Page 38 of Merry Mix-Up

I fumbled with my words for a few minutes, not making sense, and finally, in an exasperated huff, I was able to spit it out. "Amber is my twin, obviously. She is Naomi's best friend and was supposed to be here doing all the things herself. I promise you, if she'd been the one here, you never would have done whatwedid." I cringed at my own stupid explanation. "She's literally so straightlaced, it's not funny. She has a boyfriend and she'd never cheat on him. The whole time, I was pretending to be her because of her schooling."

So many lies were told, lies upon lies. They all had to come out now, and I couldn't even begin to tell him how sorry I was or which things we shared were lies and which were the truth. I tried my best to lay it all out, but my heart was too heavy and I wound up crying.

"So it's true, then." Newt took a few steps closer.

"I swear I didn't want to do any of it, but I love my sister, and I care about Naomi's big day, even if I don't even like her as a friend." As I said it I hoped he didn’t take offense at that. He took another step closer to me, and my body started to get stiff on me.I didn't want him closer. It was going to hurt. I was going to cry harder.

"That's why you didn’t want to go out into the snow?" he asked, and I wilted.

"Yeah…" Amber loved the snow. I hated it. I wished it would never snow again.

"And that's why you loved the chocolate cake and lied to her about strawberry. Because Amber would have chosen strawberry." A few steps closer, and he was almost able to touch me.

"Yes." I didn't back away, but I did look away. I couldn't take it. My heart felt so raw. Admitting to all these lies felt like someone was pouring acid in my chest.

"And it's why your mom called you by your name and I corrected her to say your name was Amber. She called it a 'merry mix-up'." Newt stood in front of me, and all I could do was stare at the tops of his boots, damp from snow.

"Yes." Tears sluiced down my cheeks and I sniffled. The nail in the coffin hurt worse than anything else.

"And you led me to believe you were Amber just so you could keep your sister happy, but you didn't tell me the truth. Even though we were so intimate, so much that I fell in love with you."

My skin bristled, goosebumps forming on my arms. He fell in love with me? I raised my chin and looked him in the eye and nodded as I bit my lower lip so hard I tasted blood. The copper hints on my tongue were the only evidence, though. I couldn’t feel the pain. My heart hurt too bad to let my physical body feel pain.

"Newt," I squeaked, but he didn't look angry.

"You know what I think?" he asked, and I got a faint hint of peppermint on his breath. He'd had eggnog, and probably a good thing. It probably helped him calm down.

"What?" I asked, sniffling again. I used the back of my hand to wipe away my tears.

"I think we need to start over." He held out his hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Jade. My name is Newt Phillips. Naomi's older, very available brother."

I stared at his hand as tears streamed now. What in the Christmas magic was happening? With a shaking hand, I took his, and his grip was warm and so soothing, I almost clung to him.

"I'm Jade Lyons, Amber's twin. It's so very, very nice to meet you, Newt."

He didn't hug me or try to kiss me. It wasn't a moment like that. There were too many questions left, and unresolved anger, but it was a start, and after we talked for twenty more minutes, he walked me to my car and went home in his dad's truck—but only after I promised to go to the wedding.

26

NEWT

Christmas Eve

"And while I'm standing in for Jared's best friend who can't be here because he's deployed overseas, I don't know as much about the groom as maybe I should, but I will say this. Jared loves my sister very much, and the two of them have a great support system. I've had an interesting journey this past month getting to know everyone a little better." My eyes scanned the crowded tables yet again for the one face I wanted to see. I hadn't seen her all night.

"And I am honored to be a part of this union. Jared and Naomi," I said, turning my attention back to my sister and her new husband, "I hope your connection is always strong, your love is always fierce, and the sex is incredible." The crowd burst into laughter as everyone clinked their cups against one another’s.

I lowered back into my seat, frustrated that I still hadn't seen Jade. She promised me she'd be here, and while I didn't fully expect her to after last night's interaction, I hoped she would keep that promise. It was tense and awkward, and we only spoke about why things went down the way they did and how she could have done things differently to mitigate the damage. Afterward,I felt like a fool for not having asked her to just have a cup of cocoa with me or something.

Tonight, surrounded by poinsettias and festive Christmas trees, it felt so depressing to be alone. This entire month, I had planned this evening to be magical for us. I intended to tell Naomi right before she jetted off to her honeymoon that I had finally found someone. As it was, Derek had been made an honorary member of the wedding party so I didn't even have someone to dance with when the wedding party had the second dance, following Naomi and Jared's first dance.

I sipped my champagne and listened to Amber give her speech about my sister. It was spot on—filled with stories of their teenage years, and even the twin switch they'd done so that Naomi could be happy leading up to tonight. Naomi totally laughed it off and Amber apologized to the rest of the wedding party for "punking them", but the bride found it hilarious.

I decided it was a bit funny, though my heart was still a mangled mess. After a long heart-to-heart with Naomi, I chose to be a part of all of this. I saw past the cruelty of what had been done to my heart for what the girls really tried to do, and I knew they were never malicious. In fact, the way they did that for Naomi was sweet. I was just collateral damage they never planned on.

Jade probably never imagined that I'd hit on her or be so interested. When I saw that wild hair, I thought the personality behind it would have been too out of the box for me. But wrapped in a different package, I saw how beautiful she was. I had wrongly judged her based on her appearance, and I was glad when I thought I got the calm twin to flirt with. Man, was I ever an ass.

When the speeches were done, including one from Jared's best friend via video conference, Jared and Naomi cut their cake. I still didn’t see jade anywhere, not dressed like Amber, and notwith wild hair either. They did their first dance, then announced the wedding party had to come to the dance floor, and I didn't know what to do. I stayed seated at the table until Naomi marched over and poked me in the ribs.

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