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“Triplet,” Willa says, holding up three fingers.
“Triplet,” I say, bobbing my head. Then the word hits home. “Triplet?! Are you all identical?” A sliver of hope begins to take root deep in my bones. If there are three of them, there’s one I still haven’t run into today. Could she have lied about her name? Why would she have done that, though?
“Yep,” Willa says. “Few people can tell us apart when we make an effort to conceal our identities. We have to cover my hair, of course, since I like to dye it bright colors. I’m also more extroverted and chattier than my sisters, so I can’t pull it off for very long. People can always tell which one is me. Winnie and Wren are much better at the game, especially when they’re pretending to be each other.”
I tilt my head in thought. “Do they do that a lot?”
Willa shrugs. “Not anymore. They used to switch places all the time. Wren is more of a girly girl, so she used to fill in whenever Winnie had to go to a party or an awards ceremony.”
“Awards ceremony? For what?”
“For everything,” Wren says, shrugging. “Winnie was always the overachiever. She won archery and skeet shooting competitions when we were in high school. Then she became a cop and started earning medals. Wren almost always accepted her awards and went to the parties.”
I blink in surprise. “Winnie’s a cop?”
“Not anymore,” Willa says. “She owns a gourmet pet store now. Her K-9 Unit, Woof, was injured in the line of duty, and she devotes her time to him, now. And her new husband. Woof likes Jax, though, so it’s not really a problem.”
“And you’re a talented chainsaw artist.”
She beams at me. “That’s right.”
My pulse quickens, and I take a deep breath. I’m starting to think that Wren is the woman of my dreams, and always has been. “What does Wren do besides pretend to be Winnie on occasion?”
Willa smiles with affection for her sister. “Wren’s a total badass, running the events at Frosty Crest Haven like a boss.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “She works here?”
Willa nods. “This place would fall apart without her. She’s also a Supermom to her little boy, Navy.”
I suppress a groan. She has a kid? Does that mean she’s taken? “Is she married?” I ask, dreading the answer.
“Nope,” Willa says. “She’s single.”
I lean against the wall, thinking. I need to find Wren. It’s the only way to know if my suspicions are correct. “There’s a wedding at the resort tonight, isn’t there? I saw people taking pictures earlier. Is Wren coordinating it?”
Willa nods. “Yep. The bride, Avery, is actually a friend of ours, so Winnie and I will be at the wedding, too. There’s going to be a live band at the reception. That’s always fun, don’t you think?”
A plan begins to form in my mind. I think it’s time to gatecrash another party.
Chapter 5
Wren
“You are the most stunning bride in the world,” I gush to Avery, pinning a decorative broach into her thick red hair. Tears brim in her eyes and I dab them with a tissue. “No crying until you see the tears in the groom’s eyes when you walk down the aisle,” I instruct.
She laughs. “Hunter isn’t really a crier. He’s a tough fireman.”
“In my experience, the strongest men have the gooiest marshmallow centers when it comes to the women they love. And I’ve seen the way your fireman looks at you. He’s going to cry,” I say with absolute certainty.
Thirty minutes later, as Avery’s dad slowly walks her down the aisle, Hunter only has eyes for his beautiful bride. Before she’s midway down the aisle, he’s wiping furiously at the joyful tears streaming down his face.
At the reception, I run around like a chicken with my head cut off to make sure everything moves smoothly. Once the guests are fed and the band starts to play, I can finally take a breather to find my sisters. They’re standing near the cake table, debating which flavor to choose.
I sidle up behind them. “I taste-tested all of them. The lemon with raspberries is by far the best.” We each grab a slice and head to a nearby table.
We chat nonstop, as we always do when we’re together. First, Winnie and Willa tell me how fabulous the wedding was. Then we discuss baby names for the bundle of joy Winnie and Jax will be welcoming in a few months.
“Emily and I like the same names. It may come to a duel between the two of us if we settle on the same name,” she says with a laugh. Brody and his wife are expecting a baby shortly after Winnie and Jax’s little one arrives. There are going to be two new McAllister babies. Is there anything better in the world?
