Identical Disaster (The Sterling Shore Series Book 8)

by C. M. Owens

  I can hear the smile in her voice, and my own heart beats happier just for her.

  “Good. I’m sick of breaking up with guys for you, especially since I sort of suck at it.”

  She snorts again, laughing harder. Hearing her this happy? I don’t think I’ve ever heard her this happy before.

  “Give a girl her prince, and she’s snorting every two seconds.”

  Annnd she snorts again. This time I laugh with her. I don’t think we’ve laughed together like this since we were kids, and it feels good.

  “Well,” she says in a labored, half-chuckled breath, “I need to get ready. My man is coming to pick me up. Call me later. I’d tell you to say hi to Jax for me, but that might be awkward.”

  I freeze, and my smile becomes as fake as the borrowed giddiness.

  “He doesn’t know yet.”

  She sucks in a breath. “How the hell can he possibly still think you’re me? No way. He has to know.”

  “He doesn’t. How could he? And how the hell do I tell him?”

  She grows quiet for a little bit, so quiet that I check to make sure she hasn’t hung up. Do you have any idea how many times she has hung up while I stupidly sat on the other line just waiting for an answer?

  To my surprise, she’s still there, just eerily silent.

  “Get him drunk and tell him,” she finally says.

  “What?”

  “It’s the best way to do it. People are much more forgiving when they’re drunk, and too prideful to admit they were too drunk the next day when it all comes back to them.”

  Frowning, I start shoving my shorts down my legs, scanning the closet for a bikini to wear that isn’t going to show so damn much. No such luck.

  “And if that backfires?”

  “Let Dad kick his ass,” she states flippantly.

  It wouldn’t be the first time my father has done such a thing, but for some reason, I think Jax could handle himself if he had to.

  “I wouldn’t let Dad do that, considering the circumstances. I have been lying to him.”

  “Well, regardless, figure it out. I suck at this sort of thing, so I’m going before Dick gets here.”

  “Dick? Really?”

  She giggles again. “It’s such a bad name, but he pulls it off. Bye.”

  She hangs up just as I open my mouth, but I sigh before tossing my phone aside and stripping out of my shirt. Just as I shimmy out of my panties, the door swings open, and Jax walks in.

  I freeze, unable to do anything but gape at him in horror as his eyes land on me and widen in surprise. I can’t even get my arms to move to cover up anything, because fear has paralyzed me. Hell, I don’t even think I’m breathing.

  He stares at me, I stare at him, and we both remain motionless while staring. All of the sudden, Jax snaps out of it and becomes a clumsy blur of motion.

  “Shit!” he gasps, spinning around so fast that he coffee spills everywhere, causing him to curse and do some weird dance as it burns him. “Sorry,” he goes on, disappearing from the doorway as I try to remember how to draw oxygen into my lungs.

  I’m blood red, mortified, and still unable to make a move. Finally, the shock wears off, and I dive toward the door, shutting it hard enough to rattle the pictures on the walls.

  Why didn’t I lock the door?!

  Then, my skin burns a little hotter as I think about what just happened and start pulling on my bikini with jerky movements.

  Jax just ran out of here and apologized for seeing me naked. He was coming to bed naked and trying to turn me into a sex toy just a few days ago. It wasn’t until the reunion that he started wearing shorts to bed again…

  Groaning, I scrub my face and silently curse.

  He didn’t act like it wasn’t a big deal to see his girl naked. His girl he thinks he has slept with. No. He just now acted like a man who saw a girl naked for the first time on accident.

  Everything falls into place, including the fact he has never once asked what my sister’s name was since he found out I had a sister. How long has he known? It can’t have been long.

  My hands are shaking as I grab my phone from the bed, and I go to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it as I call Bora back. She answers almost immediately.

  “So you miss me already, eh?”

  “He knows,” is all I manage to say, and it’s barely a choked whisper.

  “What? You already told him?”

  “No, Bora. He knows. How could he possibly know?”

