Totally Wrecked #4
Apparently not. Harvey puts silverware together. “And on that note, I have to jet, I’ve got a call with Kimmel in fifteen.” He stands up, then leans forward. Putting a hand on the table, he gives me his showbiz smile, and adds, “I’m in room 311, if you fancy a nightcap later, Jackson.”
“Thanks, Harvey,” I say through gritted teeth, “but I’m exhausted. I really must get some sleep.”
“Of course, of course, I totally understand. Lovely to catch up with you again, Killian.”
As soon as he leaves, I pick up my glass and take a slug. If this is a precursor of how the next few weeks are going to go, I might as well just turn myself in now. Brooke would kill me, and maybe I'd be thrown into a Sāmoan jail, but anything has to be better than this level of stress.
Killian is staring at me, a frown creasing his brow. “Since when have you and Harvey been a thing?”
I look down at my plate.
“Brooke?”
I really hate the idea of this sexy Irishman, who could actually be the first person I’ve been wildly attracted to in years, thinking I’m with Harvey. But I’m supposed to be Brooke, so I have no choice.
“Err, it’s just casual,” I tell him. “Completely casual, not a big deal,”
“Hmm, he seems pretty keen. Does Harvey know it’s just casual?”
My stomach ties in knots. “Err, I’m not sure.”
Killian refills our glasses and then looks at me. He doesn’t look happy, and I can see he is trying to formulate his words before speaking. “Maybe, maybe it would be a kindness if you let him know that, instead of stringing him along.”
He’s not wrong. Harvey may be a little shallow, but he doesn’t deserve to be treated so badly.
“What on earth was B-ah-...I mean, what was I thinking?” I mutter to myself.
Killian narrows his eyes at me. “I imagine you were thinking about your career and your ambition to win this thing.”
Yep, I’m sure that was Brooke’s entire motivation to have a relationship with Harvey. But I hate that Killian thinks that’s the kind of person I am. This is all so confusing.
His frown deepens. “I’m sorry, that was rude,” Killian says. “Brooke, I have to say, you don’t seem yourself. What’s going on?”
I feel my eyes filling with tears again and quickly blink them back and look around the dining room, at anything but Killian and his disappointed face. My shoulders slump.
“Hey,” says Killian. I reluctantly turn back and look at him. He looks deep into my eyes, and I can feel myself turn red. “You can tell me. I’m here if you need a friend.”
“Thank you,” I say quietly. “That is truly the nicest thing anyone has said to me in ages.” I hope he can hear the sincerity in my voice—because it’s true.
What he apparently hears is my unhappiness.
“I would have thought you had loads of people saying nice things to you. I’m sorry you don’t.”
I’m sorry, I don’t either. I live alone and have no significant other. I wish I did, but it seems like love is not for me.
Ugh, my eyes are filling with tears again. Brooke would never act like this, but all around us are happy couples having a special night out. Or happy vacationing families, sunburned and smiling. That’s what I want.
I watch twin girls bicker over the remaining cherries on a sundae.
I let out a big sigh, and my eyes slide up to Killian. The puzzled look on his face changes as he looks at the children and then back to me again.
“Oh shite,” he says. “You’re the twin!’
My mouth opens and shuts like a goldfish. And just like the aforementioned goldfish, I can’t formulate any words.
Killian is well named, because he’s Killian-ing me.
“Brooke told me she had an identical twin. She told me the night we made out in Alaska.”
Wait! What? Can this whole situation get worse?
Two seconds ago, that seemed impossible.
Should I try to keep up the act and bluff it out?
My head is going to explode. I wonder if Brooke was sleeping with anyone else I don’t know about—Frances maybe?
Whatever, I need to focus on the problem at hand.
“I don’t know what you mean…” I stutter hesitantly.
As soon as I say the words, I regret them.
I’m discombobulated to say the least. Killian is looking at me intensely, a strand of his long black hair falling over his eye.
As he pushes it out of the way, I notice a ring on his pinky finger. It’s a woman’s ring.
“It’s alright,” he says, “you don’t have to pretend anymore. You’re in too deep, and you need a friend, don’t you?”
I just met him, but Killian saw right through me. This whole thing is entirely impossible. I’ll just have to go find Frances and admit everything.
“OK. Yep, I’m the twin,” I say, opening my eyes and slowly dragging them up from the tablecloth and back onto Killian’s face.
He grins. “Hello, twin. This is an extraordinary day that I’m having.”
“You and me both,” I say.
This makes him laugh. “What is it the feck you are up to?” He has a smile on his face, but it’s kind. “No judgment over here. I’ve done some very stupid stuff in my time.”
Sadness shadows his eyes for a moment.
Shoot, and Killian has just found out Brooke was sleeping with Harvey! What if he’s really into her, and now he’s devastated? Nothing to do but ‘fess up’, I guess.
I put out my hand and cover his. “I'm so sorry you had to learn about Brooke and Harvey like this. I feel terrible.”
