Page 32 of My Twin Sister's Extremely Famous and Incredibly Hot Neighbor

Dustin comes inside with me. “I just want you to be safe.”

My face warms. “Do you need anything? I think I can find a toothbrush for you.”

“That would be great.”

I get Dustin set up in Jera’s spare bedroom. By the time I make it to bed I’m exhausted, but I’m very glad Dustin is spending the night just in case. I feel safe with him here.

* * *

The next morningI find Dustin in the kitchen cooking breakfast. “Hey,” he says when I enter. “How do you like your eggs?”

“Scrambled.” My heart melts. “You didn’t have to make me breakfast.”

“It’s no problem.” He cracks an egg on a bowl. “I know you have to record a class today, but you weren’t up yet, so I decided to make you something to eat.”

“That’s really sweet.”

He whips the eggs in the bowl with a whisk. “You know, I wanted to tell you I had a wonderful time with you last night.”

I stare at him with wide eyes. “How can that be? I ruined your night at the gala.”

He shakes his head. “No, you didn’t. I got to dance with the most beautiful woman there. And afterward, I enjoyed talking with you. I think it’s the most real you’ve ever been with me.”

I blush at his compliment, and then I realize what he said. How he liked that I was real with him. My insides churn as I break eye contact. I’m not being real. I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. I force myself to smile at him. “I enjoyed our time as well.”

We eat breakfast together, then Dustin goes home to shower, and I go into the library room. I spend the rest of the morning filming my class on light and shadow. I love the new paints Jera bought me, and I take some time to play with them. The watercolor paper is a higher quality than I normally buy. It’s taking the paint so well I lose track of time and am late for lunch with Dustin.

I scoop up Squint and rush next door. As I ring the bell at the gate, Dustin comes on the screen. “I wasn’t sure you were coming.”

“Sorry. Got distracted by my new paints.” I pet little Squint and he barks.

Dustin laughs. “Come in.” He buzzes me through.

As he lets me into the foyer, his phone rings. He looks at the screen and frowns. “I have to take this. Sorry.”

“No problem.” I walk into his kitchen to give him some privacy. Squint follows me and sits down by the patio door. I open the fridge and pull out the salad that Dustin had obviously made for our lunch. It’s a fancy salad, with shaved almonds and feta cheese. It looks delicious, and I get out two salad bowls for us.

Dustin walks into the kitchen, a strange look on his face. “That was my attorney.”

I glance at him. “Oh?”

“She said your attorney is asking me to pay for a land survey.” He stares at me.

My throat goes dry. I forgot about the fence war again. I could just kick myself. “Oh. Right,” I say, placing the salad forks on the table. I don’t look at him. The moment turns awkward.

“I don’t understand,” he finally says. “Why didn’t you just ask me? Why send a message through your attorney?”

My brain stutters as I try to come up with something to say. I need some reason we can’t come to some kind of arrangement. It’s becoming weird the more I spend time with him and get to know him that we’re not just hashing this out. I can’t think of anything smart to say. “You know how lawyers are. I thought we weren’t going to talk about the fence.”

He exhales and runs his hand through his hair. “I know I said that. It’s just…I feel a little blindsided, Jera. It’s like I’m dealing with two different people.”

I clamp my lips together as all the blood drains from my face. I’m sure I’m as white as a snowman. The table settings become very interesting to me. “I don’t know what to say.”

Dustin comes up to me. “Look, I don’t mind paying for another survey, but I think we’ve already established that the fence is on your property. I’m not arguing that. It’s just going to take a lot of money to tear the whole fence down and rebuild. And for what? One inch?”

It totally sounds like Jera is being unreasonable, but I don’t know why, and I can’t make decisions for her. I can’t even explain anything to Dustin because I have no clue what Jera’s thinking. “I’m sorry, we shouldn’t talk about this.”

Dustin sets his phone down on the table. He studies me, and I avoid his gaze. Finally, he says, “Are you upset with me? Did I do something to offend you?”

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