The weight of everything that had happened the night before still sat heavily on Erin's chest. Even though Xander had believed her—and that meant more to her than she could admit—the exhaustion of pretending she didn't care gnawed at her. She hadn't slept much, and her feet felt heavier with every step as she walked down the grand staircase.
But what she saw in the living room stopped her mid-step.
Xander was standing near the entrance, posture as stiff as always, but something about him looked… different. Maybe it was the way his shoulders weren't drawn up tight, or the way his lips twitched—almost imperceptibly—as he stood surrounded by two men who looked uncannily like him.
Except they were smiling. Talking. Teasing him.
And Xander wasn't stopping them.
One of them noticed Erin first and nudged the other. "Hey, hey—look who it is! Is this her?"
Xander turned his head just slightly, his eyes flicking to her with calm acknowledgment. "She's the maid," he said in that usual dry tone.
But the twin on the left raised a brow and stepped forward with a mischievous grin. "Really? Because that doesn't look like a maid uniform to me. If you ask me, she's trying too hard to be humble."
"She's probably his secret girlfriend," the other added, eyeing Erin with open amusement.
"I'm not!" Erin blurted, cheeks warming. "I'm really just the maid."
"Sure, sure," the first twin said, waving her off with a cheeky smile. "And I'm the butler."
Despite herself, a laugh slipped out of Erin's lips. She couldn't help it—their energy was infectious. Warm. Friendly. So unlike the thick, cold tension that usually filled the mansion.
"I'm Evan," said the twin with the messier hair. "And that's Elliot. We're the much better-looking brothers."
"We're also the nicer ones," Elliot added with a wink.
"Obviously," she said, smiling despite herself. "You're not barking orders or brooding like someone I know."
Xander shot her a side-glance. "Careful."
"Oh no," Evan whispered dramatically, placing a hand on his chest. "She talks back. He's definitely into her."
Erin opened her mouth to argue again, but Elliot beat her to it. "No offense, Xander, but she's way out of your league."
"She burns things," Xander replied without looking at her.
"I was distracted!" Erin snapped, glaring at him while the twins howled in laughter.
This—this was surreal. And surprisingly nice.
They followed her into the kitchen, offering to help with breakfast even though it was clear none of them had ever peeled a vegetable in their lives. Xander, to her complete astonishment, didn't leave.
"You're seriously going to stay here?" she asked him.
"You said I couldn't handle kitchen work. I'm proving you wrong."
"You sliced your finger last time."
"It was barely a scratch."
"Uh-huh."
Xander reached for a cutting board anyway. Erin watched him closely as he started dicing tomatoes—with surprising precision. She leaned over his shoulder, squinting.
"Did you… practice?"
He didn't answer, but she could've sworn the corner of his mouth twitched again.
Meanwhile, Evan and Elliot had taken it upon themselves to mess up her entire kitchen system. One cracked eggs into a bowl with bits of shell still floating. The other spilled flour over the countertop.
"I thought you were the nicer ones!" Erin cried, batting Elliot's hand away as he reached for the sugar.
"Oh, we are," Evan said, brushing white powder off his jacket. "We just never said we were helpful."
The chaos only grew, but it was the kind of chaos that filled the kitchen with laughter. Even Erin couldn't stay annoyed for long. There was something almost magical about the way the morning light poured in, glinting off silverware and casting soft shadows on the tiled floor. The air was filled with the scent of warm bread and sizzling butter.
And in the middle of it all, Xander actually looked… relaxed. He didn't laugh—not really—but the way he stood near his brothers, tolerating their jokes, made him seem more human than ever.
At one point, Erin was reaching for a spice jar when Xander moved to pass her a bowl at the same time. She lost her balance slightly, and in a flurry of motion, she fell right into him. Her hands caught his shirt, and his arms steadied her at the waist.
Time froze.
She looked up.
He looked down.
For a second—just one breathless second—the world around them disappeared. There was only the quiet closeness, the heat of his hands, and the unspoken tension that flickered between their eyes.
The giggling of the twins snapped them back to reality.
"We're blind" Evan said.
"We didn't see anything. Carry on." Elliot continued. And they run off chuckling.
Erin buried her face in her hands. "Oh my God."
"You should tell her you're not my girlfriend," Xander said with maddening calm.
"I will," Erin groaned. "I hope they believe me this time."
Elliot popped his head in from the pantry. "Honestly, you two are terrible at being subtle."
Erin turned back to Xander. "Just go sit. I'll take care of the rest."
He didn't argue this time. He simply nodded once and left.
As she returned to her cooking, she caught herself smiling. The chaos of the morning, the unexpected warmth, and the easy laughter had lifted something heavy from her shoulders.
And in the dining room, Xander sat quietly, his eyes trained on the kitchen door.
Neither of them said a word about what had almost happened.
But both of them were thinking about it.