“What are you doing?” he asked as the white cotton draped over the body that he officially wanted to never have covered again, ever.
She tugged the neck hole until the shirt hung off one shoulder and then tied a knot in the bottom, making it hug her waist. “Changing my clothes as much as I can,” she said. She stepped past him and took an apron from the hook beside the door. She put it over her head and tied it behind her. “They need to think I’m Ava.”
“Oh.” He looked at the swinging door.
“She’s not here and we don’t really want her back in this mood. But I can stand in for her.”
“Oh,” he said again. He supposed that would work. He shrugged back into his dress shirt.
Then Cori reached up and pulled on something, causing her hair to tumble down. The wild waves cascaded past her shoulders, and Evan felt his cock stir again.
Without thinking, he reached up and threaded his fingers into her hair at the base of her head. Cori seemed to freeze. He drew his fingers through the warm, silky tresses, untangling them. “No one’s ever going to believe you’re Ava,” he said, his voice strangely rough.
“They will,” she said softly, with a nod.
“You’re…too…different.” That wasn’t really what he’d meant to say, but how did he go on and on about how much freer and warmer and happier Cori was without seeming like an obsessed idiot? Which he feared he was becoming where this woman was concerned.
Cori’s eyes softened for a moment, but she shook her head. “You just don’t know her.”
Of course Cori would defend Ava.
“I’m way more attracted to you than I am to her,” Evan confessed. “They’ll be able to tell the difference when I’m with her.”
The heat in her eyes flared, but she shook her head. “People see what they want to see. If we make this first impression, then that’s what they’ll see in the future even if there’s less…”
She trailed off and Evan smiled slightly. He didn’t think Cori was at a loss for words very often. He knew she was right about people seeing what they expected to see. At least at times. Yet, he suddenly hated that in her experience people didn’t look deeper. But they didn’t have time to go into all of that at the moment.
“Less heat?” he supplied. “Less chemistry? Less chance that someone is going to end up with flour all over her bare ass?”
She lifted an eyebrow, and he looked at the flour-covered countertop and then back to her.
She swallowed and nodded. “Yeah, less of…that.”
“We’re going to go out there and you pretend to be Ava long enough to satisfy them and get rid of them,” he said. He looked at the door again.
“Do you think that you can act like you’re crazy about me?” she asked. “Act like we’re the ones who fell head over heels so quickly?”
Evan looked down at her and felt a jolt that went from his chest through his gut. He cleared his throat and said, “Yeah, I think I can pull that off.”
Cori broke the eye contact, reached for some flour and dashed it onto her cheek and chin. “Okay, then. Let’s go introduce your mom to your new girlfriend.”
What the hell was she doing?
Oh, yeah, playing a very dangerous came of pretend. Pretend to Be Crazy About the Guy You’re Crazy About While Pretending To Be Your Sister.
Yeah, nothing could go wrong here.
But Cori pasted on a bright smile, then dialed it back about three notches so it was more like an Ava smile, and pushed her way through the swinging doors with Evan’s hand in hers.
“Hi, everybody,” she greeted, sounding exactly like Ava. It wasn’t like this was the first time they’d pretended to be one another. Switching Places was Chapter One in the How to Be An Identical Twin or Triplet handbook.
“Everyone, this is Ava,” Evan said, wrapping his big, warm arm around her waist and resting his hand possessively on her hip.
And Cori had to bite back a moan. Stripping off their shirts together had been spontaneous and she hadn’t thought of the consequences—like raging lust after seeing his chest and abs—before she’d done it. Which was typical. Thinking through consequences was not a strength of hers.
She caught Brynn’s eye. Her sister arched an eyebrow, but Cori knew she wouldn’t blow her cover.
“Ava, it’s very nice to meet you,” Diane said. “I know you’re busy. Thanks for coming to say hi.”
“Well, of course.” Cori thought for a second about hugging Diane. She was Evan’s mom for God’s sake. But Ava would never do that, so Cori held back. She turned her attention on Liz and stuck out her hand. Ava was definitely a hand shaker. “Hi.”
