“I just wouldn’t want to rule anything out,” she said, choosing her words. “We’re talking about the next fifty years. Do you really want to live like strangers that whole time?”
He tilted his head to the side. “Your father seemed to think you’d prefer to have as little to do with me as possible.”
Thanks for nothing, Father.
“We don’t always see…eye to eye,” she said as the waiter arrived with their drinks.
Grateful for this distraction, she focused on the tea being set before her and not the intensity of Julian’s stare.
Pouring herself a cup from the little teapot, she doctored her drink slowly. The familiar routine helped settle some of her nerves, and she turned her attention back to her date.
“I take it your father is not the authority on you he claimed,” Julian said.
“Are your parents experts on you?” she asked.
He shrugged. “Don’t have any.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be. At least you won’t have in-laws to worry about.”
“That wasn’t really a big concern at the moment.”
He sipped his coffee. “I’m sure this will shock you, but I’m not the sentimental type.”
“I would never have guessed.”
“My life has been more focused on what I can achieve.”
That, she understood. “And this marriage will be one more step along that path, won’t it?”
“Exactly,” he said without any hesitation.
“Well, you’re honest. I’ll give you that.”
He smiled “I take it I’m not what you were expecting.”
“No.”
“Better or worse?”
“I’m not sure yet.” She would have preferred to trick a man with less intelligence in his eyes.
I’d also wouldn’t have picked a GQ model.
Her nerves were playing havoc with her as it was.
He set down his cup, his gaze roving over her. “Clearly, I’ve got a couple of things wrong about you, and you don’t know what to make of me. Not the strongest foundation for a marriage.”
“Look at that. Something we agree on.”
His smile flashed briefly. “Tell me about yourself, then. Do you have much to do with your company?”
She tamped down her annoyance at the assumption that all she did was twirl her hair. “I work in the communications department,” she said coolly.
Faint surprise lit his eyes. “I think I’ve gotten some wires crossed yet again.”
She nearly hit herself. Yes, she worked in the communications department, but Lillian didn’t. Her sister spent her time as a sales rep, traveling to wine and dine the elite her father wanted to do business with. Lillian distanced herself from the company as much as she could, not wanting yet another thing tying her to their father.
“What did you hear?”
“That you weren’t very interested in the running of the day-to-day operations. Your father suggested this marriage would work well for you, since you could leave the company in someone else’s hands and go off about your life.”
“Wow, I sound like such a prize.”
What other lies did Father tell to sell this man?
He smiled. “Honestly, an absent wife works for my plans, too.”
“And if I don’t want to ignore my company?”
Something new and calculating lit his gaze. “Then we’ll have to find a way to coexist.” His gaze ran over her. “I’m less opposed to that idea than I would have been an hour ago.”
A blush stained her cheeks even as she fought to stay composed. Lillian would have stared him down, but the slightest compliment had her face heating. She gulped at her tea to try to cover up her reaction.
I don’t know how to play these games with him. It was one thing to stall him. It was another to flirt with a man who would never be hers.
Though, staring into his dark gaze, there was no denying how her stomach twisted into knots that had very little to do with her ruse.
And even less to do with her sister.
…
Julian didn’t know what to make of the woman in front of him.
Brunch with his future wife had been pretty low on his list of priorities today. His company was preparing for the merger with the Abbotts, and he didn’t have time to think about anything else. It was a nightmare of logistics to combine two corporate empires. He needed to focus.
But the thoughts were driven from his mind when Lillian lifted her sunglasses and met his gaze.
He’d seen pictures of her, of course. Her father had shared them when they’d first come up with the plan. But the photos didn’t do her justice. The woman before him was striking in a way he hadn’t expected to notice. He needed a wife with connections, not one that took his breath away.
The reports he’d received about Lillian had painted her as a high-society socialite. He knew the type. Vapid, image-focused, narcissists the lot of them.
But those words didn’t seem to apply to his future wife.
She’d called him out more than once in their brief acquaintance. And yet at other times, she looked like a rabbit caught in a trap.
My fiancée is a puzzle.
This was supposed to be an easy alliance, but Lillian didn’t strike him as the uncomplicated sort.
Instead of being annoyed, for the first time in longer than he cared to admit, his interest was stirred.
“Do you intend for us to keep separate homes?” she asked as she replaced her teacup on the saucer with a small clink.
He had. Up till a few minutes ago.
“Depends,” he said. “I like your idea of being more than strangers.”
They weren’t words he’d intended to say to his fiancée. Totally separate lives had sounded perfect to him. But now…
I’d rather have her in my bed than across the city.
She shifted in her chair, a frown crossing her face. “Maybe.”
Does she want a relationship in her marriage or not? If he didn’t know better, he’d say she wanted to both create a foundation for the future and also run like hell in the opposite direction.
He hadn’t planned to spend more time than necessary with her, but despite that, he found himself making an offer he hadn’t intended.
