Page 56 of My Twin Sister's Extremely Famous and Incredibly Hot Neighbor

“I love the blue color.”

“You should see it in person.”

“Do they ever drive it here when they come visit you?”

“Yes.” At least, they do when they visit me in Denver. I should probably change the subject. “How are your shapes coming along?”

He shows me his paper. “This is harder than it looks.”

“You’re doing good. I see you’re learning how to create different colors and shades. Great job.”

He smiles. “You’re being kind.”

“I’m being honest. The hardest part is learning to work with the paint instead of against it, if that makes sense.”

“Yes, I totally understand.”

We paint together, losing track of time until I look up at the clock. “Oh, it’s almost midnight. We should stop.”

“You’re right. My costume fitting is in the morning.”

We stand and walk to the sliding glass door that leads to Jera’s back yard. Dustin slips his arm around me as we step outside. “Can I come over after my appointment tomorrow?”

“Sure. I need to film my class, but I’ll text you when I’m done.”

Dustin pulls me to his side. “I’m glad we got to talk today. I feel like we took a step forward in our relationship.”

His words both thrill me and devastate me. We did take a step forward, but each step forward will simply mean more heartache when I finally tell him who I am. I shove that thought out of my mind. I can’t think about tomorrow night. It’s going to be too difficult as it is. I’ll deal with it later.

I turn to him. “Thanks for such a lovely day.”

He puts his hands on my shoulders. His touch warms me to my toes. “You mentioned you have a photo shoot this week. What day is it?”

“Thursday.”

“So, after you film your class tomorrow, you’re free?”

I nod. “Yep.”

“Will you be free by lunch time?”

I’d have to get up early. I hate getting up early, but tomorrow is our last day together so I smile. “I can be.”

“Great. I think I can whip up another surprise for you.”

“I can’t wait.”

He gives me a kiss before leaving. I watch him walk across our back yards and disappear into his house. I have one more day to spend in this fantasy before I have to tell Dustin the truth, and break both of us.

CHAPTER30

Irestart my camera for the tenth time. I keep fumbling and messing up. I’m not sure if it’s my nerves, or if I’m just not in the right headspace to teach a class, but I feel like I’m trying to force something.

I take a calming breath and start in on my lecture once more. This time it flows better, and I’m able to get through most of it without messing up. The small things I can edit out later. I talk about light fastness and permanency, how some paints are opaque while others are transparent, and how to work with both kinds.

It’s an update from an earlier class I’d already recorded and uploaded to the teaching portal but originally did with lower quality paints. Now that Jera had bought me a whole new set, I wanted to show the students how these paints work.

I finish with my class a half hour after my goal time, which frankly isn’t that bad in my book. I can edit the video after I get home. I’ll need something to sink myself into anyway. I already know I’ll be a total mess.

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