Page 90 of Just the Wrong Twin

“Aren’t you going to tell me?”

She laughed, music to his ears. “Maybe tomorrow. Goodnight.”

He shook his head. “Sleep well, Sonia. Knock ‘em dead tomorrow.”

“You, too, Nate. And thank you so much for calling.” Her voice warmed. “I’m ready for this now and it’s because of you. Thank you.”

Nate ended the call, his heart glowing, then stared at his phone, incredulous at what he’d done. For a guy who wanted one-and-done, a guy who insisted on not making emotional ties, he’d really veered out of his lane. He couldn’t believe what he’d just done, much less that he was thinking of doing it again in twenty-four hours.

What was wrong with him? He should never have called Sonia in the middle of the night. He should never have answered her text. He certainly should never have told her about his own nightmare, not if he wasn’t trying to build a future with her.

They had no future.

He’d set the rules himself.

And he’d forgotten them.

Again.

Nate was making the same mistake all over again. He was falling hard for a woman who would never really want him. He cast his phone in the direction of the charger in disgust. Looked like Sonia had found herself another dumb loser.

And the last thing he wanted was to have anything in common with Cinnamon-Bun-IQ.

Somehow he had to stop the juggernaut that was the Sonia Effect.

Conquering another lock simulation could only help.

* * *

Sonia didn’t go backto sleep. She thought for a long time about Nate’s story and his suggestions. He was an inspiration, whether he intended to be or not. He was so balanced and confident. Healed. Sonia wanted to be healed, too.

She turned on the lights and made a list of everything she remembered about Maria. She went through her scripts for the podcast, then got out several of her textbooks. She started to read, looking for case studies to either back up or dismiss her idea. When she’d gone through all her books, she went online to look for more.

Then she revised her scripts, adding what she thought was the right balance of detail. The trick was to share enough to be credible, but not so much that she felt naked.

Or that Derek felt threatened.

She was still awake at dawn, her thoughts spinning with possibilities, but Sonia thought she had this.

Eleven

On Monday morning, Shannyn had everything set up early at F5F to film Sonia’s debut. She’d gotten into the habit of preparing in advance for everything since beginning her third trimester. Michael had made his arrival into the world without a lot of warning and there was something about having a baby in the middle of a wedding service—and knowing the second might come even faster—that made her want to be ready for anything.

Tyler was a protective bear when she was pregnant and he hadn’t been a fan of her coming down to the club to film the podcast. Not at all. But it was for Sonia, who was such a sweetheart, and Shannyn knew that no one understood lighting as well as she did. She wanted everything to be right for Sonia. It was a great chance to do some training with Desdemona, too. Once she got the filming set up and could document how she’d done it, Desdemona could replicate it for each episode.

Ty had finally agreed, though he’d brought her into town himself and was waiting in the lobby with Michael. Everyone would be masked and sanitized to the nth degree, since Ty was calling the shots—he always ensured that everyone was protected.

It was one of his traits that Shannyn most admired.

They were on the fifth floor and the morning light was wonderfully rosy. As soon as Shannyn saw Sonia’s hair color, she could envision how it would all work. Sonia, typically, refused to wear any make-up, but she was so pretty that it didn’t matter. Shannyn added a filter to the lens, just to make sure she didn’t look too pale, and set up different cameras on tripods for wide angle shots and close-ups.

“I don’t want a hand-held real-life feel,” Cassie said. “I want this to be slick.”

“I agree,” Shannyn said, indicating a point on the mat to Sonia. “Do we need to mark it, or can you find it each time?”

“There’s a little scuff here,” Sonia said. “I’ve got it.”

“I think that’s from the tape from another podcast,” Cassie said. “We want to record at least three episodes today, and broadcast the first one this afternoon. Blaine’s team have cleared the decks to do the editing as soon as we can send them something.”

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