Killian actually grins. “You eejit. Brooke and I weren’t a thing at all. She was looking for… some release, and I was drunk. But we actually never did more than snog in a stairwell. It’s a little weird you're with Harvey, or rather she is with Harvey, but my feelings are not hurt, rest assured.”
Thank goodness for that. I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but especially not the feelings of this man I’ve only just met. This man with sad, sea-mist gray eyes.
“OK, just casual. That’s good, then. I guess?” I take a sip of the cold wine. “So how did I give myself away?”
“I thought it was really odd you didn’t remember me.
” Then Killian nods to the next table, “And when I noticed those kids, I was reminded you were an identical twin, or rather, Brooke was, then all the pieces came together.” He gives a baffled grin.
“What the feck is your endgame? I can’t figure it out for the life of me. ”
I guess I'll just have to tell him everything and hope he agrees to keep quiet. “Because Brooke broke her leg last week, and with only her and two guys left in the competition, she couldn’t bear to drop out.”
“Aye, I do remember that she’s very competitive,” Killian replies, “and very bossy.”
I give a big sigh, gulp down more wine and then refill my glass.
“Do you really think you’ll get away with it?” Killian asks. He is obviously highly amused by this whole thing.
“Obviously, no. I mean, you saw through me straight away. I’ll have to go and confess to Frances; everything is going to get very messy.
To be honest, everything happened so fast, I haven’t had that much time to think at all.
The end game is Brooke remaining in the competition.
I owe her big. After she broke her leg, she called in the favor.
Told me I’d hardly be in contact with anyone as soon as we got to the island, so it would all be fine. ”
“It’s true, no one is allowed to interact with you once the competition starts…
” Killian is looking thoughtful, “...so you could probably get away with it. But no offense, do you have the same skills as your sister? What’s the point of risking this parent-trap shite if you can’t win the competition for her? ”
“The points are cumulative,” I tell him. “Brooke said she’s so far ahead right now that even if I score a zero, she’ll still be in with a chance at the finale. And her leg will be mended by then. Even if I’m a zero, she can be a hero. Story of our lives!”
“And a very rich hero with her $5,000,000 win,” he murmurs.
Yep, the old five-mill. I’m thinking that obtaining $5,000,000 through false pretenses is highly illegal. Once again, I can’t believe my sister would put me in this position. I hope I don’t get sent to prison.
Prison.
What am I going to do? Brooke took the fall and did something illegal for me, so…ugh.
I look up at the gorgeous Irishman sitting opposite me. He has the power to bring all this tumbling down. “I think I have to keep going—try and do this for Brooke. But only if you are willing to turn a blind eye…are you going to tell?” I whisper.
“Going to tell? What are you? Five?” he laughs.
I reach behind me and extract the cushion that is on the back of my chair, then put it over my face. I'm pretty drunk by now, so I am kinda falling apart.
Keanu—I mean Killian—sighs. Eventually, I pull the cushion down so just my eyes show. “In my defense, I do spend a lot of time around five-year-olds.”
“You have kids?” His voice hitches. I remember what he said about not becoming a father after all. Poor guy,
“No, no. I’m a children’s librarian,” I tell him.
He snorts, and whiskey shoots out of his nose. “Oww, shite that stings.” I pass him a napkin, and he looks at me and shakes his head from side to side, still chuckling. “A fecking children’s librarian! Classic! You most definitely are not Brooke 'Action' Jackson.”
“I’m afraid that is all too obvious,” I sigh miserably.
“Don’t laugh! I’m in such a mess!” Passing him another napkin, I also signal for another round of drinks.
“It's like I’m lawful good,” I tell him, “and Brooke is chaotic neutral, at best. How does one make an alignment switch like that? I just don’t know how to play it! ”
Killian has tears pouring down his face. “Did you just make a Dungeons and Dragons reference? I take it you don’t have a lot of sex?”
“OK, I am a nerd, and yes, my sex life is lacking. As Michael Beagle would say—we are not always what we seem, and hardly ever what we dream.”
“Eh?”
“Quote from The Last Unicorn.”
As Killian cracks up some more, I put out a hand. “Also, my name is Daisy.”
“Daisy, eh? Brooke must have something powerful to hold over your head to get you to do this, right? What is it, she donate you a kidney, or something?”
Giving a humorless chuckle, I try to refill my glass, but the bottle is empty. “Something like that.”
“Then I would very much like to hear that story,” Killian says, settling back in his chair. Hair flops over his face, and I fight the urge to smooth it back. He really is beautiful. “I’ll make you a deal,” Killian says to me. “I’ll keep your secret for you on two conditions…”
“OK…” I say dubiously.
“First, I need to hear that story.”
I groan, but when Killian puts out his hand to shake on our agreement, I reach out and put my hand in his.
“Agreed, and second?”
“Second is a kiss to seal the agreement. But from Daisy, not from Brooke.”
Oh, gosh.
“It’s a deal,” I whisper....