Page 73 of The Holiday Swap

“I don’t need anything,” she said quietly. Then drawing in a breath, she added, “Actually, that’s not true. I need to tell you something.”

“Okay,” Jake said slowly, clearly unsure about where this was going.

“I’m not Cass.”

“What?” At first he cocked his head, looking at her in confusion. But soon that shifted to concern. “Look, I think maybe you should sit down.”

“No, Jake.” She pulled away and out of his grasp. “I’m not Cass. I haven’t been Cass all week. I wasn’t Cass the night you saved Gateau from the tree. It wasn’t Cass you ate chili and drank beer with at the pub.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “It wasn’t Cass you danced with after the wedding. It was me, Cass’s twin. Charlie.”

“What?” Jake said again. “What are you talking about?”

Now Charlie stepped toward him but stopped short of actually touching him. She had been lying to Jake all week. She knew she had to give him space as he processed it.

“Cass and I swapped places. There was an accident on set in L.A. and I had a concussion and lost my sense of taste and smell. I couldn’t do my job, and I needed my sister’s help.” She was breathless, trying to get it all out quickly. “And because she’s the best sister in the world, despite everything going on with her, she agreed. We switched places.We swapped lives, Jake.”

He stared at her openmouthed. Charlie took his silence as an invitation to keep going.

“I am so, unbelievably sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen.” Charlie bit her lip to hold back her tears. “I never meant to...”

Jake was still in a state of shock, but she could now see understanding settling into his expression.

“I never meant to fall for you,” Charlie said, unable to hold back her tears any longer. “It was supposed to be easy! It was supposed to be simple. Just a week, pretending to be Cass. Which, thinking about it now, was stupid. You can’t just take over someone else’s life, even for only a week, and not have there be consequences.”

Jake started laughing. Now it was Charlie’s turn to stare openmouthed, beyond confused by his reaction.

“Are you kidding me?” Jake said, laughing harder now. But there was a wounded edge to his tone that made Charlie feel even worse. “Are you kidding me right now?”

“No, Jake. I am not kidding you right now.” Charlie put a hand on his arm, and she felt him tense and slide away from her touch.

“I know you likely can’t forgive me. I’m having a hard timeforgiving myself. But I never meant to hurt you.” Charlie half turned toward the door. “I’m going to go, but, um, if you want to talk, call me. Okay?”

“Wait, Charlie.” Jake’s voice was gruff, the laughter burned out. “Did you...” He pressed his lips together. “Was it real?”

Sadness engulfed Charlie. She knew what she felt for Jake was as real as it got, and that it was over. “It was real,” she said. “Every second.”

Neither of them moved. Jake started to say something but was interrupted by Charlie’s phone, ringing in her coat pocket.

“Sorry,” she murmured, reaching for it. “My parents are trying to get home from their vacation in this blizzard. This might be them.”

But it wasn’t her parents. It was Cass. When she answered Charlie heard sounds of wind whipping and some rustling. “Cass? Are you there?”

And then, Cass’s voice, but so soft it was hard to hear her. “Charlie, I...”

Charlie pressed her other hand to her ear, trying to block out the firehouse’s ambient noise so she could focus on Cass. “I can hardly hear you,” she said, speaking loudly. “Where are you?”

“Charlie... I’m hurt.” Her sister was crying, and Charlie’s stomach dropped.

“You’re hurt?” Charlie was practically shouting now. Feeling panicked, she looked up at Jake, wild-eyed. “Cass? Cass! Where are you?”

“On the trail. I... hit my head and I...” Her twin sounded so weak.

“Which trail? Cass? What trail?”

But there was no answer, and a second later the call disconnected. Charlie called Cass back, but it went straight to voicemail.She tried again, and again got voicemail. “Cass, please, please,pleasepick up.” Her voice shook as she tried Cass one more time.

“Charlie, talk to me,” Jake said. “Let me help you.”

Just then the fire station’s alarms started blaring. Angry red lights joined in, the sound of the alarm loud enough Charlie had to put her hands over her ears. She shouted to Jake that she had to go and find Cass. He nodded and then leaned close and said, “Wait one minute. Wait for me,” before racing up the stairs.

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