Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 109299 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109299 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Oh, Ripley,” she says. The staunch professionalism vanishes as she reaches out and wraps her arms around me. “But I do worry about you.”
“You do?” I ask, voice breaking.
“You’re my twin. You’re my friend. You’re my person. Of course I do. Why would you think I wouldn’t?”
“Because I have enough worry for both of us,” I say through tears long overdue.
She strokes my hair. “I know. And I’ve let you do that for too long. I’ve let you be my big sister instead of my twin sister.”
My throat tightens with more emotion. God, it feels never-ending today. “I love being your big sister.”
“But sometimes I can carry the burden. Sometimes I can worry about you.” She lets go and meets my gaze. “Just because I was once broken and you fixed me doesn’t mean I’m still broken.”
“I know that,” I say, feeling stupid for even thinking that. After all, she did pull that “send Grandma to cooking school” rabbit out of her hat.
“I mean it,” Haven says. “I know you took care of me when Mom and Dad died. I know you looked out for me. You made sure I got to auditions. You fixed my car, kept me from falling to pieces, handed me tissues, and dried my tears when I cried through the night. And you got me to therapy.” She pauses to let all that soak in. “But I healed. I will always love Mom and Dad, and always miss them. Because of you, I learned how to make it through the grief. Sometimes, you can let me take care of you. Like right now.”
She reaches for me again, and I can’t do a thing but break down in her arms. It’s not only for Banks. Mostly, it’s for us—two girls who lost their parents and had to find their own way, who had to forge a new family together. I rain tears I barely shed long ago. I cry for days, till my face is red and splotchy and my nose is snotty.
Then, I breathe out and look up. “I’m so sorry.”
Haven smiles, exonerating me once more. “There isn’t any real harm done. I wish you told me sooner, but I also understand you in ways you think I don’t. I get you. I wanted you to tell me, but I know why you didn’t.” She reaches for my hands, squeezing them. Then she arches a curious brow. “But remember that day you wore the mock turtleneck to The Slippery Dipper when it was fifty million degrees out?”
Uh oh. I should have known she’d figure that out eventually. Still, I protest feebly with, “It wasn’t fifty million degrees, and it had short sleeves.”
“Fine. Fine. But now that I think about it, was there some new allegedly amazing skin care routine you’d just tried?”
“Maybe,” I mutter.
“The kind that leaves a splotchy mark somewhere,” she goads.
“Possibly.”
She squeezes my shoulder. “Twin powers.”
I smile and rest my head on her shoulder. “Nothing gets past you.”
“I don’t know if that’s true. But I want you to know you can tell me things. I want you to know that you can share with me.”
“I do. Especially since you told me about Notting Hill.”
A questioning laugh bursts from her. “Notting Hill?”
“That’s what I’ve been calling William in my head. He’s Notting Hill. Because he runs a bookstore, and you’re the movie star.”
She smiles, nodding. “Yeah, I get it. I’ve seen the movie. It’s a good one.”
“It is. Will you have a happy ending too?”
“I hope so.” She pauses, tilting her head. “And you?”
I tell her what happened this morning, and she frowns. “Ripley,” she says, full of sadness. “You took the fall.”
“I had to. I wanted to make it easier for him.”
“The shoot’s over in a few days, though,” she says, hopeful. “Maybe then?”
I shake my head. “I don’t think so. He needs to build his business. It won’t look right that he had a fling with a client. Reputation matters to him.”
She seems to give that some thought, then nods. “I get it,” she says.
That night, when she’s leaving, we do another switcheroo. Only it’s not me pretending to be her or vice versa. We switch bodyguards.
It’s just easier that way.
46
THE COLLATERAL DAMAGE
BANKS
Before I leave that night, there’s one more thing I have to do—apologize to Tabitha.
As I wait for Haven to finish up in the house, I hang out near the gate for Lavender Bliss. Tabitha often goes for a run early in the morning and again when the shooting is done for the day. She’s a creature of habit, so I find her returning to the property, trotting past the gate. I’ve been trying to grab a minute with her all day. This is the first chance I’ve had.
She slows to a walk, and I give a quick wave, the signal for got a second. She takes out her earbuds and joins me where I’m waiting by some Hidcote bushes.