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Two women are shuffling their way through the crowd toward us. One is short and curvy, the other tall and slender with long blond hair trailing down her back. My eyes lock on the tall woman. The way she moves, the way she holds herself—all of herfeatures seem so familiar. As they get closer, my jaw drops open, and an icy tendril of dread slides down my spine.
What is Lizzy doing in Lustre Lake?
Her smile is welcoming and friendly as she hugs Kenna. And now that I can hear her speaking I realize that this woman, I think Kenna called her Briar, is younger than my sister, closer to my age actually. Even so, the resemblance is uncanny, and I search her face, wondering how it’s possible.
“Oh, good,” a deep male voice says beside me. “I see you’ve told them about the DNA results.”
The what? The world suddenly feels fuzzy, and I can’t seem to follow the conversation around me. My eyes float to the man who spoke. He must be Tucker. Christian’s told me so much about the twins, and he looks just like his picture. Next, my gaze slides to the short brunette woman beside him. Our eyes lock, and breath whooshes out from between my lips. I feel like I’ve been sucker-punched.
The woman standing right across from me … she has my face.
Chapter Fifteen
Christian
It’s like watching a car accident happen. You wish you could stop it; but instead, you sit back, completely helpless.
Penelope’s eyes widen and her mouth pops open when she sees Briar, but when her gaze flicks to Rosie, the color drains from her face and I can feel my heart plummet.
This is not the way I wanted her to meet her sister. No. I didn’t have a plan… yet. But I was going to make one. Really.
Fuck. Fucking Tucker and his big mouth.
“DNA results?” Briar asks, keeping her eyes trained on Penelope. “You mean the samples your friend took from me and Rosie for the twin study?”
“Uhhhh…” Tucker stammers, realizing that he stepped in it this time. He runs a hand through his short hair, tossing me an apologetic look.
“What are you talking about?” Penelope says so quietly that I can barely hear her over the movement of the people behind us.
“Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk—” I begin, thinking we should all move to a quieter spot.
“You better start talking this instant Andersen,” Rosie growls, her hand reaching out to grip Briar’s. She takes a few steps toward Penelope, whom I pull closer to my side. Her body is trembling as I tuck her into me, and I run a hand up and down her arm, trying to comfort her.
I know my next words are going to shatter her world.
“Well, I met Penelope near Lustre Lake, and at first I thought she was you. The resemblance is so strong. But then I spoke to her and quickly realized that she wasn’t …” My tongue is thick in my mouth, and I’m struggling to find the right words.
“Get to the point, Christian,” Rosie prompts.
Penelope is nearly silent, and her eyes are glazed over. My heart pounds and I turn my body toward her, reaching out to grasp her chin and tilt it until I can see her face.
“Penny, Little Bird, I love you. And I’m sorry. When you told me about your family, I had this feeling that perhaps there was more going on. Briar looks so much like Lizzy, and obviously, you and Rosie could be twins. So, I went behind your back. And I know I shouldn’t have—but if there was even a chance that you had another family out there…” I trail off, searching her face. A cold sweat breaks out over my body as I wait for her reaction.
Her anger… something.
But she doesn’t say a word.
Instead, Briar lets loose a cry of anguish. “Are you saying Rosie isn’t my twin? I’ve been living with the wrong family my whole life?”
Fuck. In my quest for answers, I hadn’t even considered what this would do to the Swann family—what it would mean for the two girls who had grown up believing they were twins.
Tears stream down Briar’s face, dripping off her chin. She releases Rosie’s hand and takes off through the crowd, dodging and weaving around everyone in her path.
Rosie is clearly torn as she looks at Penelope, then back the way her sister ran.
“I’m sorry,” she mouths, before taking off after her.
“What have you done?” Kenna says, shaking her head before trailing after her best friend.
