Authors: K Carr
“Apology accepted,” I replied. “You girls said something about clothes?”
Nikki reached over and picked up a pile of clothes. “It’s just some jeans and a t-shirt. We don’t have any evening dresses here.”
I chewed my lower lip. Two worrying things were on my mind. Firstly, what was I going to do about underwear? No way was I wearing someone else’s panties. And, secondly, everyone else would be dressed up. Tightening the towel around my chest, I walked over to the bed.
“So,” I began in a friendly voice, “what’s it like being a twin? Do you guys instinctively know what the other is thinking?” I grinned mischievously.
They exchanged another shared look as Nikki held out the clothes. I made sure the towel was secure, then took the offered clothing. My eyes narrowed at the matching underwear.
“Sometimes,” Natty admitted.
“Sometimes I don’t know what’s going through Natty’s crazy head,” Nikki said dramatically. Natty poked her lightly on the shoulders.
I was eyeing the underwear. I had to say it. “Look, no offence girls, but I’m a bit squidgy about using your underwear. There’s something very wrong with that.”
Both girls laughed out loud. Their laughs sounded the same. Freaky.
“The underwear is new, I promise. The packaging is in that bin over there if you want to check.”
I glanced at the small waste bin she pointed to, and could see a bit of plastic sticking out from it. First problem solved.
“How many people are downstairs?” I asked, hugging the clothes to my chest.
“About twenty-five,” Natty said, with a bored look on her face. “We didn’t want to come, but Mum made us. It’s not like we care who Uncle Matt dates. Tonight is going to be a major chore.”
Nikki nodded in agreement, then flashed me that shy smile of hers. I decided she was the more reserved of the two. There’s always a more dominant one when it comes to twins, and Natty was definitely mouthy.
Natty continued to complain. “It’s Saturday. We should be out with our friends instead of socializing with old people.”
“Natty, stop,” Nikki admonished. “It’s not the end of the world.”
“And I’m not old,” I added.
Both girls looked at me.
“What?” I said in mock horror. “I’m not. Twenty-six is—”
“Old in comparison to seventeen. Everyone else is older than you are,” Natty drawled, then something on the bed beeped and she scrambled around for it.
I blinked, wondering if this was how Matt felt when I teased him about our age difference. I was going to stop that from now on.
“I’m going to get changed,” I murmured, before returning to the bathroom where I pulled on my borrowed clothes. The girls were around my height and as slender, so everything fit. The bra was lacy and had room in it. I shrugged my insecurity away and smoothed my hands over my jean-clad thighs. All that was left was sorting my hair out.
When I re-entered the room, there was a feeling of tension between the girls. Natty was glaring at the cell in her hand and Nikki was glaring at her.
“Do you have a brush I can use?” I asked.
Nikki jumped off the bed, scowling at her sister and strode over to the vanity.
“I hope this is suitable,” she said, handing over a soft-bristled brush. It wasn’t useful, but I had manners so I smiled a thank you.
“I love the States,” she volunteered as I peered at the brush. “Everything is frenetic and vibrant over there. Why would you want to live here? England is so drab.”
“I was born over here,” I explained, undoing the towel around my head. My damp curls would never be tamed by the brush. “England isn’t that bad.”
“Do you like my Uncle Matt? I mean, really like him?” Natty asked abruptly. The cell was in her hand, but she was focusing all her attention on me.
“I do.” My answer was genuine. Heck, I was jonesing for their uncle. Why hide it?
The girls looked at each other, then Nikki said, “Uncle Matt must like you a lot. He doesn’t usually bring women around here.”
Natty scoffed. “He never brings women here.”
I was getting a tad uncomfortable with the direction of this conversation.
“The media is always snooping around his life. They never leave us alone. Always printing stuff about the companies and our lives,” Natty continued.
“Must be hard for you,” I mused, squeezing excess water out of my hair.
“We’re used to it,” Nikki said. She was watching me dry my curls.
