Chapter 23
BLAIRE
Iflip the sign to Closed at six on the dot for the first time all season.
The register is counted down, and the deposit bag is dropped in the safe in record time.
I prefer to go to the bank early in the morning rather than late in the day, especially during prime season in town.
It’s a safety thing, something Flora drilled into me.
I straighten the tea wall that a group of old women rearranged twice.
A hundred small chores add up, and resetting the shop to perfect is what usually keeps me here until seven.
Tonight, I move through them at double speed because up the mountain, there’s a hot guy who’s made me dinner and who will also coincidentally be dinner too.
In the back room, I remove my favorite witch’s hat and shake my hair out.
Wax clings to my sleeve from the candle I lit earlier during a reading.
I pick at it, trying to get it off, and give up.
I don’t want to waste time going home to change.
He’s seen me several times after I worked a ten-hour shift.
Tonight is no different. But I do find myself wanting to go home and change into something sexier.
My phone vibrates while I shut off the lamps.
Winter
BTW, I saw your dinner date at the grocery store earlier.
Blaire
Not sure what you’re talking about.
Winter was off today and said she was going to check out the festival. The three of us are handling the shop well, but I think I will hire a few more people soon.
Winter
Please. Jameson “Jamie” Cross. That name ring a bell? I spoke to Autumn. She told me about him! She also told me that she’s trying to get you two to date. Why do I feel like that’s already happening?
How does she know? I ignore her.
Winter
Look, I just want to know where you found the genie who granted you THAT wish. Seriously.
Blaire
OMG. I don’t kiss and tell. Good night, Winter!
I shake my head, sliding my phone back into my pocket, as Josie and I leave.
“Will you be home later?” Josie asks.
“Maybe. Maybe not,” I tell her.
The sun has set over the mountain, and the temperature is steadily dropping.
“Oh, before I go, I wanted to ask you who lives in the apartment above the shop,” Josie says.
I glance up at the window. “Honestly, my aunt called him Dick. He direct deposits his rent every month. I’ve never seen him.”
She looks up at the window. “You don’t find that odd?”
“I’ve never thought about it. He’s lived there for two years. If my aunt trusted him, I guess I do too.”
“Whatever you say,” she says. “Look. He was just up there, moving the curtain to the side.”
I shrug. “I’m sure you’ll solve the case.”
She laughs, pulling her coat tighter as we walk toward the house where my car is parked.
The string lights cast a warm glow over the square.
People drift toward the carnival rides as lines form outside the food trucks.
I button my coat, and when I turn my head, I see Jamie standing in front of Roasted Bean.
“I’ll see you later,” I tell Josie.
She glances over at Jamie, then at me. I smile and put my finger over my lips, then cross the street. My cousin will keep my secret.
Jamie’s hands are tucked in his pockets as he reads the hours on the door of the coffee shop like a tourist. I’m pretty sure he has the hours memorized—or at least the times I usually show up.
His black baseball hat is tucked low on his head.
My first thought is that he’s lost his mind since I’m supposed to be meeting him on the ridge right now.
My second is that he’s wearing a different style coat that looks great on him.
I cross the street before anyone else notices him or me.
Before he fully turns around, I grab his arm and pull him with me.
“Follow me,” I whisper.
I tow him around the corner of the bookstore, past the recycling bins, where the brick blocks the wind. He chuckles under his breath as he follows me. None of this is funny.
Headlights sweep us, and I take a step forward.
“You do this a lot?” he asks, sounding amused.
I back him into the wall and press a finger over his lips. “I thought I was meeting you there? Why are you in town?”
He makes a muffled sound behind my finger.
“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” I confess.
His eyebrows lift upward. I take my finger off his mouth and rest both hands on his chest, then slide one hand low over the front of his jeans.
“I told you I was starving,” I murmur.
He makes a sound that reminds me of a teakettle.
“Okay.” His hands come up to my shoulders, and he’s holding me tight. “Two things. The most important one is: I’m not Jamie. Two, I’d appreciate it if you let go of my nuts.”
He grabs my hand from him and returns his to my shoulders. “I’m very married. And my wife gets jealous when other women touch the crown jewels.”
I take a step back, staring at him. The voice and height are the same.
When he tips the ball cap back, the face and scruff are identical.
But somewhere in my brain and heart, I can feel there’s something different about him.
A plain gold band sits on his left hand, and there’s no mood ring on his pointer finger.
