Page 36 of The Holiday Swap

“I had laser eye surgery a few years ago, but when I was a kid I wore these awful pop-bottle glasses. It was depressing.” Jake grimaced and Charlie laughed. She couldn’t imagine Jake as anything other than the gorgeous, tall, fit guy he was now.

“The first time I came in, Charlie was working behind the counter with your mom, and you and your dad were decorating cookies. You were the first identical twins I’d ever seen, and I thought you were the coolest, prettiest girls in the world. I only knew who was who because of the names on your aprons.”

In a flash, Charlie pictured it: a quiet redhead with glasses, shyly ordering a treat at the counter. “Eclairs!” she exclaimed. “That was your favorite, right? You always ordered an eclair.”

“Yup. That was me.”

“Irememberyou,” Charlie said breathlessly. It was the most wonderful thing to have discovered this shared experience from their past. Jake wasn’t a complete stranger after all.

They were facing each other now, only a foot or so apart. And before she considered what might happen next, Jake closed the space between them. He put his hands on either side of her face and stared into her eyes for just a moment before their lips met—gentle and tentative at first, but then Charlie pressed closer to him. As the kiss deepened, Charlie’s senses were flooded. She closed her eyes, light-headed with the feel of him... thetasteof him. She couldtasteJake: dark berries from the wine; a richness from the black truffles in the pasta sauce. She couldsmellhim, too: the hint of a spicy aftershave and the lingering smell of campfire, which she’d noticed the day before.All of it was a revelation. And it was almost too much for her to take in.

Charlie pulled away and breathed in deeply, trying to stop the spinning in her head. Jake pressed his lips to her forehead. They stayed like that, both of them slightly out of breath, and then Charlie tilted her chin up and found Jake’s lips again.I could do this all night long...

It had been a while since Charlie had kissed someone who made her feel this way. For that matter, had she ever been with someone who made her feel likethis? Like a thousand stars had exploded inside her head; like her body had been filled with warm honey.

“I really like you, Cass,” Jake whispered, his hands gentle on her upper arms. Charlie wondered if he could feel her quiveringunder his touch. “I mean, I’ve always liked you, but as a friend, you know? I don’t know what’s changed... but something has.”

Charlie nodded, not trusting herself to speak yet.

“The other night, at the pub,” Jake continued, “it was like I was seeing you for the first time. Amazing how you can just sort of... wake up to it all at once.”

“I know exactly what you mean.”

Jake smiled down at her. “To be clear, I’m not really seeing you as only a friend now.”

She laughed. “I’m getting that.”

“Good.”

“I like you, too,” Charlie said. And she did. Way too much, in fact. It was wonderful to know he felt the same. But what was she doing, complicating her sister’s life by starting something with Jake?

“But...” Jake pulled back slightly to look at her, though he still held her arms in his warm hands. “Is this too much? Too soon? After you and Brett...”

How could she possibly explain the real issue? It wasn’t about Brett, though Charlie had promised her sister she would handle that situation. No, the problem was that she was not Cass, but rather the twin sister Jake remembered serving him at the bakery when they were kids. Suddenly she was so tired of lying to him that she almost broke right then and there.

She blinked back tears. “Jake, I’m not—” Charlie began, but she couldn’t continue. Jake tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met.

“What?” Jake asked, his fingers carefully brushing away her tears. “Talk to me, please. Why are you so upset?”

She had to do it. Tell him everything and hope that he’d forgiveher. But just then the front door of the bakery swung open, the bell ringing with the movement. Shocked by the realization that she’d forgotten to relock the door when Jake had come over, Charlie was startled and turned her head toward the doorway, prepared to tell the customer they’d have to come back in the morning.

It wasn’t a customer. It wasBrett.

He was staring openmouthed at Charlie and Jake; quite aware he’d interrupted an intimate moment. It took him a second to compose himself, but then he cleared his throat and set the paper bag in his hands down on the table by the door. “I was worried about you, so I brought you some soup.”

Charlie didn’t know what to say.It’s not what it looks like?Except it was exactly what it looked like. Jake had taken a step away from Charlie, and now he stood at a slight distance with his arms crossed, looking incredibly uncomfortable.

“Anyway, you look like you’re in good hands,” Brett said, pressing his lips together as he glanced at Jake. “But I’ll leave this for you anyway.” He gestured at the paper bag on the counter and then shut the door behind him. She and Jake watched as Brett walked away, neither of them speaking.

“Like I said the other night, webrokeup,” Charlie finally said, weakly, as Jake took off his apron. “I know it doesn’t seem that way, but we did. I would never... It’s over between us.”

“I don’t want to make anything more complicated for you, Cass.”

“I know. And I’ll admit the timing is not ideal.” Charlie wanted to tell him that regardless of everything that just happened. She also believed they had a chance at something special.

But that would be a lie to add to the pile of lies she’d already told him. Jake had no idea who she really was, or how complicated her life was.

Charlie had to end this. And now that she had her sense of taste and smell back, the conviction that had been niggling at her all day came to the forefront: she needed to go back to L.A. Charlie had already done enough damage to her sister’s life here in Starlight Peak. She refused to blow up Jake’s life, too.

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