Hartley and I are fraternal twins, although no one ever believes us because we’re so different, both physically and in personality.
I groan at my sister dramatically. “My words didn’t word properly again. I’m so embarrassed, Hart.”
Her laughter fills the car. “Oh no, now what’d you say? And to who?”
“Who do you think?”
“You embarrassed yourself in front of your smokin’ hot boss, didn’t you?”
“Yup.” I pop the p on purpose. “Start digging a hole.”
“For your body or his?”
“Mine, because I’ve already died from humiliation. In fact, I’m speaking to you from beyond the grave.”
Hartley exhales a laugh, and I can practically hear her eye roll. “Sorry. Can’t. I love you too much, plus I’m not made for manual labor.”
“Of course not. Much too lithe for that. How’s rehearsals going?”
“No, no. Don’t deflect,” Hartley scolds. “What’d you say to your boss?”
“I made chocolate chip cookies, which he ended up baking for me because Sailor and I made a giant mess and I needed to get her cleaned up. But then, when I took them out of the oven, he joked and said something like ‘you shouldn’t be allowed to bake’ and I said something like ‘you haven’t tasted my cookie yet.’”
There’s a rustling behind the receiver, and as I slow for a red light, I white-knuckle my steering wheel, anticipating her response.
“What’s so bad abou—oh. OH.Hailey!” Hartley’s laughter fills the car so boisterously, I turn the volume down. She doesn’tstop laughing until the light turns green and I’m about to turn into my neighborhood.
“You can stop laughing now.”
“Only you could turnthatinto something more. Did he even put two and two together?”
“Of course he did.Immediately.”
“What was his reaction?”
“Same as yours. I should quit, right? That’s the only natural progression to this.”
“You better not! You love working for him.”
“Loved. Past tense. I loved working for him before I made an ass of myself.” The repetitive click of my blinker competes against my words.
“Oh, stop. It’ll all be blown over by tomorrow.”
“When are you coming to see me?” I ask, putting my car in park. I leave it running, though, so I can finish talking to my sister. “I miss you, Hart.”
“I know, I miss you too. I think the Rebels play the Bears here next month. Will you be flying down? Or are you stuck up in Bridge Point with the kiddo?”
“I’m coming down! There’s going to be a few games, so Declan wants me and Sailor to come so he can still spend time with her when they’re not on the field.”
“I still can’t believe you ended up with a nanny job for the Bears coach. What are the odds we both end up connected to a baseball team in some capacity?”
“It’s pretty funny considering dad’s a football guy through and through.”
“Now we’re wearing jerseys for the wrong sports.”
“Technically, you’re the only one wearing a jersey. I’m wearing mac and cheese stains and flour on a T-shirt.”
“Ew.”