I press my hand against his chest where the necklace should be, but it’s bare.
“You’re a clone?” I whisper.
“An identical twin,” the guy says. “I’m Patterson. The better-looking Cross brother. Obviously.”
My mouth slightly parts. “There are two of you?”
“Double the trouble,” he says.
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
“Sorry, my manners. Who are you?”
“Mortified,” I mutter.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re not the first to … ya know,” he says.
“That’s not comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be. So, Mortified, you got a real name, or are we sticking with that?”
“I’m Blaire.” I awkwardly shake his hand. “I’m really sorry about the junk grab. I would never …”
“Don’t apologize. Just make sure to tell Jamie that I’m way bigger than he is.”
I’m embarrassed, ready to jump out of my skin. My entire body is on fire. “So much for first impressions.”
“Honestly, it’s something I won’t ever forget.” He rocks back on his heels. “Nothing like getting frisked in an alley by a witch.”
“Ugh.” I roll my eyes.
He lays a hand over his heart. “Now, since you’ve already patted me down, maybe you can answer my next question. Where are you meeting him?”
“At your place,” I say. “For dinner.”
“Ah, so he did mention he had a brother. Got it.” His grin spreads wider. “Is he cooking?”
“He didn’t say; however, my roommate said she saw him shopping. So, if I had to guess, yes.”
“Really?” It comes out with a laugh. “If he cooks you pasta, just know he’s in love with you.”
I shrug. “I’m pretty sure that’s not an option.”
“Pasta? Or him being in love with you?” He nods his head toward a black SUV parked crooked outside the coffee shop. “Want a ride? Seems we’re headed to the same place.”
I should say no, let Jamie know his brother is here, and that I’ll take a rain check. But curiosity gets the best of me, so I take him up on his offer.
“Is he expecting you?”
“Not even a little.”
We walk beside one another, and I still can’t get over how identical they are.
“Is it weird for you?” he asks. “The twin thing.”
“Kinda. A familiar stranger is unsettling,” I admit.
“Never thought of it that way.”
He has the same face and voice, but with entirely different frequency and energy. It’s throwing me off.
Patterson unlocks the door for me, and I slip inside the SUV. It still has that new-car leather smell. A dark leather bag is thrown in the back seat. He drives with one hand on the wheel, comfortable, like he grew up mountain driving. I notice the ring on his finger again.
“How long have you been married?” I ask, trying to make small talk.
“Since last year. To the love of my life. Her name is Kendall. Fun family fact: Jamie dated her first.” He offers the information freely.
“Wait.” My eyes widen. “You married her?”
“Yeah, it’s a really long, complicated story,” he explains.
Jamie confessed to me that he dated the woman his brother was in love with, but he failed to mention she was his sister-in-law now. I wonder how many more half-truths he shared with me.
“He told me,” I tell him.
“Really?” Patterson asks, and I see the same expression on his face that I’ve noticed on Jamie’s. The contemplative, deep thinking one. “He usually doesn’t share that.”
“I’m not just anyone,” I say with a smile.
“I can see that,” Patterson tells me, making the next turn up the ridge. We climb higher. “It all worked out in the end. I wouldn’t change it.”
He glances at me, then back at the road. I have a million questions soaring through me, and I go for it because my intuition is urging me to.
“Are you aware of a family curse?”
Patterson laughs so hard that he starts choking. “He told you that too? Damn, what did you do, cast a spell on him?”
I smirk. “I am a witch.”
“Ahh,” he says, nodding. “The witch. Actually, he mentioned you.”
My heart races. “He did?”
“Yeah. Weeks ago,” Patterson admits. “You actually are different from the others.”
That makes me smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“It is,” he says, his face barely lit by the dash. “But protect yourself, Blaire. Don’t get too attached. I’ll tell you what I tell every woman I’ve met who’s fallen for my brother … he’s a ruthless heartbreaker.”
“Thanks for the warning, but I don’t need it.”
“I hope you don’t.” He hums along to the radio while the road keeps climbing.
Don’t get too attached. I’ve been repeating that to myself since the day we met. It has a different effect when it comes from a man wearing his face.
“Can I ask you another question?” I ask.
“Depends.”
“Why did he come here?”
Patterson takes the next curve slower than he needs to. “To get lost. But …” He pauses. “Seems like he might’ve been found instead.”
The gate at the top of the drive scans his face and swings open. The glass house is lit up gold at the end of the driveway. Through the window walls, I can see Jamie moving around the kitchen with a towel thrown over his shoulder.
