by Ginny Baird
Wait. That’s my face. Argh.
She angled her phone toward the water and began filming a video of the big boat sailing past. Afterwards, she’d post it to Jackie’s story.
This was going to be so cool.
Brent spotted her on the deck and waved. With her free hand, Hope waved back. Then Brent surprised her and made an elaborate show of blowing her a dramatic kiss.
“Now that’s smitten,” Ava commented from beside her.
Heat warmed Hope’s face as she tried to end the recording.
Wait. What? Noooo. Where did it go-oh-oh?
She fiddled with her phone, hoping it hadn’t uploaded.
Ack, no. She’d just pressed “send to story.” She had to take it down.
Unfortunately, Hope wasn’t really great with Instagram.
She opened her Internet browser and ran a frantic search.
“What are you doing?”
“Just Googling something,” Hope said, only briefly looking up. Gratefully, she found instructions on deleting the story seconds later. Whew. That had been close. If Jackie’d seen that, what might she have thought? That Brent was smitten, probably. Just like Ava said.
Her mom studied her a moment. “How do you intend to explain all this to Jackie?”
“I don’t,” Hope said with a relieved sigh. “I already deleted the upload.”
“You uploaded that? To where?”
“Insta.”
“You kids with your social media. Not everything has to be recorded in real time, you know.”
“Tell that to Jackie, the wedding planner,” Hope said. “She records tidbits from every wedding she coordinates, apparently. Unofficial glimpses into the prep. That’s all before posting a few formal photos at the end.”
“Hmm.” Ava sank down in the water, letting the bubbles cover her shoulders. “It would be kind of fun to have an Insta post of me singing ‘Eres Tú’.”
“Mom. Really.”
“All right, okay.” Ava scooted back up onto the hot tub bench once she’d checked to make sure there were no more sailboats carrying handsome young men drifting past.
Hope sat back in the lounge chair, attempting to couch things more tenderly. “Don’t misunderstand. I’m sure that Jackie would be touched. But, the truth is, none of that’s been settled yet. You know as well as I do that I only promised to put in a good word, not that it was a done deal, like you seemed to indicate during our meeting with Eleanor. Besides that, as far as I know, Brent doesn’t even speak Spanish.”
“There’s an English translation.”
“Mom.”
“Perhaps something different, then?”
Hope lowered her eyebrows.
Ava huffed out a small breath and examined her nails, extending her hands above the gurgling water. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe during the ceremony is not the most appropriate time.” She looked up with a hopeful stare. “How about at the reception?”
“This isn’t like Debbie’s wedding,” Hope reminded her. “With a hundred and fifty guests. This is a small, intimate wedding, Mom. A family-only thing.”
“I’m family,” Ava said, the hurt in her voice coming through.
Hope’s heart softened toward her mom. As complex as she was, Ava truly only meant well. “Of course you are,” she said. “And I’d kiss you if you weren’t covered in dried mud.”
“Yikes. I’d better wash this off. What time is it?”
“Three o’clock. Almost time for our tea party.”
“Then I’d better get ready.” Before she climbed from the water, Ava surprised Hope with an earnest question. “Do you think it’s too late?”
“Too late for what?”
Ava appeared uncharacteristically timid. “For me to find what you have…” Her gaze drifted toward Blue Hill Bay. “With Brent? Or whatever it is he thinks he has with Jackie?”
Every time her mom hinted that Brent was falling for her instead of her twin, Hope felt worse. But also, twistedly, in a certain sense, better. Because, despite her best efforts not to, she found herself falling for him.
“I don’t think it can ever really be too late. Do you?”
“I suppose not,” she said, sounding resigned. “I had that once, you know. With your dad.”
“Yeah?”
“It wasn’t for very long, but—while it lasted—it was pretty awesome.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. Sorry that all went away.”
“I’m not.” Her eyes shone warmly beneath that earth-caked mask. “Not sorry for any of it. And you want to know why?”
Hope waited.
“Because I got something wonderful out of it. Two somethings wonderful. You and your sister.”
…
Afternoon teatime was much more fun than the meeting with Eleanor, owing in part to the fact that Grandmother Margaret served chilled glasses of sherry before the tea. She’d had tiny finger sandwiches and a variety of puff pastries and petit fours brought in as well.
A gorgeous spread had been laid out on the dining room sideboard and table, and everyone had filled small plates with goodies and carried those, along with their sherry glasses, onto the back lawn, where a croquet course had been established.
Only Sofia wasn’t drinking, but nobody but Hope seemed to notice her slipping into the kitchen to fill her sherry glass with ginger ale instead of the alcoholic libation.
They divided into two teams, with Margaret, Hope, and Sofia playing on one side and Elsa, Sally, and Ava playing on the other. The midafternoon weather was absolutely perfect and sunny, with a warm breeze blowing off the water, causing everyone to hang on to their hats.
At Margaret’s insistence, they’d all worn dresses and “bonnets” as she called them, and she kept a neat selection of them in her ample walk-in closet upstairs. When they’d convened for their tea party, she’d invited the other women to join her upstairs in her master suite so they could select a whimsical hat to wear. Hope was sorry that Jackie was missing this.
