Page 8 of Ten Kisses

"See? You just saying that scares me."

"I am not going to end up with Salem. He's with that girl. I'm telling you. He mentioned her the last time I talked to him."

"How often do you talk to him?"

"More lately, since he's making that thing for me."

She sighed and looked straight ahead.

"You seem like you're still having a panic attack about it."

"I am having a panic attack about it."

"Sara, we do not have to meet our spouses at Camp Eden. Mom and Dad met there, and so did a couple of our siblings. That doesn't mean it has to happen with us."

"Doesn't it?" she said. "Don't you think the coincidence is too much? I mean, it's an amazing story with Mom, but then John-Michael and Jenny? I'm writing a whole book about it, Molly."

"I know, and in your book, you and I meet twin brothers."

"Yes…"

"I'm just making sure you know it's okay if it doesn't really happen that way. When you told me your idea for the book, I knew that, and I assumed you knew it too."

"Are you saying all this because you like Salem?"

"No, I'm not. I don't like him."

"Then we might still meet the twins. You never know."

"You're right, you never know," I said smiling at her and feeling stunned. "What's my twin's name?" I asked.

"Sebastian," she said. "Zack and Sebastian Thomas."

I shrugged and shook my head. "I've never met anyone named Sebastian."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you want the story to come true, you may as well name them something common, like William, Jacob, or Michael. You need to raise our chances."

"Zack is common," she said.

"Maybe, but Sebastian isn't. If you want any chance of this coming true, you better try to put the odds in our favor."

"I didn't say that I think their names have to be the same as the ones in my book."

I laughed at my sister. "You just wanted to make sure it was twins?"

"No. Just not Salem. You sounded all excited and happy to talk to him. His brother is already married, and they're not twins, anyway. And all three of us can't marry people from one family. Three people in the same family marrying three siblings from another family? Does that even happen?"

"I'm sure it does," I said. "You tell me, you're the one writing a romance novel."

"It doesn't matter because Phillip's married."

"And Salem is pretty much married too. He might as well be." I felt bad for saying that because I wouldn't have tried to kiss him if he was seriously committed to someone else. He had told me that he and Isabel were not committed to each other.

"I feel a lot better now that you told me about that Love girl. They would be a good couple. Salem always seems so fancy to me. I could see him with that woman."

"Yeah, me too," I said, smiling. It was a fake smile. I didn't have any sort of feeling that I would ultimately end up with Salem, but it rubbed me the wrong way that my sister was so against it. She even bothered to say that Salem was too fancy for me. Had she said that? I thought so.

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