Page 71 of Promise Me Never

Savannah now only spent some of her time at the Bedford house. When she’d met with the estate lawyer, she had learned that Bennett had established a life estate for Felicia in the guesthouse. Since it was all part of the same property, it couldn’t be sold until Felicia died or chose to move out. Savannah felt sorry for the woman who was deeply grieving. She’d told her that nothing would change. She’d continue to pay her salary, and Felicia could look after the house when she wasn’t there. She left Bennett’s office exactly as she’d found it. She couldn’t bear to get rid of his things. She had to live with the guilt that if only she had had faith in him, he would still be alive. But there was no point in wallowing in regrets. Savannah was happy to be back in the city. She had bought a place at the Apthorp. The first time she’d walked through the limestone courtyard she had felt like she was living in a dream. Nora Ephron had once lived there. And now Savannah called it home. It hadn’t taken Finn long to adjust to his new home, and unlike Bennett, she never worked on a book without him sitting at her side.

She took a sip of the champagne, then handed the crystal flute back to her agent.

“By the way, I love your hair that way. I never knew it was curly. Gorgeous,” Marion said.

Savannah smiled and glanced at herself in the mirror. It did suit her.

“Ready?” Marion asked.

Savannah nodded, and they left the green room together and went downstairs to where her fans were already gathered. Her fans. She was finally at the top. No more striving. No more hoping for someone to notice that she was talented. She had arrived! She was into the second week of her tour, and this was a ticketed event hosted by an independent bookstore in Santa Fe. After her talk, the manager led her to a table where she would sign books. It still felt amazing, finally having a published book, her own publicist, and a marketing team. It was everything she had ever dreamed it would be and more. Regardless of Bennett’s criticisms, her writing was good. Damn good. She hoped he would have been happy for her. Focus, she told herself. Her fans deserved her undivided attention. As they began to come through, she smiled, made small talk, and posed for selfies. The line was long, at least one hundred deep, and despite her elation, by the time she was getting to the end, she was wiped out. She wanted nothing more than to get back to her hotel room and relax. The bookseller pushed the last book in front of her, and before she looked up to smile at the next person, the woman spoke.

“Hello, Millie. Make it out to Poppy.”

Her head snapped up. All the blood drained from her face. This couldn’t be real. Was she hallucinating? It was her. Poppy in the flesh.

“But you’re…dead,” Savannah said, her voice cracking.

Poppy smiled. “Sorry to disappoint you, sis.”

| Seventy-Two |

Savannah

Savannah would never think of herself again as Millie, who had always been the less beautiful sister to the amazing Poppy. But now, standing in front of her fraternal twin, she felt her pulse racing and sweat breaking out on her forehead. She fought a wave of nausea as memories exploded in her mind. She and Poppy when they were ten, their mother fussing over them in the dressing room as they prepared for one of the many beauty pageants she made them compete in. Fawning over Poppy, commenting on how beautiful she was, while Millie was the plain Jane. It was torture. The scratching tulle, the itchy wigs, and the blinding lights. But no matter how hard she pleaded, her mother made her compete. Poppy always won. And she always had a perfect smile for the judges, as though she had been born to be a beauty queen. Their room overflowed with trophies and crowns, all belonging to Poppy. Finally, when they turned thirteen, the two of them told their mother they were finished with it. Their mother was devastated. But no matter how much she cried and begged, they remained firm, the one time that Savannah could remember them aligned.

When the teenage years were upon them, Poppy was Miss Popularity. Girls would always comment that they couldn’t believe they were twins and wasn’t Millie sorry she didn’t look exactly like Poppy. She had to remind them that fraternal twins were not carbon copies of each other. And then came her first real boyfriend at fifteen. They dated for three months until the night Millie found Poppy and him talking behind the football field, his face close to hers, ready to kiss her when she found them. Poppy played innocent, swearing she hadn’t done anything. It had been that way all her life. Living in her sister’s golden shadow. By the time they’d both finished college, Savannah had completely cut her off.

She was finally going to live her own life, one in which she would never again be overshadowed by Poppy. And then Poppy had done the unthinkable. She married Bennett Bryson. The man Millie had idolized for years. Once again, Poppy was living the life that Millie was supposed to live. Fortunately for her, fate had intervened. Poppy died and Millie won the prize. But here she was. Back again.

| Seventy-Three |

Poppy

It pains me to see the look on my sister’s face when she realizes that it’s me. I don’t understand why she hates me. All I’ve ever wanted was to be close to her. When we were little, we were both scared of the dark. Mom always refused to put a night light in our room. She said it would mess with our beauty sleep. Millie would crawl into my bed and we’d hold hands until we fell asleep. We were each other’s best friend. Anytime either of us got scared or hurt, the other would say “BFSs forever.” Which was our code for best friend sisters forever. But it all began to change when Mom started pitting us against each other. Called me the golden child and cruelly joked that Millie was bronze. I never wanted to participate in those stupid beauty pageants. But it made Mom happy, and I wanted to make her happy. So I went along with it. But I hated the way she would talk to Millie and make her cry. In the beginning Millie accepted comfort from me, but over time, she started to resent me and push me away. No matter what I said or did, it was never right. I wonder now, did I bask in being the favorite? Maybe I should have refused to win. Should have been mean to the judges. Done something to take the spotlight off myself. But I didn’t. After a while, Millie’s anger pushed me so far away that I didn’t try anymore. Her rejection hurt too much.

I thought after college with our parents gone, and us both living in New York, that maybe we could reconnect. And we almost did. We met up at a restaurant and started talking, really talking. About the trauma of those pageants, the dysfunctional dynamics of our family. I actually believed we were ready to put it all behind us. Then I showed her a picture of Bennett. Excited to tell her about my new boyfriend. Her face froze and her eyes grew cold.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you.” She waved her hand around. “Lured me here so you could throw it in my face.”

I looked at her in shock. “What are you talking about?”

She scoffed. “Come on. Don’t tell me you don’t know he’s a superstar author. The one I’ve been following for years. He’s everything to me. What do you want with him? You’re not even a writer.”

“Millie! How would I know that? We haven’t spoken since Mom and Dad died. I mean, I knew you wanted to write, but…”

“Don’t give me that. It’s all I’ve ever wanted my whole life.”

“No, but I met Bennett when he came into the club. I didn’t have any idea who he was. I’m in love with him.”

She stood up and threw her napkin on the table. “I was so stupid coming here. Thinking you’d changed. That we can be sisters, friends. I never want to see you again.”

She stormed out of there, leaving me speechless. And now everything has come full circle.

“Aren’t you a little bit happy that I’m alive?” I ask, my voice cracking and tears springing to my eyes. Can she really hate me that much that she wishes I were dead?

She expels a breath and puts her hands on my shoulders, touching me as if to determine if I’m real.

“Of course I am. I’m just shocked, that’s all.”