The Twin Switch

“There she is,” Sophie said.

“Where?” I asked, disappointed in my powers of observation.

“Left side of the lobby. Talking to a guy.”

I leaned in for a better angle, but I still couldn’t see her.

“It looks like she got more support from random men than I did,” Nat said.

“He’s hot,” Sophie said.

I got down from the bar stool so I could see more of the lobby.

“Whoa,” both Sophie and Nat said in unison.

“What?”

I saw a broad hand on Brooklyn’s shoulder, and I could almost feel the touch myself. The rest of the man was blocked from view by the lounge wall.

She smiled, and then the hand disappeared.

I surged forward, but whoever he was walked away too fast.

“Seriously?” Sophie said. “The three of us are all single, and she ends up with him in the blackout?”

“Fate is cruel,” Nat said.

“What did he look like?” I asked.

“Hot,” Sophie said.

“Tall,” Nat said.

“Tall and hot,” Sophie said.

“Thanks for that specific detail,” I said.

Brooklyn was coming toward us.

“Who was that?” Nat called to her.

“Can I meet him?” Sophie asked.

“You don’t get to call dibs,” Nat said.

“Dibs,” Sophie said.

Brooklyn was smiling and shaking her head as she drew closer. Her cheeks were flushed, and there was an odd brightness to her eyes.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The power went off,” she said.

“Did you get his name?” Sophie asked.

Brooklyn shook her head. “Can’t help you with that.”

“He squeezed your shoulder,” I said.

From my vantage point, the touch seemed intimate. That tanned, strong hand squeezing down on Brooklyn’s shoulder had sent a shiver up my own spine.

I tried to imagine how James would feel about someone touching Brooklyn that way. He wouldn’t like it. Of that, I was sure.

“He was saying goodbye,” Brooklyn said.

“What’s wrong with you?” Sophie asked me.

“Who squeezes a strange woman’s shoulder?” I asked.

“Who doesn’t?” Sophie returned.

“It’s not like he kissed me,” Brooklyn said.

For some reason, her words didn’t make me feel any better.

“He can kiss me,” Sophie said.

It suddenly occurred to me that Brooklyn might already know the man. That would explain the touch.

But if that was true, why wasn’t she saying so? Was the guy an old boyfriend? Not that she could have an old boyfriend without me knowing. It was impossible.

“We’re going to be late for our dinner reservation,” Nat said.

“Was my drink ever served?” Brooklyn asked.

“I think it got lost in the excitement,” Sophie said.

As if on cue, the bartender arrived. “I think you’ll like this one. I call it an icy wave.”

The drink was in a tall glass, blue green in color, with lots of crushed ice and a strawberry garnish.

“Thank you,” Brooklyn said to him.

He waited while she took a sip.

I waited impatiently to ask her another question.

“It’s good,” she said.

The bartender beamed.

Before I could speak up, shaggy-neat-hair guy walked back into the lounge. The sight of him sent a jolt of electricity across my chest. I sucked in a breath.

He seemed to hear me, or maybe he just felt me staring, because he turned, and we locked gazes. This time there was no mistaking it.

His mouth crooked into a half smile. I couldn’t tell if he was greeting me or mocking me. It could be that my lust was obvious to him even at this distance.

No, not lust, I told myself. Lust made my reaction sound salacious.

This was interest, no more, no less. And there was nothing wrong with being interested in a good-looking guy across the bar.

“We have a reservation in the Moonside Room,” Nat said, interrupting my musings.

I forced myself to break the gaze.

And I was absurdly proud of breaking off the look first this time. I found myself smiling in satisfaction. I had to resist the urge to check shaggy-neat-hair guy’s reaction to my shift in attention.

“I can have your drink brought up to the restaurant for you,” the bartender said to Brooklyn.

No mention of my drink, or Sophie’s. But then that was the way of the world.

“Thank you so much.” Brooklyn flashed her friendly blue eyes.

“Not a problem.”

I could tell the bartender thought he had a shot—despite the big diamond ring on Brooklyn’s left hand. She had a knack for that—for doing nothing in a way that ever so subtly led men on.

