Chapter One
Pumpkin
I groan as I roll over in bed, not wanting to get up yet. Then I let out a scream when I almost roll right off the edge. Thankfully I catch myself on the nightstand and push myself back up. How in the world am I not used to this hotel bed by now?
I’ve been sleeping here for over a month, and I should be aware of the bed size in my sleep. Plus it’s bigger than the twin bed I slept in when I lived at home. I miss that bed, but maybe I also miss waking up in a place filled with family instead of a cold hotel room.
As excited as I am about going home, I’m worn out. I hate my job, I miss my family, and I’m not sure how much longer I can do this. I’m supposed to be settling into this career change, but all I want to do is go back home. I’ve done all of this so that I could stand on my own two feet for once. But instead it’s led me to jumping in with both feet, and now I want to jump right back out. My feet are so damn tired.
The screen on my phone lights up, making me wonder who could be messaging me this early. It has to be my sister with another great idea for something we should make. She finds inspiration while scrolling through Facebook, and seventy percent of the time it’s a food idea. We spend hours making them, and they never turn out like the two-minute video makes you believe they will.
“Oh crap.” I spring up to a sitting position without clicking the text when I see the time.
How? How is that even possible? I set an alarm! I click on my alarm in disbelief to see that I did in fact set it for seven. But I clearly wasn’t paying attention and clicked p.m. instead of a.m. Yet another reason I’m starting to think I’m not cut out for this whole adulting thing. Especially when it comes to selling medical supplies. How can I sell them when I can’t even work a damn cell phone? But here I am, thousands of miles from home, selling them and actually doing well at it.
In a mad dash, I run around the hotel room trying to get all my shit shoved into my bags. I don’t bother with showering or anything that’s going to waste time like hair and makeup.
The original plan was to be in Seattle for a week, but that quickly turned into a few months. My employer said I would travel, but somehow I’ve been stationed in one spot for what feels like forever. They were short-staffed out here, and I’ve been going from one medical building to the next. They have me lined up for work six days a week and have slipped in a few Sunday jobs too. I can’t complain, or at least I shouldn't. I make commission and I’ve been killing it, but I’ve never felt more lost in my life.
I’m dying to get back home to spend Thanksgiving with my parents and to be around people I know and love. I’m going to soak up every minute of it, and then I’m going to get some much-needed advice from my mom and sister.
I’ve been second-guessing giving up my job, but I know I could get it back in a heartbeat. I roll my eyes at myself as I slip into my boots. People are trying to find jobs all around me, and here I am complaining about having one that pays well…but at what cost?
I let out a happy scream when I get my bag closed, and I stare at it for a moment. This is pretty much my whole life in one bag. I don’t let myself think about it too much or I’ll begin to spiral. Instead I grab my purse and my other bag before I roll out of my hotel room and hustle my booty down to the lobby as fast as I can.
Thank goodness my favorite valet is out there, and Laura snags me a cab, seeing me in my hurried state. I blow some of the curls out of my face and smile.
“Thank you,” I call as I run over to the cab, and she helps me toss my bags into the back. I give her a quick hug. “You have a good Thanksgiving.”
“You do the same, Pumpkin.” She kisses my cheek. “This is your big holiday, after all.” She winks and steps back to motion for another taxi to pull up behind mine.
“So my mother tells me.”
My mom has been obsessed with Thanksgiving my whole life. She’s pretty crazy about Christmas too, but it’s how I ended up with the name Pumpkin and my sister got the name Cookie. Not that I’m complaining. She really did give us the kind of holidays that you remember most.
“Get her to the airport quick but safe.” Laura hits the top of the taxi, and the guy takes off.
Living in a hotel, you start to make a lot of friends with the staff. I didn't do it because of the perks. Hell, I didn't know there would be so many, but they treat me well. That will be one thing I’ll miss if I decide to quit my job.
I let out a breath and check the time again. I cannot miss this flight. Everything was booked solid, so who knows if I’ll be able to get on a later one? Plus I don't want to be delayed any longer because I want to be home.
A smile spreads across my face when I not only see that I’m making good time but I’m being offered an upgrade. I debate spending the extra fifty dollars but decide to treat myself with how hard I’ve been working. I’ve never flown first class before, and I bet it’s amazing.
I guess my luck this morning is turning around. At least I thought so, until I landed in my first class seat next to an arrogant jerk that no amount of champagne could drown out.
Chapter Two
Miller
My brother speaks to me in Russian as the flight attendant offers us champagne, and I shake my head. I answer him back in our native tongue, and he huffs and looks out the window.
Frost doesn’t like to fly and wants to get drunk. But I prefer we keep a clear head until we’re safely back home, even if he’s annoyed with me. I don’t care. We’re only on this flight for a few hours; he can manage until we land.
This is how it is with brothers, but even more so with twins. We look identical, but we are very different in our personalities. Our mother and father immigrated from Russia before we were born and raised us in Texas.
We were born there but spent much of our youth studying abroad and building our business. Frost and I own one of the world's largest oil refineries and have production all over the world. Thankfully we are at the point in our careers that I don’t have to make Frost fly much anymore. At least not after this week.
We sold one of our largest refineries for a sum of money that made national headlines. We were the first ever to have that many zeros attached to a company, and it’s cause for celebration. So why is it that we’re both so miserable? Oh yes, that’s because we’re going home.
Our mother and father might have done the best they could for us by sending us away, because being at home with them is always hell for us. They are cold and calculated in how they speak, and there is always penance for being away for so long. My mother was never warm, nor did she possess a mother's instinct, and my father only knew how to discipline with his hands.
When Frost and I became larger than him, he stopped physically hurting us and used our mother's methods of emotional blackmail. Since they came to America, they have adopted American traditions, one of which is Thanksgiving. When our mother asked us to come, she said that she had important news to discuss, which is why we’re on the way back from Europe so soon.
Frost and I have homes in Texas right next door to one another. Maybe it’s a twin thing, but we can’t stand to be too far apart, even when living on our own. We call Texas home, but we would never confuse that with the place where our parents live. We’d planned on being in Europe for another month celebrating our negotiations, but instead we’re on a plane and dreading the reason for it.