The Love Twin

Feeling tense, and still having a little time before her first appointment at the salon, Becky grabbed her keys and went out for a walk to quell the uncontrolled feelings she was having about Jarrid.

Under the flower-scented jacaranda trees, Becky followed the hilly sidewalk, breathing in the ocean-filled Mar Vista air. She had to concentrate on getting Jarrid back for Pam. She had to forget her own yearning for him.

As she turned the corner on busy Centinela Avenue, her heartbeat sped up when she spotted a curly brown-haired, muscular guy in shorts jogging across the street. For a second he looked just like Jarrid.

Her skin heated up with desire just thinking about him. She quickly turned away, silently scolding herself for wanting the man her sister was still in love with. She hurried back to her apartment to call Pam in New York. She had to keep her sister’s interest in mind, not her own.

She dialed Pam’s office number desperately needing tips on how to win Jarrid’s heart back for her twin. But it was lunchtime in New York, and she got Pam’s voice mail. So Becky left a message asking her sister’s advice on how she should act with Jarrid when she saw him again.

As she hung up, Becky was determined about one thing. She was going to get Jarrid back for her twin. However, as she grabbed her car keys to drive to the salon, she was a bundle of raw nerves; trying to figure out how she was going to silence her own major attraction to Jarrid Browning.

“Uncle Jarrid, sit next to me!” his nine-year-old niece, Lizzy, squealed as she pulled him to the dinner table at his brother Kenny’s house in West Los Angeles that evening.

Jarrid gently kissed her hand. “Lizzy Browning, I’d be honored to be your dinner partner.” In a princelike manner, he pulled out a chair for her.

How many times had Jarrid wished he had a daughter just like Lizzy and a beautiful wife like his brother had.

“Uncle Jarrid, I heard my mom’s gonna set you up in a few days with her girlfriend,” Lizzy whispered in his ear. “I’ve never met her, but don’t worry, I’ll let you know straight-out if she’s right for you.”

“I’m counting on your opinion,” Jarrid said, warmly hugging his niece, but his insides were churning.

Before Becky reappeared, he had been looking forward to meeting Marie’s friend, who was recently divorced and searching for a relationship like he was. But now, he felt uneasy about it.

All because of Becky.

“Jarrid, how’s your business going?” Kenny asked as he helped his wife set plates of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, cooked baby carrots and salad onto the dinner table.

“I’m still looking for customers who’ll hire me to design video and audio systems for them,” Jarrid replied, relieved to get his mind momentarily off his emotional turmoil about Becky. “Know of any, Kenny?”

“Wish I did,” his brother replied. “I’d send them straight your way.”

“Yeah,” Jarrid said, thoughtfully. “I just need to find a way to get my name out there. Then I’ll be able to open the larger store I keep dreaming about.”

Kenny high-fived him. “I know you’re gonna make it big, bro!”

“By the way, Jarrid,” Marie began as she passed him the meat loaf. “I heard you’re swimming at the gym now. Getting in shape for a new relationship?”

His brother winked at him. “I bet he’s met a couple of cute single women there, right, Jarrid?”

“Ken, stop it!” Marie said. “I don’t want your brother meeting another woman.”

Jarrid avoided Marie’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Marie, I haven’t met anyone new at the gym.” He immediately piled meat loaf onto his plate, not wanting his sister-in-law to know about his confused feelings about Becky and spoil her dating plans.

“Good,” Marie said. “Because I already told my friend, Leah, about you. She’s dying to meet you.”

“Same here,” Jarrid responded, trying to summon his original enthusiasm.

Kenny eyed him for a long moment. Jarrid got the distinct feeling that his brother sensed something was up but was going to keep quiet so as not to ruin things for his wife.

“How do you want to meet Leah?” Marie pursued. “A blind date with just the two of you? A family barbecue here?”

“Family, definitely, barbecue, here with all of you,” Jarrid rushed in a jumble of words. With Becky haunting his mind, he wanted to meet Marie’s friend in a friendly, platonic atmosphere.

Once again, Jarrid felt Kenny’s eyes on him. His brother was eight years older and twenty years wiser. Even as a kid, Jarrid could never put one past his big brother.

“Terrific!” Marie said, excitedly. “How about next Saturday?”

“Fine with me,” Jarrid replied, his stomach in one tight knot.

He was relieved when dinner ended. Lizzy talked him into a game of Monopoly, and he lost all his play money and properties when he landed on her hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk.

But later, while Marie tucked in Lizzy for the night, Kenny cornered him while he played his brother’s new CD-ROM computer game.

“Come clean, little brother,” Kenny said, egging him on. “You did meet a lady at the gym, didn’t you?”

Jarrid could feel the meat loaf grumbling in his intestines. “An old girlfriend.”

Kenny’s eyes widened. “You only had one old girlfriend, Jarrid. Wasn’t she the high school girl who burned you?”

Jarrid anxiously jerked the computer joy stick and missed the game target on the screen. “Yeah. Becky.”

“I never met her, did I?” Kenny went on. “I think Marie, Lizzy, and I were living in Chicago then. But I remember when you came to visit us, how broken up you were.”

I’m still in pieces! Jarrid wanted to yell out but didn’t. He had to find a place in himself that was emotionally neutral about her.

“Kenny, you’ve got to promise not to tell Marie,” he said. “I don’t want to spoil her plans. I’ll work this out. It won’t affect meeting her friend.”

Kenny’s eyebrow lifted. “You’re still hooked on Becky, aren’t you?”

Jarrid quickly got up from the computer. “I don’t know, Kenny, I don’t know.”

Kenny put a brotherly arm around his shoulders. “I know you well, Jarrid,” he began. “Ever since Mom and Pop died in that car accident when you were seventeen, you’ve been looking for a girl to love. Don’t worry. It’s gonna happen for you. Your future wife is out there. Just trust the process.”

Jarrid nodded, trying to absorb his married brother’s wisdom. He knew that seven years ago he’d held on too tightly to Becky because of his desperate need to love and be loved. He had emotionally paid for his overwhelming need when she eventually broke free of him. He didn’t want to make that same mistake twice.

“Hey, Jarrid, how about a quick one-on-one basketball game before you go?” his brother asked.

“Sure,” he replied, hoping the game would help get Becky out of his mind.

As Jarrid shot for the hoop, Becky’s strawberry hair and green eyes flashed through his head. Suddenly, he made a clear basket. A slow grin crossed his face. He couldn’t help but wonder if that perfect shot was an omen of good luck for him and her.

At the Nouveau Hair Salon in Beverly Hills, Becky quickly stuffed her hair dryer, hair spray, gel and scissors into her bag. She was already a few minutes late for her appointment at the Beverly Hills home of Mrs. Gwen Fuller, who preferred having her hair styled in privacy.

Becky didn’t mind doing house calls. Most of her clients at the salon were upscale, wealthy women who had busy schedules to keep.

As Becky packed her bag, she made sure she also had her swimsuit along. Mrs. Fuller always insisted that Becky swim in her pool. However, when she learned of Becky’s fear of drowning, Mrs. Fuller made sure that Becky relaxed in her Jacuzzi after Becky did her hair. Becky couldn’t refuse because she knew Mrs. Fuller was a widow who enjoyed sharing the lavish home she lived in by herself.

Becky anxiously glanced at the clock on the salon wall. She couldn’t even think straight, knowing she would be seeing Jarrid at his store in several hours. First, she had to go to her meeting with Charlotte about her sister’s job.