Sophie was very pretty. Nat was girl-next-door cute. But none of us could hold a candle to Brooklyn’s allure. Men tripped over their own feet when she was in the room. She invariably got us great tables and great service from earnest waiters and maître d’s.

Mostly I just took the perks without bothering to be jealous of Brooklyn.

“Through the lobby?” she asked the bartender.

“Straight across to the gold elevator. It will take you to the fifty-eighth floor. Mandy can show you.” He beckoned one of the waitresses.

“Just in case we can’t read the sign,” Nat whispered to me.

“Just in case he misunderstood the diamond ring,” I whispered back.

“Men have no consciences.”

“Luckily for James, Brooklyn does.”

My best friend, and an only child with two distant, busy parents, Brooklyn had spent countless weekends and holidays with my big extended family. She’d had a crush on James since we were old enough to know what a crush was. He’d finally invited her to the junior prom, and there’d been no going back.

Their relationship made such perfect sense for everyone, including me. I’d been testing the term sister-in-law inside my head for months now. I couldn’t wait to use it in real life.

As we walked to the elevator, I looked around for shaggy-neat-hair guy.

He wasn’t in the bar, and he wasn’t in the lobby.

Ah, well. There was always tomorrow.

The sauna and spa lounge were coed. He could be a spa guy.

Or maybe I’d check out the exercise room. He definitely looked like the weight-training type. And I could see him on an elliptical machine…or rowing.

I could definitely picture him rowing.

Two

I wasn’t a morning person at the best of times.

It was doubly hard to wake up with the daylight filtered by an opaque blind, the air in the room cool on my face and cozy in a bed that was softer than a cloud.

Reluctantly giving up my state of sleep, I reached for the last wispy threads of my dream. There’d been a blue-eyed man on a surfboard off the beach of a tropical island. A dog was playing in the sand while the palm-frond room of a nearby hut rustled in the floral breeze.

I’d felt safe and warm inside the hut, but I couldn’t remember why. I struggled to find the details, but the synaptic connections evaporated, locking me out of my subconscious.

It was morning.

I opened my eyes to see the bathroom light on, the door partially closed.

I listened, hoping Brooklyn would be done soon so I could take a turn.

I looked to the bedside clock and found it was nearly nine.

I’d slept a long time.

I was hungry.

As I waited for Brooklyn, I weighted the cost-benefit of eggs Benedict. It was my all-time favorite breakfast. But the béarnaise sauce meant extra crunches next week and maybe some extra laps in the pool.

My bridesmaid dress was exactly the right size, and too much indulgence this weekend would blow the lines. A custom-fit dress deserved the flattest stomach I could muster.

Still, one breakfast of eggs Benedict—how much would that hurt?

“Brooklyn?” I called out. “Are you almost done?”

My bladder capacity wasn’t unlimited.

She didn’t answer, and I got up out of bed.

We’d come back to the room together after dinner last night.

While we ate, she’d been alternately chipper and chatty, and then suddenly lost in thought. She was the first of my close friends to get married, so I couldn’t tell if this was normal. It could easily be normal, but something seemed off.

I’d planned to talk to her once we got in bed. There was nothing like girl talk in the dark to get to the heart of a matter.

But I’d gone out like a light while she was still in the bathroom.

Now, I found it empty.

I was both surprised and relieved. I wouldn’t have to wait any longer, but I did wonder why she didn’t wake me up for breakfast.

I hoped they all hadn’t eaten without me. I’d be more willing to dive into a plate of eggs Benedict if I had coconspirators in the indulgence. Hey, if the bride was going all out, I wasn’t going to be a wet blanket.

I changed quickly, ignoring my makeup bag, and threw my hair into a ponytail. I climbed into a pair of jeans and a casual blue blouse along with a pair of ankle boots and some earrings. I was good enough for breakfast.

I headed for the Sunriser dining room on the main floor.

There I found Sophie and Nat. Like me, they’d decided it was a day to go for it with plates of gooey Belgian waffles and steaming mugs of hot chocolate.

“Where’s Brooklyn?” I asked as I sat down on a cushioned seat at the table for four.

The room was West Coast elegant, with gleaming wood beams soaring above us and a high wall of windows looking onto the bay. Sunlight streamed in across leafy plants and navy-colored tablecloths, glinting off the glassware and silver.

