Chapter 1

Two years later

 Walking out of my Law and Business class I am gasping for a decent coffee. So, I go toward my car to one of the area's best coffee shops. Well, that’s my personal opinion, their pumpkin spice latte is to die for, and that’s the drink I am craving for right now. The fall season in Boston, Massachusetts is more breathtaking in person than what you see in pictures, in magazines, or on social media without those stupid filters. It’s the end of October and the leaves are this gorgeous red, brown, orange, and yellow color you could ever see in pictures, and I am here witnessing them falling from the trees around me.

It was roughly a ten-minute drive to this coffee shop, as it was just off campus and parking could be horrendous. Fingers crossed with the time of day it is it shouldn’t be too bad. Pulling up outside The Crowes Nest, I see there is an empty parking spot directly outside of it and I think today must be my lucky day. Now parked and the engine cut off I sit there for a minute or so just staring at the red brick building looking at the deep red awning over the windows, the red sign with the gold lettering of the coffee shop on it, and the hand-drawn window art in the windows thinking how thing have changed for me in the last two years since my breakup with the bike bastard as I now call him.

Not reflecting on the past, I need to look toward the future. I feel like I have been sitting in this car just staring at the coffee shop for too long it’s time I go into The Crowes Nest to grab one of my favorite drinks. A pumpkin spiced latte. I may be a Cali girl by heart, but I do prefer the simpler things in life from time to time. I am not ashamed to say that this coffee shop does this latte better than they do back home.

Climbing out of the car I head on inside to see no lines and see the two owners behind the counter. Wren and Robin Crowe are sisters, but not just sisters ironically, they are twin sisters. Identical twins too. I find it funny how I can go most of my life never meeting another set of twins to come to Boston, Massachusetts to find identical twins. Seeing how close Wren and Robin are with each other makes me miss my twin brother Chase. Reminding me to give him a call this weekend as he said there is something he wants to talk to me about. I have a small suspicion but I gotta wait to talk to him to see if I’m right or not.

As I get to the counter the two auburn hairs behind it turn around and two identical hazel-colored eyes greet me. “Hey Jen,” Wren says as she approaches the till. “Are you after your usual?” Robin asks I say yes please in response just as she heads over to the coffee machine to start making my order. I pay for my coffee as Robin finishes making it and hands it to me and she asks as she hands me a flyer, “Are you planning on coming to our spooktacular party here on Halloween this weekend?” 

“Oh, please say you’ll come,” Wren pipes up after grabbing something from under the counter.

Looking at the flyer and seeing how this could be a good time to get out of my apartment and have fun once in a while since this is my last year here at Harvard. This could also be the best time to see if Chase and Savannah would like to come out for a visit that weekend too. It would be great to see them, it feels like it has been forever since I’ve seen my best friend and the other half of my being. It would be nice to finally introduce my twin to my twin friends too.

“Absolutely, I’ll be there. You wouldn’t keep me away even if you tried,” The three of us laugh and I take a sip of my coffee then I ask them a question. “Would it be okay if I invite my twin brother and his girlfriend to the party too if I can get them to come to Boston for the weekend?”

They both look at me in shock and talk in unison, “You’re a twin?” I now see what Chase means now how creepy talking in unison can be. “Why didn’t you tell us?” Wren asked then Robin asked, “Who is the older one? Oh, we have so many questions to ask you.”

“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know you were twins until I saw you both together and I have never met another set of twins in my life. Chase, my twin brother is the older twin but by a minute and a half we are what you call New Year babies, he was born on the stroke of midnight, and I was born shortly after,” I tell them. Taking another sip of my coffee, I ask them “Have you guys never met any other twins too?” They look at each other then they shake their heads. “I’ll get him on the phone right now,” I dig out my phone and pull up the number I am looking for. Pressing the call button, I put it on speaker so the girls could hear the conversation, Chase answers after three rings.

“Hey, Jen, I was just about to call you,” he says down the phone to me.

“Hey, to you too bro. Listen, Chase, I have you on speakerphone right now and I want you to say hi to my friends Wren and Robin. But listen to this, they are twins too and they’ve never met another set of twins either.”

