The Right Twin

“Whew,” Sarah said, drawing out the chair opposite Heath’s. Her pale complexion was flushed, and the afternoon’s heat dampened the tendrils that hugged the nape of her neck where she’d pulled back her hair. Would her skin taste salty? That tempting spot on her neck? As if it were possible to shake the thought from his mind, Heath shook his head, but the motion didn’t help. Big surprise. “That was tough.”

“I’d have thought you’d be an old pro at a simple lunch.”

“Oh, sure,” she said. “I just didn’t get much rest last night. But now that my right-hand person has finally fixed her car’s flat, I’ve got time for a breather.”

“Congratulations,” he said.

“Thanks.”

After a few moments’ awkward silence, he leaned forward, toying with his blue napkin. “Not that it’s my business, but why?”

“Why what? Why was Helga’s tire flat?”

“No,” he said with a laugh. “Why’d you get a lousy night’s rest?”

“Oh, that.” She leaned back in her chair.

Had his question been too forward? Probably. Regardless, Heath forged ahead. “Simple enough question.”

“W-why do you care?”

Would Heath’s brother care?

Who could explain it, but for whatever odd reason, Heath felt a compelling urge to know something more about what made the lovely innkeeper tick. From the time they’d met until now, her appearance had gone from frazzled to casual grace. Which image was the real Sadie? Over the course of the weekend, would he get the chance to learn the answer? With elegant fingers, she traced the floral-patterned white-on-white tablecloth.

“No reason,” he said, covering for himself when it seemed she preferred to avoid the topic. “Sorry I asked. I was just trying to make small talk, but maybe my question came out as invasive.”

“No,” she said, staring at Heath straight on and then sighing. “Truthfully, I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night for a fairly simple reason. You.”

Chapter Two

“Me?” Eyebrows raised, Heath said, “I’d like to be flattered, but judging by your pained expression, it wasn’t my devastating good looks that kept you up.”

Sarah laughed. “Not specifically you, per se, but folks like you. Guests.”

“Why? I mean, this is your livelihood. Has been for, what, five years you said?”

She nodded, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” One that Sadie had shared with her not too long ago. “The more I’m in the business, the more it seems my guests are getting harder to spoil. To well and truly please. The big chains have phenomenal employee bases, while I’m just me—and a few trusted employees who’ve become dear friends.”

“Friends who help fend off me? The enemy?” He laughed again, clearly poking fun at himself.

Was it wrong to be affected by the rich, mellow voice of the guy that your sister had specifically told you was hands-off? Probably, but Shane Peters’s laughter struck Sarah as delicious. Tempting. Like a superrich dessert you knew you shouldn’t have but were hard-pressed to resist. Alas, because of her deep sense of respect for Sadie, she would resist. Not only because the man was off-limits for the sake of her sister, but because of the pain she still felt from her involvement with Greg.

She wasn’t ready to open herself up to another man.

“You’re hardly the enemy,” Sarah said. “It’s just that…I’ve worked hard for this.” She gestured toward the opulence of the inn’s dining room. Antique tables, linens and china. Blue-and-white-toile walls and ornate moldings. Gentle sun slanting through open French doors, leading to a dreamy garden. A hundred varieties of blooms that Sarah couldn’t begin to name. Sweet and lovely, humming with butterflies and bees. Beyond that, a lake so crystalline and blue and in perfect harmony with the wedding cake of a house on its shore that her sister had said she’d shed a few tears the first time she’d seen it. And all of this—every last bit—was in Sarah’s hands right now.

Granted, her sister was arguably deranged when it came to her love for the place, but Sarah knew that Sadie had worked hard to achieve all this, and out of love and respect for her twin, Sarah intended to maintain her sister’s standards. Even if the dreaded reviewer never showed.

“Sometimes,” Sarah said, again sharing more of Sadie than herself, “I want perfection so much, that I…” She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m just rambling on about nothing, when you’re here to relax and not listen to me whine.”

