One Tiny Lie – Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,24
with that woman. She drives me nuts.”
Ava let out a long sigh. “You can blame that on circumstance. We’ve been friends for as long as I can remember, on account of our families. Try not to let Margot get to you. Margot’s just Margot. She can be a diva at times, but inside she’s a big teddy bear.”
“More like a mountain lion,” Luna muttered. “Or a coyote.”
Ava chuckled and waved a hand like she was brushing the topic aside. “What did Mom and Dad say? I’ll bet they freaked.”
Luna pursed her lips as she looked at the screen. “Hudson and I both agreed that it was better not to tell them.”
Ava nibbled on her lower lip. “That’s probably wise.” She grimaced. “See, that’s why people shouldn’t ever go on boats.”
“I didn’t realize that you got seasick so easily.”
“Oh, yeah.” She offered a sheepish grin. “I didn’t even think to tell you that.”
“And, you hate blueberries,” Luna added, giving her twin a reproving look. “I’ll have you know, I eat a lot of blueberries. In fact, I’m loving Rosalyn’s blueberry pancakes. She makes them for me all the time.”
Concern touched Ava’s features. “Doesn’t that make everyone suspicious? That you’re so different from me?”
“Nah, I just keep telling them that my tastes have changed.”
“I guess that works.” Ava frowned. “Hey, I keep getting calls from your Grandma Peach.”
“Really?” Luna was surprised by that. Grandma Peach had been calling Luna a couple times a week like clockwork, ever since she barged into Ava’s dressing room after Cash Romeo’s concert in Atlanta and accused Ava of being an imposter. Grandma Peach hadn’t been at all fooled by the sister’s switch. She saw Ava’s performance online and knew right away that there was no way the real Luna would ever get up and perform like that. Grandma Peach was threatening to go to the police if Ava didn’t tell her what was going on. Having no other option, Ava got Luna on a video call and the two of them came clean to Grandma Peach. Luna was glad that Grandma Peach knew the truth. Her grandmother had raised her since she was sixteen, from the time her adopted mother passed away from cancer. It was good communicating with someone familiar, especially here where she was immersed in Ava’s world. “What’s Grandma Peach saying to you?”
“That we need to tell everyone the truth about us. She’s been quoting passages from the Bible.”
Luna rolled her eyes. “Let me guess. ‘They shall know the truth, and the truth shall set them free.’”
Ava’s voice lilted. “Yep, that’s it.”
“She’s been telling me the same thing,” Luna admitted. Grandma Peach had been riding Luna hard about coming clean, but she just kept politely ignoring the comments.
“Oh, she has also been reiterating that ‘Thou shalt not lie,’” is one of the ten commandments.” Ava bit her lower lip. “I think she may have a valid point.”
Luna went hot all over, then frigidly cold. “No,” she asserted.
“We have to tell everyone eventually,” Ava argued.
Luna’s spine stiffened. “Look, this whole switch thing was your idea,” she huffed. “I agreed to go along with it. I gave you time to work through all of your stuff with Cash. The least you can do is give me time.”
Ava frowned. “Time for what?”
Luna’s heart began to pound. “I thought we both decided that it was better to wait until we’d raised enough money to save the vineyard before letting the cat out of the bag.”
Ava’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Everything’s happening faster than we thought. The label picked up six more of your songs,” she exclaimed.
“Really?” Luna squeaked. “That’s fantastic!”
“And, Lonely Moon hit number one on the charts.” A triumphant laugh floated from Ava’s throat. “Cash thinks it won’t be long before the label will want me to do an entire album.”
“Wow,” Luna uttered. Gratitude rose in her chest. It had been Luna’s dream for so long to get one of her songs published. The goal had seemed so distant, so unachievable. Now that it had happened, and the song was soaring … well, Luna was ecstatic that things were going so well. However, there was a new dream taking shape and overshadowing the former one. Luna never would’ve thought this possible a few months ago, but more than a successful career, she wanted to earn the love of a handsome, charismatic man who had a heart of gold. He’d saved her life, even more reason for Luna to adore him.
Ava rushed on. “We’re doing it, Luna.