Page 5 of My Twin Sister's Extremely Famous and Incredibly Hot Neighbor

“I don’t want your money!” I yell as I yank the suit on. Jera doesn’t need any more money, that’s for certain. She’s paid off my mother’s debt, bought her a big house in Seattle, and gave her a nice nest egg. I know she’d do the same for me if I’d let her, but I don’t want her to. It doesn’t sit right with me.

“Then what’s the—?” He stops mid-sentence as I fling open the doors and rush out. “Wow,” he says under his breath.

I shoot a glare at him. Was that a remark about my cellulite? Because Jera definitely looks better in a swimsuit than I do. Did I mention my love for Oreos? But I don’t have time to call him out for being rude. I rush down the stairs, Squint barking again as he follows me.

“Jera,” Dustin calls out as he races after me.

“My phone!” I shoot back at him.

“It will be fine. They make them waterproof now.”

I doubt my phone is waterproof. It’s a dinosaur. If smartphones made fun of each other, mine would be the one always picked on. I can’t even take any more pictures with it because the memory is all full.

I don’t wait for Dustin, I jump into the pool and grab my phone. I surface, holding it up and water drains out of it. It’s toast, I can tell already. I try not to think of all that I lost.

I rush to the stairs and climb out as Squint barks at Dustin. He looks down at my dog as if seeing him for the first time. “When did you get a dog?”

I don’t answer. I don’t want to lie to the guy. He looks pretty nice now that I know he’s not a murderer. “I need rice,” I say under my breath as I rush inside the patio door. I race to the kitchen, Dustin at my heels. I start opening the cupboards. Rice…rice…rice. Jera must have rice somewhere.

Dustin stares at me. “What are you doing?”

“Rice!” I screech at him like he should know. “Where is it?”

He holds out his hand. “Let me see your phone.”

I don’t even stop to think. I toss it at him while I’m searching for the rice.

“Geesh, Jera, get a new phone. This one’s like a hundred years old.”

I blink back tears as I realize the only photo I had of my father was on that phone. He left when I was six, and Mom tore up all the pictures she could find. I kept one hidden from her for years. I’d snapped a picture of it once, so I could use it as my screen saver. I’ve since lost the original, so the one on my phone was all I had left. Why didn’t I back it up on my laptop?

I open the last cupboard and grab a box of instant rice. Finally! I pull a bowl out and shake the rice into it as I grab my phone back from Dustin. “I can’t,” I finally say, emotions choking me.

Dustin looks at me like I’m a math problem he can’t solve. “Why not?”

I keep shaking rice out until my phone is buried and there’s no rice left in the box. My hands shake as I set the bowl down on the counter and stare at it like it’s going to do something.

“What’s wrong?” Dustin asks me, his voice soft.

I realize I’m crying. I quickly wipe my face and shake my head. “It’s nothing.”

His jaw muscles tighten. “It’s not nothing,” he says. He sounds like he actually cares. What happened between him and my sister, anyway? My heart does funny things in my chest.

“What is it?” he says, his voice quiet. “Tell me.”

My breath hitches. He’s so stunningly gorgeous, I can’t think. I’m exposed, standing there with just a bathing suit on, my feelings on display. I turn from him. “You wouldn’t understand.”

He lets out a breath like he’s giving up. “All right. Have it your way.”

He moves to leave, but I grab his arm. I feel bad for everything. He was just trying to help, and I’m being rude. “I’m sorry. I’m not myself today. Please forget this ever happened.”

He looks down at my hand on his arm. “You’re not kidding.”

I have no idea what he means by that. “Huh?” I ask as I remove my hand.

“You’ve never apologized to me. Not once. Until today. Now you can’t stop saying it.” He raises one eyebrow and I about faint. Why does that make him look even more handsome?

I resist the urge to apologize again. I’m messing this whole thing up. What on earth made me think I could pretend to be Jera? Dustin is going to figure me out, and I just met the guy. I bite my lips to keep from saying anything else wrong.

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