The Holiday Swap(83)

When Walter opened the front door to leave it nearly flew on its hinges, the snow swirling outside. “Looks like we’re guaranteed a white Christmas,” he said, pulling his hat down more to cover his ears. “Tell Cass I’ll be back tomorrow to finish up the Starlight Bread?”

Charlie promised she would, wishing Cass would hurry up and get back to the bakery so they could talk. She’d told her twin she wanted to be alone, but now that she was, she wanted nothing more than to make things right with her sister.



* * *



? ? ?

Charlie sat in the car outside the firehouse, surrounded by boxes of gingerbread, trying to work up the nerve to ring the doorbell. The drive from the bakery to the firehouse had been a short, though white-knuckled, one. It was a blizzard now, and the heavy snow showed no signs of letting up anytime soon. She’d left a note for Cass, telling her she’d return shortly so they could talk, and a “Be Back Soon” sign on the bakery’s front door for any customers.

“You can do this,” she murmured, turning off the car. After a deep breath she texted Jake and told him she was outside, and could he talk now? Then, with a box in each arm, she walked up the front steps right as Jake opened the door.

He reached out to take a box from Charlie’s arms. “Here, let me help you.”

“Thanks, Jake.” Charlie stepped into the warmth of the building’s front entrance, the smell of roasting chicken and warmed sage filling her nose. Her breath hitched, now that she stood so close to him.

“Are there more?” Jake asked, not noticing how close she was to falling apart. He was looking past her at the car.

Charlie glanced behind her. “Yeah, but I’ll grab them in a minute.” She shivered, the cold air swirling through the still open door, and Jake reached around her to shut it. Then he gave her a smile, but it didn’t reach his gorgeous eyes.

At the look on his face, everything she had wanted to say—had rehearsed on the short car ride over—got stuck in her throat. Then, weirdly, a sharp pain in her head made her gasp. Charlie put a hand to her temple, trying to rub away the pain, which was pulsing in deep waves across one side of her head.

“Are you alright?” Jake asked.

“Not really.” The strange pain dissipated as quick as it had come, but she still wasn’t okay. Charlie felt almost physically ill with guilt. She couldn’t put off what she had come to say any longer.

“Do you need to sit down? A glass of water?” Jake put a hand on her shoulder, clearly worried Charlie was about to topple over. She wished she could just throw herself into his arms.

“I don’t need anything,” she said quietly. Then drawing in a breath, she added, “Actually, that’s not true. I need to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Jake said slowly, clearly unsure about where this was going.

“I’m not Cass.”

“What?” At first he cocked his head, looking at her in confusion. But soon that shifted to concern. “Look, I think maybe you should sit down.”

“No, Jake.” She pulled away and out of his grasp. “I’m not Cass. I haven’t been Cass all week. I wasn’t Cass the night you saved Gateau from the tree. It wasn’t Cass you ate chili and drank beer with at the pub.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “It wasn’t Cass you danced with after the wedding. It was me, Cass’s twin. Charlie.”

“What?” Jake said again. “What are you talking about?”

Now Charlie stepped toward him but stopped short of actually touching him. She had been lying to Jake all week. She knew she had to give him space as he processed it.

“Cass and I swapped places. There was an accident on set in L.A. and I had a concussion and lost my sense of taste and smell. I couldn’t do my job, and I needed my sister’s help.” She was breathless, trying to get it all out quickly. “And because she’s the best sister in the world, despite everything going on with her, she agreed. We switched places. We swapped lives, Jake.”

He stared at her openmouthed. Charlie took his silence as an invitation to keep going.

“I am so, unbelievably sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Charlie bit her lip to hold back her tears. “I never meant to . . .”

Jake was still in a state of shock, but she could now see understanding settling into his expression.

“I never meant to fall for you,” Charlie said, unable to hold back her tears any longer. “It was supposed to be easy! It was supposed to be simple. Just a week, pretending to be Cass. Which, thinking about it now, was stupid. You can’t just take over someone else’s life, even for only a week, and not have there be consequences.”

Jake started laughing. Now it was Charlie’s turn to stare openmouthed, beyond confused by his reaction.

“Are you kidding me?” Jake said, laughing harder now. But there was a wounded edge to his tone that made Charlie feel even worse. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, Jake. I am not kidding you right now.” Charlie put a hand on his arm, and she felt him tense and slide away from her touch.

“I know you likely can’t forgive me. I’m having a hard time forgiving myself. But I never meant to hurt you.” Charlie half turned toward the door. “I’m going to go, but, um, if you want to talk, call me. Okay?”