Page 8 of Love to Hate You

“When I bought it, you said it was a universal dress.” Otherwise, Summer wouldn’t have purchased it. Admittedly, she was fashion-challenged, while Autumn was the fashion queen. They were the complete reverse of each other, after all.

Summer and Autumn weren’t normal twins. They were mirror twins, which meant that they were asymmetrical. The same but opposite. Autumn’s heart was on the left side of her body and Summer’s was on the right. Autumn’s dimple was in left field and Summer’s the reverse. They were truly two peas in the same pod.

Even their personalities were polar opposites. Autumn hadn’t met a person she couldn’t befriend. She looked like a model, acted like a coed, and lived like an influencer—was even a social media content creator for a midsized advertising company. Her outgoing and bubbly personality—not to mention boobs—attracted men like flies to honey.

Summer was the reliable and introspective one and Autumn was spontaneous and charismatic. Bottom line, Summer was the ying to Autumn’s yang, the Laverne to her Shirley—an unexpected pairing with an unbreakable bond.

“You bought it without my input and then told me it was nonreturnable. What was I supposed to say?” Autumn asked.

“That I looked like Morticia.”

“It isn’t Morticia-bad, but also isn’t podcast-appropriate.”

“That’s the point of a podcast, no one can see me.”

“Butyoucan see you, and how you dress influences how you come across to your listeners. You’re supposed to be a romance guru, not look like you’re going to Auntie Cecilia’s funeral.”

“Auntie Cecilia probably felt that energy you just put out into the universe.” Their aunt was not only a brilliant businesswoman, she also fancied herself a bona fide psychic.

“Hang on, I have a text coming in.” Autumn’s face went pale. “Oh my god,” she whispered. “It’s Auntie Cecilia.”

“Told you.” Summer hid her smile. Cecilia had texted Summer a bit ago asking what their mom wanted for her birthday. Since Autumn and her mom were the most alike, she’d told Cecilia she’d contacted the wrong twin. “How about that blue and white maxi-dress I bought when we went to Mystic?”

“And look like a sailor?” Autumn’s face filled the entire screen now. “Summs, you are gorgeous and genuine and believe in romance the way Mom believes that the key to flawless skin is sunscreen and hats. And the way I believe in you.”

It took Summer a moment to gather herself at her sister’s words, but even then, as she spoke, her voice was thick with emotion. “You have to say that. You’re my sister.”

“And I’d never bullshit you. You have the most beautiful and gentle soul of anyone I’ve ever met. We need an outfit that showcases that.”

“That’s a tall order.” Plus, tomorrow wasn’t just a regular podcast. Tomorrow was Summer’s first podcast where she was interviewing a guest, to discuss May’s most anticipated romance book. With Autumn’s help, Summer had grown her following to over ten thousand and she wanted to impress.

Summer looked at the time, then her sister’s face, and a bad feeling settled in her belly. “How are you calling me? Aren’t you supposed to be mid-flight, somewhere over the Atlantic?”

“About that . . .”

Summer picked up the phone and held it to her face. “No, no, no. I know that voice. That’s the don’t-hate-me voice, and I swear on my entire and complete, first-edition J.D. Robb collection that if you say what I think you’re about to say, the hate will be real.”

“My trip was extended, and it looks like I won’t be home for another couple of days.”

“But my event is tomorrow. The event, I should remind you, that you said was necessary to grow my brand.”

“And it will.”

“You promised we’d do this together. That’s why I agreed to do this, because you had my back.”

No matter where they were in the world, to Summer it always felt as if they were in their nine-hundred-square-foot apartment above the shop. Finishing each other’s sentences, sharing in each other’s successes and hardships as if they were their own. But lately, they’d been like two ships passing in the night.

Summer had felt this slight shift in their usually aligned planets as deeply as the loss of a limb. She’d lost the everyday bonds with many people in her life over the past few months; she couldn’t bear to lose another.

First, she’d lost Ken to his career. Then, six months ago, her parents had moved from Ridgefield to Boca Raton, retiring in the Florida sun in a house next door to Summer’s auntie and uncle. It was difficult to go from seeing her large family every day at the shop to being a business owner of one. No more Friday family dinners or Boardgame Wednesdays to get her through the week. All that was left in Connecticut was her twin. And she really needed her support right now.

“I do. I’ll tune in and everything. Be there remotely. You won’t even notice my absence. I do this all the time with creators. It’s my thing.”

Summer’s stomach shifted queasily. “But it’s notmything.”

“You’ve got this,” Autumn assured her, but Summer didn’t feel assured. “And if this trip wasn’t a possibly life-changing one, I would be there. I swear. But the content I made about Swifties,” she said, referring to Taylor Swift superfans, “was so good that I’m, uh, being flown from London to Paris tomorrow morning. Paris, Summs! In the spring. How could I pass that up?”

Easy. You say no.That’s what Summer would have said if the situation were reversed.

---