Darling? Oh, crap. How was she supposed to break up with a man who called her ‘darling’ in such a sexy way?
“Come down here, and I’ll introduce you.”
Judging from the hostile postures of the women, Audrey decided she’d rather have a root canal. She hoped they couldn’t see up her skirt from their lower vantage point. She said a silent prayer of thanks she hadn’t taken her sister’s advice and was, in fact, wearing panties. Could she call a thong “panties”?
Zach’s dark brows pulled together over his puzzled stare. He jogged up to her, stopping a couple of steps below. “What’s going on?” he whispered.
She met his gaze. Oh, God. He had the most beautiful blue eyes she’d ever seen. “N-Nothing,” she stammered, and forced herself to breathe. A heady combination of citrus and musk assailed her. He smelled so good she wanted to bury her face against his shoulder and inhale.
She couldn’t tell him the truth. That she’d never worn shoes this stacked in her life. That she was a sneakers girl. She dug her long fingernails into the fleshy part of her palm to remind herself to get a grip on reality. He wasn’t her boyfriend.
Those gorgeous eyes narrowed. Deep, piercing blue, and fringed with black lashes and laugh lines. Up close, he was even better looking than in the tabloids, movie-star handsome with just a hint of stubble on his strong chin. His black hair gleamed blue in the sunlight streaming through the large windows. She wondered how it would feel in her hands. She rubbed her suddenly damp palms against her thighs.
A rumble of something purely primal roiled deep in her belly. From this proximity, she could see his hair was just starting to gray at the temples, adding to his good looks. When she got her first gray hair, she was certain it wouldn’t add to her looks.
Her sister was insane.
Something flickered in his eyes as he stared at her. Oh, God. He knows I’m not Ava. She raised an eyebrow and met his gaze squarely, hoping she looked confident.
A grin tugged at his lips and he reached for her hand, entwining their fingers. Absorbed in the physical contact and in looking at his mouth, she forgot to move her feet, and lost her balance. Her arms flailed, and she found herself chest to chest with Zachary Banister.
“Whoa there, tiger,” he said. He chuckled, his breath warm against her ear.
For the first time today, she was glad for the falsies, otherwise the only thing between her breasts and him would be the lacy excuse of a bra and the silky fabric of her blouse. Her nipples pebbled. Clearly, she’d been without a man too long.
His hand slid down her back, all the way down to her backside. He squeezed, and Audrey’s pulse cartwheeled through her veins.
“Kiss me,” he murmured, lowering his face.
Of all the rude, chauvinistic-Wait. Holy crap! He was touching her butt! The way his hands burned through her clothes, she might as well be naked. Warmth spread outward from his hand like slow-moving lava, until every square inch of her skin tingled.
At the last minute, she turned her head. “M-My lipstick,” she muttered, conscious of his family watching. “I, uh, just put it on.”
His lips thinned, and a spark of annoyance flickered through his deep blue eyes. “Forget the lipstick, Ava. Remember what we talked about.”
Ava. Under usual circumstances, Audrey would never be mistaken for her prettier and sexier sister. And what did he mean, what they had they talked about? She scanned her memory for everything Ava had told her.
“Yes, absolutely I remember,” she lied, smiling up at him. Audrey glanced away, worried if he looked too closely he’d see she was an imposter. Worried if she looked too closely, she might wrap her legs around his waist and beg him to take her right now, right here. Instead, she looked straight ahead at his chest. His white button-down shirt was open just enough at the collar to reveal a sprinkling of coarse, black hair. Her palms itched as she imagined running her hands over his bare skin, the coarse hairs tickling her.
Okay, she’d look at the windows behind him, or anywhere that didn’t elicit heat to flush her face and pool in the pit of her stomach. And lower.
He propped one foot on the stair beside her and pressed his hand into the small of her back, welding their hips. This time, she didn’t pull away. She couldn’t really, with his hands on her. What would he do if she rocked her pelvis against his? How would his body react? Hmm. Tempting.
What on earth was wrong with her?
Zach’s warm breath mingled with hers as he leaned in to kiss her. Their lips touched, and she swayed on her Manolo-something shoes. He angled his head and teased the closed seam of her lips with his tongue. Her head hummed and excitement rippled across her skin. She gripped his arms, ready to kiss him back, when he pulled away.
His eyes narrowed, creating a furrow between his brows. He knows something’s different!
He cocked his head. “Hmm,” he said, then reached for her hand and guided her down the stairs, like the embrace had never happened.
How could he be so calm, when her entire being quivered like children on the first day of school? Of course, he’d kissed her sister before, so to him this was no big deal. But Audrey had never kissed him. To her, this was momentous.
When they reached the foyer, he dipped his head and whispered in her ear, “You look perfect, by the way.”
She couldn’t help smiling, despite her anxiety. When was the last time anyone had thought she looked perfect?