Grandmother Margaret smacked a ball with her mallet, ramming it through a tunnel of wire horseshoe-shaped hoops.
“Nice shot, Grandmother!” Sally cried, and the others all agreed. She turned to Hope with a sunny grin. “I saw the pic of the meeting with the wedding planner you put up on Instagram. How did everything go?”
“Oh, uh…really good. There are a few little hiccups, but nothing we can’t work out.”
“I think it’s great that you’re posting updates.”
“Yes,” Ava said. “She even got a video of the men out sailing earlier.”
“Well, that’s fun,” Sally answered just as Hope gave Ava the side-eye.
“I know,” Sofia said. “Why don’t you get a pic of all of us wearing our hats?”
Margaret nodded happily. “That’s a delightful idea. Here, hand me your phone. I’ll get the rest of you, and then we can switch.”
Hope’s heart pounded. No. No, no, no. No. She could not give her phone to Grandmother Margaret—or anyone else, really. What if her contact list accidentally popped up with Jackie on it?
Sofia’s face lit up. “Why don’t we set it on a timer so we can all get in the photo?”
“Even better,” Sally said with a grin.
“Great idea,” Hope chimed in, flush with relief.
After some discussion, the group decided to prop the phone on the stone ledge of the firepit, securing it against a spare brick. Then they backed away and set up the shot with all of them kneeling or crouching down against the backdrop of the crystal-clear water.
“Okay, here we go. Ten seconds.” Hope tripped the start button once the others were all in place, then raced back to scoot in among them. This was a cool idea and way more harmless than that stupid story she’d accidentally uploaded.
“Say cheese, everyone!” Sally
called out.
“How about cheers?” Margaret quipped, and they all giggled just as the pic snapped. Seconds later, the phone buzzed and shook.
Hope lunged for it, worried it was going to fall into the firepit.
But Sally got there first, staring down at its face with a puzzled frown. “Incoming call.” She looked up. “But that’s weird. Why does it say Jackie?”
Hope froze, momentarily paralyzed. Next, she tugged away her phone, wondering if she wouldn’t have been better off leaving it in the safe. “It’s, uh…”
Ava burst out laughing in the worst display of stage laughter Hope had ever seen. “Sometimes my girls do that. Call each other by the other’s name.” She giggled and sipped from her sherry. “Hope and Jackie can be very…” All eyes turned on her, and Ava appeared caught out. Still, she managed to pull things off with a dramatic wave of her hand. “…goofy that way.”
“It’s true. We are,” Hope agreed hastily. “Super goofy. I’m sorry, all,” she said, glancing around. “But Hope and I don’t really go around switching names. This is my friend, Jackie. You remember, Mom?” She sent Ava a pointed look. “The one from college?”
“Oh yes. Right. Her.” Ava took another swig of sherry. “You roomed together sophomore year. It was always so confusing.”
Hope grimaced at the others and hustled toward the house as her phone continued to buzz, indicating an incoming call. “Anyway, I’ll just tell her that now’s not a good time.”
“Maybe you should check on Hope?” Margaret suggested.
“Great idea,” Hope said. “I’ll do that, too.”
As she departed, she heard Sofia say, “I need to run indoors. Can I get anyone anything?”
“I’ll take a tad more sherry,” Ava said.
“Yes,” Margaret nodded, lining up another shot. “I’ll take a touch more, too.”
“Might as well bring the bottle,” Sally said with a laugh.
As Hope neared the house, Sofia sidled up beside her, appearing worn. Hope’s phone had finally stopped buzzing, but she intended to call Jackie back—the moment she could find a private place. “Are you okay?” she asked, worried that Sofia looked tired.
“Oh yeah, the fatigue is normal.” Sofia smiled softly. “Normal is good. I just needed to get out of the sun for a few minutes and grab some more mineral water.” Before they entered the den, Sofia studied Hope. “Thank you for what you said last night. I told William.”
“I figured you had.”
“He’s so happy.”
“Aww.”
“We’re both cautiously optimistic.”
“That’s wonderful, Sofia,” she said, giving her shoulders an impromptu hug. “I’ll hold good thoughts for all of you.”
Sofia hugged Hope back. “Thanks, Jackie.”
…
As Sofia disappeared into the kitchen, Hope cased the bottom floor for a secretive spot. Then, she spied the coat closet tucked under the stairs in the downstairs hall and decided that location was perfect. Nobody would think to look for her there. She called her sister and stepped inside it, lightly tugging the door shut as she nestled into the dark, cavernous space.
“Hope? Is that you?”
“Jackie,” Hope whispered hoarsely. “What are you doing calling? I was supposed to get back in touch with you.”
“You said you needed to talk.”
“Yes, but I was going to call when I was free.”
“So, what’s going on now?”
“The tea party. You know the schedule.”
“Yeah, right. So, what about the boat thing? What was that all about?”
Oh, no. Hope winced. “Boat…thing?”
“The story you uploaded, Hope.”
“You saw that?” Hope asked, wanting to sink into the floorboards.
“And what was Brent doing?”
“Sailing.”
“I mean, why was he blowing you a kiss?”
