"Are you Moon?" he asked hesitantly, and I did snort then.

I started turning to finally look at the guy, who I'm sure was about to give Kira the worst pickup line known to man, when his question replayed through my mind. I sucked in a quick gasp, and the pitcher full of the unmixed ingredients I'd been holding slipped from my hand and fell to the floor-splashing everything up on my legs.

"Whoa! You okay there?" my customer asked, his expression and tone teasing. When I didn't respond or move, his expression fell. "No, seriously, are you okay?"

There's no way. He can't be here, standing behind me, talking with my sister. My identical twin sister, and asking if she is Moon. I hadn't heard that name since a night in Vegas over a year ago, but it was a name I hadn't been able to stop thinking of for months.

I finally turned then, and everything began spinning as I looked at him. My knees felt weak, my legs felt like they wouldn't hold me up for another minute, and I wasn't sure where my breath had gone. I was hallucinating. It had to be all the men in the gym or the smell of the protein shakes. But I was definitely hallucinating. Because he was standing there in slacks, a button-down shirt, and a tie. And in my memory, he definitely wasn't wearing that; he wasn't wearing much of anything.

His arctic-blue eyes met mine, and I knew in the confused-yet relieved-expression on his face when he repeated my nickname, that I wasn't hallucinating. He was there, standing in front of me, in a gym in motherfucking California.

"Look, guy, I don't know what you mean by 'Moon,' but if you want some-" Kira had been turning to look at me, and cut off on a gasp. "No way! You're-holy shit, you're Vegas!"

I wasn't moving again, I also didn't know if I was breathing yet-because it definitely felt like I had only seconds before I passed out. I just stood there staring into the lightest blue eyes I'd ever seen, trying to make myself do something . . . anything.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before anything came out, Kristi ran up behind him and jumped on his back-her arms wrapped around his neck as she shouted, "Liam! Where have you been all my life?"

I tore my eyes away from them, and finally looked down at the mess I'd made. Forcing myself to look up again, I glanced over at my customer instead. "I'm-I'm so sorry. Let me start again."

He looked over at Liam and Kristi, then looked at me again. "Not a problem. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah!" I said a little too brightly. "Of course I am. Let me get right on that." No, no, I am not okay. He-Liam is here and I have no idea why he's here. But I'm pretty sure I slept with my boss's daughter's boyfriend.

This time I took my time making the drink-afraid that Liam would still be standing there with Kristi when I was finished, and even more afraid that he wouldn't be. Once I finished, I grabbed a few wet towels and crouched down to clean up the mess I had made. Seconds after, Liam was crouching down directly beside me . . . close enough that my knee touched his.

"Why did you leave that morning?" he asked softly, his tone eager, but with a hint of worry.

"I don't think you're supposed to be back here," I responded with a weak voice, and hated that his presence was enough to make me sound like a lost little girl. I wasn't this girl. I was stubborn, independent, and loved control. But Liam had had me giving up all of my control to him within minutes in Vegas-he'd been one of only two men to ever make me feel like I needed to be protected by them.

He released a short laugh. "I'm pretty sure no one will care." After a few moments of silence, with me just staring at the floor and Liam staring at my profile, he reached forward and grabbed my chin, turning my head so I was looking directly into his eyes again. "Why did you leave?"

I shook my head as much as I could with his fingers keeping my head still. "Why are you here?"

His lips tilted up before spreading into a full smile. "I've wondered the same thing about you for days."

My brow creased in confusion, but before I could ask what he meant by that, Kristi was next to us.

"God, Liam, the least you could do is help her. You're probably scaring her more than Dad has. Kir-wait, which one are you?"

Liam released my chin and I looked up to see Kristi watching me again and tilting her head to try to read my name tag that was currently hidden from her view. "I-I'm Kennedy."

"Right! Sorry. Kennedy, this is my big brother, Liam. Liam, this is Kennedy. She and her sister just started here on Monday."

Brother . . . brother. God, that word had never sounded more beautiful than it did in that moment.

"Right, so anyway . . . Liam, Mom wants to know if you want lunch."

Liam shook his head, but his eyes remained on my face. "No, I came to talk to Dad. Tell him I'll be in there soon." When seconds passed and Kristi didn't leave, he looked up at her. "I said to tell him I'd be in there soon."