Shane flashed her a smile of such warm concern Sarah knew in a heartbeat he was sincere. And then she swallowed a sour taste in her mouth over the notion that at the moment she was anything but sincere.

Oh, she was sincere in terms of being nervous. But it pained her to think that this compassionate man was actually sympathizing with her over a lie.

“Relax,” he said. “From all I’ve heard, this place is a little slice of heaven, right here in your corner of Missouri. And, you know, maybe this bout of nerves is your body’s way of telling you you’ve been working too hard. Maybe if you’d try stealing a few minutes for yourself here and there, you’d be back to business as usual.”

Great theory. Trouble was business as usual for Sarah consisted of working from eight to six at the accounting firm of Geoffrey, Deloite & Bartholomew. It was Sarah’s dream to one day have her name added to the list of partners. Numbers were her game, whereas for as long as she could remember, Sadie had been into the whole hearth-and-home thing.

Like her father, Sarah had toyed with the idea of going into physics, but seeing how she also had a thing for nice shoes and expensive handbags, she’d opted for accounting over science. Where Shane had been telling “Sadie” to relax, the reality was that the real Sadie was thrilled with her life. It was Sarah who needed rest and relaxation to put things into perspective. What had happened with Greg had shaken her to the core, had made her distrust not only other people but herself.

“What’s the matter?” her new friend asked in a light tone. “My pep talk was supposed to bring back your smile—not make you scowl.”

“Sorry,” she said with a hesitant laugh. “Promise, I’ll try to do more guffawing.”

“You’d better,” Heath teased. “Otherwise I just may remind you of that full-satisfaction clause in your ads. You know, the one that promises guests will be one hundred percent thrilled with their stay or you’ll give them a full refund?”

Groaning, Sarah said, “I know the one.” That silly clause was another reason that she was having to step in for her sister. God forbid any guest should have a complaint and not be able to deliver it to the inn’s owner herself. “Dumbest thing I ever did, making that promise.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Heath toyed with a silver-and-crystal saltshaker. “That phrase strikes me as pretty sexy. The confidence behind your statement shows you to be a powerful woman. Wholly in control.”

Ha! Her sister was all that.

Sarah, however, had never felt more out of control.

Pulse racing, mouth dry, head spinning—she had serious problems. Not the least of which was that just this once she wanted to feel that way again. Powerful and in control. She used to, but then Greg had gone and done a number on her head. Lying about so many things that her whole life had been turned upside down. Leading her to this moment, when here she sat with an amazing guy and was actually afraid to like him!

Beyond the primary fact that Sadie would disapprove, Sarah knew she wasn’t ready for even casual flirtation, let alone anything more serious. Like the kind of deep-seated emotions called for in mutual trust.

“Sadie?” he prompted. “You’re scowling again.”

“Yes, I am,” she said, “and it’s getting tiresome.” Determined to cast aside doubt and worry for the few remaining minutes she had before she needed to help her sister’s crew get started on dinner, Sarah said to her guest, “Let’s change the topic to something more lighthearted. Like you telling me what you do for fun?”

Glancing out at the garden, then looking up at the ceiling and ultimately giving her a shrug, he said, “Work keeps me busy.”

“Oh, come on,” she teased. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those guys for whom work is his entire life. What’s your passion? What do you do for a living that’s so all-consuming?”

“I’m a computer game designer. Ever heard of Seether?”

“Heck, yeah. That’s only like PC Gaming’s game of the year. You designed that?”

“You don’t have to sound so shocked.”

“I’m not, it’s just that I’m a huge fan. That’s one of the best games ever.”

“And you’ve had time to play…when?”

“Very rarely,” Sarah quickly volleyed, remembering that she was temporarily her sister, who had never in her life played a computer game other than solitaire. “But when I have, those three-headed nanobeasts are hell. Meeting the guy who actually dreamed them up is a thrill.”