“We thought she was with you,” Sophie said.

“She wasn’t in the room when I woke up.”

The waitress offered me coffee, and I gratefully accepted, finding the cream in a little silver pitcher in the middle of the table.

“Did you check the spa?” Nat asked.

“No. Don’t you think it’s too early?”

“She’s probably working out,” Nat said. “Her wedding dress doesn’t leave any room for error.”

I found myself rethinking my eggs Benedict.

Nat cut into her waffle, releasing a wave of the delicious aroma.

“Are you ready to order?” the waitress asked me.

“Eggs Benedict,” my mouth said before my brain could mount a decent argument against it.

Once made, I was happy with the decision. I could work out at the hotel gym sometime today. It was going to be worth it.

“The woman has willpower,” Sophie said of Brooklyn.

I smiled at that as I sipped my sweetened coffee. It was true.

Thanks to Brooklyn’s insistence, we swam to the far floater and back every time we drank a milkshake at the Lake Washington Beach. I didn’t gain an ounce over summer breaks. To this day, I used swimming to stay in shape.

I should thank her for that.

I’d have plenty of time in the future.

She and James were shopping for houses in Wallingford. The area was close to my apartment in Fremont. After the wedding, we’d be able to see each other even more often than we did now.

While I waited for my breakfast, I shot her a text.

“At least we know she’s not stuck in an elevator this time,” Nat said.

“Are we shopping this morning?” Sophie asked.

“Do you need something?” I glanced at my phone, but there was no symbol to indicate Brooklyn was answering.

“Clothes,” Sophie said. “Maybe some throw pillows or shelves. I could use some shelves for that little corner by the patio door. I bought those two blown-glass sculptures at the pier last month, and I have nowhere to put them.”

“I don’t need anything,” Nat said.

“I respectfully disagree,” Sophie said. “Your studio needs a complete makeover.”

“It’s functional,” Nat said with a sniff.

“It’s criminal,” Sophie said. “All that glorious potential, and you haven’t done a thing with it.”

“I hung some pictures.”

“That I gave you. On hooks that were on the wall from the last tenant. The arrangement doesn’t even make sense.” Sophie turned to me. “We should go on a shopping spree for Nat’s place.”

“We should probably ask Brooklyn,” I said, thinking the weekend was supposed to be all about her. And I’d make it all about her, too, if I could only track her down.

My eggs Benedict arrived, looking outstandingly delicious.

“Brooklyn will go for it. She loves shopping,” Sophie said.

I took a first bite. It was to die for.

I’d be happy to shop or sightsee or hit the pool deck. I’d even go for another massage. I’d always go for another massage.

“In that case, we can shop for Brooklyn,” Nat said. “I don’t want to clutter my place up with knickknacks and dust collectors.”

“Another word for them is art.” Sophie smirked as she went for her phone. “If the bride says we’re redecorating your studio, we’re redecorating your studio.”

“That’s not how it works,” Nat said.

“It’s exactly how it works.” Sophie held her phone to her ear.

“I’m counting on you,” Nat said to me. “Talk some sense into her.”

“I can’t see redecorating your apartment being Brooklyn’s first choice,” I said honestly.

My money was on Fisherman’s Wharf or Golden Gate Park.

“She’s not answering,” Sophie said.

I hoped that meant Brooklyn was in a shower at the gym. She should really get over here and try some of these eggs.

“What the heck?” Sophie said, surprise in her tone.

I looked up.

She put her phone under my nose with a friend-finding app open. I squinted, but it was too close for me to see the little map.

When she spoke again, she sounded completely baffled. “What’s Brooklyn doing back at the airport?”

My first thought was Brooklyn had been kidnapped.

It was the only thing that made sense.

She had no reason to leave the hotel voluntarily. We had spa appointments, and there were Belgian waffles and hot chocolate on the menu. What more could a woman ask for?

I wanted to call the police right away, but Nat convinced me they’d need more evidence before they opened a missing-person case. Brooklyn was an adult, and she hadn’t been gone very long by law-enforcement standards.

Nat was right.