Patterson shuts off the engine and stares at his brother.
“I kinda feel guilty, fucking this up for you,” he says.
“Don’t,” I tell him. “It’s just dinner.”
“No.” Patterson shakes his head. “I don’t think it was. Apologies in advance.”
He grabs his bag from the back seat, and we get out of the SUV. The two of us walk up to the front door together.
I open it, stepping inside, and smell garlic and warm bread. Music plays in the background, and there’s a wineglass half full on the counter. Jamie turns around with a wooden spoon in his hand and the biggest smile I’ve ever seen. It’s pure happiness, and I take it in for a few seconds.
“Hi,” he says. “Hope you’re hungry. I made pasta for my favorite witch.”
“Pasta?” I gulp, but I can’t help but smile.
His brother steps in behind me, and he shakes his head. “Did you say pasta?”
“Pattycakes,” Jamie says with a long exhale. “You fucker.”
“Surprise!” Patterson drops his bag, and it slaps against the floor.
He takes several long strides across the room to the kitchen, looking over everything.
“Homemade pasta,” Patterson says, glancing at me with a brow lifted. “Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
Jamie looks at me. “Did he capture you and force you to come with him?”
“Oh, no, no, no.” Patterson shakes his head. “You see, dear brother, Blaire found me wandering the streets, then brought me to a back alley, where—”
“I thought he was you,” I say quickly, my face burning red. “I grabbed his junk.”
Jamie freezes. “You did what?”
“Take your time comprehending it,” Patterson says, leaning his back against the counter with his arms crossed.
Seeing them standing beside each other is a mindfuck.
“I thought he was you! I was confused about why you were in town! You failed to tell me you had an identical twin brother!”
“She also squeezed it,” Patterson adds.
“I did not squeeze!” I scream.
“Are you sure about that?”
“You’re lying! I will hex you,” I warn him.
“Can she do that?” Patterson asks Jamie, suddenly serious.
“Probably,” Jamie says, narrowing his eyes. “But then again, you know I’m a skeptic at heart. Why don’t you keep pissing her off and find out?”
“He also wanted me to tell you he’s bigger,” I say, rolling my eyes.
“We both know he’s not,” Jamie says. “Everyone in this room does.”
“Please,” Patterson says, pulling a glass from the cabinet and helping himself to the wine on the table. “Do I have to serve your girlfriend too?”
Jamie wipes his hands on the towel that’s draped over his shoulder. I can’t tell if he wants to laugh or not. “You’re my karma, Patterson. I’m convinced of it.”
I laugh as Jamie fills a glass for me and hands it over. It’s the Bordeaux, the ten out of ten wine. I smile, remembering that night with him.
Jamie is confident and relaxed as his eyes meet mine. We hold a silent conversation as Patterson talks about God knows what. If only I could twinkle my nose and zap us somewhere we could be alone.
“I need more wine for this,” Jamie says, refilling his glass.
It’s like we’re the only two people in the room. I lick my lips as his eyes graze over every inch of my face and body.
“Are you even listening?” Patterson asks, glancing between us. Then he smiles and nods, like he’s giving his stamp of approval. “I really think we need to squash this rumor that I’m dating Blaire, soon, before Kendall loses her shit.”
The smile fades from my face, and I look at Patterson. “What?”
“You mean, you don’t know? Honey, the entire world thinks I’m cheating on my wife with you.” He crosses his arms over his chest. “I need my loving brother to come out and squash this now.”
It feels like an animal is sitting on my chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Patterson unlocks his phone and hands it over to me. There are pictures of Jamie and me in Salem. Post after post, trying to figure out who I am and every detail about my life. My hand shakes as a burst of adrenaline shoots through me. I almost drop his phone.
“No. People were watching our private moments?”
“I’m really fucking sorry,” Jamie whispers. “I was going to tell you tonight. I found out today and …”
My brows are lifted high. “I don’t have an online presence. I don’t want to be on the internet.”
“We will figure it out together,” Jamie tells me as I hand Patterson his phone back.
“My job and who I am come with scrutiny. I know where this leads,” I whisper, swallowing down the lump in my throat. I feel sick. “My business is really important to me.”
For weeks, I’ve convinced myself that this arrangement was uncomplicated, but I think it’s far from that.
“I think I need some fresh air,” I tell them both.
I grab my wineglass and step outside onto the balcony.