I do, p.1
I Do, page 1
Table Of Contents
Other Books by Cheyenne Blue
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Other Books from Ylva Publishing
About Cheyenne
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www.ylva-publishing.com
Other Books by Cheyenne Blue
Not for a Moment
For the Long Run
The Number 94 Project
All at Sea
A Heart This Big
Code of Conduct
Party Wall
Girl Meets Girl Series:
Never-Tied Nora
Not-So-Straight Sue
Fenced-In Felix
The Girl Meets Girl Collection (box set)
Acknowledgements
This book—my twelfth romance—is dedicated to all the readers of sapphic books. Thank you to everyone who has bought, borrowed, read, or listened to one of my books. Knowing you’re out there enjoying my stories is a wonderful and humbling thing. I’m so very happy my writing finds a home on your bookshelf or e-reader.
To those of you who have left a review, recommended my books on social media or to a friend, talked about one of my books around the water cooler at work, discussed it in a book club, or emailed me directly—thank you, all you special people, thank you. I wish everyone joy in your reading, particularly when you read the many, many amazing authors of sapphic fiction who are out there.
As always, huge thanks go to Ylva Publishing for all they do in getting quality stories out into the world. A particular shout-out goes to my editor, Genni Gunn, for her insight and work on my story, cutting through my waffle to find the words that matter, and to Michelle Aguilar for the fantastic copy edit.
I’m lucky to have wonderful beta readers who all bring particular reading skills to the process. Sophie, Erin, Not-Happy-Jan, and Marg are all amazing and lovely to work with.
Happy reading, everyone. May there always be a comfy chair, a shady nook, or a soft bed in your life, and a great book to read.
Cheyenne Blue
Queensland, Australia
Chapter 1
“I may be desperate for work, but I’m applying for jobs I actually know how to do.” Allie stared at her identical twin sister in disbelief. Why on earth did Sophie think Allie’s accountancy skills made her the ideal person to stand in for her as an event planner? Maybe the strong painkillers were messing with her mind. “I can’t do your job. You might as well ask me to split the atom. I’ve got as much chance of pulling that off.” She puffed out her cheeks. “More, maybe.”
“No chance—you failed physics at school.” Sophie plucked the bedclothes away from her injured leg. “Please, Allie. There is literally no one else I can ask. My business is on the line.”
“Literally anyone would do a better job than me. Aren’t there agencies where you can hire people short term? Someone who knows event planning or at least the difference between an airwall and an AirPod.”
“At least you’ve heard of an airwall. You’re already in front.” Sophie shuffled in bed, struggling to reach behind for her pillow. “I wouldn’t ask if I weren’t desperate, Al.”
Allie stood and held out an arm, bracing herself as Sophie grabbed it and hauled herself forward with a grimace. Allie plumped up the pillow behind her. “You want another one behind your back?”
“No. Thanks.” With a sigh, Sophie settled back. “It’s not difficult. You just have to schmooze with people, show some tact and social skills—”
“Accountants aren’t known for their social aptitude.”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Please. That’s bollocks. People like you. You can make small talk with a gatepost. And accountants need to be organised and detail oriented. Essential skills for event planners.”
Allie sat on the edge of the bed and twisted her hands together in her lap. Sympathy for Sophie fluttered its wings in her chest. The last thing she wanted to do was go to Quandong—a tiny town somewhere off the beaten path in New South Wales. She wasn’t even sure where it was. And to go as the event planner for their festival? It was a disaster waiting to happen.
“Soph, I don’t think I can do this. Even as your stand-in. If people see me on the phone to you every other minute, they’ll realise I know less than an office junior on her first day. At least a junior can be sent out for coffee and sticky buns. They’ll be stuck with me. Honestly, I think you’d be better off going to an agency.”
Sophie pushed a hand through her floppy blue hair. Her blonde roots were starting to show. “The thing is, this job was going to make my business. The first big event of many. I can’t afford to hire anyone else. I quoted on a shoestring to get it, and if I bail, not only will I leave Quandong in the lurch, but I can kiss my business goodbye.” She took Allie’s hands in her own. “I trust you like no one else, Allie. I know how efficient and competent you are. Kirkland & Partners shafted you in the worst way possible—no wonder you’ve lost confidence in yourself. Maybe this will help you regain it.” She fixed her gaze on Allie. “I know I’m asking a lot of you—”
Allie managed a wobbly smile. “Thanks for the support. But I think you’re asking too much of me. It’s nearly as big an ask as when you got me to pretend to be you in high school and go on a date with Wallis Simpson, because you’d agreed and then changed your mind.”
“Ellis Simpson, not Wallis. Wallis was something to do with a royal scandal back in the day. And I’d only agreed to go out with him because he asked me in the ten minutes when I figured I better at least try to be straight.”
“Ellis, Wallis. Both forgettable.” Allie shrugged. “My point remains. Going out with Wall— Ellis was torture. He talked non-stop about his Gangnam Style video.”
