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Chapter One
Kimberley
“Where the heck is she?”I say to myself, tapping my round brush against the bathroom counter. My sister is over thirty minutes late arriving home so I can do her hair. Does she think that I can rush through getting her ready for this fancy event? Sure, I can move a tad faster, pull her hair a little more aggressively than I would a client, but good hair takes time.
When I got bored waiting for my twin, Gillian, to come home, I decided to pass the time by giving myself a blowout. It’s a fairly simple hairdo, if you have patience and a bit of time—which, apparently, I had a lot of for a Friday night. With nothing else to do, why not boost my confidence with awesome hair? No one would see it, but I would look good for Tom Hiddleston as I caught up on his new series.
Scrunching up my lips in a duck pout, I give myself an exaggerated look in the mirror before throwing my head back in a cackling laugh. I really am losing my mind. I should probably try having an active social life. Or a dating life really. But the idea of getting dressed up after a long day on my feet at the salon doesn’t sound appealing. Maybe in a couple months when I’ve gotten used to my new hours and settled in here. I only just moved into this apartment five months ago. There was still a ton to unbox and put away.
I would not feel shame over that!
My arms ached from holding them up while putting rollers in. All this hard work—on my night off no less—deserved a treat.
My head bobs from the weight of the uneven curlers as I make my way into the kitchen. Pushing at a section of my hair, I try to shimmy it back into place so that my head doesn’t feel lopsided. I groan when that doesn’t work, eyeing the clock. Okay, no big deal. My hair needs to stay like this for ten more minutes. Totally enough time to eat my feelings.
Grabbing a bag of popcorn, I squish the contents so the butter breaks and spreads over more of the kernels before tossing it in the microwave. After setting the timer, I spin on my heel, deciding a glass of wine was needed as well.
I’ve just gotten a glass down—it has a unicorn on it and makes me smile every time I see it—and have begun pouring when the front door of my apartment bursts open. My twin is standing in the doorway, arms clutching either side of the frame, looking wild.
What the—
“What the heck? Gillian, are you okay?” The bottle slams onto the counter, drink forgotten.
Her eyes dart to me, wide and confused. Her mascara is running, smudging the undersides of her eyes, and her jacket is ripped. The closer I get to her, the more confused and anxious I become.
“Gillian? Are you okay? Tell me what’s happened.” Grabbing her sleeve, I yank her into the apartment. She comes with me, following in a daze before snapping out of it.
“I’m fine. I’m okay. Not hurt. I just…I just…”
I’m getting really freaked out. Of the two of us, my sister is the more eloquent and outgoing one. She likes to joke that she’s more worldly than me because she was born first and I followed five minutes later. And while I don’t like to admit it to her, she’s right. She has taken more risks and explored the world more than I have, but I love my quiet life here in the city.
Gillian staggers farther into the apartment. I help her, not wanting to let go of her in case she falls. She’s filthy. Like she rolled in dirt and…what was I smelling? Something sweet? She’s muttering to herself, talking nonsense. Did she just mention the Marshmallow Man?
“You’re not making sense. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Her head nods, over and over. We zigzag over to the couch, collapsing onto the soft cushions the moment it’s in reach. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s just…tonight isn’t going as I planned. I need you…I need you to go.”
“Gillian, you’re at my apartment. And I’m not going anywhere until you start making sense and tell me what’s happened.”
Before I even finish my sentence her head is shaking. “That’s not what I meant. I need you to go to the charity event for me tonight. I can’t go. I can’t face—I just can’t go tonight. I’m too shaken up and need to rest.”
“Then why the hell would I go? I’ll stay here with you.”
“No, please—” Gillian reaches out to me, grabbing both my hands with hers. “I need to be there. Everyone in the company is required to be at the auction tonight. If I don’t show, I could lose my job. Please, Kimmie. Please.”
“But it’s a big fancy event, isn’t it? You know how awkward I am.”
For the first time tonight her lips hook upward in an almost-smile. “You’ll be fine. Channel my inner badass and everyone will stay away from you. All you have to do is show up and then make sure everyone hits their cues for the auction. Easy peasy.”
I bite my lip, staring at a face that looks very much like my own. While Gillian and I are identical twins, we have some differences—if you look closely enough. Our hair is the same rich dark brown but mine’s thicker and has a bit of a wave to it. We both have hazel eyes, but mine lighten with my emotions, and I have a smattering of freckles on my left cheekbone. When we were teenagers, we’d played the twin switch game a lot, but it was easier back then. I’m not sure this was going to work now—with us in our late twenties.
Blowing out a long breath, I shake my head. “Gill,” I whine, nerves starting to build in my stomach. “That’s a crazy idea. I’d have no idea what I was doing. What if I run into your boss?”
“Ha!” she bursts out in a humorless laugh. “Yeah, right.Van Ravenswaay?” she makes a rude noise. “He’s going to stay for like thirty minutes then bounce. He hates fancy events almost as much as you do.”
I still wasn’t sure. This haddisasterwritten all over it. I open my mouth, not sure what I’m going to say to convince my sister this is one of her worst plans yet, when I see her wince.
“Why can’t you go? What happened to you tonight?”
