by Bette Ford
“Having fun?” Sherri Ann said over the loud music pouring out of the club’s sound system. She paid for the next round of drinks the waitress had plopped down in front of them.
“I left fun two clubs ago,” Laura complained, kicking off her heels. Glaring at Jenna, she hissed, “This is our third night out this week, but does your sister appreciate our sacrifices? No! She’s living it up on the dance floor with yet another guy. Only for you, sister girl.”
“Shut up, Laura. You’re just tired,” Sherri Ann huffed. “None of this is Jenna’s fault. She’s only trying to entertain Leah. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Laura’s right,” Jenna admitted unhappily. “I shouldn’t have dragged you two into my mess just because I’m having trouble saying no to my sister.”
Laura snapped, “I suggest you get over it before we all lose our jobs while Ms. Thing catches up on her beauty sleep during the day.”
Jenna sighed heavily. “Leave it to Laura not to mince words. Things aren’t going as I’d hoped. Instead of Leah poring over college catalogues and planning her future, she has been burning the candle at both ends. And she’s running me ragged.” She threw up her hands helplessly. “I’ve done everything I can think of to get her to see that there are other options open to her besides dancing nearly nude for a living. I’ve even dragged you two into it. I’m so sorry. This stops tonight.”
“Scott’s going to celebrate!” Sherri Ann said.
“Has he said something to you?” Jenna asked, aware that she hadn’t seen much of him lately.
“Of course not. I’m just saying he has to be sick of it.”
“We’re all sick of it . . . that is, everyone except Ms. Leah,” Laura said, picking up her club soda with lime.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—”
“Jenna, will you stop with the guilt? You didn’t drag us into anything. Laura and I don’t want you to be out here alone, fending off some drunk while Leah’s living it up.”
“That’s right. Are you prepared to let her go out on her own, if it comes to that?” Laura quizzed.
Jenna took a swallow of her diet cola, then said, “I’m tired of her bad habits invading my life. If she insists on clubbing every night, then so be it. We all have better things to do.”
“Like sleeping,” Laura remarked dryly, causing all three of them to laugh.
“What’s funny?” Leah asked. She picked up Jenna’s glass but quickly made a face and put it down when she realized it was a soft drink.
“We’re leaving. We have to get up early in the morning,” Jenna announced.
“It’s not even midnight!” Leah complained.
“This pumpkin is tapped out.” Jenna began collecting her things.
“Just like that you’re going to leave me stranded in a strange city?” Leah glared at her twin.
“Leah, it’s late. We’ve got work in the morning,” Sherri Ann defended.
Leah, clearly put out, swore. “I don’t believe this—”
“What I don’t believe is you!” Laura snapped. “Jenna has practically bent over backward trying to please your selfish behind.”
“That’s enough out of both of you. Leah, you’re welcome to stay, but we’re leaving.” Jenna had had enough. She wasn’t about to get into a shouting match in public. “Let’s go, ladies.”
Leah was mumbling beneath her breath, but she grabbed her coat and purse before she followed them.
It was a bitterly cold night. The moon shone bright overhead. They were forced to let the engine run before they could get underway. Jenna was behind the wheel.
Sherri Ann broke the strained silence. “Laura is right, Leah. You’re acting like a spoiled brat. Jenna adores you and has gone out of her way to please you.”
As she guided the car onto the expressway, Jenna said, “Can we drop this, please? We are all tired. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve had all I can take for one night.”
It was starting to snow. Jenna was forced to slow her speed and switch on the windshield wipers. They dropped off Sherri Ann first, then Laura. As they turned out of the driveway of Laura’s condo, the snow was really coming down, and Jenna was forced to slow down even more.
Jenna was concerned about Leah’s continued silence. She didn’t want her sister to feel as if they were picking on her. She tried to lighten the mood by saying, “It’s really coming down. I’m glad we left early.”
The lack of response caused Jenna to glance at her twin in the passenger seat. Leah sat with both arms crossed beneath her breasts, staring straight ahead.
“Leah, I’m sorry you’re upset. Laura and Sherri Ann can be very protective at times, but they didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”
“What was calling me names meant to do? Make it all better?” Leah said in a huff.
“No, but we were all tired and upset. Perhaps some things were best left unsaid. No one meant to call you names. Can we please leave it at that?”
“Fine!” Leah snapped.
Jenna worried her bottom lip, trying not to feel as if she was caught in the middle of a war. She did her best to concentrate on getting them home safely. She didn’t relax until she eased to a stop in her drive.
Jenna didn’t say anything more until they were inside. On her way to the kitchen, she asked, “Would you like some hot chocolate?”
“No,” Leah snapped.
“Please, don’t go to bed angry.”
“What do you expect, Jenna? You and your friends ganged up on me tonight, and I didn’t like it.”
“It wasn’t like that. We were only trying—”
Leah held up her hand, palm up. “That’s the way it seemed to me. It’s time I moved back to Vegas.”
“No, Leah! You’re more than welcome to stay here.”
“You mean as long as I do things your way, don’t you, big sis?”