“To be fair, everyone was doing that in 2012.”
“Still. It wasn’t his finest moment.”
Sophie laughed, which ended with a gasp. She crushed her lower lip between her teeth.
Allie picked up her hand and squeezed it. “Breathe. The doctors said you’ll get through this. You’ll get better. The swelling will go down and the nerves will heal. It could have been so much worse.” She closed her eyes momentarily, willing away the memory of waking in the night with her right leg aflame with pain. She hadn’t needed the call from the hospital to know something was seriously wrong with Sophie.
Sophie’s grey eyes, identical to her own, clung to hers as she panted her way through the spasm. When it ended, she seemed to deflate in the bed, her blue hair sweaty on her forehead. “If this is what labour is like, I’m never pushing a kid out my vag.”
Allie laughed. “Any mother would tell you it’s worse.”
“Yeah, what do they know?” She fell silent.
Allie gripped her sister’s hand, her thumb stroking over the back of it. Not for the first time, she cursed the driver of a stolen car who mounted the pavement and crashed into the front of the restaurant Sophie and her friend were leaving. No one was hurt—except for Sophie, her right leg crushed between the vehicle and brickwork. Initially, doctors had thought they’d have to amputate the leg to save her. Sophie would recover, but it would take many more months of rehab.
Allie hitched a breath. It was the worst time for her to go to Quandong—not only did she not want to leave Sophie right now, but there was her own career to consider. She had to keep her feelers out, keep applying for jobs, and not let the lack of response get her down.
But then…she couldn’t not go to Quandong. She was being selfish. What was a couple of weeks from her life if it helped her sister keep her business? Love and sympathy for Sophie twined in her chest. So what if it interrupted her own job hunt? It wasn’t as if job offers were falling out the sky, despite the shortage of qualified accountants in Sydney. The old boys’ network at Kirkland & Partners had seen to that. She pressed her lips together as the familiar knot of anger twisted in her guts. And maybe Sophie was right. She was a good accountant. And skills were transferrable. She straightened her back. She could do this.
“I’ll go to Quandong in your place.”
Sophie closed her eyes for a second, and when she opened them, they were damp. “Thank you. You’re the greatest sister on the planet.” Her breath whooshed out. “When all this is over, we’ll go to Laredo’s and drink a cauldron of margaritas and stuff ourselves with smoky beef fajitas until we explode.”
“As long as it’s your treat.” Allie pulled her lips into a smile even as her stomach plunged at the thought of time away from Sophie.
“It will be. We’ll swagger in there, arm-in-arm,
“So tell me what this festival is about. Should I take notes?”
“No need. You can take my file. It has everything you need to know.”
“Tell me the bones now, so I don’t go home and start panicking you’ve sent me to a doomsday preppers convention.”
“Way more interesting and upbeat.” The lines of pain around Sophie’s eyes eased for a moment as her lips curved into a small smile. “Quandong is a cute and characterful small town forty-five minutes inland from Byron Bay. It’s gorgeous—think rainforest, sparkling creeks, and a historic town centre. But few tourists make the drive out there. They stay on the beach in Byron because it’s trendy and Instaworthy.”
“Hey, I like Byron. It can’t help its celebrity town status! I bumped into Chris Hemsworth at Hip Coast Coffee once.”
“You know I don’t share your lust for the Hemsworth hunks.” Sophie’s lips twitched. “Moving right along before you melt; Quandong wants its share of the tourist dollar, and they’ve come up with a great idea: they’re going to bill themselves as the gay wedding capital of Australia. The town has the infrastructure already—there’s a heap of accommodation, three wedding celebrants, indoor and outdoor venues, and a gorgeous location.”
“So what’s the festival?” Allie leaned forward. If she were honest, the town sounded appealing. Small and cute, like her friend Leila’s Pomeranian.
“Gay Bells Festival. It’s two days of events with a same-sex marriage theme culminating in a parade, a fake wedding ceremony and afterparty. Most of the arrangements are in place—there are teams of volunteers assigned to each event. Your job is to oversee them all, defuse any tension over differences of opinion, arrange, delegate, and then be on hand during the festival to sort out the last-minute snafus. Simple.”
“I’m glad you think so.” Allie pinched the bridge of her nose where a headache threatened. “I don’t know how to do any of that stuff. You should implant a communication chip in my brain—it will save on the endless phone calls to you.”
“Not constantly.” Her twin’s gaze shifted away toward the window that looked out over the street. “Only when there’s no one around.”
“Why? You’ll have told them I’m standing in for you, right?”
“Not exactly.” Sophie’s fingers twitched on the quilt. “I’m asking you to pretend to be me. Go there and be Sophie Lane. My contract says I can’t delegate my duties unless I have approval in advance.”
The headache was now a reality. “Me pretending to be you must be in breach of that contract. Not to mention deceitful. There’s no way I could pull that off—surely you’ve met some of the organisers already? What if they ask a question that you would know and I don’t?”