“Jen, did you know that twins happen quite often, but not as often as a single birth? It’s peculiar we haven’t encountered any other twins, but I’m glad you’ve made new friends who are twins. Remind me, what were their names?” Typical of my brother, he doesn’t say hi just goes straight into business mode.

“Hi, Chase I’m Wren.”

“And I’m Robin,” They both say down the phone to my brother.

“Hello, ladies, don’t believe anything Jen has told you I am the better twin,” The three of us laugh at his comment. “Anyway, Jen there was a reason why I was just about to call you when you called me.”

“Oh yeah, I totally forgot there was a reason why you were gonna call me what’s up?” I ask him as it is unusual for Chase to want to talk to me for some other reason unless it’s about my best friend who so happens to be his girlfriend, Savannah.

“Where are you right now?” That’s strange of him to ask me where I am. I’ve lived the same routine every day since I first moved to Boston.

“Umm ...” I look at the twins confused as this is very unlike him. “I’m at The Crowes Nest, as I always am at this time every day. Why do you ask? Is everything okay?” Waiting for his response the bell chimes above the door signaling the girls have a customer and I can’t take up too much of their time with this phone call.

“Jen, turn around,” The phone line goes dead, and I do as my brother says. Putting my phone into my pocket I turn around and there standing in the doorway is a man wearing an unbuttoned tan overcoat, a maroon sweater, dark jeans, and black boots with a huge smile on his face was none other than my twin brother. Chase.

“Oh, my god,” I run toward him and leap into his arms. Chase catches me and spins me around before putting me down. “I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?” I ask him looking around him to see where my best friend is. “Where’s Sav? Didn’t she come with you? Don’t get me wrong, I have missed you, but you two are inseparable. Where one is the other is not far behind.”

Giving me one more embrace he holds me against him because it has felt like forever and a lifetime since it was just the two of us together. “I missed you too sis,” Chase kisses the top of my head. “Savannah and I wanted to surprise you so we came to visit you for the weekend. But Savannah will be arriving in an hour or so. She wanted to call in to Wake Forrest first before coming here.” As Chase explains everything to me, I feel so happy just to be back with my brother and then my best friend later.

“I don’t care how long or short your visit is. I’m just so happy to see you,” I hug Chase one more time before we walk up to the counter where I introduce him to the Crowe twins, and he orders himself a cappuccino.

The coffee shop started to get busy, so Chase and I grab our drinks, went to sit at a table, and had a catch-up until we heard from Sav saying she was here. The one thing I love about having twin time with my brother is that “he who shall not be named” was not mentioned, but we do talk about how our classes are going and Chase tells me he plans on proposing to Sav after they graduate and move back to California. I could not be any more happier for them and I offered to help Chase plan and organize the proposal.

Sav messaged Chase saying she was half an hour away, so we still had time to talk about rings. Chase had a beautiful idea of getting a two-carat emerald cut aquamarine diamond with one-carat round cut diamonds on either side stetted on a silver band for the engagement ring. I thought that the ring idea is perfect. It's the same shade of blue her winter formal dress and prom dress was. As he has called her a small handful of times his Cinderella. I hope she says yes. Well, not hope I know she will say yes. The love my brother and my best friend have for each other is a one-of-a-kind, kind of love.

Not long after we stopped talking about Chase’s proposal as a just in case Sav turned up, she waltzes right on into the coffee shop. I stood up from my chair as she approached our table, and we hug like we haven’t seen each other in years. It feels so good to have family here in Boston. It’s not until Sav goes to grab her coffee and Chase steps outside to take a call did I realize exactly how lonely I have been the last couple of years. To have them here even if it’s just for the weekend means so much more to me than seeing Greg Davenport flaunting his happiness weekly on ESPN.

I hate myself for bringing in the only guy I have ever loved after he broke my heart for the second time. I don’t think I would ever forgive him or take him back for all the hurt he has caused me. I need to prove to myself and him that no matter what he does with his life or who he fucks, I don’t need him. I am better off on my own even if I feel lonely. I will become the best business lawyer I could ever be and one day work alongside my twin brother when he takes over the family business when our father finally decides to retire. I just hope when he takes over that we are equal partners to take our family business to new heights. That is how determined I am to not let Greg affect me after breaking my heart for the very last time.