Page 6 of My Twin Sister's Extremely Famous and Incredibly Hot Neighbor

His gaze softens and he takes a step toward me. Heat radiates off him on my skin. My heart picks up speed. What in the world is wrong with me?

“I think we got off on the wrong foot last year,” he says, his voice low. “I don’t know what happened, but let’s start over.”

Starting over sounds good. I nod. “Okay.”

“Come over tonight. Bring your phone. I’ll see if I can fix it.”

I shouldn’t. I know this. But I need my phone. I bite my lower lip, trying to decide which is worse, me pretending to be Jera in close quarters with her hot neighbor, or me not having a phone where Jera can tell me all the things I need to do.

“I’ll make you dinner,” he adds.

CHAPTER4

Igape at Dustin Sawyer, the famous movie star. “You cook?”

He smiles and hooks his thumbs in his belt loops. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me. And I’m willing to bet there’s a lot I don’t know about you as well.” His voice is warm and low, and it wraps around me like a fuzzy blanket. Is he flirting with me? And do I want him to?

I glance at the bowl of rice sitting on the counter. I need that phone. Jera’s going to text me. Plus, a home-cooked meal sounds really great. I usually eat my meals from a box. I’m quite fond of the mac and cheese variety. I didn’t see any box meals when I was searching through Jera’s cupboard. And now I can’t even order Door Dash. I waffle for a moment before I make a rash decision. “All right.”

Dustin smiles at me and I think I’m going to melt into a puddle on the floor. Wow. How do regular people handle being around this man? I’m going to start hyperventilating.

“Great,” he says, his smile widening. I think he knows what he’s doing to me. “Come over at seven.”

I nod because I can’t form a complete sentence. Dustin leaves, and Squint does a little potty dance before he scratches at the back door. I welcome the distraction and let him out to do his business.

As Squint runs around the backyard, I search Jera’s drawers for her scissors so I can clip off the tags from the swimsuit because they’re digging into my armpits. I find the scissors in the fifth drawer I open.

I take a swim since I’m dressed for it. The water is warm, not a cloud in the sky, and I begin to relax. I love Jera’s pools, and her house is three levels of amazing. I swim for about an hour as Squint takes a nap in the sun.

After I rinse off and dress in a cute pink top and white shorts from Jera’s closet, I explore her house. On the coffee table in the living room, I find the credit card my sister left for me. She left a note as well. It says:

Dear Mackenzie, You can go to any art store. LA has a lot of them. Get all the supplies you want. I’ll text you my driver’s number so you can have him take you.

Well, that’s just perfect. All my new art supplies are a phone call away, and I can’t even get to them. I frown as I go to the kitchen to stare at the bowl sitting on the counter. How am I going to pull off being my sister without her help? She never checks her email. I have no idea what her phone number is. I don’t know the name of the spa where she’s at. I look at the ceiling and pray Dustin can fix my phone tonight.

To get my mind off the predicament I’m in, I open my suitcase and start setting up my filming equipment. I grab my stuff and go into what I assume is a library, due to all the books on the shelves. My sister doesn’t read much (unless you count fashion magazines) so I have no idea why she has so many books. I figure this room isn’t used, so it’s a great place for me to film my watercolor classes.

By the time I’m done setting up my camera and tripod, it’s time for me to go next door. I pick up Squint and tuck him into his carrying case. He fits so nicely in there, and he likes going on outings with me. I jokingly call him my emotional support animal, but I don’t know how much of a joke it is. He keeps my anxiety down. Hopefully, Dustin doesn’t mind.

I grab the bowl of rice with my poor phone and leave. As I walk down the long driveway to the front gate, I realize why Dustin jumped the fence. It’s a much longer walk than it looks. I finally get to the front of Jera’s gate, but there’s no sidewalk, so I have to walk beside the intimidating iron fence that keeps out creepers. Dustin’s gate has a keypad and a video screen. I press the call button and a minute later he appears on the screen. “Hey,” he says when he sees me. “I’ll buzz you through.”

The door clicks open and I go in. I walk up his enormous driveway. Dustin’s house looks like it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s modern, with a balcony that juts out in a way you wouldn’t think was possible because of physics. It looks cool, though, and I wonder what the view is like from there.

He pulls the door open before I can ring the bell. He’s wearing a light blue dress shirt with khaki pants and a black apron. He smiles at me, and my heart does a backflip. “You came.”

“You didn’t think I’d come?”

He shrugs. “Not really. Come in.”

That’s weird. Why did he think I’d stand him up? “Can I bring Squint in? He’s house trained and doesn’t bark a lot.” I motion to my dog carrier.

“Sure.” He chuckles. “Cute name.”

“Do you have any pets?” I ask as I walk into the foyer and set Squint on his hard wood floor. A grand staircase curves up to the second floor. A large painting hangs on the wall, and a skylight keeps the foyer bright.

Dustin crouches down and scratches under Squint’s chin. “No, I’ve never had time to take care of one.”

The way he said it made me sad. “You work that much?”

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