The Holiday Swap(75)

As the silence stretched a beat too long, Charlie had a sense she wasn’t going to be happy with the answer.

“It’s over.” Cass said.

“What’s over?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” Cass continued. “I should have. But the only way to tell you what I have to tell you was to do it in person.”

“Tell me what?” It was possible Charlie’s heart was going to explode with nervousness.

“You were never getting the Bake My Day hosting job, Charlie.” Cass’s tone was gentle, but her words made Charlie feel like she’d been slammed to the ground.

“What?” Charlie pulled her hands out of Cass’s. “What are you talking about?”

For a moment she stared at Cass, unable to even form a coherent thought because she was still trying to process her twin’s revelation. Austin had beaten Charlie, after all? Her television career had started and ended with Sweet & Salty . . . and she hadn’t even been there to see it happen. The initial panic she’d felt when Cass showed up tonight was replaced with another emotion: anger. With narrowed eyes, Charlie hissed, “What happened, Cass? What did you do?”

“Me? I did nothing except tolerate that jerk Austin and do my best to be the perfect Charlie Goodwin!” Then she pushed back from the table and stood, her eyes filling with angry tears. “Let’s not forget this was your idea, Charlie. Your idea.”

“The worst idea I’ve ever had, clearly.” Charlie stood, too, taking a few steps away from her sister. She was in shock. How had everything fallen apart so spectacularly? “I trusted you, Cass.”

“Charlie, you not getting the hosting job had nothing to do with me, or what happened on set. I mean, yes, I did leave the set early. But that wouldn’t have changed anything. That job was always going to be Austin’s.”

“How can you be so sure?” Charlie practically shouted.

“I overheard Austin talking with Sasha, and she said she was going to tell you after Sweet and Salty wrapped the holiday special. But they had decided before the first episode even aired, apparently.” Cass watched helplessly as Charlie paced the small room. “I’m so, so sorry. I know how important this was to you.”

Charlie couldn’t even respond. She felt betrayed by Sasha, embarrassed that Austin had won, and was deeply disappointed that her hard work hadn’t been good enough. She never should have left Souci, or taken the co-host job. On top of it all, she was furious. But precisely at who or what, she wasn’t sure. What she did know, however, was that she couldn’t deal with any of it tonight.

“So, that’s not all,” Cass said. “I . . . I told Sasha—” She cleared her throat, and her eyes dropped from Charlie’s.

“I called Sasha this morning, pretending to be you, and told her I wasn’t coming in. That Austin could handle whatever else had to be done, because I—you—deserved better. That it wasn’t fair, you having to play this ‘sweet’ role, in those god-awful heels, while Austin got to be the confident and charming one with his pithy one-liners and chef’s whites! Charlie, you deserve better.”

Charlie was quiet for a moment, then she looked right into her sister’s eyes and said, “What gave you the right to decide what was best for me, Cass?”

Cass looked stunned, clearly having hoped for a different reaction. But Charlie couldn’t really worry about Cass right now, because she could barely stay on her feet—it was as though every last drop of energy had been squeezed out of her body.

“I need to get out of here. I can’t talk about this anymore,” Charlie said, her voice quaking. “I’m going to Mom and Dad’s so you can have your apartment back.”

“Charlie, I know this is a lot to take in. And, look, I . . . I really thought I was doing the right thing,” Cass said, sounding as weary as Charlie felt. “But I need to figure out what the hell to do about Makewell’s. And see if I can save the starter. There’s a lot to—”

“I know, Cass. I know. We can deal with everything else tomorrow. I really need to be alone right now.”

“Fine. Tomorrow.” Cass nodded her head. “I obviously won’t be sleeping tonight anyway. Let’s just hope the starter isn’t dead.”

Charlie gave a short but humorless laugh. “Like my career, you mean?”





21


Cass


Thursday: 2 Days Until Christmas . . .

Starlight Peak

For a moment in the darkness of the room, Cass didn’t know where she was. But then a warm weight on her feet reminded her: Gateau was asleep at the bottom of the bed, purring away. Other people may not have been able to tell the difference between the twins, but Gateau had practically jumped into Cass’s arms when she had come upstairs the night before, and hadn’t left her side since—making it clear she had never been fooled.

Cass sat up and rubbed her eyes as the heartache of the day before came rushing back: The fight with Charlie. Her final conversation with Miguel. The kiss. She collapsed back onto her pillow as she thought about the way Miguel had held her in his arms and kissed her back with so much passion she was sure he felt the same way about her as she did about him.

But then she had left him behind.

And that had been that.