Liz took it with a polite, “Hello. I’m Liz. I’m an old friend of Evan’s.”
Uh-huh. This woman had slept with Evan. Somehow Cori knew that Evan had messed around with a lot of girls in Bliss. And Jill’s bestie was on that list. Liz had seen him naked. She’d had his hands on her… Cori tamped those thoughts down quickly. Clearly, it hadn’t meant anything. And Cori wasn’t the jealous type anyway.
And if she was going to be jealous of someone, it would be her sister, who, pretend or not, could be out here right now with Evan’s hand on her hip and his big, hard body pressed up against her side, and his soft cotton shirt caressing her skin and surrounding her with his scent in a horribly wonderfully distracting way.
“Nice to meet you,” Cori said, coolly and politely as Ava would.
“And this is Holly, Jill’s mom,” Evan said. Then he added, “The one I told you about.”
Ah. Evan wanted an Ava response to Holly and her earlier bitchiness. Cori had been surprised by how blatant the woman had been about her disapproval of Evan and her suspicion about his relationship with Ava.
Okay, truthfully, she was probably right to be suspicious if Evan really was the laid-back playboy that it seemed he was. And okay, there wasn’t really a relationship, so she was kind of right in that case. But the way she’d been all judgmental? And the way Evan’s own mom hadn’t stepped in? What the hell?
“Oh, yes, Mrs. Morris. I’m glad I have the opportunity to assure you that you don’t need to worry about Evan getting his sprinkles on anyone else around here. I intend to keep them all to myself from here on out.”
Yes, that was really more something that Cori would say. But they didn’t know that. And the snooty voice she’d used was all Ava.
Holly was clearly taken aback. “I just hope that Evan can take this seriously enough for you.”
“Well, I find it interesting that you’re so sure he can’t, yet you want him to be with your daughter,” Cori said. Because that really was weird in her opinion.
“Jill and Evan would be great together,” Holly said.
“Well, I think Evan, and Jill, both deserve better than great.” Cori knew, even as she said it, that she was issuing a challenge. That her sister was going to have to meet. But she couldn’t help it.
Holly lifted her chin. “I guess we’ll see. I’d hate for you to have moved to a new town, started a new business, and a new relationship, just to see it all fall apart.”
Cori felt Evan’s fingers curl into her hip. “Holly,” he said, his voice low and full of warning. But Cori had this. Or Ava did anyway.
“There’s something about Ava Carmichael that you should probably know,” she said, with complete honesty. “She’s never not gotten something that she wanted and worked for.” Talking about ‘herself’ in the third person was obnoxious, but it was all true. And that truth was what was keeping Cori optimistic about the pie shop that had no money in the bank, a loan to pay off, and—for now anyway—no baker.
“Then I hope it all works out,” Holly said, her tone chilly.
Yeah, Cori did too. And if she was doing this on her own, she’d have her doubts. But she had Ava and Brynn. And Evan. He was definitely on their side. And that made her feel strangely better.
Holly stood up from her seat and stepped toward the door. “I’ve changed my mind about the
coffee.”
“Sorry to hear that,” Cori said.
Holly clearly knew that she didn’t mean it. “Liz, are you coming?”
“Sure.” Liz smiled tightly at Evan and then Cori. “It was nice to meet you, Ava. Take care of him.”
Cori hugged Evan against her, even as she felt like a piece of lead had settled in her chest. She wanted to take care of him. But not only did he not really want that, but she wasn’t good at that.
Holly and Liz headed out the door and waited on the sidewalk for Diane to join them.
“I would love to get to know you better, Ava,” Diane said. “Maybe lunch sometime.”
This time when Cori felt Evan’s fingers dig into her hip, she knew it was a warning. She smiled brightly and said, “I’d love that.”
Evan’s hand slid to her butt and he gave her a little pinch. She jumped, then smiled bigger to cover it.
“We’ll set up a time then,” Diane said. She looked at her son. “Can I walk with you back to your office?”
“Sure, Mom. I’ll be right out.”
