“You did not,” Lia said.
“I absolutely did.” I gestured right back at Claire. “You two may look alike, but when someone is put into a surprising position, you can’t mask that immediate reaction.” They shared another look. Claire broke it off when her eyelids fell shut. “She was prepared to fake it in front of my parents. I, however, was the wild card.”
“That’s a role you’re comfortable in,” Lia muttered.
“Lia,” Claire said sharply.
Lia set her jaw stubbornly, her cheeks flushed a slight red at the reprimand, and I actually rocked back on my heels at what that one word did to me.
Her face didn’t give much away when I studied it, and Claire only allowed one quick glance in my direction after she did it.
I was given no smile of encouragement, no wink, no conspiratorial look.
But that word was enough to give me hope that she’d say yes to this crazy plan, and not only that, but we’d also be able to pull it off.
“Regardless of my role in this entire evening,” I continued, “the whole purpose of Lia’s presence was to impress one Richard Harper. And Claire did that in spades.” I held up my hand to quell whatever it was Lia was going to say. “So much so, that he’s invited us—my parents included—up to his home in Vancouver for a night so that he can learn more about the center.” My eyes cut to Claire. “And learn more about us.”
Stunned silence filled the room. Lia’s eyes were trained on her sister so intently that I almost felt … protective of Claire. What was she trying to do? Glare the thoughts out of Claire’s head?
And Claire … her mouth hung open as all the color slowly drained from her face. “What?” she whispered.
“So I have to go with you overnight somewhere now?” Lia asked quietly.
Claire’s face snapped closed, like she’d dropped a fence.
That Lia would come to that assumption wasn’t surprising in the least. It was a logical place to land. Claire pulled off roughly one hour of pretending to be Lia in front of my dad and stepmom, but overnight was a completely different ballgame.
“You don’t,” I told her. I pointed at Claire. “She does.”
Claire raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth.
“You can’t ask that of her,” Lia argued.
I cocked my head to the side. “Why not? You did.”
The look on Lia’s face at my answer was what snapped Claire out of her stunned stupor, and she stepped between us. “Okay, stop. That doesn’t help anyone right now.” She aimed a look at her sister. “You let him explain.” She turned a warning look in my direction.
It was hot. So I grinned.
She was like a princess/teacher combo that was checking every damn box I could possibly conjure up in what made a woman attractive.
Maybe I’d never found that combination attractive before tonight, but hell, I did now.
I wanted to muss her hair. Push her buttons. Get her all riled up to see what she’d do. Maybe she wasn’t far off about the playground analogy because something about her made me think of a little kid who tugged on a pretty girl’s braids just because he liked her. And I wanted to tug those braids hard.
“Not much to explain, princess.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m gonna puke if you keep calling her that,” Lia mumbled. “She has a name, you know.”
Claire pressed her fingertips against her temples like she was stemming a headache.
I ignored Lia. “And there’s not much to explain because the nature of Claire’s conversation with Richard, and the portion of that conversation that I took part in, make it impossible for you to show up there as yourself, Lia.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why’s that?”
Claire’s face was a sickly shade of white now.
“Do you want to tell her, or should I?” I asked Claire.
She gave me an incredulous look.
“Right.” I turned back to Lia. “Claire spoke to Richard before she knew who he was. And it’s my understanding that the thing she discussed, as Claire, positively blew him away.”
No one said anything because Lia could read the misery etched on her twin’s face and wisely kept her mouth shut. And Claire, she just looked like she was trying not to pass out because she knew she was well and truly stuck.
“Some child development thing, isn’t that right?” I asked. “I caught the tail end of your conversation as I walked up.”
Claire nodded slowly.
Lia’s eyes closed in understanding, and she muttered a curse under her breath.
“Apparently, you hit close to home with what you said. Reminded him of his own childhood, but the way you managed to talk about it had him intrigued how a young woman like you, paired with his resources and that of the community center, could make positive impacts in a child’s life who might have had the kind of upbringing he did.”
Claire’s face sharpened with interest. Pleasant surprise. “Really?”
“Really.”
Her smile was slow to start, slow to build, but damn, it was beautiful when it fully covered her face. “That’s amazing.”
“Adele certainly thinks so.” I winced. “Though I had to tell her which twin you actually were when she couldn’t figure out why an English Lit major”—I glanced pointedly at Lia—“would be referencing childhood development studies.”
“Was she mad?” Lia asked.
“Are you kidding?” I smiled. “At that point, she couldn’t even be upset at me for being present when your little twin swap brought her this kind of quality time with Richard.”
Claire looked calmer now, glancing back and forth between her sister and me. “So I get why I need to be the one there, but no offense, why do you have to be there? Can’t I just go with Adele and your dad?”
I rubbed at my chest. “Ouch, trying to pawn me off already?”
“N-no,” she stammered, “I just … I’m trying to understand your role in all this.”
I pitched my voice low, like we were dancing again. “Don’t you remember what he said to me as he was walking away?”
Her brow furrowed for a moment. Then it dawned. Her mouth opened again.
“What?” Lia asked. “What did he say?”
“Son of a bitch,” Claire whispered so quietly, I could hardly hear her.
But hear her I did. And I started laughing.
“Someone tell me!”
“Nothing terribly exciting,” I told Lia. “I get to go as the boyfriend. The infamous snowboarding boyfriend who Richard is very excited to get to know.”
“You what?”
Claire looked desperate. “Why can’t he take a meeting with them like a normal person?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.