“Oh, I know him. He is so handsome, Twila. But he’s at a family wedding.”
“I know, I am meeting him after.”
“I saw him earlier looking very sharp, all dressed up in a tux.”
“Good thing I wore this black dress to work this morning,” I say. “I won’t look too out of place.
“Here, you need a flower.” She snaps a tropical flower from the bouquet on the table and tucks it behind my ear. “A tropical princess.”
I smile as I walk away. I’m no tropical princess. I’m a tropical queen.
As I round the corner toward the outside deck where hotel weddings are held, I run into a couple making out in the hallway. Hot and heavy. The man has his hands on the woman’s ass and she is grinding against him.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, apologetic to be ruining their moment, also wondering why they don’t just go get a room — this is a hotel after all.
But as the couple separates, I gasp, horrified.
“Oh my God!” Tears fill my eyes. And I step away, shocked. It’s Tanner kissing another woman. “Oh God. This was a mistake…” I run from them, Tanner dressed in the fancy tuxedo my mom mentioned, the woman a waitress.
And me nothing but a fool.
I run down the hallway, pulling out my phone, texting Xander that I’m having an emergency. I’m at the Bahama Grand. Come here. Now.
Tears sting my eyes as I leave the hotel, past the bar, past the wedding reception. Feeling sick.
I guess I was right.
I don’t know Tanner. Because the Tanner I thought I knew would never break my heart like this.
7
Tanner
As I’m coming back from the bar, I see Twila walking quickly out toward the beach, tears down her cheeks. Fury rises within me. Who hurt her?
I’ll make them pay.
I set my drink down on a table, moving past the wedding guests. The ceremony was a blur — the bride was hammered, the groom was high — it was a real moment of love and devotion. Why the hell did they even bother getting hitched? And the guests who came are all equally douchebags who have no respect for themselves or anyone else — let alone the sanctity of marriage.
“Twila!” I call for her. She pauses for a moment, but then keeps on running. “Twila!” I shout, gaining on her, hating that I don’t know what’s happened to cause her to be so upset.
When I reach her on the sandy beach, she raises a hand. “Don’t,” she says. “Don’t say anything. I get it.”
“Get what?” I ask. “Why are you crying, baby? Who hurt you?”
She scoffs, wiping the mascara from her cheeks. “Baby? Why are you playing dumb with me? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“What?” I’m floored — confused and frustrated. “No, I think you’re the most perfect woman I’ve ever met. I’ve fallen in love with you after just one night, Twila. I want you. So damn bad.”
“So badly you were kissing someone else a minute ago?”
“Kissing someone?” I shake my head. “Twila, you’re wrong. I was at the bar and then I saw you running—”
“Stop, Tanner.” Her shoulders shake. “I thought you were different. Thought that we were something. That this was more than a hook-up. I’m a fool for falling for it. For falling for you.”
“I don’t know what you think you saw, but Twila, listen to me.. I think you saw my twin brother. I’ve been mistaken for him my entire life.”
“Right.” She snorts. “Your evil twin brother making out with someone else on his wedding day. That doesn’t sound made up at all”
Just then, there’s a holler from up on the deck where the reception is being held. “Tanner!” my brother calls. “It’s time for your toast, you big jackass!”
“I need a sec,” I holler back.
“Okay man, one sec.” He walks away, and I turn back to Twila.
It looks like she’s seen a ghost.
“Wait,” she says. “Who was that?”
“My twin brother.”
“Wait, you’re really a twin?” She wipes her eyes, shaking as she steps toward me.
“Yeah.” I run a hand through my hair. “But look, I don’t care about my brother Mark. I care about you — and why you think I’m something I’m not.”
Her face crumbles and she drops her shoulders. “Oh crap,” she moans. “I got it all wrong. I got it all…” She’s crying now, and I step closer, pulling her into my arms.
“Baby, don’t cry. I’m right here.”
“I saw Mark with another woman. A waitress. And I thought it was you and I…” She shakes her head, crying against my chest. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. I assumed the worst.”
Relief runs through me as I come to understand why she was so worked up. “Of course you were scared. You thought I was betraying you, us. But I didn’t and I wouldn’t. I meant what I said, Twila. I’ve fallen for you. Hard.”
I wipe her tears away with my thumbs, looking into her clear blue eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers. “And I’ve fallen for you too — it’s why I was so upset. I thought I got it all wrong. That we weren’t what I thought we were.”
I smile. “And what did you think we were, Twila?”
She licks her lips. “I thought we were the real deal.”
I squeeze her ass, drawing her mouth to mine. “Oh, we’re real, all right. So fucking real.” I kiss my curvy girl, loving the way she feels in my arms, against my chest, her mouth on mine. God, I want it to last all night.
“Hey shithead!” Mark calls again. “Your one second is up!”
Twila pulls back form the kiss. “You better go be a good best man.”
“This whole wedding is so fucking weird.”
She laughs. “It’s insane. I mean, he was just making out with a cocktail waitress. At his wedding reception.”
I take her hand, walking with