He cleared his throat as they approached the women. “Mother, Theresa-”
Mother Theresa? Was impersonating one’s sister a sin?
Wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to his side, he said, “This is the love of my life, Ava Divine. Ava darling, this is my mother, Grace Banister, and my sister, Theresa.”
Ava darling? Love of his life? Oh, God. What had Ava gotten her into? And how could her sister not want to be the love of this man’s life?
Mrs. Banister’s sleek silver bob framed smooth skin and high cheekbones, the results of great genetics or a skilled plastic surgeon, or both. Her face reminded Audrey of a porcelain doll-flawless, with a half-smile and expressionless eyes.
Audrey put on what she hoped was a genuine smile and held out her hand, complete with a new set of fake fingernails painted hooker red.
Zach’s mother looked her up and down, then grasped the ends of her fingers, as if to avoid touching her any more than necessary. Before Audrey could stop herself, she readjusted her grip and gave the matron of the mansion a firm handshake.
With a disapproving glare that actually caused frown lines on her forehead, Mrs. Banister pulled from Audrey’s grasp. “Welcome to our home, Miss Divine,” she said in a perfectly modulated voice.
“Thank you, and please call me Au-Ava.”
Theresa didn’t shake Audrey’s hand, but crossed her arms over her cream-colored silk blouse, and stared at Audrey from under lifted brows. She shared her mother’s regal looks, but with dark hair.
Like her mother, Theresa had that slender and shapeless build akin to the Paris Hiltons of the world, as if they truly believed you could never be too rich or too thin. Audrey shifted from one foot to the other, suddenly self-conscious of her curvier figure.
Zach squeezed her shoulder. She figured it was a silent apology for his family’s less than stellar welcome, until she peeked up at him. A faint smile curved the corners of his beautiful mouth, and his eyes twinkled as he peered down at her.
Her legs shook, a combination of nerves and the stilettos. Her sister clearly didn’t have her head screwed on straight. The more money a man had, the more Ava usually liked him. If he was good-looking to boot, as Zach so obviously was, that was even better.
But he had apparently broken Ava’s cardinal rule-he’d fallen in love with her.
So here Audrey was to do Ava’s dirty work, with the hunk-of-the-month standing close enough for her to breathe in his sexy aftershave.
When Zach slipped his hand around her waist and his fingers grazed the
side of her breast, Audrey gasped. Time for what her drama students called an ‘exit, stage right.’
She backed out of his embrace, teetering on the stilettos. “I, ah, need to go fix my lipstick.” She caught Zach’s eye for the briefest of moments, then toddled across the foyer to the bottom of the staircase. Her gaze trekked up the steps, then back down to her stupid shoes.
“Oh, what the heck,” she muttered, reaching down to slip off the high heels. For one crazy moment, she was tempted to turn around and take a bow. Instead, she sprinted up the stairs.
Chapter Two
Zach watched Ava scurry up the curving staircase. His body tightened in response to the sight of her long, toned legs under that sinfully short skirt. He’d never really appreciated what great legs she had. At least she’d had the good sense to take off those ridiculous, but damned sexy, high heels before heading upstairs. Maybe that was what bothered him. Ava rarely showed good sense. Or maybe it was because, for a moment when they’d kissed, he’d been attracted to her and wanted more.
Something wasn’t right. He realized his family was about as welcoming as a basket of spitting cobras, but he’d explained the situation to her on the phone last week. She’d seemed fine with meeting them then. Not so much now.
“Do you really expect us to buy that?”
Zach spun and found his mom and sister staring at him, arms crossed. “What do you mean?”
“She means,” Grace said, “that Miss Divine doesn’t quite fit the mold of your dream girl.”
“You have no clue what my idea of a dream girl is,” he told them. Neither did he.
“Well, it’s clearly not her,” Theresa said, nodding toward the upper hallway where Ava had disappeared. “The chemistry between you is about as genuine as her bust line.” Theresa’s well-bred brows rose.
Damn. Maybe he should have chosen a woman he had more passion for than Ava. But she was otherwise perfect. He and Ava would have to step it up a notch if he wanted this charade to work.
*****
“Ava, what the heck have you gotten me into?” Audrey hissed into her cell phone. She stood at the window in her room, squinting into the bright May sunshine.
A faint grating sound buzzed through the receiver, and she realized her sister was filing her nails. “I told you exactly what you were getting into, and you agreed.” Ava’s sultry voice would make a grocery list sound sexy.
“You begged me to help you.”
“You could have said no.”
When had Audrey ever said no to her twin? Not in this lifetime. “Yeah, whatever. But you’re going to owe me big-time for this.” Her back bedroom overlooked a huge, kidney-shaped pool. A stamped-concrete path encircled the sparkling water, and opened into an expansive patio dotted with chaise lounges and umbrellas. It looked more like a posh resort than a private backyard.
