Page 18 of Merry Mix-Up

"Well, I figured you ladies could use a break from all the hard work. Besides, I haven't met Jade officially yet, and if she's working so hard on my sister's dress, I figured it was only natural. How long will she be gone?" His hand trailed down the side of my face and my arm to my hip, and he slid closer to me. I had a feeling his question about how long she'd be gone had more to do with how long we'd be alone than it had to do with his wanting to meet "Jade".

"Oh, I don't know. A while…" I started to relax a little. I'd have to figure out a way to make sure he never found out that "Jade" hadn't really gone for thread. The twin swap was getting harder and harder to keep up with, but I could manage it as long as he wasn't suspicious.

"Well, we can chat about wedding stuff. Or we can do something else…" One of his eyebrows lifted, and he grinned at me, but after the last time and how Amber really freaked out about my flirting with him, I still felt like putting the brakes on this thing was the best idea.

"Did you secure the lodge for the party?" I asked, knowing we had selected the old game lodge on the outskirts of town for the bachelor party and wedding. It was the only place that hadn't been booked for Christmas Eve yet due to the expense of heating the place. The rental fee was astronomical, but of course Newt came to the rescue. It was booked for Saturday, last we checked, so I wasn’t sure Newt would be able to get it.

"I did," he said, winking. "The family who had it booked for their family Christmas party was pretty stubborn, but when I promised to build them a heated lanai on the back of their house to use year-round for all gatherings, including a swimming pool with a hard cover to serve as a floor so they'd have more space, they went for it. Then I rented them the hotel ballroom and we got the lodge."

"Oh, my God, Newt," I gasped, shaking my head. "That will be a fortune." I couldn’t believe him at all. If he were doing something like this for me, I'd have told him it was way too much and he was insane. It probably would even be a turn-off. But seeing him do it for his sister just shocked me so much, I didn't know how to respond.

"Naomi is my sister, Amber. She's only getting married once in her life—hopefully. She wants a magical Christmas wedding, and I'm giving it to her. Money is nothing but a tool to make things happen. I have it. She wants things. I make them happen." He retracted his hand, but it lingered on his thigh, only inches from returning to my knee.

"You don’t think she should learn that to get things, you have to work hard?" Arms folded across my chest, I studied his expression thoughtfully. He really didn't have to think about money at all anymore, though he knew the value of hard work. A lanai on the back of someone's house would be twenty grand, which wasn't something just anyone could afford. But to him, it was probably pocket change.

"Naomi has worked so hard her whole life. I'm not giving her a free ride, Amber." I winced when he said her name again and almost told him to stop saying that, but he kept talking and I listened. "She will go back to her life of hard work, though I don't want her to have to. She's just getting the wedding of her dreams because of me."

I felt foolish for protesting his lavish treatment of his sister, but I didn't get a chance to say anything else. My phone started chirping and I didn't know where it was. "Hold that thought," I told him, jumping up to find it. I looked around the living room and realized it was coming from the kitchen, so I walked in there to search. It stopped ringing for a while, then started again, and I finally found it under the sheets of pattern material next to the basted fabric.

It was Amber, and my heart nearly stopped. I swiped to answer and prayed Newt didn't ask who it was.

"Now is not a good time," I mumbled, but I couldn't just hang up. I walked into the living room on my way to the bedroom, and Newt smiled at me.

"Who is it?" he asked at the same time Amber spoke.

"Jade, my God—Hey. Is that Newt? What the hell, Jade? He's not supposed to…" I pulled the phone away from my ear and covered the microphone.

"Uh, be right back, okay? It's Jade."

Darting into my bedroom, I put the phone back to my ear to hear Amber finishing her lecture. "And I told you it was off limits."

"Listen," I hissed, "he's here to check on the dress and talk about the bachelor party venue. What was I supposed to do, kick him into the snow? God, you don’t know everything." I sighed hard and rolled my eyes. I stood with my back to the door, hunched over, trying to listen for any movement in the living room while getting rid of my sister.

"Well, I'm telling you if the town starts talking about?—"

"They're not, okay?" I was nervous Newt would hear us bickering, and the only reason I was so defensive was because of guilt. I knew she was right, but I liked spending time with him.

"Fine, but?—"

"Everything okay?" he asked, and I straightened and the hairs on my arm stood on end.

"Yeah, okay, Jade. Alright, tell Mom I love her." My rushed words must have pissed Amber off, but I didn’t care. I ended the call and turned my phone off and turned around to face him. My hands were shaking again. He looked concerned, and I didn't know why I was panicking so much.

"Jade's stuck at Mom and Dad’s… Snow and all." My hands were sweating and my pulse was racing. I came so close to getting busted.

"I thought she was getting thread…." His eyebrows went up and he walked toward me, taking my phone from my hand and setting it on my dresser. He kissed my knuckles, and my belly knotted.

"Uh, craft store is on that side of town… Why are you prying?" I asked, trying to sound playful and not snarky.

Newt placed one of my hands on his shoulder, then the other. Then he wrapped his arms around my body and pulled me closer to him until our bodies were touching. "That means we're alone for the night?"

Warmth started to thaw the icy chill anxiety had on me. I let the tension out of my shoulders and back and smiled at him. "For the night?" I asked. "You planned this, didn't you? Probably thought you'd have a threesome with twins…" My cheeky smirk made him chuckle, and he ground his pelvis on me.

"You wouldn't throw me out with the roads like this. Would you?" Newt leaned down to brush his lips over mine, and his eyes caught my gaze, as if asking permission.

"I could never…" I breathed, realizing where this was quickly going.

"We could order takeout later," he said as if reading my mind. "And watch some movies after…" He leaned in this time, his lips lingering on mine, teasing me or maybe himself, I wasn't sure. "Or…" His hand slid down to my thigh, then under the hem of my T-shirt, making my breath catch when his fingers touched my skin. "We could have our own private movie marathon."

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