I was letting emotion overrule reason. That wasn’t like me at all.

Instead, we checked the hotel room and discovered Brooklyn’s suitcase was gone.

I took heart from that. I took that to mean she’d left willingly. Our best guess was that there’d been an emergency in the middle of the night—maybe a medical emergency, presumably one of her family members, maybe her mom or dad.

If something had happened to James, they would definitely have called me, too. Still, it made no sense that she wouldn’t wake me up. I’d have gone with her.

While I was pondering the mystery, I came across her note.

I opened my mouth to alert Sophie and Nat. But then I read it and my heart sank to my toes.

I didn’t say a thing. Instead, I hid the damning words in my jeans pocket.

“She’s off-line,” Sophie said, holding out her phone on the friend-finding app.

Brooklyn’s icon had disappeared.

“Did she get on a plane to Seattle?” Nat asked.

“Possibly,” I said.

“Should we go after her?” Sophie asked.

We should. We would. At least I would.

But I was going by myself. I didn’t know much, but I knew Brooklyn hadn’t gone back to Seattle.

“We don’t know for sure where she went,” I said. “Let’s not all rush off.” There, that sure sounded more like rational me.

It took me a few precious minutes, but I convinced Sophie and Nat to sit tight at the hotel, promising to track down Brooklyn and bring her back to San Francisco to finish off the weekend.

As I made my way to the airport, the note weighed heavy in my pocket.

Layla, it had said. I’m more sorry than you can know. I’ve tried so hard, but I can’t marry James. I’ve met my soul mate. Please forgive me.

Her soul mate? What was she talking about, her soul mate?

James was her soul mate. He was the love of her life. They were fantastic together.

Sitting on a hard, plastic chair in the airport, staring at the departure board, I hunted through my phone and looked up the airspeeds of commuter jets, considering the radius of the distance Brooklyn could have traveled by now, and mapping out the cities in the circle: Sacramento, Reno, Los Angeles.

I rehearsed the many ways I could talk some sense into her.

It had to be temporary insanity—the stress of a five-hundred-guest wedding, or her mother fussing over the dresses and the flowers and the dinner. Or maybe it was James wanting children right away.

I knew Brooklyn wanted to wait a couple of years before they had kids. I didn’t think the disagreement had been a deal breaker. But what did I know?

I knew I was going to find out.

I knew that much.

I thought about phoning James. But I couldn’t exactly call him out of the blue and ask about his future kids. Plus, he’d want to talk to Brooklyn. I’d have to say she wasn’t with me.

He’d try to call her, and who knew where that would lead. Nowhere good, that was for sure.

The marker for Brooklyn’s phone suddenly appeared on my screen.

My heart jumped. I’d found her!

She was in Las Vegas.

I was on my feet and heading for the bank of check-in counters while I scrolled to see which airline had the next flight to McCarran Airport.

A few more searches on my phone, a plane ride and an Uber ride later, and I was in the lobby of the Canterbury Sands Hotel.

Brooklyn’s phone told me she was here. Since I wasn’t with NASA or the CIA, the accuracy of the app was spotty, and I couldn’t pinpoint her, but she was definitely here somewhere.

I glanced around. The hotel lobby was posh luxury as far as the eye could see: marble columns, carved woodwork, potted palms, discrete lighting and leather armchairs set into corners and alcoves.

Since she wasn’t conveniently hanging around in the lobby, I tried the front desk. Brooklyn wasn’t registered. Or maybe she was registered, but the professional staff knew better than to reveal personal information about their guests.

I tried explaining I was Brooklyn’s maid of honor and we were getting ready for a wedding. But the female desk clerk seemed unimpressed.

I supposed a wedding in Vegas was hardly a monumental event. I’d seen a bride in a limo as my Uber had turned into the hotel drive and another was visible right now posing for photos outside in the garden.

This bride looked gorgeous, and her groom looked happy, as he joked and jostled with his friends. I loved weddings. Who didn’t love weddings?

When the bridal party moved on, and Brooklyn still wasn’t anywhere in sight, I found an empty table in a lounge at the side of the lobby. I was going to wait it out. Odds were she’d pass by this central point sometime.