Kristi's eyes darted back and forth between us, and just behind her, Kira was staring at Liam with wide eyes and an amused expression on her face.

When Kristi left, Kira stared at us for a while longer before shaking herself and looking around her. "I'm just . . . going to act like I'm making something."

"Tell me why you left," Liam prompted again, and my head shook slowly as I hesitantly looked back into his eyes.

"I can't."

His face fell. "But you know who I am," he stated; it wasn't a question. I don't know how it could have been after the way I'd reacted when I first saw him.

"Of course I do," I said on a hushed laugh. "You . . . your dad owns this gym?" When he nodded, I asked, "How did you know I was here? Your dad wouldn't know me."

Liam sighed heavily, and broke eye contact for a moment. "I need to talk to you about that. Kennedy, right?"

"Yes."

"I'll be here when you get off. Please let me take you to dinner so I can explain some things to you."

I moved away from him. "I don't know about-"

"Kennedy," he pleaded softly.

"She has no plans, she can go to dinner with you. And we're off at six," Kira added, and Liam smiled again.

"I'll be here," he said, and stood, bringing me with him. For long seconds, we stood there staring at each other, neither of us saying a word. With a step closer to me, he lowered his head so his lips were near my ear. "You'll always be Moon to me."

I exhaled audibly, and continued to stand there staring at where he had been after he left until Kira rushed up to me. "Can you believe he's here? Did you know he lived here? Is that why you were so okay with moving? Whoa, wait, is that why we applied at the gym? Oh my God, I just can't-"

"Kira," I hissed, interrupting her. "No to everything. And for the love of God, shut up about him before you send me into a panic attack."

"I'm sorry, but this is too crazy, you have to admit that."

I nodded and turned my head to look behind my shoulder, in the direction of the offices. "It is. Way too crazy. I'm pretty sure I'm still dreaming."

June 3 Liam I PULLED BACK up to my dad's gym with five minutes to spare. I'd been sure that I wouldn't make it because of the traffic, and had no doubt Moon-Kennedy-would have taken the opportunity to leave. Not that I couldn't get her address from Eli, but that would freak her out more than I already had that afternoon. I'd had days to get used to the fact that she was here, within reaching distance. I'd only given her a few hours. But once I'd gotten to a point where all I could do was think about seeing her again, I hadn't been able to wait any longer. I almost hadn't been able to stop myself from talking to her again as I left Dad's office, but I'd known she needed time. I was just hoping the past few hours were enough.

Stepping out of my car, I loosened my tie and rolled up the sleeves of my shirt to my forearms as I walked into the gym. The girls were walking toward the entrance with Dad, and even though my eyes immediately went to the girl on the end, I had to bite back a relieved smile when she looked up and her eyes widened as her smiling expression faltered. It was going to be hard telling the two of them apart, but at least for the first time looking at them both straight on, I'd guessed correctly.

Dad shot me a look when they reached me, and said good-bye to the girls before turning around and leaving. I'd told him everything earlier in his office, so he knew the backstory . . . but explaining the need to be near Kennedy was going to be a little more difficult with Kristi and Mom. Mom because I refused to tell her about my sex life anyway, and Kristi because I didn't want her looking at Kennedy any differently than she already did since she had her own theories about one-night stands.

"So, can I take you girls to dinner?"

Kira smiled widely and spoke while Kennedy just stood there staring at me. "You can take her to dinner. I'd rather not get in the way of whatever's going to go down between the two of you."

"Kira, please," Kennedy whispered frantically, but Kira kept her eyes trained on me.

"But you make sure you actually bring her home tonight. At a normal time. We're not having a repeat of last year, you get me?"

"Kira!"

I laughed loudly and nodded. "Of course. Just dinner tonight."

"Well, my work here is done. Have fun, you two," she called out in a singsong voice as she walked past me and out the doors.

Kennedy was staring at her retreating figure like Kira had just betrayed her. When long seconds passed without her acknowledging that I was still standing in front of her, I cleared my throat to break the awkward tension that had formed between us.

"Just dinner. I need to-"

"I left, Liam, that's it." Her dark blue eyes finally landed on my face, and her head shook faintly. "There's no reason for it other than you were a nameless stranger who I thought I would never see again . . . and I just had to go. You won't get a different answer if you take me to dinner."