“It’s not ideal, I know that. But I can’t think of any other way other than to pull out all together. You’re right; they probably wouldn’t knowingly accept you as a substitute, even though I have good reason.” She heaved a shuddering breath. “I trust you, Allie. You’re an accountant; sensible and practical is part of the job description—”
“Unemployed accountant,” Allie muttered.
“Through no fault of your own. And this gets you out of Sydney. Gives you a break in a cute town with nice people. Everyone I’ve met there has been lovely.”
“So you’ve met them. They’ll know I’m not you.” She pointed at her own natural blonde hair. “No blue hair. And it’s longer than yours.”
“Tell them you dyed it back to natural and that you’re growing it out. Honestly, I’ve only met a couple of people—I doubt they’ll remember me that well. Other than that, we’re identical. We even sound the same.”
“You’ve got a fleck in your left eye,” Allie started, “and I’m half a centimetre taller, and—”
“You really think anyone will notice those things?”
“Probably not,” she admitted. “But I’m not comfortable with this. The whole pretending-to-be-you part. What if I don’t answer to Sophie? What if they realise I’m not you? Your business will be completely down the gurgler then.” She shook her head. “I’m very afraid I’ll stuff it up for you, Soph. It seems…wrong.”
Sophie’s body rattled with a dry cough, and she clutched her ribs. “Fucking cough. Fucking bruised lungs. Fucking body. Look, if you’re not okay doing this, then don’t worry about it. I’ll go to the agency as you said.”
Allie bit her lip. Would it really be so bad pretending to be her twin? If Sophie was on the other end of the phone, then she was, effectively, doing the job. Allie would just be her mouthpiece. And it wasn’t as if they hadn’t pretended to be each other in the past. Exhibit A: Wallis Simpson. Or Ellis. She hung her head for a moment. “You don’t need to call the agency—I’ll go to Quandong. Just make sure you answer the phone if I call.”
“Of course I will. I’ve got nothing else to do, after all, except lie here and heal. Thank you. I’d hug you if I could move and my lungs weren’t pulped.”
Allie leaned in for a careful hug. Her sister smelled stale, as if she’d aged a few decades. She pressed her nose to the side of Sophie’s neck. “I love you. Of course I’ll do this for you. I’m sorry I didn’t agree immediately.” She released her. “When would I have to go?”
“Ten days’ time, for four days over the weekend. Then the festival is six weeks after that, and you’ll need to be there for two weeks.”
“I can do that.” She hoped. She swallowed away the nerves that threatened even now, and the curl of worry that the idea of deceit brought. “So that’s it? You’ll give me your file to read?”
“You can take it now. It’s on the desk in my office.” Sophie jerked her head toward the sunroom she’d made her home office.
Allie tilted her head. “There’s one thing still bothering me. Who’s going to look after you if I’m not here? You still need help getting to the bathroom and making food, and someone to drive you to doctors and rehab.”
“The insurance company has finally agreed to pay for around-the-clock care. I’ll take them up on it. I’ll be all right.” Her grin was a faint approximation of her smile from before the accident. “It’ll be okay.”
“Then that’s settled. I’ll read the file later. Is Bettina still coming to stay with you tonight?”
“Mm. She’ll be here in a couple of hours, so you can go home.” Sophie glanced at her fingers twisted on the quilt. “There’s just one other thing I haven’t told you about the festival.”
The hesitancy in her voice jolted Allie in the chest. What else can there be? Was she to be Lady Godiva, naked on a white horse at the head of the parade? Was she to source a full gay choir and orchestra? Or simply arrange a sit-down meal for three hundred people? Sophie’s voice alerted her a big ask was about to come her way.
“You better tell me.”
“Part of the reason I got the job is because I’m part of the queer community. As you’re pretending to be me, you’ll have to pretend to be a lesbian.”
Allie slumped. Pretend to be gay? Her stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch. “How do I do that? It seems…wrong. Pretending to be something I’m not.”
“There’s no magic to it. You’ve been around gay people ever since I came out at fifteen. Before then. There isn’t a homophobic bone in your body. You march in the Pride parades—”
“As an ally.”
“But you do it. You come with me and my friends to queer clubs and bars. You’ve been hit on by women. And I know you’ve kissed at least one.”
Allie looked down at her hands. Her skin itched as if it were a tight fit around her body. “She was lovely. And, well, I wanted to know if…because you were…and she understood…and we kissed.”
Sophie’s cough rattled her body. “Al, you don’t have to explain—again. We talked about this at the time. You kissed a girl, you liked it, but you’ve never done it again. But you’re a part of the queer community all the same. Not because you kissed a girl necessarily but because you support us, enjoy being with us. You’re an ally in the truest sense. So you don’t have to do anything different in Quandong; just be yourself. And if anyone asks questions just deflect them. You don’t have to explain to anyone.”
