Page 41 of My Twin Sister's Extremely Famous and Incredibly Hot Neighbor

I scoff. “I did not! I was just better at checkers.”

She took in a deep breath. “I miss those times.”

“Me, too.” I stare at the row of encyclopedias Jera has on the shelf. “Why do you have encyclopedias?”

She snorts. “Why are you snooping around in my library?”

I stop myself before I say because Dustin’s in the other room sleeping, and I don’t want to disturb him. I’m going to guess Jera wouldn’t be happy about that. “All right, I won’t snoop.”

“Maybe I’ll spend some time checking flights.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “We should do that trip after I’m healed.”

I nod. “I’d like that.”

I finish up with Jera and sneak out to the couch, but Dustin’s no longer asleep. He’s sitting up checking his phone. He looks at me when I enter. “What’s up?”

I twist my hands together. “You’ll never guess what I’m doing this afternoon.”

CHAPTER21

Dustin leans forward. His hair is sticking up and it makes him look adorable. “What?”

Nerves assault me for what I’m about to say, but I press forward. “I guess I’m auditioning for thatHit the Beachshow.”

He grins at me and runs a hand over his hair. It doesn’t do any good. It still sticks up. “That’s great. I’d love to work with you on that show.”

An image of Jera on a beach every day with Dustin pops into my head, and jealousy rises in my chest. I hadn’t considered this before, and it bothers me. What exactly will the show entail? Will there be a romance between them? Will they kiss?

Dustin’s smile fades as he stares at me. “What’s wrong?”

I swallow, pushing the image of Dustin kissing my sister out of my head. I can’t do anything about that. It’s out of my control. “Nothing.”

The afghan falls to the floor as he stands and crosses the room. He slips his arms around me and gazes into my eyes. I feel a pull to him I cannot deny. My pulse reacts to his touch.

“I know something is bothering you. I can see it. Don’t shut me out, Jera.” He gently curls a strand of my hair behind my ear.

I look at the floor. I want to tell him what I’m thinking, but I can’t. Not unless I tell him everything. I freeze. What if I do tell him everything? If Dustin keeps it to himself, then what harm would it be?

Jera would go ballistic if she ever found out. But if Dustin would be on board with going along with the farce, Jera wouldn’t ever know. I lift my gaze to look at Dustin. Would he be mad if I told him?

I bite my lip. I want to tell him, but I don’t know how he’ll react, and I don’t want to destroy what we have, whatever that is. I can’t decide on what to say, but he’s staring at me and I need to tell him something.

“I guess I’m a bit nervous. It’s been a while since I auditioned for anything.”

He takes my hands. “Don’t be nervous. I’ve seen your work. You’re good. Let’s run lines. It’ll help you loosen up.”

His touch only makes me feel guilty as I realize how scummy I am for not being honest with him. It hadn’t occurred to me before that I could tell him who I am without ruining Jera’s plan. And now that we’ve gotten to know each other, I’m not exactly sure how to tell him.

I swallow and lower my gaze. “Thank you.”

* * *

Later that morning,Dustin and I are in his kitchen as he prepares lunch. It’s a truffle risotto and it smells amazing. Squint is curled up on a dog bed that mysteriously appeared in the corner of the room. I’m sure it’s more Amazon two-day shipping.

I pace the floor, reading my lines to myself. I’m self-conscious about saying them out loud, so I study them and try to memorize them.

“Are you ready?” Dustin asks as he turns from the pan. He’s got his phone on the counter with my scene pulled up.

“Not yet.” I stare at my lines some more.

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