Page 18 of The Other Room

“I love that you work here now.” She dropped her expensive handbag on the bar. “Like I needed another excuse to drink margaritas, but I’ll take it.”

“You two could be twins!” Darcy said, snapping her head between us.

It was true. Even though Jenna was two years older than me, we shared just about every feature possible. The same long dark hair, the same brown eyes, our mother’s dainty nose and chin. We were even the same height. But even though we looked like twins, our personalities couldn’t be any more different.

Jenna loved the finer things in life. She drove nice cars, wore designer shoes and clothes, and indulged in regular manicures and massages. Spending time outside for her meant sunning herself by a pool. Then there was me who loved the outdoors, rarely painted my toes, barely knew how to pronounce the designer names, and drove an old blue Jeep I’d gotten in high school and refused to put down. I was as attached to it as I was the leather jacket I’d been wearing for as many years.

Though she lived a pampered lifestyle, she’d busted her ass to achieve it. She’d put herself through college, worked for a few years as an understudy barely scraping by, and then finally branched out to open her own event planning service in Door County. And crushed it. Her impeccable taste and hyper-organization had made her the most sought-after planner in the area. Now she enjoyed the fruits of her labor, but she never took it for granted.

“We get that all the time. Considering my baby sister is a knock-out, I take it as the highest compliment there is.”

“Aw,” I teased as I filled up their margarita glasses. “Right back at ya.”

Darcy glanced between us. “Seriously. You’re both gorgeous. Good genes!”

“It’s our mom. We can’t take any credit,” Jenna said. “And what about you? You’re a freaking bombshell! Bill is a very lucky man.”

“And he’d better never forget it.” Darcy waggled her brows while she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“So, you two are working on wedding plans today?” I set the margaritas in front of them.

“Yep. We just got done going over the ceremony site so we could decide on chair arrangements. She’s getting married at a gorgeous barn out in the countryside. Very shabby chic.” Jenna pursed her lips and nodded. “It’s gonna be to die for.”

“Sounds amazing. You’re in good hands with Jenna. She plans the most incredible weddings.”

“Don’t I know it,” Darcy said after taking a sip of her drink. “We postponed our wedding date since she was booked the weekend we wanted to get married. I wasn’t walking down the aisle unless Jenna was the one organizing the event.”

Jenna pulled her in for a hug. “I’m the luckiest wedding planner in the world.”

“So, plans are going well?” I asked.

“So well. It’s crazy good.” Jenna released her hug and took a swig of her drink. “So good we earned a margarita break. What about you, sis? What’s new with you? I haven’t talked to you all week.”

With an eye roll, I groaned and leaned forward on the bar. “A lot is new with me.”

“Ooh. Dish!” Jenna leaned in closer.

“So, I was working two nights ago, and Tony, Aaron, and Matt came in.” I snarled when I said his name.

“Her friends from high school.” Jenna narrated to Darcy. “And Matt was her best friend, but she doesn’t talk to him anymore.”

“Gotcha,” Darcy said, leaning in with the same expectant eyes.

“So, it turns out Matt lost his place to people renting vacation houses and was homeless. And my tequila-soaked idiot of a self, gambled away the extra bedroom in my cabin. And lost.”

Jenna’s eyes went wide. “And...”

“And... Matt moved in yesterday.”

“Holy shit!” She laughed then turned to Darcy. “Let me catch you up. Jo hates Matt because they were besties and they had a third bestie, Jake. Well, Matt got hammered and kissed Jake’s fiancé.”

Darcy’s eyes widened to the point of popping out of her head. “No!”

“Yes,” Jenna went on. “Jo was so furious with Matt because he betrayed Jake. It’s been a year, and she still isn’t talking to him. Well, I suppose if he’s living with you that’s changed?”

They both turned to stare at me, and I shrugged. “Barely, but since he’s living with me it’s impossible to avoid him completely.”

“So,” Jenna said, turning back to Darcy. “Jo was really upset because not only had Matt betrayed Jake, but Jo has been in love with him since like... forever.”