Jackie was making time; she was just running late.
Through no real fault of her own.
Hope didn’t like deception, but she hated the idea of some condescending snob dissing her family even more. Grandmother Margaret had cast really harsh aspersions on Hope’s own flesh and blood: her precious twin sister—her baby sister, if only by a few minutes. The sister who was always getting herself into messes and who relied on Hope to get her out of them.
Jackie’s words came back to her like loudly blaring sound waves in her brain.
Just for one day…for all the right reasons…
Then there was Iris’s voice, topping everything off.
Jackie’s lucky to have a sister like you.
She tightened her fingers around the steering wheel, worrying that she was getting in over her head. But, if she could help Jackie by making inroads with Brent’s tricky family, she should, right? It still seemed wrong that Brent couldn’t tell her and her twin apart, though. That made her question his relationship with Jackie and what exactly was going on between them.
But that was for the two of them to figure out, not her. All Hope had to do was serve as sort of a placeholder for the next twenty-four hours until Jackie got here. Maybe, during that time, she’d be able to make progress with the grandmother.
A girl can dream.
“Sweetheart?” Brent gave her another devastating smile, and, for an instant, she couldn’t think straight or even recall where she was. “I was saying that we should head back to the house.”
“Right,” she answered, realizing she’d slipped away.
She wanted to confront them all, she really did, but she was overwhelmingly outnumbered. Taking the easy way out sounded more and more tempting by the second.
Besides that, it really was just for one day. Would kind of be like old times…
And seriously, how much could go wrong?
A lot, if she was being honest with herself.
She grew lightheaded in the summer heat. A lie of omission was still a lie, but it could be a white lie if it was due to good intentions. Somewhere between Elsa’s startling welcome and Margaret’s evil eye, she’d lost her way. Then, when she looked at Brent again…she found it.
Grandmother Margaret shot her one last snooty look, then made excuses about going to get the mail.
Something snapped inside Hope, and that cinched the deal.
Nobody got the best of the Webbs. She and her sister might not have been raised with money, but they’d grown up proud. The Albrights were lucky to have Jackie joining their family. Hope planned to make them aware of that.
Yep. She was going to do this.
Brent looked over the sports car she’d picked up at the airport in Boston. “Nice wheels.” A dimple deepened in his left cheek, and Hope’s stomach flipped. “Ready to come inside?”
If he was half as great as he seemed, he’d make the very best husband for Jackie. It was her sisterly duty to make sure their wedding happened. This is what the Webb family did. They stood together when times were tough, and times probably couldn’t get any tougher than the ones Brent’s grandmother was prepared to dish out.
Hope nodded and put the gear shift in drive, her hand trembling at the thought of what lay ahead. One full day of pretending to be Jackie.
But she could do this.
Of course she could.
It would be just like opening night at The Sound of Music.
All she needed to do was avoid getting too close to Brent.
Because, even though he’d only kissed her on the cheek, that kiss had rocked her world.
And that definitely wasn’t right.
Not when he was six days away from marrying her sister.
…
Brent helped Jackie from the car, noting that she looked prettier than ever. She’d always been a great-looking woman, with her sweet brown eyes and that gorgeous brown hair, but there was something different about her now.
Maybe the Maine air had given her cheeks that pink tinge. Or maybe it was from the pressure of meeting his family. He frowned, concerned that his Grandmother Margaret had been unfriendly. He was not going to let her negativity ruin this week for him and Jackie.
Even though he and his fiancé weren’t exactly in love, he wanted to believe that they’d get there eventually. He had every reason to love Jackie and pretty much no reason not to. He just wasn’t there yet.
In other circumstances, he might have worried about rushing things, but knowing Jackie viewed their upcoming marriage the same way helped alleviate any guilt.
“I’m going to clean up,” his mom said, heading toward the house, holding her berry basket. “I’ll see you kids later. There’s fresh lemonade in the kitchen. Help yourselves.”
Jackie nodded her thanks, then opened the trunk with her key fob.
Brent dug out her meager carry-on in surprise. “Just one?” He’d never known her to travel with less than two suitcases—at a minimum one checked bag and a carry-on. That wasn’t counting the oversize bag she claimed as a pocketbook.
“I, er…” She dropped the key into her purse, which was also awfully small. In fact, it nearly fit in her hand. “Decided to pack light.”
Her bag was so lightweight, he had no idea how she’d managed to squeeze multiple pairs of shoes into it. She never traveled with less than five pairs. “There’s always a first time.” He grinned, but she didn’t return it. Man, she was on edge, and he couldn’t blame her. He had such a big family compared to hers, and she was probably concerned about making a good impression.
He leaned closer and took her hand, trying to reassure her. “Everything will be fine,” he whispered, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze.
“Yeah.” She stiffened and awkwardly tugged her hand away. “Sure.”
His heart sank. He had to do better. When he’d joined the others in the driveway, the tension between Jackie and his grandmother had been overwhelming. Maybe he could ask his mom to have a word with Grandmother, since she and his mom were close.
Jackie turned toward him, wearing a puzzled expression. “You didn’t get my last phone call, did you? I mean, er…my voice message? Or maybe my text?”
“Actually, I’ve kind of misplaced my phone.”
She blanched. “Misplaced?”
Luckily, he had a good idea where to find it. It was probably under a sofa cushion in the den, where he’d been watching the soccer match with his grandpa yesterday afternoon. He’d been so distracted he hadn’t realized it had gone missing until now.