Jacquie gripped the phone, surprised to find a lump in her throat and tears in her eyes. “Okay,” she agreed, her words husky. “If I see a star that looks good to me, I promise to reach for it.”
“Excellent. Ah, Liz says we have to get moving if we’re going to get anything at the farmers’ market. She wants fresh mushrooms.”
“Hi Jacquie!” a woman called.
“Then you’d better go. Say hi to her for me.” Jacquie paused. “And thanks for the advice, bartender.”
“Anytime, Mom. I’m like Lucy with my advice counter. You owe me twenty-five cents, by the way.”
With that he was gone, leaving Jacquie with a smile and something to think about. She knew Brandon’s heart was in the right place, but she doubted that Pierce would offer to tell her about his brother. If he called again, it would be about sex—but after their last time, she doubted he’d call at all.
She wasn’t going to dwell on the simple truth that she’d made the choice.
“And the smart money is on Wonder Woman Eight and Superman Eleven for our next hot F5F couple,” Meesha said without looking up from her desk. Jacquie had just walked into the F5F office on Monday morning, but stopped cold at that. “Did he stop her seduction as easily as a speeding bullet? Did they leap tall buildings in a single bound together? Enquiring minds want to know about the most-talked-about hook-up of Valentine’s Day 2020.” Meesha spun in her chair and grinned at Jacquie. “Any comment, Jax?”
“None,” Jacquie said and went to her desk.
“Everyone wants to know about a certain silver fox and how he moves in the midnight hour.”
“I’m not going to talk about it.”
Meesha sat on Jacquie’s desk and pretended to pout. “You two seriously are the hottest item on the shipping board. Give me some dish.”
“That trend won’t last,” Jacquie said. “The young and the beautiful will steal the show.”
Meesha’s eyes twinkled as she leaned closer. “Did you see Sonia and Nate? Our number two match is rising hot and fast on the charts. What happened? Do you know?”
“No idea. Ask Sonia.”
Meesha cleared her throat. “Here’s the thing,” she whispered. “She doesn’t seem to know.” Her gaze clung to Jacquie’s. “It’s weird. I mean, how could she forget?”
“Maybe she had too much to drink,” Jacquie suggested.
“She was partying more than usual, but still. I can’t believe she’d forget that.” Meesha bit her lip.
“Maybe something happened that she doesn’t want to remember. Maybe she’s pretending.”
“No, you’re the one pretending you don’t understand what I’m talking about. You’ve got a secret and are determined to keep it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. It was great and it’s over.”
“Boo,” Meesha said, making that sad face again. “I liked the idea of you together.”
“I don’t want to be together with anyone. Stop matchmaking!”
“Agreed!” Sonia said, coming into the office. She looked annoyed, which was out of character. Jacquie and Meesha exchanged a glance. “What’s the matter with everyone? Don’t you have enough to do in your own lives?” She glared at Meesha. “Last time I looked, you weren’t in a serious relationship.”
“How’s Nate?” Meesha asked in retaliation.
“I don’t know!” Sonia cried, flinging out her hands.
“Well, it looked like you were taking your friendship to a new level on Friday night...”
Sonia exhaled, spun and glared at Meesha. “Appearances can be deceiving.”
The air was charged in the office for a moment, then someone tapped on the door. The three women pivoted as one: their expressions must have been fierce because Nate took a step backward. “Hey, sorry to interrupt,” he said, a flush rising over the back of his neck. “I just, uh, wanted to return the belt from your costume.” He spoke to Sonia, his manner watchful as he offered the gold She-Ra belt.
Sonia didn’t move to take it, as if she’d been turned to stone.
Nate hesitated, then put it onto the edge of her desk. He waited for a second but when she didn’t look at him, he turned, shrugged and walked away.
“You could have thanked him,” Jacquie said gently.
“No, I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to say. I don’t know what to do.” Sonia dropped into her chair and put her face in her hands. “I’m going to have to find another job,” she said, obviously upset.
“Lots of people have a hook-up they regret,” Meesha said, her tone encouraging. “It happens all the time. Just tell him it was one-and-done and carry on. Nate’s a good guy. It’ll be fine.”
“No, it won’t be fine,” Sonia said furiously, getting to her feet. Her characteristic serenity was gone and her face was red. “It’s all screwed up, again, and it’s all her fault, again, and I shouldn’t have let her talk me into it, again. Just how stupid am I?” With that, she stormed out of the office, and Jacquie heard her calling Nate.
“Was that supposed to make sense?” Meesha asked.
Jacquie watched Sonia go, then turned to her computer and booted it up.
“What are you doing?” Meesha demanded. “Are you actually able to ignore that? Drama is happening right before your eyes...”
“I think I remember something,” Jacquie said, hesitating only a moment before she opened the personnel files. She went to Sonia’s, then scrolled down. “Next of kin, Katia Olson, who has the exact same birthday.”
Meesha was peering over her shoulder and Jacquie heard the younger woman catch her breath. She looked up to find Meesha’s dark eyes alight. “Sonia has a twin?” She looked at Jacquie. “So, if Katia was with Nate, where was Sonia on Friday night?”
“It might not be your business.”
“Everything is my business in this place,” Meesha asserted. “Ev-ery-thing. And I love this. It’s juicy. Mistaken identity. Seduced by the wrong twin.” She dropped back into her chair and resumed her review of the social media accounts. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you and Mr. Fox,” she warned.
Jacquie hadn’t
