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She somehow managed not to smile as she placed her hands in her lap and surveyed the room in a way that indicated she believed everyone else here was beneath her. Then, her gaze dropped to the table setting, and, as she touched the silverware, the illusion dissolved. “That’s a lot.”
“The silverware?”
“Yeah. How will I—I mean, I know what each of these is for. Anyone who doesn’t is below me.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.”
When she looked up at him, her face fell. “What?”
“What?”
“You’re looking at me funny.”
“You’re acting funny. I hope you realize this is not the way Maddy acts when she’s playing Maddison.”
“I do. But that’s not it. I mean—I’m sorry. You’re right. I am acting silly. I can’t tell you what your looks mean. That’s stupid.”
He didn’t know how she could read him so well. “No. You were right. I don’t mean to look at you that way. It’s nothing.”
“You and Maddy are so well trained. This must be terrible for you. Do you feel like you’re babysitting me?”
“No, I—”
“I shouldn’t be making light of this evening. I should be focused. I won’t joke around anymore. I was just trying to ease my own tension. But youdidlaugh.”
“I did. And no, I don’t feel like I’m babysitting you. I’m enjoying myself, actually. You’re nothing like Maddy.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s not a bad thing. It’s adorable.” He hadn’t meant to use that word. There were plenty of other less personal words he could have used.
“Adorable will blow our cover.”
“No. I watched you walk in here. You’ve got a real talent for this. You’ll do great. I don’t mean to give you weird looks. It has nothing to do with my confidence in your ability. It’s really just how different you are from Maddy. It surprises me.”
“Because I look like her and you expect me to be her?”
“No.”
“It’s okay. You’ve known her for a while. It’s hard to adjust to me.”
“That’s not what it is.”
She’d spent too much of her life in her sister’s shadow, and it grieved him that she didn’t recognize how much value she had in being herself. If he’d met her and Maddy at the same time, he would have gravitated toward Charlotte. Maddy was excellent to work with, but Charlotte was the sort of person he could get close to.
“The only people who could ever tell the two of us apart,” she said, “were our parents and grandparents.”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
“What about close friends? Boyfriends?”
“Nope. I mean, if we spent time around them, they could tell, but they weren’t hard to fool if we wanted to. But Mom and Dad we never could. And we tried, believe me.”
“So only those who love you could tell you apart?”
“Sure seems like it.”
