Page 21 of Merry Mix-Up

I got her buckled in and climbed into the car myself. When I started toward her apartment, she cleared her throat and said,"Can you take me to my parents' place instead? I don't want to be alone at home."

When I realized our time on the hill was done, I had hoped to help her settle in at home and maybe spend the day with her, but I understood. "Yeah, I can do that," I told her, but I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my tone. She didn't say a word about it, though, so either she was relieved to be going to her mom's or she was in too much pain to notice.

I pulled up a few minutes later in front of the Lyons residence and Amber tried getting out of the car herself. I worried she'd end up in the emergency room, but she insisted she was fine, even as I draped her arm around my shoulder and helped her hobble up to the front door. At least her dad had taken the time to shovel the walks already. When we knocked, her mom answered the door in a house robe and rollers in her hair.

"Oh, my! What's wrong, baby?" Mrs. Lyons immediately reached for Amber, and I backed away.

"We were sledding and I slipped," Amber told her mom, switching from using me as support to putting her arm over her mom's shoulder. I remembered how she had specifically requested to keep the chemistry between us a secret until after the wedding to let Naomi have her big day.

"I think she might have a sprain, Mrs. Lyons," I added and watched them struggle to get her in the house. "I could drive her to the hospital if you need." The roads this morning weren't bad at all. The plows had really cleared them overnight. And Dad's truck was four-wheel drive, anyway.

"Oh, dear, Jade, it's that bad?" Mrs. Lyons stopped so Amber could shed her coat, and I chuckled at how she called her daughter the wrong name.

"You mean Amber?" I asked, and I didn't think she heard me because she was focused on helping Amber get her coat off whilenot falling over. But when the coat was on the floor and they were moving toward the living room, she shook her head.

"I think you've got a merry mix-up, Newt." Mrs. Lyons parked Amber on the couch and patted her knee. "Let me get Dad. He'll want to look it over. We might end up in the hospital." Then she rushed off, and I was standing awkwardly halfway between the end of the couch where Amber sat and the open door.

"Does she call you the wrong name all the time?" I asked, snickering, and Amber rolled her eyes.

"Might be getting dementia," she mumbled, but part of me felt like she wasn't being honest with me. "You should go. Dad will ask a billion questions and I can't have him knowing I was out alone with you. He talks to your dad a lot, okay? Call me, though?"

I nodded and said, "Alright. You tell me if it's something serious. I'll pay for the hospital bill." I almost winced at my own stupidity. I knew Amber wasn’t the sort of girl who wanted me throwing money at her.

"Alright," she said, glancing over her shoulder as her father's voice came within earshot. "Go on." She flicked her hand at me, and I gracefully backed out the door and shut it, but I still thought it was odd that her mom called her Jade.

As I walked back to the truck, I got an uneasy feeling I couldn't shake. I was so busy enjoying every second with her that I hadn't stopped to realize things weren't adding up all the time. Naomi swore Amber loved the snow, but I could tell she wasn't as into it as I was, and she didn't want to go to begin with. Then her mom called her the wrong name—but that could be easily explained too. Dad called me Kevin a lot when I was young. Kevin was his little brother's name. Parents did that all the time, right?

13

JADE

December 14th

I limped into Naomi's house with the large garment bag containing her dress, and she was squealing so loudly I wanted to cover my ears. I should have known she would. I should have worn ear plugs, but I hoped she'd heard about my mishap on the hill and might ask about my ankle. But true to his word, Newt hadn’t said a thing, and there was no way I could tell Amber about it, though I did tell her I had a slip and fall. How would I explain being on a sledding hill with Newt that early in the morning?

"Oh, my God, Mav! Open it! Open it!" Naomi was too excited and I was so over this twin swap.

"Hold on a sec," I told her, struggling to hang it on the open door to her bedroom. I was tired, and more than just my ankle hurt. My body was stiff from so much physical exercise. I'd spent a few hours at Mom and Dad's and then I had Dad take me home and did nothing but work on the dress until well past midnight. I told Newt I was still with Mom and Dad and reneged on the promised dinner and movie. I had to finish the dress, but he wanted to help me study.

If he knew I was sewing and not putting my nose in the books, it would blow Amber's cover and Naomi would be heartbroken. Not to mention Newt and how he'd react to knowing I'd been faking being someone I wasn't. But my hard work and sneaking around had paid off. I had an almost-finished product Naomi would love and I could be proud of.

I unzipped the gown bag to reveal my creation and slowly slid it away until all that was left were the satin and ribbons. The strapless gown looked like it came straight off the set of the most Christmassy movie ever filmed, red and white and silver, with a sweetheart neckline and a drop waist. If I were going to marry someone at Christmas, this would be the dress I would want.

Naomi seemed to agree. She gasped and covered her mouth, then started tearing up. "Oh, God, Mav. It's perfect. I love it! Where is Jade? She needs to be here to make sure it fits right."

I already knew she'd say that, and Amber and I had a plan for this if something went stupid again the way it had on dress-shopping day. I changed her contact info to mine and she knew I might call her to pretend to be me.

"She told me it is your measurements exactly, but I know how to pin things for her." It felt bad lying through my teeth, but I was able to assuage my guilt by seeing how much Naomi loved the dress.

She held out the fabric of the skirt and admired it, then took it off the hanger and turned around. "Well, get her on the phone and tell her to get over here. I'll go put it on." I opened my mouth to protest, but she marched off and I sulked. Dealing with drama queens wasn't my thing, but I had no choice now. Clearly, this was why Amber wasn't my best friend and why I hadn't chosen Naomi as a close friend, either. They were perfect for each other.

While Naomi was out of the room, I called my twin and waited for her to pick up the phone. I had to keep reminding myself what day it was and that I only had six days left untilAmber was supposed to be back in town. We updated each other on what was happening, but it didn't lessen the stress. Now I had to keep up with wedding party gossip and how Naomi was upset that she'd chosen Jill to be in the wedding. All the details were tedious and I found myself forgetting some at times, which only annoyed Amber more.

"How’s it going?" Amber asked when she picked up.

"Horrible. She wants you here, or me here, however you look at it." I had a scowl on my face and I wished Amber could see it.

"Does it fit, though? You did a good job, right?"

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