“That is not what I said. That’s the last thing I want. You’ve just moved here. You haven’t given yourself enough time to get on your feet after your breakup with John. I know money is tight, and you’re used to doing your own thing. But why move back and get yourself into a financial bind? Stay here with me. It will give you time to decide what you want to do next. Look at the college catalogues. You don’t have to dance in clubs to make a living.”
“I know that,” Leah said, crossing her arms.
“Good. I’ve also learned a lesson. I’m stepping back and letting you do your thing. My friends and I won’t be following you from one club to the next.”
“Fair enough, except I don’t have any transportation.”
“That’s one problem I can’t help you with.”
“You could always ask your man. A rich guy like Scott, I’m sure he has more than one car.”
Jenna shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not asking.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not his problem. Maybe you can call your friend Neal Dunn,” Jenna said. She had no idea what had happened between the two of them. After the club opening, Leah hadn’t mentioned the man’s name. “Maybe he will loan you one of his cars?”
“Not likely. The man was interested in one thing. Once he got that, he moved on,” Leah said dryly.
Jenna covered a yawn. “I’m beat. Good night, Sis.” She changed direction, heading toward her bedroom. “See you in the morning. Sleep well.”
Fuming, Leah made her way into the kitchen. Retrieving a bottle of sauvignon blanc cooling in the refrigerator, she lifted a brow at the costly label, then expertly uncorked it. After pouring a generous portion, she made herself comfortable in the living room.
Everywhere she looked showed the expert care and attention to detail her twin had put into making her home a showplace. Not even a throw pillow was out of place. From the paint c
olors and drapes to the furnishings, rugs, and accessories, all was meant to impress. The house might have been modest, but it was beautiful. Nothing had been left to chance. It was just like her big sister . . . perfect.
Had the girl ever taken a wrong step in her entire life? From what Leah had observed, it was highly unlikely. Jenna had worked her way through college. Little Miss Perfect hadn’t stopped there. Despite the odds, she had made it through graduate school with top grades, all the while holding a job on Wall Street. When she’d graduated, she’d gotten her dream job and bought her own home. She might have had an old car, but she had expensive clothes. Her good luck hadn’t stopped there. Hell, no!
Jenna had reunited with her lost love, who just happened to be a very rich and good-looking pro athlete that still adored her. Little Ms. Perfect had it all . . . the house, the job, and the man. Damn her! She’d even replaced her own family with those goody-goody foster sisters.
Who gave her the right to pass judgment on her own flesh and blood? She was just plain wrong to embarrass her own sister in front of her high-class friends, who thought they were better than ordinary folk.
“It’s wrong!” Leah grumbled aloud as she drained her glass. Resentment bubbled inside of her.
Every room in this place pointed to her twin’s success. To make matters worse, whenever Leah looked into the mirror, she didn’t see herself. She saw Jenna mocking her and pointing out her failures. Jenna had big plans for Leah to go to college, make a new life for herself. If left up to her twin, she wouldn’t be satisfied until Leah was exactly like her.
“It’s not fair,” Leah grumbled unhappily. She was the one who had been adopted. She was the one who was supposed to have the advantages, not the other way around.
While Jenna had grown up with two best friends, Leah had been alone. There had been no one to turn to, no one to talk to, and no one to understand what she’d gone through growing up in that cold, strict home. The Bennetts hadn’t loved her. They’d wanted to control her, had ruled her every waking hour. When she hadn’t been in school, she’d been in church. Every minute of the day had been supervised and monitored. It had been horrible.
She hadn’t been allowed to talk on the phone. She hadn’t been able to choose her own friends or pick out her own clothes. Every aspect of her life had had to meet with her adopted parents’ approval. By the time Leah was sixteen, all she’d wanted was out. They’d offered to send her to college if she’d lived at home with them. Leah shuddered at the memory.
When she was eighteen, she took every dime she’d saved, packed her clothes, and bought a bus ticket out of town. She’d run as far and as fast as she’d been able, promising herself she’d never go back.
Only Leah hadn’t ended up in the cushy life, like her twin. She’d gone to L.A., determined to have all the glitz and glamour of the Hollywood lifestyle she’d dreamed about as a kid. After years of trying to break into the business, Leah had nothing to show for it but a few commercials and sore feet from waiting tables to keep a roof over her head.
She’d met John in a club. He had talked her into dancing for a living, insisting she’d be seen by the movie producers and television moguls, but that hadn’t panned out.
Las Vegas had turned out to be one disappointment after another. Leah had landed jobs, but not on the Strip or in one of the big hotel chorus lines, as she’d planned. Each new club had been further from the Strip and sleazier than the last.
The stripping had been another of John’s moneymaking schemes. It might have been worth it if she could have snagged one of the high rollers that frequented the top casinos. Instead of attracting the rich, young, sports figures, rap stars, or even older corporate heads, she had fallen in love with a man who’d been out for what she’d been able to do for him.
Leah swore unhappily. She should have ditched him a long time ago. Sex and good looks did not pay the bills. Never again. She’d learned her lessons with John when he’d left with all her money.
“It’s my turn to get what I want,” she mumbled to herself as she refilled her glass.
