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“No!” This I knew for sure. “If there’s something to be said, Lira stays in the room. She needs to know, especially because of who she’s dating.”
“What do you mean?” Becca asked, now looking at Lira with a guarded look.
“Lira has been dating Bruno,” I announced.
“Oh!” Jill said, clasping her hand to her mouth.
“Oh boy,” Becca said. “That explains how the boys never knew you were twins. Jill and I have been trying to figure it out this whole time.”
“What do you mean?” Lira said, her voice sounding panicked.
I knew what she was thinking; that they’d get mad at her because she’d been pretending to be me this whole time, but before I had a chance to let her know it wasn’t her fault, Becca said, “I think Millie should start with when she met Jacob. We’ll fill in what we know, and then, Lira, you fill in what you know. And maybe by the end of it, we’ll figure out what has been going on.”
I nodded, quickly realizing they weren’t going to leave until they’d heard everything. I looked at Lira and wished she could stay oblivious for a while longer. She was in love with Bruno, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Just like I was in love with Jacob. Hearing what I was about to share was going to crush her, but maybe it was for the best that we learned the truth at the same time. We could deal with the heartache together.
Taking a deep breath, I released it and began my story.
That day at the gallery seemed like such a long time ago now as I told them of my first meeting with Jacob. Becca and Jill told me that Jacob was smitten with me as soon as he met me that day. Hence why I was seated next to him at the dinner table when I went to visit his family a few days later. They also told us that Bruno had said he’d met me at the gallery the next day as well.
When I asked if he was the one who purchased the paintings, Becca changed the subject while motioning to me to be quiet and shooting a discreet glance at Jill. I then remembered the paintings were a house present for Jill and Luc and made a note to follow up with Becca about my painting later. Instead, I corrected them by confirming Bruno did not meet me at the gallery. I told them I had actually never met Bruno until yesterday, when I fled, screaming.
“Why were you screaming?” Lira said.
“We’re getting there,” I said. “Don’t rush the story.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.” Lira leaned back with a pout and crossed her arms.
“Then, who was it that Bruno met?” Jill asked.
We all turned to look at Lira, who stared back at us with a defiant look. “I don’t regret anything I did. Bruno is a gentleman; anyone would have been smitten with him.”
“So, Millie, you met Jacob. And Lira, you met Bruno, who thought you were Millie,” Jill said, looking between the two of us.
“That’s correct,” I said. “Lira was pretending to be me that day because I was supposed to go in to the gallery, but I was so tired the day Lira took my place, and she owed me a favor. She pretended she was me. It’s an old game we used to play together.”
“I see,” Becca said.
“Don’t be all judgey,” Lira said, leaning forward again. “You’d do the same thing if you had an identical twin. Who knew I’d fall for him at first sight? That only happens in romance books.”
Jill nodded before saying, “We’re not judging, we’re just trying to figure out what’s happened here. We haven’t told you too much yet, but you should know Bruno is still recovering from the fight. Jacob is still healing as well but doing much better.”
“Bruno was in a fight?” Lira cried, jumping out of her seat.
I grabbed her arm and pulled her down next to me and put an arm around her. The last thing I needed was for her to attack Jill and Becca, only for the women to then shift into wolves.
“Millie, why don’t you tell us what happened yesterday?” Becca said.
But something dawned on me at that moment, and I blurted, “Wait! So, I met Jacob, and Lira met Bruno, but she was pretending to be me. She gave him my number, but really, she gave him hers. So, when he called to ask ‘me’ out, he thought he was carrying out his side of the bet?” I could feel my face getting red at the notion I was some betting token to be bounced between two boys who would decide who I could end up with.Not if I had anything to say about it.
Becca took a big breath and said quietly, “That about sums it up.”
I didn’t bother telling them I had been channeling Lira while dating Jacob. That would just get everyone even more confused.
“Can we ask what happened yesterday?” Jill asked, repeating Becca’s earlier question.
“Millie,” Lira said, pulling on my arm. “Please tell us. I really need to know.”
I sighed. “Okay. But please don’t think I’m crazy, because I already think I’m crazy. But I saw what I saw.”
