Suit (The Twin Duo #1)(30)

“It’s for to draw a line not crooked and measure stuff,” she explained in the cutest little voice ever. I sucked in on my bottom lip to keep from smiling as I felt my heart melt. Ophelia sat on her hands and rocked back and forth on her butt with big eyes and a pouty bottom lip.

“But what are you going to do with it?”

“I just. I just. I just gonna hold it in my hand,” she replied while struggling for the right answer. Weary across her face, she had the same two little lines on her forehead when she worried, just like Paxton.

“I want to draw a straight line,” Rowan said. Her counteroffer trumped Ophelia’s silly one, replacing it with her more logical answer.

“I’m drawing a straight line!” Ophelia screamed again, this time in a full-blown tantrum. Her body flopped to the floor like she was possessed. Demons taking over her little body.

I guess I sort of froze. I didn’t know what to do with her. What to say to calm the scream. My neighbor Tricia came to the rescue when all I did was watch, too terrified to move. She lifted Ophelia from the floor, plopping her to her bare feet with a thump. We exchanged a glance and she continued. I think she wanted to see if I was about to protest her correcting my child, or not. I didn’t.

“How about you go wash your hands for lunch. You have to tell your mom about your mask you made. Remember?”

“I-I-I-I made a mask. It gots a lot sprinkles and jewels.”

“Mine has a feather,” Rowan smartly said, daggers shooting through her little sister while they fought for the attention. Geesh.

Tricia kept them talking about their new creations, ushering them toward their bathroom to wash up for lunch.

“I ordered Chinese. It should be here any minute,” she said once she had the girls calmed down.

“Oh, okay.” Did I like Chinese? For some reason, I didn’t think I did.

“This is so weird. You really don’t know who I am, do you?”

I snorted with a heavy sigh, and then a smile. “Not a clue.”

Tricia sat on the sofa and shook her head with wide eyes when the girls started again from the bathroom. This time over the soap. “They both need naps. I can’t imagine what that is like. You don’t remember anything?”

“Nothing. I’ve had a couple of permissions, but they don’t make sense. Do you know if I had a sister?”

“I don’t think so. You’ve never mentioned any family at all. I asked you about your parents once, but you were very vague. You said you hadn’t seen your mother in over ten years. I didn’t know what that meant. You didn’t want to talk about it.”

Rowan and Ophelia interrupted. At least they weren’t fighting. They were doing some sort of dance move, turning in a circle twice, and then kicking with their right legs. A-freaking-dorable!

Tricia took care of the food, setting it up outside. I was right. I hated Chinese. All but the vegetable lo mein, and I didn’t love that. It was just okay.

“Tricia, am I a vegetarian?” I questioned. I felt like I was. It had nothing to do with chicken or Chinese. It was the meat. I didn’t like meat.

Tricia shrugged her shoulders. “You weren’t before you wrecked. You always ate burgers and hot dogs.”

“I did? Where?”

“Here, my house, Shayla’s house, Candace’s, when we go out. You ate it before.”

“So we’re friends? We do stuff together?”

Tricia smiled a crooked smile and angled her head. “Yeah, we do. Of course we’re friends.”

I smiled and bit into a green pepper. I was glad I had friends, even if they were fake friends. Anything was better than knowing all I had was Paxton.

“Don’t listen to a word she says. She’s a liar,” a voice assured me from behind. I turned enough to see a very attractive girl walking toward me from the side of the house. Blond hair, legs that went on for miles, and boobs. Wow. Those were unquestionably fake. “Oh, my God, Gabriella. You look awful. You poor girl. Your beautiful face,” she dramatically said as her hand brushed down my hair. I didn’t know her either. Not a clue.

“You really don’t remember me?”

I smiled and hunkered my shoulders. “Sorry.”

“Oh, my God. What’s that like?”

“Jesus, Shay, give her some space,” Tricia said. Shay made herself at home and her kid jumped in my pool. A boy around ten. It was the strangest thing ever. I had no idea how to be me around these girls. How to be normal.

“I’m getting in the pool, too,” Ophelia decided as she slid from her chair. I just watched her go. I didn’t know what to say.

“You should probably make her take a nap first,” Tricia said with a nod toward Ophelia.

I looked to Ophelia and back to Tricia. “How do I do that?”

“Wow,” Shayla said while the word dragged on and on. I was a freak show.

“I’ll take care of it today. Shay get your kid out of her pool so the girls will lay down.”

“I want to visit. I have a million questions for Gabriella.”

“Gabriella will answer your questions later,” the deep voice said. Paxton stepped out the door and scooped up Ophelia.

“I’m going to go swimming with Collin, Daddy,” she whined through a yawn. Paxton kissed her little cheek and rubbed her belly. He moved behind me and kissed the top of my head. “You can go swimming later with me and mommy. You need a nap first.”