I’d tried calling her again, but she hadn’t answered. I wasn’t about to let her know I was in Vegas. I didn’t think she’d run from me again, but it was possible.

I decided it was better to confront her in person. I wanted to see her expression when I asked what I had to ask—which was what the heck did she think she was doing?

It was hot, and I was thirsty, so I ordered a five-dollar cola. I was hungry, too, since I hadn’t had a chance to finish my divine eggs Benedict. But I couldn’t bring myself to order a twenty-five-dollar snack.

This might be a weekend of indulgence, but I had limits. I’d seen the waiter pass by with the order for another table. They served designer food here. Three shrimps and a swirl of greenery weren’t going to impact my hunger in any meaningful way. So why waste the money?

I’d texted Nat before the plane took off, so they knew I was on Brooklyn’s trail. I kept the soul mate thing—which struck me as a temporary thing—to myself for now. Instead, I let them assume Brooklyn was blowing off steam in the run-up to the wedding.

She was, in a way. Just not in a good way.

Halfway through my glass of cola, my attention caught on a man on the other side of the lounge. He rose and was moving in my general direction. He stopped at one table and chatted, then he stopped at another, and then he waved to a third.

I’m admittedly not the best at facial recognition. Every September I have to make a seating chart for each class and then work really hard to memorize the students’ faces. But even with my limited skill, and at this distance, I could swear this was shaggy-neat-hair guy from San Francisco.

I squinted in the dim lounge light, watching him walk and talk and smile.

Then he looked me straight in the eyes, and my chest jolted with that same electricity. Either this was him, or I was a huge sucker for a particular type.

He was coming straight toward me now. Then again, I was sitting near the exit. I told myself not to get too excited. But when it came to good-looking, possibly eligible men, myself didn’t listen much.

My brain started to hum. I should keep eye contact. I should smile. I should say something.

“Hello,” he said, slowing to a halt next to my table.

“Hi.”

A beat went past in silence.

I started to break it. “Were you by any chance—”

I stopped, distrusting my own memory and not wanting to look foolish. Then I told myself to speak up. That was what I told my students. If you have a question, speak up. There are no stupid questions.

“Were you by any chance just in San Francisco?” It did sound foolish when I said it out loud. Worse, it sounded like a line. I might as well have said: “Do you come here often?”

Sweat instantly gathered at my hairline.

“The Archway?” he asked.

Relief rushed through me. I wasn’t imagining things. “Yes.”

“I thought I recognized you.”

My embarrassment disappeared, but my hormones zipped off like a rocket ship. Up close, he was a hunk, superbuff, great-looking, oozing sensuality.

“Business or pleasure?” he asked in a gravelly voice that seemed to come straight from his deep chest.

It was neither, but I wasn’t about to go into detail.

“Pleasure,” I said.

He swung his gaze around the lounge. “Are you here alone?”

“Yes.” I hadn’t found Brooklyn yet, so I was currently alone.

He smiled at that. “I’m Max Kendrick.” He looked at my drink. “Would you like something more interesting than cola?”

I almost said no. I wasn’t here to get picked up in a bar. Then again, this was far from a honky-tonk. It was a fancy hotel lobby. And hadn’t I been fantasizing about this very thing just yesterday—meeting a great guy on my gals’ weekend?

This one seemed pretty seriously great, and he was dropping right into my lap, and I was sitting here tongue-tied and questioning every breath I sucked into my lungs. I had to get a grip.

“Have you seen the price list?” I don’t know why that silly question popped into my head. If he was staying here, and if he was offering, he must be able to afford the prices.

His smile broadened. “A time or two.”

“Sure,” I said, before I could come up with anything more senseless to blurt out.

“Great.” He sat down at the table. “What’s your pleasure?”

I considered pulling a Brooklyn by asking him to choose something for me, maybe batting my eyelashes and pretending to be überfeminine.

But überfeminine wasn’t me. Neither was batting my eyelashes, or pretending I didn’t know my own mind.

“A chardonnay.”

“Any preference on the label?”

“No preference.” Whatever the house served was going to be fine with me. Given what I’d seen so far of the house, I was betting their wine would be spectacular.

He gave the waitress a glance, and she came straight over.