  “I don’t know. What’d he say?”

  “He didn’t have to say anything, but I know he knows and he’s pretending to not know. What do I do?”

  “I’m confused, Bo. I gotta go.”

  She hangs up, and I glare at the phone like she can see me. Damn her.

  I decide to quit glaring at my phone and use it to call someone useful. Shanna picks up on the fourth ring, and she sounds breathless as she answers.

  “Bora or Bo?”

  “Bo. I have a problem.”

  “With Bora’s ex?”

  “Yes. He knows, but he’s pretending not to know. What do I do? Do I confront him, or do I pretend to not know that he knows?”

  “You’re confusing me…”

  “Why is everyone finding this confusing? He knows I’m me, but pretending to be Bora, but he’s pretending to not know that he knows. So do I call him out on it, or do I pretend to not know that he knows and find out what game he’s playing?”

  Games… I mentally slap myself. Jax asked me if my sister and I played games with guys. Shit. Shit. Shit. I should have figured it out then.

  “Bo, I’m seriously confused, and this is the most complicated thing you’ve ever done. Start over.”

  Ignoring her, I chew on my thumbnail and make a decision. “I’m going to pretend to not know that I know that he knows. Maybe I can figure out what’s going on inside his head.”

  “Sure. Sounds good… What?”

  Again, I ignore her exasperation.

  “What if he thinks I was playing him, so now he’s playing me? The whole flip the switch thing? Or is it bait and switch? I don’t know. You know?”

  “I have no fucking clue.”

  “Thanks, Shanna. I need to quit hiding in the bathroom before he knows that I know that he knows.”

  “Umm….”

  I hang up, and I take a deep breath while looking myself over in the mirror. I seriously underestimated him, and I should have just come clean from the beginning.

  But this could be a golden opportunity…

  I’m crazy. Yep. I’m certifiable.

  I head out of the room and downstairs just in time to see Jax jogging down the beach. My cup of coffee is waiting by the deck doors, and I take it while going to watch him jog away. I keep watching until he’s out of sight, and I’m almost thankful he went for that run.

  My heartbeat probably wouldn’t be normal right now if he hadn’t.

  “I was wrong about you.”

  Viv’s sudden comment has me squealing, and that normal heartbeat disappears as I drop the coffee over the railing and hear it thud against the sand.

  “It’s just not meant for me to have coffee this morning,” I mutter to myself, cursing as I watch it bead against the sand and slowly soak into it.

  I don’t even turn back to face Viv. She hasn’t exactly been nice to me since I met her.

  She props up on the rail beside me. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “Rough morning,” I grumble.

  If Jax knows, then his whole family probably knows. There’s no telling what they think of me.

  “I thought you were a gold digger. Then found out you were rich,” she says, looking out at the ocean.

  “Things aren’t always what they appear to be,” I say with a forced smile.

  It’s easy bait, but if she knows about my “twin switch” then she’s good at faking it, because she doesn’t even react to that comment.

  “True,” she says instead. “After
I learned of your finances, I decided you were a party girl slut.”

  My eyebrows go up, and she shrugs. “You suck at apologies,” I point out. “If that’s what this is.”

  “I haven’t gotten to the apology part yet.” She lifts her coffee and takes a sip, still not looking at me. “Then the other night, I met all those people. Carmen said your dad has like twelve of these houses, and you employ most all those people when they can’t find a job anywhere else. No job means no money, no responsibility, and a steady decline of self-worth when you get rejected too many times.”

  Jane walks by, waving at us as she heads in through the garage entrance, and I wave back.

  “She’s one of them, right?”

  “She has her own story, yes. Some of them just work at the house. Dad entertains at this one a lot,” I tell her, sort of answering her question.

  “So everyone working here is someone who was saved?”

  “Everyone who has ever lived in this house was saved. Us included. Those people remind us every day to be the best versions of ourselves.”

  Even Bora, for all her selfish ways, is still a grateful person. It’s why she lives in a shoe box size home instead of flaunting her cash. It’s also why she gives so much of her money away.

