chuckled a little, his dimples deepening. “Not at all. I wanted to make sure we are on for dinner tonight.”

From where Rodrigo couldn’t see it, Juliana waggled her eyebrows at me.

I ignored her, keeping my attention on Rodrigo. “Yes. See you at seven.”

“Perfect.” He left the office and the girls waited about five seconds to burst into giggles.

“It’s definitely a special night,” Juliana said.

“Uh-huh.” Maddie nodded. “I think she’s right now.”

“Oh, you two.” I shook my head, though I couldn’t help but smile.

After leaving the office, Juliana headed home and Maddie and I took a car back to Rodrigo’s house. Well, my house.

It still didn’t seem real that I lived with Rodrigo and Sebastián, but the proof was in the pudding.

I’d only spent a couple months at my apartment near the office, and half of those nights I’d ended up sneakily sleeping over at Rodrigo’s. He’d been eager for me to move in right away, but I’d hesitated on account of Sebastián. I didn’t want to move too fast, for his sake.

Eventually, though, what felt right became too hard to deny. I didn’t belong in an apartment all by myself. I was meant to be close to Rodrigo and Sebastián.

And so I’d moved in. Officially.

I’d also taken on a new position in the company, with Maddie taking over the one I’d held before. It had worked out well; she loved traveling back and forth between Baltimore and Rio, and, for the first time in my life, I loved being settled in one place.

“It’s so quiet in here,” Maddie commented as we walked through the front door.

“Too quiet.” Frowning, I looked around. Where was the blaring TV or video games? Sebastián yelling across several rooms for Melba to come look at something?

I’d barely said the words when a high-pitched yell filled the air. Sebastián jumped out of the foyer’s coat closet and began blasting me and Maddie with a dart gun.

Maddie shrieked and held her hands up for cover, but I ran right for Sebastián.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Taking the dart gun from him, I shot him in the side.

He ran off into the house, leaving a trail of excited giggles in his wake.

“You saved me.” Maddie huffed and smoothed her hair.

“It’s a constant war zone in this house. You have to be ready.”