Diane joined her friend on the sidewalk, and Evan turned to Cori.
“You’re trouble,” he said.
“You have no idea.”
“Oh, I think I just might.” Then he slid his hand into her hair, tipped her head back, and kissed her.
The kiss was definitely not a goodbye kiss. This was a see-you-later-and-you-better-meet-me-at-the-door-naked kiss. She took a fistful of Evan’s shirt and arched closer. She ran her tongue along his lower lip and his resultant groan rocketed through her, settling low and deep and hot in her pelvis. He stroked along her tongue with his own and she could practically feel the just-wait-until-I-get-you-alone.
Finally, he broke the kiss, lifted his head, and stared into her eyes. “Well, I’m convinced,” he said gruffly.
She ran her tongue over her tingling lips and asked, “Convinced of what?”
“That we’re crazy about each other.”
Oh. Yeah. Damn.
He let go of her, gave Noah and Brynn—who Cori had completely forgotten about—a brief wave and then sauntered out of the pie shop, joined his mother in front of the shop, turned back and gave her a wink, and then sauntered on down the sidewalk.
Cori lifted her hand to her lips as she watched him go.
Sprinkles, indeed.
6
In possibly the strangest moment of their relationship, Cori sighed and told Ava, “I’m sorry, but no. I can’t authorize this purchase.”
Ava set her cup down with a thunk. “I need stuff.”
“I can’t sign off on buying a new oven right now,” Cori said, wondering who she was becoming. She never said things like no and can’t afford. “For three reasons.”
She put a plate down in front of each of her sisters.
“What’s this?” Brynn asked.
“S’mores pie,” Cori told her with a smile. She’d never made it before, but it had been easy and had turned out perfectly.
“Are you trying to rub this baking thing I can’t do in my face?” Ava asked, even as she picked up her fork and drug it through the toasted marshmallows on top of the chocolatey pie and lifted it to her lips.
“I’m really not,” Cori said, “But I have some ideas for our menu. Adding easy, new pies. If we’re talking about different promotions, like the sweetie pies, we could do kids’ pies too. This and a peanut butter and jelly pie, for instance.”
Okay, they hadn’t been talking about different promotions, and no one had mentioned the sweetie pies since Cori had the first day in the shop. Ava was completely consumed with learning to bake—when she wasn’t on her computer and/or phone conducting Carmichael Enterprises business—and Brynn was working on making colorful cushions for the chairs in the shop. Making them because they couldn’t afford to buy them or pay someone else to do it. Her genius-IQ sister had picked up sewing faster than her CEO sister was picking up whisking, but needles and thread were more than a little outside of Brynn’s area of expertise, so it was slow going.
“When kids like eating somewhere, they talk their parents into going. Look at the burger chains with the toys in the kids’ meals and the pizza places that have the games and stuff. Kids can get their parents in the door. And they’re a cute way to expand the idea of a pie shop.”
Cori stopped rambling as she watched Ava set her fork down and sigh. “I can’t even do cherry.”
“You’ll get better,” Cori assured her. She was seventy percent sure that was true. There were very few things that Ava couldn’t do if she set her mind to it, but she was turning out to be completely terrible at pies. She didn’t have the patience and she wasn’t focused. She was always trying to do three other things at once, and Cori very much doubted if Ava’s mind was on pies even when she was in the kitchen. And the more she messed up, the more frustrated she got and the less patience she had. Clearly, cooking and baking weren’t going to be the fun, stress reliever for Ava that they were for Cori.
“I didn’t even know you can toast marshmallows in the oven,” Ava said, taking another bite of the marshmallows on her pie.
“Well, it’s even easier if you have a blowtorch,” Cori said with a grin.
Ava’s eyes went wide. “A blowtorch?”
Cori nodded. “Yep.”
“Where did you find a blowtorch in Bliss?” Brynn asked.
“I brought it with me,” Cori said with a shrug. At her sister’s amazed looks, she added, “You never know when you might need to make crème brulee.” But it was kind of true. The top of the brulee was the hardest. She could use the broiler, but it wasn’t as good as with a blowtorch.