"I'm not taking you to dinner to get an answer. You told me you couldn't give me a reason this afternoon, I figured that would be the end of it. But there are still things I need to tell you."

Kennedy was mid sigh when her eyes widened and her body went rigid. "Do you-oh my God, did-" She looked around us quickly and leaned closer. "Did you give me something? Do you have diseases?"

My head jerked back and I barked out a short laugh. "I'm sorry-what? No. No, I didn't give you anything . . . I don't have anything to give you!"

She exhaled in relief, and her body seemed to sag. "Okay, I'm sorry. I just thought-never mind." With another glance around us, she nodded once. "We can go to dinner, and you can tell me whatever you need to. But other than seeing each other here, nothing will be happening between us, Liam. This isn't one of those moments when we finally find each other a year after a night of-well, the night we had-and we decide that we're meant to be."

"You're saying you don't want to fall in love with me?" I asked, my tone teasing to try to ease some of the tension, but her glare hardened at the question.

"If there was such a thing as love, I'd still say no."

I stared at her, part of me wondering why she actually looked like she believed what she just told me, the rest trying to force myself to say that I'd been joking-but nothing came out. I didn't know what to think of her words. I knew Kira was the one with the boyfriend, but that didn't mean Kennedy hadn't met someone in the last year. For all I knew, she could've been in Vegas to get over a relationship and I'd been a rebound. But that night-our unexplainable connection-there was no way for me to have that memory of her, and then piece that together with the girl standing in front of me. The girl who looked like me showing up today had been the last thing she'd ever wanted.

I took a step away from her and toward the door. "Understood. Let's get out of here. We can talk and then I'll take you home." Not waiting for her response, I turned and walked to the door, only stopping to hold it open for her. Thankfully, she had been following me rather than remaining where I'd left her.

We were seated at a little mom-and-pop Italian restaurant within fifteen minutes, and although the tension between us had been gone since we got in my car, we hadn't said a word to each other. But unlike before, she wasn't avoiding looking directly at me; she was now staring intently.

"So, we're here. Talk to me," she demanded as soon as we'd ordered.

I wanted to tell her I would after we'd finished eating, but knew I couldn't. It wasn't fair to her. Only problem was now that I had her in front of me, the speech I'd run through at least a dozen times in my mind suddenly didn't seem like the right way to tell her. Nothing seemed like the right way, it all sounded wrong.

"I-well, I knew-I was asked to-"

"Whatever you need to tell me, just say it. Really, I'd rather it just be out there than sitting here trying to figure it out myself."

I looked at her cautious and expectant expression, and exhaled roughly. "I've known you were here. I knew the day you interviewed with my dad."

Kennedy nodded slowly. "I figured." When I didn't go on, her eyebrows rose. "Is that really all you needed to say?"

"No. No, it's not. I'm just struggling with finding a way to tell you this without it sounding . . . how it sounds. And besides the fact that I've known for days that you were here, I'm still having trouble actually grasping that you are here."

"That makes two of us," she muttered. "Well, like I said, I'd rather it just be out there. So say it any way you can, and we'll figure out a way for it to sound better than however it comes out."

My mouth curved up in a smile. "I've known you were here since Friday, but I knew you were here a few days before. I mean, I didn't know it was you, but I . . . knew."

"You're right. This is sounding bad."

I rolled my eyes at her teasing tone, and decided to just say it rather than slowly building up to it. "I work for your uncle Eli."

"No shit," she breathed in disbelief, her wide eyes growing even larger.

"He's been like a mentor to me for years, and I've worked for him since before I even graduated college. He called me into his office last week to tell me about you and Kira. There was another guy there, Mason-"

"Wait!" Kennedy sat up in the booth and leaned over the table. "Mason was there? My uncle Mason?"

"If it's the guy who looks like he takes steroids, then yes."

She stared at me for a few seconds before relaxing, but her confused expression deepened. "I'm sorry, I can sort of understand you working for Uncle Eli. I mean, it's weird; don't get me wrong. Way too coincidental given our past, but things like that happen, I guess. My uncles hate each other, though, I can't imagine them in the same room to talk to you . . . especially about Kira and me."

