Never Tied Down (The Never Duet #2)(64)

But all that went out the window on Saturday as I sat in that coffee shop. There was nothing I could say to myself, no nonsense I could slowly repeat in my mind to calm myself down. I just had to ride the wave. And it was easier with Riot by my side.

I couldn’t miss him when Kevin finally came into the coffee shop. I hadn’t seen him since my seventh birthday, but he looked exactly the same, just older. His hair was still the same blond color mine was, and his face was still the same shape as mine. He walked in and I watched as his blue eyes, which matched mine, swept the coffee shop. When they landed on me, his recognition was instantaneous. He knew me just as immediately as I knew him. So, there was that.

Our eyes locked, and I didn’t know what his heart was doing, but mine was thundering so loud in my chest I was sure he could hear it across the noisy coffee shop chatter. We stared at each other for a long moment, neither of us moving, but when he did, it was to say something to someone behind him. Then he started walking toward me, and the person he’d spoken to started to follow, and then, my life changed.

It was as quick as a light switch flipping, or as rapid as the wings of a hummingbird. It happened and I would never be the same.

Following my father was a girl who looked exactly like me.

My throat went dry, my jaw slackened, and my heart, which had previously been hammering away in my chest, simply stopped beating.

Kevin came to our table and the younger version of me stopped right by his side, and both sets of eyes were trained on me as though I was going to give them the secret to eternal life.

“Kalli,” he finally said, half smiling and half looking as though he were going to lose his breakfast. “I can’t believe I’m looking at you. You’re beautiful.”

Riot looked between the two of us, and I couldn’t manage to say a word, so he piped in with, “Why don’t you take a seat.” Kevin looked at Riot gratefully, then took the chair directly across from me, while his blonde counterpart took the chair across from Riot.

“I can’t believe you’re here. The entire drive up I thought for sure we’d get here and you wouldn’t show. I couldn’t blame you, honestly, but I was sure I’d be stood up.” He was talking rapidly, words falling from his mouth almost quicker than I could comprehend them. But as much as he was saying, as many words as he had for me, I had none yet for him.

“Dad,” the blonde girl said quietly, her eyes darting to me as she said them, then back to her father—my father. “I’m going to get a coffee. Want anything?”

“I’ll take a water,” he said gently, then pulled out his wallet and handed her a ten-dollar bill. She took it with a small smile, then stood up and walked to the counter.

“That’s Rachel. She’ll be nineteen next month. Right after the new year.”

“She looks exactly like me,” I said, surprised the words had come out of my mouth.

“Well, she looks exactly like me, and so do you.” Then he let out a chuckle and it hit me like a tidal wave; I’d heard that particular laugh for the first seven years of my life and hearing it then, I was sure I would have recognized it anywhere. We could have been in a crowded train and had I heard the laugh from the other side of the car, I would have known it was him. I would have felt it deep within me, like I did then. It was a sound that moved through my body, making all the hairs on my arms stand up. “You’re both much prettier than I am, but you definitely look like me.” He continued speaking like nothing was happening, and perhaps, for him, it wasn’t. But I was definitely having a moment.

“We didn’t realize you were bringing anyone with you,” Riot said. Thank you, Riot.

“Well,” he said, reaching up and scratching his chin. “I wasn’t planning on bringing Rachel. She heard me talking with her mother about our meeting and I couldn’t keep her away.” His eyes moved to me. “She’s always known about you. I have a picture of you in my wallet,” he said, leaning over and reaching into his back pocket, pulling it out. “I’ve always kept it in my wallet and I’ve always shown it to Rachel, telling her about her big sister. She’s always wanted to meet you.” He flipped his wallet open and there I was. Five years old. Kindergarten. Blonde pigtails. That same picture had hung in the hallway of every house I’d ever lived in growing up. Although, the picture in his wallet was faded and worn.

It was then that Rachel sat back down in her seat, an eager smile on her face. She looked curious and excited, and truthfully, a little wary. I couldn’t help but smile at her, glad I wasn’t the only nervous one.

“You’re my sister,” I said softly, testing the words out. I’d never had a sister. I’d dreamt of a sister, asked my mother for a sister nearly every Christmas I could remember until I realized where babies actually came from.

“Yeah,” she said hesitantly. “I’m sorry to ambush your meeting, but, well, I wasn’t sure how successful your meeting with Dad was going to be, and if I only ever got one chance to meet you, I was going to take it. So, I stole the keys to Dad’s car.”

Before I could stop them, my eyebrows were reaching for the ceiling, impressed with her negotiation tactics. “Smart thinking,” I said, still smiling. “You’re almost nineteen? So, are you in college then?”

She nodded, then pushed a lock of hair behind her ear and even Riot grabbed my thigh under the table because it was like looking in the mirror. “I’m a freshman at UCSD.”