Page 10 of Can't Fake Twins

“I wanted to talk to you about... about the wedding,” I managed.

“Not much to talk about,” he said easily. “Are you going to do it, or not?”

I sputtered. “I mean, you talked about paying me...” I trailed off, not wanting to seem like some kind of gold digger. Then again, why did I care what Adam Lanphier thought of me? He was worse than Toby.

“Five grand,” he said, as if it was pocket change, and I choked on air. “And of course, I’ll pay for all accommodations and travel expenses.”

“Travel? Where is he getting married?”

“Just outside of Washington,” he replied.

Great. That meant I’d be stuck for a few days in a hotel room.

“Why do you want to do this?” I asked, curious.

Adam chuckled. “Why, does this mean you’re saying yes?”

“I didn’t say yes, at least not yet” I said stubbornly, and he chuckled again, the low tone of it making me shiver.

“You’re going to,” he said confidently and I frowned, biting my lip.

I mean, he was right, but still. The way he said that so arrogantly made me want to say no. On the other hand, the idea of showing up to Toby’s wedding with his handsome older brother on my arm would be exquisite revenge. Revenge had never been something that I thought about, I didn’t believe I hadit in me, but I guess I did, because the idea of it heated my blood and made me feel victorious.

Even if Toby was committed to Rachel, which I doubted, given how they started, he had always been the jealous type, and I knew that me dating his brother would drive him crazy.

I didn’t answer, and Adam sighed.

“What Toby did to you was wrong. What he did to me was wrong. He deserves this kind of payback.”

Revenge. Just like I’d been thinking. It was as if he had read my mind.

I kept my lip bitten between my teeth for a moment longer, and then took a deep breath.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Good girl,” Adam said in a low tone, making goosebumps pop up all over my body.

I didn’t know what else to say, so I hung up, my cheeks feeling flushed.

I put the back of my hand to my hot cheek, finally getting up and heading to the shower. My skin felt hot all over, and I contemplated having a little solo fun in the shower but decided against it. I knew that my mind would conjure up Adam, and I certainly didn’t want to fantasize about him.

I was meeting up with my best friend, Addie, for brunch, and I knew she’d be late because she drank a little more than me the night before.

As it turned out, she was only fifteen minutes late and she instantly ordered us bottomless mimosas.

I stared at the mimosa like it might bite me, already having a bit of a headache from drinking the night before. I took a hesitant sip and it tasted mostly like orange juice instead of straight champagne, so I figured it would be okay.

“How have your classes been going?” Addie asked, and I shrugged.

“They’ve been okay. No troublemakers so far,” I said, and she snorted a laugh.

“You’re lucky.”

Addie usually worked with kids who were underprivileged or had behavioral problems, and her expertise was in Special Education, so she had a lot of kids with learning disabilities and developmental delays as well.

“I know it can be rough for you sometimes,” I said sympathetically. I taught younger kids than Addie did, but they were mostly well-behaved, sweet kids. Every once in a while I’d get a student that was a bit of a pill, but I could usually talk to them and figure out what was going on.

Addie and I were both firm believers that there were no bad kids, that they couldn’t help it if they had it tough at home and were never taught how to properly cope with the hand they’d been given.

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