Page 48 of The Accidental Beauty Queen
“What do we do?” I mouth.
My heart is hammering so hard that I can feel it in my throat. What’s going to happen now? Will Gray be fired? Will I have to wear a big scarletAon the front of my gown during the evening-wear prelims?
Will Ginny tear me limb from limb for ruining her last shot at the crown?
Yes to that last one, obviously.
“Shhh,” Gray whispers, raising a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
I try to nod, but I can’t. I’m paralyzed with fear.
The impatient beauty queen bangs on the door again. Who needs ice that badly? What’s going on out there?
Slowly, carefully, Gray’s hand moves toward the doorknob. I watch, wide-eyed, as he presses the pushbutton lock, trapping us inside.
I shoot him a questioning glance. What’s his plan? Do we live here now in the ice closet? I could probably get on board with that.
But as it turns out, he’s just buying time. He grabs his full ice bucket from the ledge of the icemaker, tucks it under his arm, and winks at me.
“Stay here until the coast is clear,” he murmurs.
I blink.
And then he quietly unlocks the door, and before I can say a word, he slips out into the hallway, clicking the door closed behind him.
“Hello there,” he says to the person on the other side. “Sorry, I think there’s something wrong with the door. It’s jammed.”
“Oh, Mr. Beckham. Hi.” The beauty queen’s voice is now brimming with adoration. “I didn’t realize you were in there.”
“I was. But I’m not now. I’m out here in the hallway. With you,” he says.
I stifle a giggle. He’s almost as bad a liar as I am. Correction: as I used to be. Practice makes perfect and all that.
“Right. Well, would you mind stepping aside? I just need to get some ice.” Her voice sounds closer.
What do I do now? Lock myself in?
“There’s none left. I got the last of it,” Gray says. “But here, you can have mine.”
I take it back. He’s actually rather good at thinking on his feet...
Among other things.
“Really? Are you sure?” The beauty queen is still lingering.
I am inagony. I’ve got to get out of here before someone sees me.
Just take the ice!
“Absolutely. I insist.” I can hear a smile in Gray’s voice. He’s being chivalrous. And even though I know he’s doing it to protect me—to protectus—an irrational stab of jealousy hits me in the chest.
What is wrong with me?
I wasn’t always like this. I promise I wasn’t.
But finding out your fiancé actually prefers your twin sister does something to you. Something ugly. No matter how many times you try to tell yourself that you’re better off on your own or that you’re an amazing person completely apart from your twin, the resentment lingers.
I’m not sure I fully grasped the extent of the damage Adam’s words did to me until this week while I’ve been taking Ginny’s place. I don’t like it, but I don’t know how to make it go away.