“How about we try dating?” he said. “That will give us time to get to know each other before the vows.”
Her head jerked up. “More time together?”
Something close to terror flashed through her eyes before she looked away, chewing on her bottom lip.
“It might lead to a warmer marriage,” he said, unable to believe he was now in the position of trying to convince her to give him a chance.
“Yes,” she said, almost absently. “It would be better.”
He frowned. “Then that’s what we’ll do. I’ll pick you up tomorrow night, and we’ll go on a proper date.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Are you free?”
She snorted. “Always.”
How is someone who looks like her always free?
“All right, then. We’ll see how we do together and decide what our marriage should be like from there. Sound like a plan?”
She swallowed hard. “Very generous.”
But the expression on her face was anything but happy.
What am I missing here? Something was tugging at his mind, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
One thing was certain, at least. His new bride was not as simple as he’d thought she’d be.
And the knowledge filled him with a strange anticipation he wasn’t sure what to do with.
Chapter Three
Holly glared at the paper littering every inch of her queen bed. Her father had oh so helpfully provided her with the same mountain of information on Julian he’d give Lillian. Her sister had taken the files and tossed them out the window.
Holly, on the other hand, had dutifully read every line.
And every pag
e she’d gone through had ratcheted her anxiety up another notch.
When she’d come home from brunch, she’d expected her father to be waiting with news that he’d tracked down Lillian, but now it looked like her sister had fallen off the map. No communication with anyone. No charges on any of her cards. She’d ceased to exist, no matter how hard her father’s PI worked to bring her back. But to John, there was an easy solution. Keep Holly in her role until Lillian was found, and then the twins could swap places with no one the wiser.
Holly, on the other hand, had been horrified. She couldn’t keep pretending. One brunch wasn’t too bad, but weeks of dating? There’s no way she’d be able to pull off such an elaborate charade.
But her protests had only made her father smile in a way that turned her stomach.
What about the employees? he’d asked.
Her protest had died on her tongue. Was saving herself some discomfort really worth the layoffs they’d have to do if Julian backed out of this deal? Her father had found the perfect carrot to keep her moving. If she smiled and played her part, her employees were safe for a little while longer.
At the end of the day, does anything else matter?
The manipulations of an egotistical man, the insatiability of a self-made billionaire; she was nothing more than a pawn caught between two competing forces with no way out. Weren’t a few lies to a stranger worth the jobs she was trying to save? Weren’t people’s retirements worth her conscience?
I can do this. For them, I can make this work.
What other choice did she have?
But staring down at all the information her father had collected on his desired son-in-law was driving up her blood pressure. These files painted the portrait of a man on a mission, buying and selling businesses with deliberate calculation and cold precision.
Reaching out, she grabbed one particular file that had puzzled her. The business tycoon had bought a small B&B in upstate New York for no discernible reason. Her heart went out to the two aging owners mentioned in the story. No doubt they had lost their livelihood because a city boy had bought a hotel on a whim.
Why did he do it?
His intense gaze flashed through her memory. There’d been a moment at brunch when she’d found herself hoping he wasn’t a carbon copy of her father. Not that she should care. Lillian had made it clear this marriage wasn’t happening. This man would be out of their lives soon enough once she came back with another way to save the company.
But until then, she had to spend time with him. A lot of time, by the sound of it.
Her father had been thrilled by the progress, as he’d called it, when she’d informed him of Julian’s offer to date. Then he’d handed her a credit card and told her to go make herself more presentable.
Now here she sat, her hair curled exactly as Lillian’s was, her makeup as perfect as her twin. Soon she’d have to pretend once more and meet Julian for their date.
Such a trial to spend an evening with a beautiful man.
She sighed. If it wasn’t for the charade, she might almost be excited to see him again. It wasn’t like she normally got the chance to date people like him. Usually she preferred men more similar to herself. Quiet, reserved, intelligent guys who could carry a conversation but wouldn’t turn any heads. Those men didn’t intimidate her or make her trip over her own words.
And they never made butterflies erupt in her stomach the way Julian had when he’d pinned all that dark intensity squarely on her.
A knock sounded at her door.
“Come in,” she called.
A small woman bustled into the room. “Figured you might need some moral support,” Sylvie said.
She smiled gratefully. “Totally do.”
The maid walked to the side of the bed. “This looks fun,” she said as she surveyed the files.
“Everything you ever wanted to know about Julian Worth,” she said, sweeping out her arms. “Voilà.”
“Anything interesting?” Sylvie asked.
She sighed. “Interesting? Yes. Useful?” She sighed. “I’m so out of my league here.”
Sylvie perched on the corner of the bed. “I wish I could help.”
Me too.