Natty’s cell beeped and she tossed it aside, violently. My eyes widened but I didn’t comment. Nikki, however, did. She’d seen my reaction.
“It’s her boyfriend,” she explained, shooting her sister a supportive look.
“Not for long,” Natty muttered.
I stayed silent and kept drying my hair. This wasn’t my business. I knew teenagers, and they always had drama. I had enough of my own drama. Plus, they had called me old.
The room descended into silence. I finished drying my hair and neatly placed the towel on the bed.
“He’s such a tosser,” Natty finally burst out. I said nothing and went over to the vanity. I didn’t know these girls, they didn’t know me. I was not getting involved. I peered at my face in the mirror. Without makeup, I looked young. Jailbait young. Damn it. The contents of my purse were soaked. Face powder, lip gloss and vex money. The money was in case of emergency. Always have cash to get your ass home if needs be. I began to brush my hair, deciding to leave it loose. In the mirror, I watched Nikki make her way over to her sister and rest a hand on her shoulder. Natty scowled at her, then her face fell.
Not getting involved. Not my business. I would go downstairs and plaster myself to Matt’s side until this night was over.
The look on Natty’s face though, it made me feel bad. I gritted my teeth together and kept brushing my hair. I had no advice to give. Before Matt, I hadn’t been in a serious relationship. I’d been on a few dates before, but they never panned out. It always felt like I was being untrue to Dante. And now I had Matt.
Nikki rubbed Natty’s shoulder and sat down next to her. “Forget about him.”
I put the brush down, then scrunched my hair between my palms. I looked all right. The cell beeped.
“I should get back downstairs,” I said, facing the girls. “Thanks for the clothes.” I had no freaking shoes on and was hoping they would spot it.
They barely acknowledged me, both staring morosely at the cell. I exhaled in a pointed manner. Someone needed to accompany me. I had no idea where to go. And there was the shoes problem.
Natty looked over, a conflicted expression on her face. “Boys suck.”
I nodded in agreement and glanced at the door. “Sometimes they do. We should head back down.”
Neither one moved. They stared at me. Maybe the heels wouldn’t be as squishy now. They were in the bathroom with my soaked, but folded, clothes. The girls were still staring at me.
I took a deep breath and asked against my better judgement. “What did he do? If you don’t mind my asking.”
Nikki answered, after getting the unspoken okay from her sister. “He’s been messaging one of Natty’s so-called friends on his social network page. He doesn’t know we have his password.”
Natty’s expression darkened. I glanced at the door.
“Last night she had a party. We didn’t attend, of course,” Nikki continued.
“Of course,” I murmured. Teenaged girls.
“There were pictures on her page, pictures of them together.”
“All cosy and smiling,” Natty ground out. “He’s a tosser. I know he’s cheating.”
I chewed my lower lip. Would it be out of place to offer advice in this situation? Shouldn’t they be talking to their mom about this shit? I pushed that ridiculous thought aside. Teenagers didn’t talk about their lives with their parents.
If my mom had been alive, I would have. God. My birthday was coming up. That was never a good time for me.
“First of all,” I said, all authoritarian—I was older, that had to count for something. “You shouldn’t be snooping around on someone’s page without their permission. That’s an infringement of their right to privacy and a bit stalkerish.” I shrugged, then added, “But I totally get why you did it. Guys be sneaky sometimes.”
Nikki giggled. “Oh my gosh. Your accent is so cute. I wish I sounded like that.”
I flashed her a smile before bestowing my wisdom. Ha, these seventeen year old girls probably had more relationship experience than me.
“Secondly, that friend of yours sounds like a snake. What sort of messages are they exchanging? If it’s normal stuff, then that’s fine and you might be overreacting, but if it’s inappropriate you need to call them out on it.” I chewed my lip. “But that comes with a price. You’ll have to admit you were snooping, and you’ll look like a psycho in training. Do you want people thinking you’re a bunny boiler? That shit sticks like glue to your reputation.”