Well at least she had given her a place to stay until she figured out her next move. The one thing Leah had learned from being around her sister and her uppity friends was that there were wealthy men in the Motor City ripe for the taking. She only needed one.
It was a damn shame she hadn’t met Scott first. He’d picked the wrong twin. Jenna didn’t appreciate the man. She was too caught up in her precious career. Poor Scott needed a woman who knew how to put him first.
“A woman like me,” Leah said aloud.
Leah could see the mistake Jenna was making with her man. Leah loved her sister, and she’d tried to warn her, pointing out on more than one occasion that Jenna should be living with the man, but her twin wouldn’t listen. Jenna was leaving Scott open for another woman to step right in. Leah shook her head. At the very least, Jenna should be making herself available to him. How long did she expect to hold onto a man with his qualities . . . money, good looking, with a hot, gorgeous body?
“She won’t. Not for long,” Leah surmised, helping herself to more wine.
Twenty-one
Scott silently fumed. He was still ticked off over the mix-up that had taken place when he’d arrived at Jenna’s earlier that evening. He’d tried to let it go, but it still rankled. As far as he was concerned, the evening had gone downhill from that point on.
As he followed the Gaines twins into the living room, the clock on the mantel confirmed the late hour. But he didn’t plan on leaving, not until he had some time alone with his love. Rather than taking a seat on the sofa, as was his custom, he rested a shoulder against the mantel in front of a log-filled grate.
He’d always considered himself to be an easygoing guy. Yet tonight he’d lost his temper and nearly said something he would no doubt regret later. Scott swore silently. He didn’t appreciate the trick Leah had played on him, pretending to be Jenna. She’d answered the door in Jenna’s purple silk top with jeans. She’d even done her hair and makeup like his lady.
He’d been so hungry for Jenna that he hadn’t realized it wasn’t her until he’d tightened his arms around her and he’d lowered his head for her kiss. Suddenly, his instincts had kicked in. Her hazel eyes had been hard with intent, not filled with the warmth and humor he’d been expecting. The breathy welcome in Jenna’s voice when she said his name also hadn’t been there. Thankfully he’d recognized Leah in the knick of time and hadn’t done more than brush his lips against hers.
“Would you care for something to drink?” Leah asked playfully, her full lips sporting a provocative smile.
Concealing his annoyance at her attempt to take over Jenna’s hostessing duties, Scott muttered a frosty, “No, thanks.” His resentment had been building. He knew he had to gain control over it before Jenna caught on. He didn’t dare voice his feelings.
Was nothing off-limits with Leah? Tonight was hardly the first time that Jenna’s twin had managed to include herself in their evenings out. To be fair, the blame didn’t entirely rest with Leah. Jenna was reluctant to leave her sister on her own, even for a few hours.
Frustrated, Scott craved time alone with his lady. They needed time for just the two of them to be together . . . to finalize their connection. If he was completely honest, he’d admit that he longed to give into selfish needs. He was tired of doing without, fed up with waiting. He wanted to taste every sweet inch of Jenna’s curvy frame. It had been too blasted long since he’d been inside her . . . since she’d fit him like a second skin, silky soft, and damp with need. How he missed his sweet love.
The last time they’d slept together he’d done nothing beyond holding her close. He could kick himself for the missed opportunity. Aware that she’d been on an emotional roller-coaster ride the past few weeks, he hadn’t wanted to make demands. It was important that he show her they didn’t need to mak
e love each and every time they were together. What they had was more than their sexual needs. He’d done everything within his power to make her feel happy, protected, and loved.
Now he felt like a selfish bastard for even entertaining thoughts of wanting more. Jenna deserved the peace and comfort he’d provided that night. He didn’t exactly regret not making love to her. As long as he had her, he had enough.
As he walked purposefully toward Jenna, who had just switched on the floor lamp, he knew he had to find a way for them to spend quality time alone. Placing a possessive arm around her waist, he said, “Leah, will you excuse us, please? I’d like to speak to my lady . . . privately.”
“Scott!” Jenna exclaimed.
He quirked a dark brow and tightened his hold on her waist.
“Sure. Good night.” Leah flounced off.
“Finally,” Scott whispered into Jenna’s ear.
“That wasn’t very nice and certainly not subtle,” she scolded. Then she teased, “You’re still angry about that trick Leah pulled on you earlier. Honey, admit it. She fooled you for a moment.”
Ignoring the dig, he sat down with her beside him on the sofa, dropping an arm over her shoulders. “I’m sure Leah understands we wanted to be alone. It hasn’t been that long since she had a man,” he said gently.
He wasn’t about to voice his belief that her twin had done more than play a joke on him but had indeed gone after him. He was no one’s fool. He could handle the flirting and vying for attention. But if he was right about her intentions, it could possibly harm their relationship. It was a risk he was unwilling to take.
He could be wrong. Was Leah simply being thoughtless and wasn’t out to do harm? Had he overreacted? Had it only been a childish prank that twins play on each other and unsuspecting family and friends? Perhaps the twins were making up for the innocent fun they’d missed out on growing up apart? Suddenly he wondered if he should give Leah a well-meaning warning. But then he’d run the risk of its getting back to Jenna. His beloved was touchy when it came to her family.