“Zachary. Yourself. This nasty family. Take your pick.”
“I’m a big girl. I think I can handle the situation.”
“A big girl? Is that why you’re still dressed up as me?”
“You’re going to ruin everything.”
“What’s to ruin? Let’s switch back, go downstairs, and tell him.”
Audrey’s stomach contracted as if she’d just been punched. “I was just about to tell him when you showed up. I can’t tell him now, not with you here. He’ll flip out.”
Ava waved her hand in the air, then leaned backward onto her elbows. “Aw, he’ll get over it. He has a good sense of humor.”
Audrey thought about last night in his cabin, about the hot, steamy moments under that quilt. She recalled his words on the way home. The truth promised to be hard enough without her sister here, muddying up the water. “I don’t think so, Ava. I don’t think he’ll understand at all.”
“Oh. My. God.” Ava sat up straight. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Audrey blushed, and didn’t bother denying it. Her sister knew her better than anyone.
Ava stood. She paced the room. “This isn’t at all like you, Aud. I’m the one who gets into crazy situations.” She paced some more. “You need to tell him the truth.”
“You don’t think I know that? Why are you acting so virtuous? Normally, something like this would just be a game to you.”
Ava turned to stare out the window. “You’re not like me. You’re the good girl, the honest one.”
Guilt enveloped Audrey like a heavy blanket. Her relationship with Zach had been a lie from the very start. “I’m scared for him to know who I really am,” she said quietly.
“That’s stupid. You’ve always been too hard on yourself.”
Audrey gestured toward her sister. “Look at you. You look fantastic. You even look better as me than I do.” Ava sat again. Audrey sighed and joined her on the bed. “I love him, sis.”
“Audrey, listen to me,” Ava said gently. “I’ve known Zach for a few years now. He goes through girlfriends faster than I go through shoes.” She laughed without humor. “A lot of those women probably were in love with him, too.”
“But was he in love with them?”
Ava swiveled on the bed, wrinkling up the bedspread. “Did he tell you…?”
Audrey blushed and nodded.
Ava didn’t say anything for a long time.
Finally, Audrey couldn’t take it anymore. “What? He tells every woman he’s in love with her, is that it? I’m nothing special?”
“No, Aud,” Ava said, meeting her gaze. “I don’t know that he’s ever told anyone that.”
Audrey’s stomach did a happy cartwheel…then twisted into a knotted mess.
“Well. This complicates things a bit, doesn’t it?” Ava lay back on the bed, staring up at the beamed ceiling.
Audrey joined her. “Yeah. A bit.” How could she ever tell Zach that he’d fallen in love with a lie?
Chapter Eleven
The twins descended the grand staircase together about thirty minutes later.
“How can you walk in those things without falling?” Audrey motioned to Ava’s black stiletto sandals, glad to be back in her own clothes again. Her comfortable flats sure made the steps easier to navigate.
Ava shrugged. “I don’t even think about it.”
Audrey stopped her sister with a hand on her arm when they were halfway down the stairs. “I can’t do this.”
“Aud, it’ll be fine. You’ll see. Just be honest with him. You’re good at that.”
“What if he doesn’t understand? What if he-?”
Zach appeared in the foyer below.
“Give me a few minutes with him, okay?” Audrey whispered. “I’m going to throw up.”
“Everything will work out fine.”
As they reached the first floor, Audrey wasn’t so sure, and was even less sure when Zach’s gaze went only briefly to her, then landed on Ava. And stayed there.
“Hello, ladies.” His voice, the one she yearned for and cherished, coiled through her soul like a warm embrace.
Pain flooded her when he stepped beside Ava and slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her close. “I missed you,” he whispered into Ava’s ear.
Shards of jealousy stabbed her in the heart, even though she knew it was unfounded. In Zach’s mind, he cozied up to the woman he thought he was in love with. Ava.
Audrey willed back threatening tears.
Ava gracefully extracted herself from Zach’s embrace, and stepped toward Audrey. “Sis? You forgot to bring your bags downstairs. Zach, could you carry them down for her?”
“You’re not staying, Audrey?” Zach looked directly into her eyes.
A part of her wanted to shout for joy at how he called her by her own name. She glanced at Ava. “Uh, no. I’d planned to, but something came up at home.”
He smiled at her the way people smiled at distant acquaintances. “Well, you’re more than welcome to stay.” His gaze narrowed, and something flitted through his eyes. Suspicion? Recognition? “Uh, we have plenty of room.”
She glanced away, fearing he’d see the truth before she was ready to provide it. “Um, thank you. My, ah, bags are upstairs. I’ll show you.”
She turned toward the staircase, but not before she saw Zach’s arm snake around Ava’s waist and pull her in for a quick kiss. Ava turned her head at the last minute, and he got her cheek. “My lipstick,” she muttered.
Audrey couldn’t see Zach’s expression, but pictured annoyance flickering through his beautiful eyes. But he reached out and caressed Ava’s waist before turning to Audrey.
He caught her watching and a sheepish, darling grin spread across his handsome face. “Sorry. I can’t keep my hands off her.”
Audrey pasted a fake smile on her mouth that trembled at the corners. She headed up the stairs in front of him, wanting to cry.