She smiled at her. Sylvie had been with the family for years and had proven to be a trustworthy addition to the household, something that was rare in this place. While Holly was polite to everyone, most of the staff knew where their bread was buttered. They had no problem reporting on her activities to her father whenever he wanted to keep tabs on her. Sylvie, on the other hand, kept to herself. A feeling Holly could relate to.
“Help me pick something Lillian would wear,” she said. “Julian will be here soon.”
Sylvie dutifully went to her closet which was now stocked with all Lillian’s clothes. “Are you trying for sexy or aloof?”
“How about awkward and uncertain?”
“I’m not sure there’s a dress for that.”
“Really? Because all my clothes say it.”
Sylvie shook her head and pulled out a pretty lavender dress. “How about this one?”
Holly had to admit the color would work well on her, though she eyed the plunging neckline.
Talk about being kicked into the deep end.
“Lillian only wore it twice,” Sylvie said. “I think it was a little demure for her.”
“God help me with the rest of her wardrobe, then.” With a sigh, she accepted the dress and headed into the bathroom to change.
“Tell me about your CEO,” Sylvie called through the door.
“He hates tomatoes,” she said as she shimmied into the dress.
“With intel like that, he doesn’t stand a chance against you.”
She twisted to reach the zipper, thinking about the dossier. “Looks like he put himself through school. There’s not much about his life before he got his undergrad. Sounds like he came out of nowhere,” she said as she spun in front of the bathroom mirror.
The dress fell to her knees in a way that was both stylish and modest. Her eyes zeroed in on her chest. While everything was covered, the cut left little to the imagination. Given how she and her sister were more on the curvy side, the dress made her breasts look spectacular. No doubt that was why it was in Lillian’s closet in the first place.
She wouldn’t think twice about this outfit.
Which meant Holly couldn’t afford to, either.
Rolling her shoulders back, she opened the bathroom door.
Sylvie was tidying up the files when she turned to see Holly’s entrance.
“Check you out,” the maid said. “You clean up well.”
“Do I look like Lillian?”
Sylvie looked her over with a critical eye. “Shoulders back,” she instructed. “Stand straighter.”
Holly hurried to comply.
“Something’s missing.”
“My sister?” she asked drily.
Sylvie ran back to the closet and pulled out a pair of sky-high stilettos.
“Come on. I’m going to break an ankle.”
“WWLD, my friend.”
“What would Lillian do?” she guessed.
“Bingo.”
With a sigh, she took the deadly shoes. “With my luck, I’ll fall at his feet in these.”
“Maybe he’ll catch you.”
And maybe hell will freeze.
She rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t seem much like the knight-in-shining-armor type.”
“Who knows? He might surprise you.”
Taking the ridiculous shoes, she sat on the bed and strapped the deathtraps to her feet.
“Rumor has it,” Sylvie said, “that Lillian’s left the city entirely. Some think the country. Are you sure she’s coming back?”
“Positive,” she said. “She’d never leave me.”
All they had was each other. She’d believe Armageddon was coming tomorrow before she’d believe Lillian had thrown her to the wolves without an escape route planned.
I just need to
buy time. Everything will work out.
Somehow.
“As long as Julian never realizes we switched places, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“At least he’s never met her. That’s a win, at least.”
True enough. He wouldn’t realize her mistakes the way someone who knew her sister well would have.
“I just want to make it through this evening without any major slips.”
“Where are you going on your date?”
“No idea,” she replied. “He’s not exactly the chatty type.”
In fact, the only communication she’d had with Julian was a single text telling her what time to expect him.
“Arrogant,” Sylvie said.
“Agreed.” She’d glared at the text when it’d come in.
If only I could cancel.
She’d bet women didn’t do that to him. Ever.
But the retribution her father would have heaped on her head was not worth the small victory.
Bide your time. Keep Julian entertained.
She needed to be charming but forgettable. The last thing she wanted was to catch his attention. She’d learned the best way to live with her father was to hide in plain sight. No doubt the same rules would hold true for Julian.
Another knock sounded on her door. Sylvie answered as Holly slipped her cell into a clutch that matched her outfit.
“Mr. Worth is here for you, miss,” the butler said from the doorway.
“I’ll be right down, Mathers.”
Sylvie closed the door behind the butler as Holly hesitated for a second before taking a seat on the bed. The maid arched a brow.
“I might not have a choice about much in this mess, but I don’t have to jump at Julian’s command when he snaps his fingers. Let him cool his heels for a bit.”
Sylvie’s grinned. “Your father won’t like it.”
“Think he’ll come get me?”
“And lose face in front of a guest?”
She grinned. “Exactly.”
Crossing her arms, she checked at the clock and settled in to wait.
…
Julian glanced at his watch and fought back a sigh of annoyance.
You know socialites. The world revolves around them.
He’d hoped his new wife might be different, but no doubt she hadn’t thought twice about his presence in her home. Life was all about the perfect hair or the right shoes.
Betraying the Billionaire (Abbott Sisters) Page 2