“I, er…it wasn’t me he was blowing the kiss to.”
“What?”
“It was his grandmother.”
“Grandmother Margaret?” Jackie sounded befuddled. “But why?”
“She was standing right behind me on the deck,” Hope improvised. “While I was filming, I mean. She waved to Brent, and he—”
“That’s a little weird,” Jackie said, sounding miffed. “I mean, I know he loves his grandmother and all, but still.”
“I agree, which is why I deleted it. After I thought about it, I decided it looked…wrong.”
“Okay, well. Whatever. Don’t forget to capture the other moments. I saw the one with Eleanor. Could you please try to get her to smile next time?”
“I’ll, uh…try?” She drew in a breath. “When are you getting here tomorrow?”
“Uh, about that—”
A wave of dread crashed down on her. “Jackie, no.”
“Hopie,” she said, and Hope’s heart thundered. “You don’t understand. This wedding is a nightmare. Now the venue’s pulled the plug.”
“What?”
“The club where we were supposed to hold the reception has made an accommodation for a senior member, meaning the Martin party has been booted out.”
“Wait a minute. Can they do that?”
“I guess they can do anything they want. It’s the club owner’s grandson who’s graduating from high school. They’re throwing some kind of huge family party.”
There was a commotion in the den. The rest of the women had come back in the house.
Jackie was still babbling on about venues and rescheduling.
Hope rubbed her temple. “You can’t possibly be saying you’re delaying again?”
“I wouldn’t if this weren’t necessary.”
“Necessary? What about your wedding?”
“I’ll be there. I swear.”
“Jackie,” Hope said in low tones. “You can’t keep putting me in this position. It’s…difficult.”
“Well, okay. I know. I’m sorry. But, at this point in time, what do you propose we do? Call the whole charade off?”
She thought of how Brent’s family had come to trust her, and her heart ached. Margaret and Sofia had confided personal details about their lives, and even Elsa had let her in on her non-baking secret. When she thought of her growing attraction to Brent, Hope’s heart nearly split open.
She couldn’t possibly let all of them down and cause a big blowup days before the wedding. Jackie would be here soon enough, anyway. But would it be soon enough to keep Hope from falling harder for Brent and his wonderful family? She just didn’t know.
“No. I don’t think we should do that,” Hope told her sister. “It’s already too late.”
“Okay, great. I think I can have everything settled by Friday.”
“Friday? Are you joking?”
“I’ve already bought my ticket. I’ll fly direct from Nantucket to Boston and pick up my rental car there.”
“What time on Friday? Because there’s a lot to fill you in on. I mean, seriously. A ton. Brent’s not the guy you thought he was.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“He’s really trying, Jackie. Trying to be a good groom, despite this marriage of convenience you stupidly agreed to,” she added with a hiss. She couldn’t help but be irritated. She’d been doing her best to keep up this pretense without losing her heart to her sister’s fiancé, but each day that passed, the situation grew harder.
Jackie gasped. “Marriage of convenience? Who told you that?”
“Brent did.”
“He admitted it? Outright?”
Hope wrapped a lock of her hair around her finger, feeling both sorry for—and annoyed with—her sister. “Why wouldn’t he? He thinks I’m you.”
“Oh yeah. Right. I kind of didn’t w
ant you to know that.”
“So why did you do it, Jackie?” Hope sighed with frustration. “Why did you agree to this in the first place?”
“There were lots of reasons. Loads and loads, okay?”
“Like what?”
“Like… Hang on, Rachel has a question. No,” Hope heard Jackie tell her assistant. “Not the cream-colored ones. Dusty rose.”
Hope rolled her eyes at the distraction, then snapped at Jackie, agitated. “Can you pu-leeze focus on your wedding for one fraction of a second?”
“I will. I promise. From the moment I get there.”
“On Friday?” Hope asked wearily.
“Yes.”
“You never answered my question. About your engagement.”
There was a long pause on the line, then Jackie sniffled. “All right, it was Rodney.”
“Rodney Campbell?” Hope asked, astounded. “Your ex? What has he got to do with anything?”
“Shortly before Brent proposed, I learned Rodney was getting married—to Elizabeth Yates, of all people.”
“Who’s she?”
“His former wife.”
“I didn’t even know that Rodney had one.”
“I didn’t, either.” Jackie broke into sobs. “But he said he’d never really gotten over her and had never actually loved me.”
Hope’s heart sank for her sister. “Ouch. Jackie, that’s terrible. You never told me.”
“Of course I didn’t tell you. I didn’t have to because Brent proposed a few months later, and I thought, well, at least he’s never been married before and comes from a good family. I mean…” She paused with hesitation in her voice. “They are okay, aren’t they?”
“They’re actually pretty wonderful.”
“Okay, then. Please, pretty please help this go off.”
“I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up, Jackie. It’s not only his family that’s wonderful. Brent’s pretty amazing, too.”
“Uh-oh,” Jackie said. “You aren’t actually falling for him?”
“No. No, I didn’t say that.”
“Because, Hopie, I mean, really. You can’t do that. Brent and I made this deal. He needs me, and I need him.” She thought on this a moment. “Business-wise.”