“Ava tells me you’re a teacher,” he said behind her as they reached the landing. The hallway to her room was wide enough that they could walk side by side, but she made sure to stay slightly ahead of him to avoid his gaze.
“Yes,” she said.
“Junior high, right?” At her nod, he chuckled. “The hellish years. You must love kids.”
She opened the door to her room, and stood aside for him to enter. “What’s not to love?” She wanted to see his reaction to her words, to see if he felt the same way. But he’d walked over to the window and peered outside.
Her lungs expanded like an overblown balloon inside her chest until she couldn’t breathe. Her gaze caressed him as he stood with his back to her, from his black, wavy hair that her fingers yearned to ruffle, to his broad shoulders that had loomed over her as they made love, to his arms that had wrapped around her and made her feel special and complete. She loved every single bit of him, from his head to his feet. She couldn’t put this off any longer. She opened her mouth to blurt out her confession.
“How is it that you and your sister are so different?” he asked.
She stood frozen in the middle of the room, like he’d just pressed ‘pause’ on the Audrey remote. She gave herself a mental shake and held back a sigh. “If I had a dime for every time I’ve heard that question…” she said wistfully, crossing to the bathroom and stuffing Ava’s makeup into the huge specialized carrier. She wouldn’t need that any more. Ava could take it back to Boise with her.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
She shrugged, even though he was in the other room and couldn’t see. “Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Just give me a minute to get my things together.”
She met her reflection in the bathroom mirror, the face that had greeted her daily up until a few days ago. Minimal makeup, hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. No jewelry. Simple clothes. She was who she was. Nothing more.
She closed the makeup case, bigger than her overnight bag. Entering the bedroom, sh
e found Zach hadn’t moved from the window. How could he look so good wearing a simple, untucked white T-shirt and faded blue jeans? Her fingers curled and uncurled. She ached to touch him.
She had nothing else to pack, no excuse to keep him to herself any longer. She set the case beside the others near the door, then wiped her sweaty palms on her beige capris, ready to get it over with.
He turned toward her as she was about to speak. “It was nice of you to come all this way just to make sure Ava’s okay. You two must be very close.”
“We are.” Tell him!
“Is it true what they say about twins?” he asked. “Do you and Ava share everything?”
A threesome flashed through her mind, and she inhaled sharply. “What?” she snapped.
Comprehension dawned on his face, and he laughed. “Oh, God. I’m sorry. Not that. Ava is quite enough for me.”
Meaning, he couldn’t imagine ever being turned on by Audrey. But she couldn’t help smiling. Ava, meaning herself, was enough woman for him.
“I meant, I figure Ava’s shared with you that she and I have known each other for a few years, and maybe she’s told you of my…well-” His face reddened. “That she’s shared with you my reputation.” He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to assure you that I care a great deal about your sister. And that a person’s reputation isn’t always completely accurate, and I-” He cleared his throat again. “I adore your sister, and would never do anything to hurt her.”
He looked away, and picked up the suitcase at the end of the bed.
“Do you love her?” Audrey asked, then held her breath.
He stared down at his feet. When he finally looked up, his eyes shone with emotion. “With all my heart, Audrey. Ava’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a woman. I wouldn’t change a single thing about her.”
Audrey’s heart swelled and ached at the same time. He wouldn’t change a thing about her? A quiet sob hiccupped in her throat. Oh, God. How could she could tell him the truth right now, when she was dressed as herself, someone he clearly wasn’t attracted to?
A tear slid down her cheek, and she sniffled.
“Are you okay?” Zach asked, his expression both concerned and puzzled.
Please don’t look at me like that.
She turned and brushed the moisture away. “Could you ask Ava to come up here, please?”
After a moment, he nodded, grabbed her bags, and left.
Audrey drew a shaky breath. One more switch of identities, then it would be over.
*****
Zach placed Audrey’s bags by the front door. His parents’ driver would bring her car around, and load her bags when she was ready to go.
He stood in the middle of the foyer, staring up the staircase. Audrey had stayed behind in the bedroom, presumably to freshen up.
He glanced toward the great room, hearing Ava’s voice.
Although the women shared similar physical attributes, they couldn’t be more dissimilar. He looked forward to getting to know Ava’s sister better. She’d driven three hours to make sure her sister was okay. Very kind-hearted. She’d cried when he mentioned his feelings for Ava. Clearly, she was a softie.
He headed into the big room, and saw Ava seated at one of the high-backed leather chairs, sipping an amber-colored drink. Her long legs were crossed at the ankles, and her short skirt rode up high on her thighs. His brother-in-law tried his best not to look at her legs and cleavage. Theresa and his mother had their pert little noses up in the air, full of disdain as they ignored her.
Zach sighed. Ava had done her job well. His family hated her. Unfortunately, as he hoped to make her his real fiancée, they had some mending of fences to do with his family. A lot of mending. Even though he didn’t spend much time with them, it would make things easier if they learned to accept her.
Ava met his gaze, her face etched in worry. At least it looked like worry. Maybe she tired of being left to the Banister sharks all by herself. She rose and hurried across the floor, meeting him before he’d come halfway into the room.
