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yourself. Be Fox. Eddie picked up the sketch pad. Fox Baillie. He read the name scribbled on the
front. Is that your full name? Fox nodded, watching as Eddie flipped through the pages, his
eyebrows shooting up in obvious surprise. Fox, this is great. You re really good. Fox sat down
beside him as Eddie stopped on the half-finished sketch of the horse. This is what you need to be
doing. You need to be in art college.
I told you, I ll think about it.
I mean it. This is impressive. Eddie scrambled off the bed and stripped off his shirt. You
could get grants and get into school. You could pursue a career in art or graphic design or something.
What do you think?
Avoiding the question, Fox opened the door. I ll get the twins and meet you downstairs.
Be right down, dear, Eddie called after him.
Outside the door Fox halted. Did you call me dear?
Completely naked, Eddie stood at the wardrobe where he had hung his dress pants. Yes, what s
wrong with that?
Everything, Eddie. It s wrong on so many levels. Shaking his head, he walked away.
The twins were just finishing up the main bathroom when he found them. The bath was shining,
he could see his face in the brass fittings, and the floor was fit to eat dinner off. Well done. You did
a great job. Now come on. Let s go downstairs, and remember to be really good at the dinner table.
And you have to go to bed right afterwards. All right? You ve had a busy day. You should sleep like
logs.
They looked at each other and then at Fox. A very slight smile tilted their mouths. Those smiles
were so rare Fox relished them. With a hand on each of the faces, he popped a kiss on their
foreheads. I love you both. Come on. The twins followed him down the stairs. Voices came from
the living room, and Fox was about to go in when someone hailed him from the kitchen, Fox Baillie?
Nik? The split second of pleasurable recognition was quickly followed by horror. You re
Nicoletta?
You re my brother s boyfriend? In her rainbow Andes hat, a pair of jeans, sans knees, and a
T-shirt bearing the phrase Stay Calm and Carry On, she walked toward him. OMG! she screamed
and hugged him. I didn t know you were gay. You should have told me. I ve had a crush on you for
months.
Sorry. Shit, shit, shit! What was he going to do now?
Panicked, his heart racing, Fox grabbed her by the arm, pulled her through the kitchen and
through the back door into the warm, still evening. The twins followed. That was it. Now he had to
end the relationship with Eddie, and soon. It couldn t go on any longer. Fox was really fond of Nik,
but he knew she couldn t keep her mouth shut. They took three studio classes together, and Nik spent
the whole time feeding him gossip about other students. Every second sentence was, I know I
shouldn t repeat this but or She told me not to say anything but.
What s going on? Are they the twins? I thought you said they were five years old or something.
That was right; he had. No, they re thirteen. He drew her down the paved path between the
flower beds. Clumps of bright pink peonies and red gladiolas drew the attention of the twins, who
stopped to admire them.
Are you Edward s bf?
Yeah. How was he going to put this? Nik absolutely could not tell Eddie where she knew him
from. I need you to do me a favor. Don t let him know we know each other.
A frown creased her forehead. Why?
Because I m going to end it, and it would be best if he didn t know how to contact me. Sorry if
that s mean, but& He shrugged.
Why are you going to end it? He never mentioned a name, but I knew he was really into
someone. I had no idea it was you.
He s not really my type, Nik.
Oh. She looked a bit disappointed. Eddie s a real egghead, but he s a great brother. He s
always been good to me.
This was horrible. He was betraying Eddie and making himself look like a right prick. And
maybe he was. I know that, and he s a lovely bloke, but he s thirty, for God s sake. That s really old.
I m only nineteen, and I m not ready to get into anything heavy. He forced a little laugh, feeling like a
bigger piece of shit than ever. Too many blokes, not enough time and all that.
Looking like a sulky child, Nik placed both hands on her hips. Why did you come for his
birthday if you re going to finish with him? That s just leading him on.
He asked me to, and I didn t want to upset him. I really do like him. He wondered if she could
detect his anxiety. Just let me get through tonight. We re leaving tomorrow, and that ll be it. Give
him a nice birthday, and then he can move on to someone better.
Better? There s nothing wrong with you, Fox. You re lush. At least I always thought you were.
The disappointment in her face compounded the guilt he already felt. She was right. He was leading
Eddie on, and it was all going to come crashing down.
Sorry. I don t want to hurt him.
It might be too late for that.
Another side of Nik that Fox had never seen was coming out in defense of her brother. The
usually self-involved gossip with the cockney accent was an unselfish sister who cared deeply about
her brother. And her accent was sliding further back with every syllable.
How s your arm? she asked.
Had Nik figured out that he cut himself just like Eddie had? He hadn t been fooled by the knife-
slipping story, and perhaps she wasn t either.
It s fine. An image of William Baillie with a kitchen knife stuck in his chest popped out of left
field, filling his brain. It s all your fucking fault, you pig. Your fault I met Eddie and had to lie to
him and steal from him. Your fault I m going to hurt him. I can t wait for you to be dead. Nik, I
just can t do it right now. I can t have a relationship. And to be honest, he doesn t know I m in art
school. I told him I was a bit of a layabout, just to put him off, you know?
Didn t work, did it?
No. He just accepts me for who I am.
That s my bro. She smiled. Never judges anyone. But he values honesty.
Fox groaned inwardly.
He just doesn t get why people aren t straightforward like him.
Right, I ll keep that in mind. He s a great dude. He ll find someone else.
Nik shrugged, but it was obvious she was unhappy about it. Okay, I ll go along with this for the
weekend. But let him down gently. I love him.
So do I.
I can see that. And I will, next week. Just don t tell him you know me. I think it will make it
harder if you do. Leave it to me. I ll take care of it.
The four of them walked back inside and into the living room where Eddie and Nik s
grandparents stopped speaking at the sight of them. They would be used to Nik, but a geezer in a kilt
with black eye makeup would catch their attention.
Is this your boyfriend, Nicoletta? Of course they d think that.
No, Gran, he s Eddie mate.
Bounding forward like an excited puppy, Edward introduced Fox as his friend from London. To
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