Ava stood in the laundry area, swiping through some data on her phone. Her partially drained drink rested on a cocktail napkin on top of the dryer.
“Mom.”
Ava glanced up. “Oh, hi, sweetheart. Have a good shower?”
“Yeah, uh. The best.” She quickly dropped her gaze to her mom’s phone. “What are you doing?”
“Just looking up that video from Debbie’s wedding.”
“Not the karaoke one?” Hope asked, horrified.
“Yes, that’s the one. Oh wait,” she said. “Look at this.”
Ava smiled, staring down at her phone, then flipped it around so Hope could see. “This is that Halloween pic from when you and your sister were in the sixth grade and you both dressed as witches. Daring me to guess which witch was which.”
Ava narrowed her eyes, and sweat swept Hope’s temples. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“No?” Ava stared down at Hope’s leg. “Then what happened to your birthmark?”
Hope made a desperate attempt to deflect her mom’s accusatory stare.
“I…er…laser surgery?”
“Laser? That sounds extreme,” her mom said, sounding like she didn’t buy it. “Wasn’t that dangerous?”
“No. Not really.” Hope adjusted the towel so it dropped a little lower, covering that spot on her outer thigh. “I just thought…Bermuda…bikini…honeymoon… You know.” Hope attempted to move past her in the narrow space. “If you’ll excuse me, I’d better go and get dress—”
“Daughter?”
She halted at her mom’s accusing tone.
“Where—exactly—is the actual bride?”
Hope’s stomach clenched. There was no avoiding her mom’s stare now, because she’d latched onto Hope’s gaze and was hanging on tight. “I can explain—”
“I knew it. Just knew it. Knew that something was wrong.” Ava’s cheeks flushed with annoyance. “You and Jackie can’t be doing this again. Not now. Why?”
“It’s a long story, all right?”
“So? Abbreviate it.”
Hope pursed her lips, knowing she was going to have to spill the beans. Also knowing she’d have to find a creative way to convince Ava not to.
“I think I’d better make us both some tea,” she finally said.
Chapter Nine
Ava arched an eyebrow, waiting for her to begin.
Hope set her mug on a side table, her hand trembling. She hadn’t been big on deceiving her mom, just like she hadn’t meant to start pretending to be Jackie in front of the Albrights. “It’s sort of hard to explain,” she started.
Ava sipped from her tea. “I’ll bet.”
She and her mom sat in the cozy seating area by the sliding glass doors overlooking the water. They couldn’t stay here forever because the rest of the Albrights were expecting them to come up to the main house for drinks.
Hope cinched the belt on her terrycloth robe, stalling. “It was all so sudden, Mom. Jackie had this wedding thing.”
“The Martin wedding?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard all about it.” Her mom shrugged. “Well, not all. But enough to know your sister’s been stressing over it—majorly.”
“That’s just it. Things have been stressful. All the way around. She had this last minute problem with the caterer—”
“Oh no. Emile Gastón?”
Hope blinked at her mom. “How do you know about Emile Gastón?”
“Darling, everyone knows about Emile. Everyone who is anyone. His name is legend.”
“Meaning you read about him in one of your society magazines.” For someone who was supposedly so Zen, her mom spent an awful lot of time pining over how the other half lived. Hope questioned, for the first time, if this was where Jackie got it from.
Ava shifted in her seat. “Maybe.”
“Anyway. The point is, Jackie had this delay. Stuff she had to get under control before leaving Nantucket.”
“I’m following but not understanding.”
“It was only for a day,” Hope babbled. “She asked me to come here as her, but I said no.”
“You apparently didn’t say it firmly enough.”
“I did so! I’d planned to explain that Jackie was delayed by that big Martin wedding. Jackie meant to be up-front about the whole deal, too. She even texted Brent before I got here, but he never got it. He’d lost his phone in the sofa, and by the time he found it the whole ball of wax had started rolling.”
“And you didn’t try to stop it?” Ava shook her head. “I don’t know what on earth possessed you, Hope. Pretending to be Jackie. Even around Brent.” She paused a moment to consider this. “That’s a little odd, don’t you think? That he wouldn’t know the difference?”
“Yes, that’s just it.” Hope latched on to the opening her mom provided. “Brent didn’t know Jackie very well at all.”
Her mom blinked. “Then why are they getting married?”
“Long story.” Hope waved her hand. “Marriage of convenience.”
“What?”
“I know it sounds bad, but both of them agreed to it, for whatever reasons.”
Ava frowned. “I’m really disappointed in your sister.” Then she thought better of it, glancing out at the view. “Although if she had to marry somebody, one of the Albrights wasn’t a bad pick.”
Hope rolled her eyes. “What I’m trying to explain is my motivation in all this. It’s only for the good and all about helping Jackie.”
Her mom tugged at the knot on her headscarf. “When I saw you down on that dock, it looked like you were helping yourself to the groom.”
“Mom, no. It’s not like that. Brent and I… What I mean is, because he believes I’m Jackie, I’m actually helping her and him build a better relationship. Brent thinks there’s a chance now for him and Jackie to be authentically happy. He’s started working on that, too.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be your sister’s job? Getting to know her future husband?”
“Yes, but…she’s not here. She’ll be here on Wednesday before—”