Holiday In the Hamptons (From Manhattan with Love 5)

“I suppose so. Unfortunately this cookie dough didn’t. I said to it turn into a cookie, and look what happened.” Fliss stared doubtfully at the mixture. “You think we can make this work?”

Her grandmother took the bowl. “No. I don’t think we can make this work. It’s a mess. But when you’ve made a mess you put it aside and start again.”

Another metaphor, Fliss thought. The day seemed to be full of them.

She looked at her grandmother, knowing her help was more than she deserved. “I didn’t mean to switch identities. I was going to tell you right away, but then Seth showed up at the hospital—”

“And you didn’t want to face him as yourself.”

“Because I’m a coward.”

“You’re many things, but I don’t think a coward is one of them. I’m sure you have your reasons. If you’d like to share them, then I think you’ll find I’m a good listener. If you’d rather bake, let’s bake.”

Fliss had a sudden urge to tell her grandmother how she was feeling, and the urge surprised her. She was so used to keeping everything inside. And that was the way she preferred it.

She felt a rush of guilt. “I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“I understand. You got yourself in a state over Seth and you decided it wa

s easier to run from your problems than face them. I don’t suppose there are many people who haven’t done that at some point in their lives.” Her grandmother picked up the bowl again. “On second thought, I think we might be able to rescue this. Your dough is too soft, that’s all. Did you weigh the flour?”

“Vaguely. Some of it went on the floor. A lot more went on the dog.”

“Fetch me the flour.”

“If Harriet was here, she wouldn’t need help. She’s a better cook. No, scratch that. She’s better at everything. Cooking, caring for other people, caring for herself if it comes to that—” Fliss stared miserably into the bowl. “In fact the only thing I’m better at is math and messing up.”

“They do classes in messing up? Education has changed since my day.”

Fliss managed a smile. “I never needed classes. I was always a natural. If there was a bad decision to be made, I made it.”

Her grandmother measured the flour and added it to the bowl. “You think Seth was a bad decision?”

Fliss felt her eyes sting. Damn. What was happening to her? And it wasn’t as if they were chopping onions or anything. There was nothing she could blame. “Of course it was a bad decision.”

“Why? You didn’t love him?”

Double damn. How did she answer that? She decided her grandmother deserved a little honesty from her after so many lies. “I loved him.”

“So why was it a bad decision?”

“Because I ruined his life.” And she’d lied to him, too.

“So if you ruined his life, why is he hanging around?”

“He isn’t hanging around. He lives here. He can’t exactly avoid me. And anyway, he thinks I’m Harriet. Come to think of it, he’d be better off with Harriet. She’s a better person than I am.”

Her grandmother shot out her hand and gripped Fliss’s arm. “Oh no, honey, you’ve got it all wrong. She’s not better. She’s just different, that’s all.”

“Different in a better way.”

“It’s your father who made you think that. He played the two of you off each other. Messed with your heads. You’re a smart girl. I could never understand how you couldn’t see that. Now move over. We have a ton of cookies to make, and they’re not going to make themselves.”

CHAPTER NINE

“SO IF I were a character in your book, how would you fix me?” Fliss lay on the sand next to Matilda, who kept shifting positions on the blanket.

“Do you need fixing?”