Page 3 of Reid
Fuck, I was already in love.
She wiggled her fingers at me in a flirty wave.“Later, Reid.”
Everly
Takinga last sip of my Diet Coke, I tossed the cup in the recycling bin close to where my Jeep was parked and wiped my hands on the soft white fabric of my pants.I’d thought the outfit was cute and chic, perfect for my job interview and Evie’s afternoon class.
I didn’t know how it was for other twins, but with my sister and me, we needed the connection of dressing like mirror images.All our lives, we’d been forced to live completely separate, only getting to see each other once a year.But thank fuck for the judge who’d overseen our parents’ messy, brutal divorce.When our parents had signed off on the equal division of all their assets, that had included the babies that my mother was pregnant with.It hadn’t sat right with the judge, though.
Whatever concern had driven him to make the stipulation requiring visitation for us on our birthday, I was eternally grateful.If not for that small blessing, I was terrified to imagine what might have happened to my sister.Evie’s dad was a controlling monster.He’d kept her locked away, isolating her from the world.
Shaking off thoughts of the man who was genetically my father too—I fucking hate him, hate him, hate him—I opened the door to the shop.WomanLand was a popular boutique in the small college town, located beside a discreet-looking tattoo shop close to the prestigious college where my sister was enrolled.As a brick-and-mortar store, it was thriving.However, its online store was the true success.
I had an interview for the manager position, and I was nervous as hell.It wasn’t so much that I needed this job financially.After my mother passed, I inherited everything.I’d only been seventeen at the time of her death, though, which had made things difficult at first.Once I’d gotten my hands on that money, I’d invested in a few lucrative endeavors.
It had taken some serious cash to extract my sister from her father, every cent well spent.
I still had a surplus of funds left over, even after buying two identical wardrobes, our cars, and relocating us to sweet little Creswell Springs.Mom got half of her ex’s wealth in the divorce.When I’d first realized what had garnered my parents their vast fortune, I’d considered burning every last dollar.But then I realized that my sister and I needed that money if we wanted to have a life away from them.We could live comfortably together for multiple lifetimes without needing to work.
It was more for Evie’s sake that I wanted this job.I had to show her it was safe to leave our apartment.Keeping the door open helped more than anything else we’d tried so far.
Shut, locked doors caused her major anxiety.
Baby steps.
Violin rock music played softly over the audio system when I entered the boutique, an oddly soothing yet rejuvenating melody.WomanLand was aptly named.Everything any woman could want or need was on display.Beautiful clothes, jewelry, accessories.They had a maternity section catering to expecting and postnatal care.According to my investigation, they even had a naughty section that was for the eighteen-and-older crowd only.
I’d prepared for this interview like it was the most important test of my life.
Please hire me.Please, please hire me.Evie needs me to have this job.
I kept the carefree smile on my face, and my gaze went straight to the two women standing by the customer care desk.My extensive research on the owners of WomanLand had led me to the pictures of the co-owners, Mila Thornton and River Masterson.
Mila was gorgeous with her black hair and gray eyes.She was a little shorter than the willowy blonde at her side, her curves generous.They were both older than me by more than a decade, their customer-service smiles perfectly in place as they greeted me.
From what I’d learned by looking at their website, Mila had a huge social media following.Her husband was Lyric Thornton,theLyric Thornton.He was famous all on his own, with his wicked art inked into some of the world’s elite celebrities, athletes, billionaires, even freaking royalty.On top of that, his dad was a rock legend and his twin brother a retired NFL defenseman.
Hisidenticaltwin.
My attention had been piqued before, but when I’d read that, I’d known this job was what I wanted.What had convinced me that it was what Evie needed was that Mila herself was an identical twin.She was a triplet, with a brother thrown into the mix who was married to River.
If I hadn’t been convinced by that stroke of fate?Mila had four kids, two sets of twins.
It was meant to be.Evie and I were supposed to be here.Creswell Springs was destined to be our home.
But if I didn’t get the job, did that mean I was wrong?
I desperately hoped I wasn’t.
“Hi, you must be Everly,” River greeted, walking out from behind the counter.She extended her hand, her smile going from professional to a softer, more natural one.“I’m River.This is my business partner and sister-in-law, Mila.”
River was easy to talk to, and soon, my nervousness vanished.It felt more like old friends catching up than a job interview as she asked me about my background.I had a business degree with a focus in marketing.School was the only thing that had kept me sane while I’d fought to find a way to get my sister away from our father.
Mom’s sudden death had thrown our lives into tailspins.Not only had I lost my only parent, but since I’d still technically been a minor at the time, I’d had to move from Washington to California, where my mother’s aunt lived.My sperm donor had emphatically refused to consider my living with him for the few months it would have taken for me to turn eighteen.
As the second-born twin, I’d been unwanted by him.I was nothing more than a cheap replica, the unnecessary spare.He’d used those exact words the very rare times we’d had a conversation.It might have hurt if I hadn’t already known what a monster William was.Mom’s drunken rants were good for a few things—getting intel on my sperm donor being one of them.
An hour later, I was signing a contract with River while Mila helped a customer.As soon as my signature was scrawled across the last document, I felt as if a hundred pounds of stress had been lifted from me.I had to rein myself in and not hug the life out of River.
