Page 19 of Love to Hate You

Summer’s eyes went wide with surprise. “But we always room together. That’s the point of this trip. Twin Power, remember?”

“It will still be amazing, just different. But in a good way, I promise.”

Summer looked around and felt her throat tighten. The familiar yellow-and-white striped wallpaper, the pitched ceilings, and the worn-with-life hardwood floors wrapped around her like a warm blanket. Even though the bed was a bunkbed, Summer and Autumn, unable to even have a mattress between them, always shared the bottom bunk.

So many traditions were already being broken and she hadn’t even been in her safe place for a day. It was as if her life and memories were slowly being replaced by bigger, newer, shinier things—and that broke her heart.

“Please don’t be mad at me. I love you. And don’t let that asshat ruin anything for you. This is stillourfamily trip. Everything that is important will stay the same, I promise. And if he makes you sad then I’ll kick his ass. Right?”

Summer nodded, but couldn’t help noticing the burning behind her eyes.

“Now, are we going to let him win?”

“No.”

“Say it with more conviction.”

“Hell no!”

“Good, then let’s go through my suitcase and pick out something for you that says ‘Big Chick Energy coming through.’”

Wes couldn’t fault Summer for her reaction. He’d had a holy-shit moment himself at the one-in-a-billion chance of his brother dating Summer’s sister.

Her identical twin sister. Which was odd because he could tell who was who immediately, and that was before Summer had realized who he was. Her smile was a bit brighter, her hair shinier, and she had this understated elegance about her. Even though she was in flannel pajamas with aTALK DARCY TO MET-shirt and bedhead. She’d looked adorable and soft and sexy—until she’d realized who he was. Then she’d looked like Medusa ready to turn his family jewels to granite.

At least he’d had time to prepare. It was clear the moment he’d seen Autumn whose sister she was.

He should leave. He really should. He should climb back in the car and be on his merry little way. In fact, he should leave the country all together and move back to London, where he had a full and very successful life that he’d just walked out on.

After the sudden death of his estranged father, Wes had found himself part-owner of BookLand, a billion-dollar big-box bookstore chain. His father hadn’t just left behind a legacy of wealth, he’d left behind a legacy of betrayal and heartache.

Between Randolph Kingston the Second’s many mistresses and multiple wives, Wes had learned early on that love and loss went hand in hand. Which was why he was content to keep things casual with the people in his life, especially women.

The second he’d realized Autumn was Summer’s twin, he should have canceled. He could still cancel. His things were still in the car so he wouldn’t even have to repack. He hadn’t met the family yet, so they wouldn’t even know that he’d come and gone.

It was clear by the look on her face that she’d been as surprised as he was about the whole situation. But then she’d turned those eyes of fury at him, and instead of apologizing for interrupting her family vacation, he’d puffed out his chest and strengthened his stance, letting her know if she wanted him gone, she’d have to physically remove him from the premises.

Wes rubbed his temples and reminded himself it was a losing battle. If she wanted him gone, he’d go. He’d lived through enough family vacations being unwanted to last a lifetime. Why would he want to willingly expose himself to another go-around?

Yup, leaving was the right thing to do. All he had to do was go inside and get the car keys from his kid brother. But first, he’d kick the wanker’s ass, because Randy did not seem the slightest bit surprised at the one-in-a-billion chance meeting.

Wes walked up the steps to the massive wraparound porch, complete with a white swing and bright red door. It was as Great American Dream as a house could get, yet instead of feeling like the door mat saidWELCOME, he felt as if he were walking the plank.

A rusty, yet familiar, pounding started behind his rib cage and worked its way up to the sternum. His hands were clammy to the touch, and a bead of sweat slid down his back.

Intent on getting in and out as quickly as possible, he had lifted his hand to knock when the door flew open. On the other side was Randy looking shell-shocked and ready to cry.

“Where have you been? You were supposed to have my back,” he said in a rush. “Autumn bailed and her mom dragged me into the kitchen, where her aunt took my palm and read my lifeline and pointed out this little wrinkle here.” He held up his hand and pointed to a nearly nonexistent wrinkle of skin. “Do you know what it is? My mojo, bro. It’s smaller than the prick of a needle. And don’t you dare say anything about my choice in words. So to change the subject, I went to introduce my awesome brother, only when I turned to do the whole Vanna White move there was only air where my big brother should have been.”

His brother’s pain gave him a perverse sense of joy.

“Where were you, man?” said Randy.

“Having an out-of-body experience because I happened to be invited to a weeklong holiday with my brother’s girlfriend’s family, and her twin just so happens to be the woman who’s cost us thousands of dollars in delays.”

“Weird, huh.”

Randy and Wes might have grown up estranged but his brother was a terrible liar. He was also a terrible businessman. And a terrible wingman.

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