Plus, blowtorches were more fun.
“See, I need tools,” Ava said.
“Do you even know how to use a blowtorch?” Brynn asked around a bite of chocolate and graham cracker.
“Well, no. But I can’t get better without proper…stuff,” Ava said, with an uncharacteristic inability to find a more eloquent word.
“Ava, I mean with this all the love in my heart,” Cori said. “But the problem with the pies is not the oven or the lack of tools and stuff.”
Ava frowned and opened her mouth. Then she shut it and nodded. “I know.”
Cori smiled at her good-at-everything sister. Well, her good-at-almost-everything sister. She hadn’t liked the fact that Evan had shown that insight into Ava’s personality. But that was more because she was stupidly jealous and that had seemed like a connection between them. She didn’t want them to have a connection. There. She’d admitted it. But truthfully, that part of Ava’s personality was obvious. To everyone.
“What are the other reasons not to buy a new oven?” Brynn asked. “I assume number one is because it won’t make a difference in quality.” Brynn just grinned as Ava stuck her tongue out at her.
Cori knew there were several CEOs around the country, maybe even the world, who would be shocked that classy, cool Ava Carmichael had ever stuck her tongue out at someone. Especially while wearing cut-off sweatpants and licking chocolate pie off of her index finger.
“Reason number two is that we don’t have enough business to justify the need for an industrial oven. Which goes with reason number three—we have no money,” Cori said.
“Sometimes you have to invest in the business to increase revenue, right?” Brynn asked.
Ava nodded. “Sure. With a solid business plan, we should be able to justify some purchases.”
Cori nodded and leaned back. “Sure. But we don’t have a business plan.” And neither sister had said, “that’s brilliant!” to Cori’s idea for kid-friendly pies. She hadn’t even told them she thought they should make them smaller, kid-sized, and called them “kiddie pies” to go along with the “sweetie pies.”
“We’ll write one,” Ava said.
Cori swallowed her sip of coffee and shook her head, trying not to show that even the mention of Evan’s name, made her heart flutter. She wasn’t the type to just sit around and want so
mething. When she had an urge, of any kind really, she just went for it. So this thinking longingly about something, or someone, was very strange. She supposed there was a good lesson in there somewhere. Maybe wanting something she couldn’t have would be character building or something.
“Not ‘we’,” she said to Ava. “You’re not supposed to help with the business side of things. Dad put it in his note. But I don’t need help anyway,” Cori said. “It doesn’t take long to add zero to zero. I have time to learn all about business plans.” Which was, apparently, part of this whole crazy plan—for them to all learn things.
“Zero?” Brynn asked.
“Almost literally,” Cori said. She leaned her elbows on the table. “We have six hundred dollars in the bank account and we owe on a loan and we haven’t brought in any new money.”
“A loan?” Ava had just run her finger through a bit of chocolate and paused with it partway to her mouth. “Dad took out a loan?”
Cori shrugged. “Yep. Went to the bank yesterday to go over everything.”
Ava put her finger down without licking it, a sure sign of shock.
“Rudy Carmichael, one of the richest men in the country, took out a loan from a bank in Bliss, Kansas for a pie shop that’s basically a hole in the wall?”
Cori nodded. She had to admit she was just as surprised, but for some reason…she liked it. It made things more complicated. They had to make the business profitable by the end of the year, and they weren’t just starting from zero—they were in the negatives. But she liked that Rudy hadn’t blown into town and started throwing money around. There was no Rudy Carmichael Memorial Sports Complex or a wing on a building or a street named after him. And yeah, even his own business was a hole in the wall. She liked that no one had known he was rich.
It surprised her, but she liked that too. It had been eighteen years since Rudy had surprised her in a good way. She’d been eleven and he’d given her a pair of purple boots she’d mentioned liking when they’d walked past them in a store window on Fifth Avenue. He’d turned her into the store and bought them then and there. She’d worn them nonstop for almost three weeks.
Diamonds and Dirt Roads Page 13