Page 30 of Adored By the Wolf

“Oh no,” Becca said. “She’s probably already out and about running errands.”

“I’m not that much of a morning person either,” I said, taking a long drink out of my mug that I’d carried over from next door. “My brain doesn’t function till I’ve had my coffee.”

“And I feel like I need coffee today too,” Becca said. “Neither one of us could sleep last night.”

“Both of you?” Jill asked, looking between us. Stopping on me, she said, “Someone on your mind?”

Feeling on the spot, I stammered, “I . . . There’s just . . .” What was it that I was feeling? Looking over the magazines with Becca and the others last night had started something inside me. Unsettled. I was feeling unsettled. And all because my life was planned. I’d realized there and then that I had no other plans apart from selling Dad’s paintings for the rest of my life.

“You feel a little unsettled?” Becca asked.

Surprised at her choice of words, I looked at her, my mouth dropping open, and I could have sworn her eyes were twinkling. “Yeah,” I admitted. “I’ve been on edge since last night’s dinner. It’s unnerving, and I’m not sure why.”

I felt more than saw Becca look over to Jill and, not for the first time, I wondered what they weren’t telling me.

“Did you like any of the brothers yesterday?” Jill asked.

“Like them?” What a strange choice of words. “Yes, they were all great. You two are marrying into a really nice family. I’m actually kind of jealous.”

“Well, I think Jacob likes you,” Becca said, giving me a wink.

My insides started burning, and I clutched my mug tighter. Why did his name illicit such a strong feeling from me? “He was just being nice last night,” I said. But even to me, it didn’t sound convincing.

“He couldn’t take his eyes off you for the entire dinner. I don’t know if he even ate anything after you came in,” Becca said.

“And I think you like him too,” Jill said, laughing.

“I do not!” My hands went to my cheeks, and I couldn’t believe how warm they felt. I’d never felt this way about any guy before. The feelings were overwhelming, hitting me at full force.

“Hey, you’re blushing up a storm! Sorry, we don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, Millie,” Becca said.

“Well, I wanted to gauge how much she liked Jacob, so I was pushing just a little bit,” Jill admitted with a wink.

“That’s not nice,” I said, but all I could feel was my face getting warmer and warmer. The thought of Jacob sitting next to me at dinner had turned on something inside me, and all I wanted was to be close to him again. “I need to go see him,” I announced, putting my mug down on the counter and turning to head for the door.

But I didn’t make it one step before I felt Jill and Becca’s hands on me, forcing me to sit back down.

“Wait, you guys don’t understand! I need to—” I began.

“We understand very well, Millie,” Becca said, cutting me off firmly. “More so than you think. Before you go find Jacob, who is probably looking for you too—”

That froze me in place. “Why would he be looking for me?”

“Same reason you want to look for him,” Jill said, as if it were obvious.

I looked at them both in confusion, but they didn’t elaborate. Instead, the girls took me to Jill’s bathroom, where they sat me down in front of the mirror.

“We’re not going to stop you, Millie, just delay you a little. We’re going to make you look presentable before you go find Jacob,” Becca said. “After all, you’ve just woken up.”

They were right. I looked down at my pajamas, feeling my face redden even further. Lira used to dress me up like one of her dolls, and I would let her, but lately, I hadn’t wanted to let her do that anymore, much to Lira’s annoyance. She loved touting us around to parties, showing off that we were identical twins by dressing us similarly and making people guess who was who. Though, it was never hard for our friends to know who we were as our personalities could not be more different.

This time, however, I didn’t protest and let Jill and Becca primp me. They put me in one of Becca’s baggy, but stylish, pink sweaters and paired it with a pair of dark blue jeans that made my butt look really good. I was pleasantly surprised at how good I looked.

“Thank you,” I said. “I feel and look amazing. I love your taste in clothes, Becca.”

She looked at me with a frown on her face. “I don’t understand why you don’t wear these clothes more often. Your family can get anything they want, and I know you have stylish clothes; I’ve seen your closet in San Francisco.”

“Those stylish clothes are for my mom and sister. I like my sweatshirts and baggy pants, whereas all they can think about is being picture perfect all the time. If I could wear loungewear all the time, I would.”