  Viv pulls out her phone, and I start to walk away to give her privacy for a phone call, but she hands me her phone instead. Confused, I look down at the screen to see a smiling couple staring back at me.

  It’s Viv. She looks… pleasant. Which isn’t a look I’ve seen on her since I met her. And the blonde guy beside her is handsome and smiling, too. I don’t like his smile though. It’s a little too smug for my taste.

  “That’s Dixon. My husband. Since I married him, my brother won’t hardly speak to me. He thinks I’m too much like my husband now, and I think he’s just an ass. Jax is an ass—not Dixon.” She blows out a breath while taking her phone back and shoving it in her robe pocket. “Until the other night, I thought my marriage was the only thing I needed to focus on. Then all those people told us about the hell they lived through, and—”

  Her voice breaks, and she clears her throat before discreetly wiping away a tear.

  “I’ve never felt so small in all my life as I did the other night. Jax is right to call me a sponge. I felt their pain like it was mine, and I hated myself for feeling like I had the right to share in pain I knew nothing about. Maybe my brother is right. I need to figure out who I am or something.”

  She laughs humorlessly, and I fidget. I wasn’t expecting an early-morning heart-to-heart with Viv.

  “Thirty and figuring out who I am. It’s embarrassing.”

  I’m not sure how I feel about giving her advice, but I can’t just not say anything.

  “My mom is still figuring herself out. Nothing wrong with it. Everyone moves at their own pace.”

  We stand there in awkward silence for so long that I lose track of time. Finally, Jax comes back into view. Holy shit. I need to stop watching him.

  Viv helps draw my gaze away when she breaks the uncomfortable silence. “I’m sorry I judged you wrong.”

  A pang of guilt strikes, because I realize she has no clue I’m nothing more than a faker. She looks at me dead in the eye and blows that guilt away with her next words.

  “But you need to tell my brother you’re not your twin sister.”

  A strangled sound leaves me, and a slow, almost delighted smile curves her lips. “One of the guys at the bonfire obviously didn’t get the memo, and they raved about Bo and Bora… I heard a lot of stories about how you put on surfing competitions for them when you two were teenagers. Funny thing about identical twins? They like to switch places, or so I hear.”

  She turns and saunters away, and I try to ignore the chill creeping up my spine. So that’s how he figured out? The bonfire? Shit. I thought Dad told everyone not to say anything.

  It makes sense. That’s when he started acting differently, but he has been… easier to be around. You think he would have been an ass, considering.

  Why didn’t he tell Viv he knew? Why didn’t Viv tell him?

  Shanna is right. This is too confusing and too complicated. I definitely need to put an end to it.

  My phone buzzes, and I pick it up, seeing a picture from Bora. She got her hair done, and I really, really love it.

  Sister Sister: You know you wanna do it… It’s hot… Don’t tell me you don’t want a new hairstyle… You owe me since you took all my makeup and clothes…

  I really do love it, and she knows I can’t resist. Hell, I got my navel pierced because she did. Just like she got her tongue pierced when Ruby talked me into doing it. Then we both took it out because I couldn’t handle it, and Bora didn’t want it if I didn’t have it.

  Don’t ask me to explain, because I can’t.

  Sighing, I turn just as I hear Jax jogging up the stairs. Then… I forget what I’m supposed to be doing. That V… Yeah… You know the one. My eyes follow it until it disappears below the waistband of his gym shorts. Slowly, my eyes comb back up the defined contours of his abs and chest, and I envy the sweat that is getting to trickle along all those grooves. I’ve never been big on muscles, but Jax isn’t a bulky guy. He’s all lean muscle and mouthwatering—

  My mind shuts off when I meet his eyes and see his cocky, amused smirk, and then I clap my mouth shut. I hope it hasn’t been hanging open very long.

  “Do I want to know what’s on your mind?” he muses, teasing me a little with his tone.

