“What the hell, man?”

Donovan felt the hard shove from Will with that question. He steadied himself. “She lied to me. She’s been lying to all of us.”

“Yelling at her isn’t going to solve anything. That’s no way to treat a woman.” Will took off toward the entrance.

“That’s right, go run after her.” Donovan shook his head. “She’s probably your soul mate anyway.”

Will cast him a dirty look, then nodded to Rachel. “Make sure his dumb ass gets home

okay.”

“I will.” She reached for Donovan’s hand. “Come on. I think you need a time-out.”

Since the party was still gathered at the bar, she led him into the kitchen. Once alone, she put her hands on her hips. “What has gotten into you?”

Donovan shook his head, leaning against the long prep table. Why was everyone casting blame his way? Zoe was the imposter. “She lied to me.”

“You didn’t even give her a chance to explain.”

“What’s to explain? What could possibly be her motivation for coming here other than to get some type of revenge?”

“I totally agree.”

He glanced over. “You do?”

“Yeah, totally. Zoe upped and moved to Buttermilk Falls last summer on the chance that you’d return here . . . I don’t know . . . eight months later so she could ruin you. It makes perfect sense.”

Donovan looked away, biting down on his lip. His sister could shove her sarcasm. “Fine. Don’t believe me. Maybe you’ll believe Mary.” He reached into his back pocket. Pulling out the Joker card, he slapped it on the prep table. “Apparently, the joke’s on me.”

Rachel came up beside him, picking up the card. “What does this have to do with anything?”

“I found it in the old purse tonight.” He let out an aggravated breath. “I thought Mary was trying to help me win Zoe’s heart by leaving items in the bag, but apparently this ghost gets her jollies in playing men for fools. Probably payback for my breaking her blue spoon.” He dropped his head back, pointing up at the ceiling. “You got me good, Mary.”

“New beginnings,” Rachel blurted out, holding up the card in front of him.

“What?”

“Mary wasn’t trying to play you. It’s a sign.”

He had no clue what his sister was talking about, and he really didn’t care. Right now, he needed a drink. A stiff one. “I’m going to the bar.”

“Wait. You don’t get it. This”—she pointed to the flower on the card—“is a white rose. It symbolizes new beginnings.”

“How do you know?”

She gave him a look like he’d asked the stupidest thing ever. “I’m a florist. This”—she handed him the card—“is your new beginning with Zoe. Mary’s telling you you have a clean slate.”

He took the card from her, flicking its edge. He wished what his sister was saying was true, but how could it be? Why did Mary even care about his relationship anyway? “Maybe my new beginning began after I exposed Zoe for the fraud she is.”

“Do you really believe she’s a fraud?” Rachel pressed on before he could answer. “Do you really think she did all of those awful things you accused her of?”

He didn’t want to believe it, but what other explanation was there? “I don’t know. Why would she keep this secret?” He searched his twin’s identical eyes for answers, coming up short.

“I don’t know.” She paused, pointing at the both of them. “But what we do know is that Zoe was here way before you even thought about moving home. Unless she can predict the future, it seems like a crazy coincidence.”

She continued, “And you should be happy that fate gave you a second chance to get to know her. You’ve been happy these last two weeks. Like, unbelievably happy. Zoe’s helped you find that purpose you were looking for.” She reached out and touched his arm. “Look, I’m the last one to sign up for the Zoe Mathews fan club, but even I can see how she’s inspired you.”

“But I can’t trust her.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Hell, I don’t even know her.”

“Get to know her.” She smirked. “It’s called dating.”

He blew out a breath. “It’s not going to work.”

She snapped her fingers and turned on her heels. “C’mon. I know what you need.”

“What?”

“To open Mary’s hope chest.”

The last thing he needed was to open anything else from Mary. Still, he was a little curious about the infamous hope chest. He followed his sister up to the second floor, stopping at the first bedroom at the top of the stairs.

Rachel flipped on the light and shut the door after him. “Okay, go ahead.”

His gaze lowered to the antique oak chest against the wall. “Damn, that’s old.”

“Just open it,” Rachel said, but then grabbed his hand. “Wait!”

He threw his hands in the air. “Geez, okay.” One minute she was ordering him to open it, and now she didn’t want him to. He really should have just gone to the bar for that drink he needed.

“Let me check your hand first.” She inspected his palm. “No grease.”

“Grease?” His heart sped up. Did he hear Rachel right? Why would she ask that?

“Zoe had grease on her hands after she opened it. That’s why I thought she and Will were soul mates on account of he used to be covered in it.”

He grinned inwardly. Yeah, Will wasn’t the only one who’d recently been covered in grease. He decided to keep that to himself. Right now, he wanted to open the hope chest. “May I?”

Rachel stepped aside. “Go for it.”

He took a deep breath, hoping he’d find more than a soup ladle or a Joker’s card inside.