Code of Matrimony

Anna and Colette might be identical twins but not in personality. Anna is an all-action adrenaline junkie, socially inept, prone to blurting out everything she's thinking, happiest in flat shoes and jeans. Colette is sophisticated and elegant, measured, and easily mistaken for a model. Anna is getting married to Darius (see Code of Honor, a small beach affair with a few friends and family at her parents' home in Rockport, Massachusetts. Colette is dating the millionaire Sterling Gray, which is a bit awkward because she only got close to him originally to distract him while Anna broke into his father's vault and stole a painting which belonged to their mother. They've got over that but their relationship is still very formal, very polite, they only see each other once a week. Despite that Colette really likes him, but is he ready to meet her bohemian (swims naked in the sea every day) mother and spend time in close company with her zany sister? She might love them both but they don't strike her as the sort of people Sterling would want to spend time with. Colette aims to avoid the awkwardness by not inviting Sterling to Rockport but instead hosting a dazzling engagement party in the city for Anna and Darius, which is much more to Sterling's taste. For a novella this packs a heck of a punch.