I laughed softly. "Yeah, the hatred was clear in the office. And trust me, you aren't the only one who finds this weird. Eli was telling me about the two of you and how you weren't happy you were here. They wanted someone to introduce you to people, they were hoping you'd make friends and enjoy California a little more." Kennedy scoffed and I sent her a look showing my agreement. "I said no at first. But Eli's never asked for anything from me, and he's helped me through a lot. I told them my dad was looking to fill a few spots at the gym, and I would try to get you two an interview, but I still wasn't happy about any of it."

"I don't blame you. We're kind of hard to handle individually. Both at the same time? I almost feel bad for you."

My lips spread into an amused grin, but I stopped myself from commenting on the fact that I'd handled her easily enough a year ago. "It wasn't that. It was the way they were talking about you two. They made you seem . . . like you didn't know how to socialize. I kept looking at it like they wanted me to babysit you."

"Hmm. How sweet of them," she said sarcastically.

"I was at the gym when you came in for the interview, but I'd been in my dad's office and left when you were still interviewing. But then you came in to work, and I walked out of my office when you were both standing there with Eli in the hall. I thought I was losing my mind when I saw you. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that you were the niece that I was supposed to help meet people."

Kennedy let my words hang in the air for a few moments, then nodded once and cleared her throat. "Okay. This is still weird-too weird. But what I want to know is, if you've known I was here since Friday, why are you just now approaching me?"

A short, hesitant laugh left me, and I took my time figuring out my answer. "Because I didn't know what to do about you being here. I denied it at first, and then was in shock that after a year you were close enough to touch again. I kept wondering if you would remember me . . . that led to me again wanting to know why you left, and then I just got mad. I was mad you left, I was mad that I was being put in a position to be near you when there was a possibility you wouldn't remember me or want to be near me, or you would be the sister who had a boyfriend. I went back and forth between telling Eli that I knew you and that I was the wrong person to help you, but eventually I decided that I couldn't have you this close and not try to talk to you again. After that, it took a few days to finally figure out how to approach you without scaring you . . . but I still did it the wrong way. Obviously."

"We can't tell my uncle. There's no logical way to explain how I could've met you before this, and there's no way in hell I'm telling him or the rest of my family the truth."

"Okay."

"And we can't tell your family," she added. "I wouldn't be able to face them again if they knew."

I looked away for a second and tried to brace myself for her reaction to what I was about to say. "My dad knows." Kennedy's eyes widened, and I said, "The truth. I told him today."

"Oh my God," she said on a breath.

"My sister won't know, neither will my mom. But I have a different relationship with my dad than most people. I tell him everything. He'd already known about you last year, and I knew there was no way he wouldn't eventually put things together."

"Your dad thinks I'm a whore, Liam!" she whispered harshly, her eyes darting around to make sure no one was listening to us. "I can't go back to that gym now."

My eyes narrowed at her assumption. Sure, my sister would automatically think something along those lines because that's just the way she was. But it was pissing me off that Kennedy would think I'd make her out to seem like a whore. Then again, we still didn't know each other.

"No, he doesn't. That's the last thing he thinks, I can assure you. And yes, you can go back to the gym. He was mad I hadn't told him before he hired you, and was worried you would both quit if I talked to you tonight. So if anything, he's on your side right now."

Kennedy shook her head slowly, her eyes on me, but not seeing me. Our food was brought to the table a couple minutes later, but neither of us made a move to touch it, and Kennedy still looked like she was somewhere else.

"Well," I said, and cleared my throat, breaking the silence between us. Her eyes finally focused, and I decided that now was the time for me to leave everything up to her. "That was what I needed to tell you. Being in the same city and being connected by your uncle was purely coincidental. You and Kira working for my dad wasn't, although my dad didn't think he would hire the two of you before you came in for the interview-so I don't want you or Kira to think you got the job because of your uncle or me. Dad really liked you both. But no matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't try to talk to you without you knowing how this all came about. Regardless of what happened between us after I approached you in the gym, I knew it wouldn't be fair to you to let you go on thinking that we had just run into each other out of pure coincidence."

"I appreciate you letting me know, and I appreciate dinner," she mumbled as her eyes became unfocused again. After a few beats of silence passed, she straightened and looked directly at me. Her next words held no emotion. "But as I said earlier, nothing will come of us. This is not that moment where everything changes and we realize we're meant to be together. That night last year was fun, but that's all it was . . . a night."

From her detached words and the way she immediately looked down at her plate and began eating, I knew there wasn't one ounce of Kennedy that even believed the bullshit she'd just given me.