His dark features and olive skin tone marked his strong Hispanic heritage. His hair was cut short and styled in a sweep, his eyes were hard and unreadable, and his shoulders were broad, straining the cut of his jacket. A coiled wire trailed from the discreet earpiece in his ear and connected to a radio on his hip. No gun. I might have been a tad disappointed about the lack of gadgets and weaponry.

“You must be Sergio.” I held out my hand to shake, which he accepted with a firm grip.

“That’s me. Which one are you?”

“I’m Atticus. Come on in. That’s my brother, Asher, on the couch.”

Sergio scanned the room and nodded at Asher. “Are you two set to go? We have a car downstairs.”

“They’re ready,” Aria said, putting away the few items she had scattered on the table. When Asher went to stand, she halted him and gave his hair a final spritz of hairspray. “Don’t touch it or you’ll mess it up.”

Asher nodded. “Okay. Thanks.”

“You guys have fun. I’ll see you at the dinner tonight.”

Asher brushed a hand down the front of his tux, admiring himself in the full-length mirror by the front entrance. Dressed alike, it was harder to see the small differences that set us apart from one another. Asher was still notably thicker with muscles, and I was still the scrawny guy without, but where it counted, we were as identical as could be. Same hazel eyes, same chestnut brown hair, same ears, cheeks, teeth, and smiles—minus those cute little dimples I hadn’t inherited.

When Asher met my eyes, I even knew what he wasn’t saying and gave him reassurance with nothing more than a wink.

The event was a few blocks away, and there was nobody in our presence to act for, but I took Asher’s hands and pulled him close, bringing our foreheads together and whispering so Sergio didn’t hear.

“For tonight, we’re free to be ourselves in public. We can be a couple without anyone the wiser. Let’s take advantage of that and let them all believe it’s acting.”

Asher’s cheeks rose with his smile. He brushed a thumb over my bottom lip, which I kissed. “I think that sounds like the best thing in the whole world.”

I winked. “But for fun, I have to say it one more time. Action, baby.”

He chuckled. “Action.” He kissed the end of my nose. “And if you call me baby again, I’ll make you go to the gym with me in the morning.”

My eyes widened, and I shoved Asher to the door. “Be gone, you evil demon. Go. I curse you and your threats.”

Sergio followed us to the elevator, and we went down. He spoke into his radio when we hit the lobby, informing whoever was on the other end that we were on our way.