Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 55641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 223(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
“Ignore him,” Jackson, standing close behind me. “Make a real wish.”
Except I couldn’t. There were too many competing thoughts in my head. Should I wish for a job? A car? A man of my own to marry someday? Or children? I couldn’t focus, so it was the triplets I thought of when I bent down to blow out the candles. I could see their faces in my mind’s eye, and I could feel their presence all around me.
I got all the candles with one breath, and they cheered for me.
19
PENNY
Friday evening at the hotel, I took extra care getting dressed for the rehearsal dinner. I even used a curling iron to make the waves in my hair more pronounced. The dress I’d brought was a sheath dress with gold highlights.
If one didn’t know any better, they might think that I was dressing up to show off in front of my ex. But that wasn’t it at all. The truth was, I wanted my date for the evening, the real Reid, to like the way I looked.
I was just finishing my eye makeup when there was a knock at the door. Slipping into my heels, I hurried to the door, eager to see how he looked in his black suit and tie.
But it wasn’t him.
“Naomi?”
“Hi, Penny.” She gave a small sigh as she looked at me. “Can I come in?”
“Sure. Reid will be here in a few minutes, though.”
“Right. The rehearsal dinner. You look nice.” She said the last part automatically.
Obviously something wasn’t right. I gestured toward the bed. “Have a seat. Is everything okay?”
“No.” She perched on the edge of the king-size bed I hadn’t even used yet.
“Did the plan to go to Aunt Evelyn’s beach house fall through?”
Naomi shook her head. “Penny, I know.”
“Know what?”
“I gave your boyfriend a massage at the beginning of the week, and then again yesterday. They weren’t the same man.”
My heart stopped beating and seemed to abandon my body completely as I stared at her. “W-what do you mean?”
“I think you know what I mean.”
“No…” I said softly, either in response to her statement or just in a general denial.
Naomi stared at the floor. “They’re identical, of course, but no two people’s skin is exactly the same. Sometimes there’s sun damage. Other times, a rash or medical condition. And sometimes, people have scars.” She looked up at me after that last part.
“Did—” I stopped, not wanting to admit to anything.
“The man you brought with you yesterday had a small scar on his lower back. The man on Monday didn't.”
My knees felt weak, and I sat down on the chair across from the bed. “Maybe he got that scar after the first massage but before—”
“It was an old scar, probably from years ago. Penny, I know they’re twins. What I don’t know is why.”
“They’re not twins,” I said faintly.
“You can tell me, and I’ll keep it to myself. But I’m worried about you. This isn’t something I’ve ever encountered before, and I wanted to make sure that you knew, that they aren’t tricking you in some way. But then I thought about the times I’ve seen you with your boyfriend this week, and I put two and two together. I know that you know that they’re twins.”
“They’re not,” I said again.
“Penny, you can trust me. I just want to know if—”
“They’re not twins,” I said more forcefully, and Naomi stared at me with confusion.
I sighed. “They’re triplets.”
The rehearsal dinner went fairly smoothly. Claire had made sure to put me as far away from Tanya in the wedding lineup. And Jeff wasn’t a groomsman at all, thank goodness.
Reid was good company at dinner and kept the conversation going even when I wasn’t doing my part. A time or two he asked me if something was wrong, but I couldn’t tell him—especially not right there.
Naomi had promised not to tell anyone, but I was uncomfortable that someone knew. In the first place, it didn’t paint me in a very good light that I’d been insecure about attending a wedding my ex was going to be at that I made up a boyfriend to begin with. But now it felt like more than that.
My opinion of Jackson, Hunter, and Reid had changed quite a bit since I first met them. And as much as I enjoyed spending time with each one of them, having them here felt a little selfish. As if I was using them.
That was one of the reasons I’d been up since six helping them out, not just making videos, but doing a lot of other small tasks around the place. I swept up sawdust. Used a paint roller. Brought all the workers water and snacks. It was going to be a real race to get the house ready by Sunday evening, and I regretted all the time I’d taken them away from their tasks.