Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 434(@200wpm)___ 347(@250wpm)___ 289(@300wpm)
There’s a hint of a frown as he tips his head. “Miles has his strengths.”
CHAPTER 20
CALLIE
The man in question arrives shortly after we return to the room, quickly slipping inside the door after I open it for him. He’s dressed identically to Max, and I almost have to do a double take at how much they look like the same man.
“I hadn’t thought about your clothing. Do you have other matching outfits, or won’t that be necessary?”
“We have a few of the same items,” Max says.
Miles didn’t arrive with a bag, so I assume Max packed all of their things in his luggage.
“I’m glad you’re here, brother. We could use an extra hand.” Max holds up one of the completed welcome bags, which contains a printed itinerary, resort and area maps, the beach towels, a mini sunscreen, and sunglasses.
Wordlessly, Max demonstrates folding a towel so that it will fit in with the other items, and Miles jumps in.
“Wow, it’s definitely handy having both of you here. I wish I could have cloned myself, so one of me could have worked at my jobs these past few months while the other one helped with wedding preparations.”
Max’s brows lift as he looks at me appreciatively. “Two of you sounds like a good thing.”
From the corner of my eye, I catch Miles rolling his, apparently irritated by his brother’s flirting. Myself, I’m almost as flustered as my mother at his flattery, so I stay quiet, reminding myself that Max flirts with everyone. It doesn’t mean anything.
As the three of us finish filling the bags, Max gets Miles up to speed on what he’s experienced so far. “I met Callie’s mother in the lobby. She gave us all of the towels for these welcome gifts and wants them delivered to reception as soon as possible. She was concerned because Callie’s sister hasn’t arrived yet, and she was also hoping to meet up with the groom’s father in the lobby to talk about tonight’s welcome party.”
“Got it. I assume you schmoozed her?”
As I arrange the finished bags in one of the large boxes I brought them in, I interject. “If my mom had been wearing pants, he’d have charmed them right off her.”
Miles nods once, looking stiff.
My head swivels between the two brothers, who, despite their identical clothing, are once again looking very different in my eyes. “Are you sure you want to do this switching off? It seems like it’ll be stressful.”
“We thrive on stress,” Miles says, sounding quite serious.
Max is grinning, as usual. “It won’t be stressful; it’ll be fun. Have you heard back from your sister, Callie?”
“I did. She’s here at the resort now, and she and Adam have checked in with Mom.”
“We haven’t talked much about Adam,” Miles says. “What’s he like?”
“He seems like a good guy. He and my sister are very well-suited. They’re both ambitious, but they like to have fun, too.” Miles nods at this. “He makes my sister really happy, so I like him.”
Each of the men bring handfuls of bags over to the box I’m loading, and it’s much too full now that the towels have been added to the other items. Miles shifts some of the bags around, trying to gain space.
“All of these preparations have been such a pain, and my mom has been driving us all up a wall, worrying about trying to make everything perfect, but I really do hope things go well. Sadie deserves a wonderful wedding and lots of happy memories, despite all the obsessing our mom’s been doing.”
“Maybe as events get underway, your mom will be able to relax,” Max says.
“I’m not going to hold my breath waiting for that to happen.”
“I’m going to go find a cart to get these downstairs.” Miles holds out his hand. “Can I get your keycard, Max?”
“I’ll go,” Max says. “If you run into Callie’s mom when you’re alone, you won’t recognize her. When you’re out with Callie, she can clue you in.”
Miles frowns, looking disappointed in himself for not realizing that. I blink, slightly overwhelmed at the logistics necessary for this switching scheme to be successful.
Max leaves the room, and if I’d felt uncomfortable when I was alone in here with Max, it was nothing compared to being alone with Miles. I busy myself, rearranging the bags for no reason other than to avoid having to figure out what to say to him.
Miles being Miles, he doesn’t make conversation either, and several awkward minutes pass before Max returns with a cart.
Once we have all of the bags loaded, Miles starts for the door with the cart. I open my mouth to question him again—is he really sure he wants to do this?—but I’ve already voiced my concerns, so I stay quiet.
If their prank goes bust, I’d rather have it happen today, before most of the guests arrive. If my mom immediately figures out my date is actually two different men, I’ll just laugh it off and send them both home, saying it was just a little joke.