  No. I don’t even know what I’m thinking. It’s like a bomb has gone off inside my brain, and the apocalypse has started up there.

  “Nice run?” I ask, wincing when I hear how husky my voice sounds.

  He shrugs and props up beside me.

  “Could have been better if you joined me. I’m not much of one for running alone.”

  “I can’t run on sand. That takes an extra level of skill that I don’t possess.”

  He snickers lightly while lacing our fingers together. Why is he holding my hand?

  “Saw Viv. Was she being a bitch?”

  “Actually, she was nice. Well, mostly. I think.”

  He seems surprised by that, but I’m too busy reeling from my morning full of surprises to even think about his.

  “I have some friends on their way. I forgot all about them, and I didn’t tell them we changed houses. Vince told me to send them over. That’s why I took so long with the coffee this morning. I was talking to him.”

  He didn’t take long enough with the coffee.

  “They won’t say anything about me or the people who live here?”

  “I wouldn’t let them come if I was even a little worried about that.”

  The sincerity shines in his eyes, and I stupidly trust the man who is trying to deceive me by not letting on that he knows I’m deceiving him.

  Train. Wreck.

  “Good,” is my only response.

  “I’m about to take a shower. You wanna join me?” he asks, waggling his eyebrows.

  Now I don’t know how much he’s acting. What would he do if I said yes?

  “I’m going to be in the ocean, and I showered last night.”

  He smiles like he was expecting that answer, and he lets go of my hand before walking inside. It’s then I realize he hasn’t even tried to kiss me on the lips since the night of the bonfire.

  How in the hell did I not notice that sooner?

  After a few minutes, the ocean loses its appeal, and I silently curse myself before wandering back inside.

  Chapter 22

  JAX

  “’Bout damn time we found this place. Holy shit, dude. This is Sterling,” Cody says as he whistles low and takes in the massive home.

  “I call dibs on the room next to your sister’s,” Dustin says, smirking when I roll my eyes.

  “Dixon isn’t here, so she might actually take you up on that standing offer.”

  His smile only grows, and I flip him off.

  “Don’
t make me kick your ass.”

  He holds his hands up, laughing lightly as he backs away. Cody is still drooling over the massive home.

  “And Vince Jaggons is legit here?” Cody asks, already fighting to keep his cool.

  “Yeah. He’s somewhere. Probably in a speedo. Have fun with that view.”

  They both wrinkle their noses, and I laugh. “Mick was here. He took off the other night with his assistant.”

  “Damn,” Dustin groans. “Mick’s my fave. Vince is—”

  “Definitely in a speedo,” Cody finishes, pointing out the window as Vince struts by on his way to the ocean. I’m sick of seeing that man in so little.

  “Where’s your girl?” Dustin asks, eyeing Jane’s ass as she walks by. Jane doesn’t even so much as spare him a glance. “And who was she?”

  “She’s off limits. She lives here.”

  His mouth forms an O. I explained things earlier when I called them to give them the new address. They took in all the new info pretty well, but I don’t want them fucking someone from here. The last thing anyone here needs is a playboy out for a good time.

  “And your girl?” Cody asks. “Bora still being Bora? How have you survived this long?”

  I didn’t tell them about that.

  “She went into town earlier while I was showering. She should be back soon.”

  I shrug as Jonah, a guy who lives here, comes and starts collecting their bags.

  “We can get those,” I tell him.

  “I’ll put them in a room. I like to do this for Vince’s guests, and I get paid to do it.”

  He gives me a look that tells me I better not pity him, even though I heard his story the other night. I just nod, and he takes the bags before walking to the back.

  “Want to hit the beach?” I ask them, noticing they’re already in board shorts, as though the ocean was priority number one.

  “Definitely,” Cody sighs, looking back out as Vince pops up on a surfboard.

  “For an old dude, he’s not bad,” Dustin says with a shrug.

  Snickering, we head outside. Just as we reach the water, Dustin grabs my arm and rips me back.

  “Please fucking tell me she doesn’t live here,” he groans.