Catching Her Rival

Allie nodded, inhaling deeply. She found the hint of his spicy soap or aftershave or something intoxicating. His splayed hand at the small of her back was practically burning through her dress to her skin, and it was all she could do to keep her rubbery legs from giving out. She couldn’t think beyond how his thigh felt so good against hers. She was hyperaware of every cell of her body.

“Charlotte? That’s her name? This woman who looks like me.” A sudden thought caught her by surprise. “Is she your wife?”

He laughed from deep in his chest. “Not even close. She’s a friend, my neighbor from across the street. Someone who needed to get out and have a good time.”

“And yet you’re dancing with me and not her.” She looked directly at him and raised an eyebrow.

His smile in return was almost her undoing. His full lips revealed straight white teeth, and the gleam in his eyes had her expecting a tinkling bell to go off like it would in a television commercial.

He squeezed her hand with his much larger one and whispered in her ear, “She’ll understand.” His cheek rubbed lightly against hers, and her knees nearly folded.

Allie was glad this Charlotte would understand, because Allie didn’t have a clue about what was happening.

One minute she was playing errand girl for her family, and the next she was in the arms of a complete stranger who didn’t feel strange at all.

In fact, he felt pretty damn good.

* * *

JACK DIDN’T WANT to let her go. His attraction to Allie—who was essentially a stranger—was strong and unexpected. He could barely keep his body under control.

He needed to talk about something nonsexual. Not that anything they’d talked about had been sexual in the least. Exactly the opposite. But that hadn’t stopped his body from responding otherwise. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off.

“I should introduce you to Charlotte,” he said abruptly. He cleared the hoarseness from his throat.

“Of course,” she murmured close to his ear. “I’d love to meet her.”

He had to stop thinking about Allie’s breasts pressing against him.

“As soon as this song ends,” he promised.

“Uh-huh.”

He had to stop wondering what she tasted like. The nape of her neck, her earlobe, her shoulder.

Stop.

He inhaled deeply in an effort to clear his thoughts, but instead caught a whiff of something citrus. Her shampoo? Perfume? Intoxicating, whatever it was.

The song ended.

They drew apart, but Jack held on to her hand. He opened his mouth to speak. Before he could form words, he heard another voice.

“Allie.” The very pregnant Asian woman who spoke sounded out of breath as she hurried toward them. “Do you have that double-sided tape? Mom caught her heel in the hem of her skirt, and she refuses to come out of the bathroom until she can fix it.”

“It’s in my purse.” Allie looked around the room. “I think I left it at my seat. I’ll go get it and take it to Mom.”

“I can do it,” the woman said. “I don’t want to interrupt whatever this is.” She pointed to the two of them with a devilish grin.

“It’s nothing,” Allie insisted.

“Hey,” Jack said automatically.

“You’ve had a long day,” Allie reminded the woman, pointedly ignoring Jack. “Go sit for a few minutes and get off your feet.”

Allie had apology written all over her face when she spoke to Jack. “This won’t take long.” She extricated her hand from his, and he immediately wanted to snatch it back. “By the way, this is my sister, Rachael Thompson.” She said to Rachael, “This is Jack—” She turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. He’d never told her his last name.

Jack put a hand out to Rachael. “Jack Fletcher, cousin of the bride. Nice to meet you.”

Allie smiled. “I’ll be right back. Don’t let him go anywhere, Rach. He’s the one who brought my double to the wedding. I’m anxious to see her for myself.”

“So you admit you’re using me,” he teased loudly as she hurried away.

She shook a fist in the air, and he heard her laugh as she disappeared through the crowd.

* * *

CHARLOTTE FINALLY FOUND the ladies’ room on the lower level, but it was locked up tight with an out-of-order sign on the door. Deciding it would have been easier to just wait in line, she made her way back up to the main-floor bathroom.

The straps of her shoes dug into her feet and she was tempted to take them off, but of course she didn’t. She needed to behave like a proper guest at Jack’s cousin’s wedding, not the frequently barefoot, yoga pants–wearing, free-spirited artist she normally was.

The line was gone by the time she arrived at the restroom. She hurried past the lounge area, where two women were seated on the sofa. They were hunched over, concentrating on some task. Charlotte barely noticed them as she located an empty stall.

“Okay, Mom, I think you’re all set now,” one of the women said.

“Thank you, dear,” the other replied. “I really appreciate your help. I’m glad you were so prepared.”

“I’ll see you out there in a few minutes,” the original speaker said. Then Charlotte heard the opening and closing of the door leading to the hallway.

Heels clicked on the tile floor in front of her stall and someone entered the stall next to her.

Charlotte finished, exited the stall and washed her hands at the sinks. The stall door behind her opened and slammed shut as heels clicked behind her.

“It’s you!”

Charlotte stopped rinsing the soap from her hands to stare at the other woman in the mirror. She couldn’t form words. Everything Jack had said about her having a doppelgänger was true.

The woman stood beside her in front of the sink, her concentration clearly on Charlotte’s reflection. They had the same mouth, identical noses, even a similar hair color and style.

But it was the eyes that got Charlotte. She was staring back at the same eyes that she’d seen in the mirror for the past twenty-nine years.

CHAPTER THREE (#ulink_fec9243e-d827-56ec-8e65-6a587884504a)

ALLIE COULDN’T STOP staring at the other woman in the mirror as she finished washing her hands. She finally swallowed and formed words. “You must be Charlotte.” Allie reached for a paper towel from the pile on the counter.

The woman’s eyes grew round and her lips trembled. “You know my name?”

Allie smiled, unable to comprehend their resemblance. “I was just dancing with your date. He told me your name.”