Nikki nodded in agreement, while Natty observed me with unhappy eyes.
“Thirdly, you’re seventeen, beautiful and rich. Why are you worrying about stupid boys? You should be focused on your education right now. Leave the boys for later.”
Natty let out a loud, frustrated sigh. “That’s easy for you to say, Madison. Can I call you Madi?”
I nodded, and she continued with the teenaged anxiety I assured myself I’d grown out of. “You probably can’t remember what it’s like having your first boyfriend.”
“Matt’s my first—” I slapped a hand over my mouth.
Jesus Christ.
I had gotten caught up in the teenaged drama. There was no other explanation for my slip of tongue. Both girls stared at me, mouths hanging open. I lowered my hand and avoided their incredulous blue eyes.
“Matt? You mean—our Uncle Matt’s your
first
boyfriend? You’re twenty-six. That’s crazy,” Nikki shrieked.
I winced at the noise and tried to school my features into blandness. “As I was saying, you should enjoy being a teenager. Forget about—”
“Wait a moment.” Natty was kicking off her heels. “No way is Uncle Matt your first boyfriend.”
I swallowed hard and blushed. “I don’t think this is an appropriate topic to be discussing. Ah, shouldn’t we be going downstairs?”
They exchanged a long look, then Nikki said, “I like her. She’s cool.”
Natty nodded slowly. “She’s nice. And we should change.”
The girls jumped off the bed and ran to the closet. What on earth were they doing? Crazy ass—
“Why are you changing?” I asked in confusion as Nikki unzipped her sister, who then returned the favour.
“Do you want to be the only one in t-shirt and jeans at my grandparents’ dinner party?” Natty asked dryly. “If I know Uncle Adam, he’s probably told all the other guests about the poolroom incident.”
My eyes widened. The girls had a point. A brilliant smile stretched my face until my cheeks hurt. “You girls would do that for me? You don’t even know me.”
Nikki paused in slipping her dress off. “Uncle Matt doesn’t bring his girlfriends to this house. He must like you.”
“If he likes you so much,” Natty added, stripping down her dress and kicking it aside, “then we do, too.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re black.” Nikki was standing in her underwear and rifling through the clothes. “We don’t care about that anyway. Only outdated people care about stuff like that.”
“Grumps is extremely outdated.” Natty grabbed the jeans Nikki held out to her. “But don’t worry about him. Uncle Matt’s his favourite and we’ll protect you.”
I arched my eyebrow at that as I observed their exuberant movements. In five minutes they were wearing jeans and t-shirts. I liked Matt’s nieces.
<><><>
Matt kept the strained smile on his face as he conversed with a couple of his parents’ friends. Internally, he was fuming. When he’d spoken to his mother, she’d given the impression it would be a relaxed family dinner. This was anything but. Had she done this on purpose? He wouldn’t put it past her. Matt tried to curb his negative assessment of his mother. Maybe this was her way of showing her friends she was fine with Matt’s new girlfriend. Maybe not, he thought as he glanced over to where the Gillifords stood in deep conversation with his grandfather. Louisa was a guest along with her parents. Bloody hell. What had his mother been thinking? After the necessary perfunctory greetings, Matt had avoided his ex-lover like the plague. He stifled his annoyance and agreed with Carter Bishop about the worry the man had over the government’s draconian measures in place to crack down on tax evasion. Matt spared a look past his shoulder. Where was she? Madi should be changed by now. The glimmer of a real smile tickled the edges of his mouth. His sweet poppet. The look on her face when he pulled her out of the pool. Priceless. The way she kept her calm when he introduced her to his family filled him with pride. Matt wasn’t a fool though, he suspected his laughter over the pool incident would earn him some form of well-deserved punishment at her hands. He glanced at the double doors leading off the grand salon. Where was she?
Hannah glided over with Stuart on her heels. The Bishops, on seeing their approach, politely wandered away.