He grinned to let her know her white knight had arrived. All the worry melted from her face, and she smiled back. He couldn’t wait to get her alone. Finish what they’d started in his cabin. His grin broadened.
“Why are you so happy?” she asked. “Where’s my sister?”
“I’m happy because you’re here,” he said, tugging her into his arms. “And Audrey is upstairs. She wants you to go up there. She got pretty emotional when I told her how I feel about you.”
He ran his hands over her shoulders and down her back, but she stepped out of his embrace. She didn’t quite look at him, and her expression seemed forced. Concern crept up his spine.
“Ava? Is everything okay?”
“Fine. Be right back.” She fled the room before he could say another word.
He noticed his family watching with interest. Anxiety sluiced through his system as he wondered if perhaps Ava didn’t share his depth of feelings. Just because she said she was in love with him, and acted like she was in love with him, didn’t mean she really was. Appearances, after all, could be deceiving.
*****
Audrey heard the door to her room open and close. Before she could worry that Zach had returned and caught her as she prepared to betray him for the last time, she heard Ava’s voice.
“Aud, what happened? You didn’t tell him yet, did y-” Her words cut off midsentence as she approached the bathroom doorway. “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice slow and amazed.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” Audrey shot back as she attached the fake eyelashes to her upper lid line.
“I can see what you’re doing. The question is, why?”
“I couldn’t tell him, Ava. He was going on and on about how perfect you are, how he wouldn’t change a thing about you. How could I tell him that I was none of those things?”
“You are what he wants, Aud. You need to trust that.”
Audrey shook her head, meeting her sister’s gaze in the mirror. “I don’t.”
“So you’re just going to keep pretending to be me? For how long?”
“Until after you leave. Until I figure out exactly what to say.” Audrey turned, waving her hands in a shooing motion. “Hurry up. Change back.”
“What?”
“Change back into me. I laid my clothes on the bed.”
“Audrey. You’re scaring me.”
“He’s going to suspect something if we don’t get down there.”
“This is ridiculous. You’re ridiculous.”
Audrey spun to face her, her hands clenched. “You got me into this mess. The least you can do is help me get out of it.”
“But you are telling him today, right? I don’t want to go back to work Tuesday and have to pretend I’m in love with him, just because you’re a coward.”
Audrey sprayed hairspray onto her hair. “I promise I’ll tell him. But it’s going to hurt him, sis. And that just,” her voice caught, “kills me. I need to find the right time, the right place.”
“There is no right time or right place. Just do it.”
Audrey’s stomach soured as she envisioned his possible reactions, none of them good. “I will.” She used the hand-held mirror to make sure every angle looked perfect, that everything looked just like Ava. “Please do this for me? You owe me.”
Ava looked for a moment like she would argue. Then she began stripping from her clothes. When she was done, she sat on the edge of the bed in her lacy bra and thong, watching Audrey’s transformation.
A few minutes later, Audrey was ready to go downstairs and face Zach again. Anxious for him to wrap his arms, and love, around her, not Ava. God, she hoped he’d still want to wrap his arms around her.
She realized Ava hadn’t finished dressing. “I’m going downstairs now, okay? I’ll see you back in Boise?”
Ava sighed and crossed the room. “You look good as me, Aud. Really good.”
Audrey relaxed. “Thanks
, sis.”
“But you’re not me. You’re you.” Ava turned and headed toward the bathroom, pausing in the doorway. “I think you might have forgotten that.” She shut the door behind her.
*****
Zach wondered if he’d slipped into the seventh circle of hell as his brother-in-law droned on and on about the state of the bond market in today’s economy. His sister and father listened intently, nodding at appropriate times and actually looking interested. Zach yawned, not bothering to cover it with his hand.
Two slender arms snaked around his waist, and warm breath fanned the back of his neck.
He turned around. “Hey, dollface. What took you so long?” He dipped his head and kissed her upturned mouth. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she kissed him back with all the passion he felt roiling in his soul. Not even his dad’s throat-clearing stopped him. He needed to get her alone.
Coming up for air, he noticed she’d come downstairs by herself. “Where’s your sister?”
“She’ll be down in a minute.”
“Is she staying for dinner? It’s almost ready.”
Ava glanced away. “I’m not sure. I don’t think so.” She grabbed his hand, and led him out of the room.
“Where are we going?”
“Where can we go that’s private?” she asked.
Desire wound its way up his spine as he followed her, guessing what she had in mind. “Over here.”
He tugged her into the first-floor powder room, a room full of mirrors, marble, and clear light bulbs. He kicked the door shut with his heel.
“Zach, I need-”
He shoved her against the counter. “I need that, too, baby,” he muttered against her lips as he thrust his tongue inside her mouth. “Now.”
Lust coursed through his veins as he swallowed her moans, and her hands balled the shirt over his chest. She’d read his mind about wanting to be alone. Without breaking the kiss, he spun their bodies around and lifted her onto the counter. Her short skirt bunched up around her hips, and he hooked her legs around his waist.
He moved aside her collar and pressed hot, wet kisses onto her neck and cleavage.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders. “Zach, we can’t do this right now.”
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 134