She heard her sister blow onto her fingernails. “He’s cute, isn’t he?” Ava asked.
Audrey’s pulse blipped. “Cute doesn’t begin to describe him. He’s…perfect.” She ran a finger along the polished wooden sill, then studied the faint smudge left behind by her skin.
Ava sighed. “Yeah. He’s a hottie. Too bad he had to go and get all serious on me. Have you taken care of business yet?”
“I’ve been here less than an hour, Ava.”
“You’ve always prided yourself on being so efficient, sis. Am I finally beginning to rub off on you? God can only hope…”
Audrey couldn’t help chuckling. “You’ve not only rubbed off on me, I’ve become you. You’d be proud of me so far. I’ve done well, except for tripping on the stairs.”
“Aud-reeey. You need to be more careful. You’re going to give yourself away.”
Audrey chewed on her lower lip. “Yeah, well, you were born wearing stilettos.” She turned away from the window, and plopped into an overstuffed chair. She stretched out her legs and admired the pedicure Ava had insisted she get. She wriggled her red-tipped toes, and the gloss caught the sunlight through the windows.
“So, when will you do it?” Ava asked.
“Yo. Is your head screwed on straight? Why on earth do you want to break up with him?”
“He would be perfect, except for the teensy tiny fact that he said the ‘F’ word to me.”
“What?”
“Yeah, you know. ‘Fiancée’?”
Audrey hinged forward in the chair. “Oh. My. God. A rich, handsome man is in love with you. Call 911.”
“Who said anything about love?”
Audrey dreamt of falling madly in love some day, with a man who would adore her in and out of the bedroom. Zach’s face appeared in her mind’s mirror. She mentally fogged the glass. “He must be in love with you if he wants to marry you.” Silence echoed in her ear. “Ava? You still there?”
“Oh, yeah,” came the distracted reply. “Off! Down! Your dog keeps jumping on my lap.”
“He likes you.”
“The feeling’s not mutual. His hairs are sticking to my clothes. It’s really disgusting. So, when will you do it?” Ava returned to the original conversation as if she’d never disrupted it.
“I’m pacing myself. I still can’t believe you talked me into breaking up with Zachary Banister for you. Do you know how many women in this country would love to be in your shoes?”
“No, no, no. You know how horrible I am at confrontation. If I screw it up, I’ll lose my job.”
Audrey cringed at the thought. Her sister had the perfect career for her lifestyle-she regularly flew to exotic locales, and got to hobnob with rich and famous people. It would be a shame if Ava lost that.
“Remember when I tried to break up with Robbie Calendar?” Ava asked. “I did so bad, he started crying.”
“Yeah, well, guys don’t really appreciate being told they bore the crap out of you.”
“See, that’s why I need you. You’re way nicer than me. When you pretended to be me and broke up with Robbie, you did such a good job that he and I stayed friends.”
“And when he found out I’d impersonated you, he told his parents, who told our parents, and I was grounded for two months.” Audrey hoped this attempt didn’t have similar negative results. For her. Somehow, Ava always came out okay.
“Yeah.” Ava sounded wistful. “I always did feel kind of bad about that.”
Right, Audrey thought.
“What’s the big deal?” Ava asked. “How many times have you told me how boring your life is, and how nothing exciting ever happens to you?”
“This isn’t quite what I had in mind.”
“You’re always telling me to make the best of things. Maybe you should take your own advice. Have fun while you’re there. Live it up. Without blowing your cover, of course.”
“Breaking up with a man I don’t know is hardly my idea of a good time.”
“Speaking of not blowing your cover, have you memorized my list?”
Audrey sighed. “You wrote it down for me.”
“Let me hear it.”
“I don’t want to-” She knew better than to argue with her stubborn twin. “Fine. I’ll get it.”
She rose from the comfortable chair, then strode to the suitcase she hadn’t bothered unpacking. She didn’t plan on being in Sun Valley long enough to justify the headache.
Reaching under a stack of clothes, she retrieved a folded piece of paper with the heading, Ava’s Absolutes. “Okay. Number one. Never be seen without makeup or hair done. Any time. Anywhere. Number two. Stilettos are a girl’s best friend. No matter the occasion.”
She glowered at the nasty shoes lying next to the door. “Uh, not this girl’s best friend. How the heck can you stand wearing such high heels?”
“How can you stand not to? Go on.”
Audrey blew an exasperated breath, and sat on the edge of the bed. “Never let him see you in sweats. A chipped nail on the fingers or toes should be a crime. Thong or commando. Enough said.” That last absolute prompted her to squirm on the mattress.
&n
bsp; “Good,” Ava said. “If you can remember the list, you’ll be fine.”
Audrey doubted it. There was nothing “fine” about breaking up with a man while wearing underpanties that felt like dental floss.
*****
Zach rapped his knuckles against Ava’s door. “It’s open,” she called from inside.
He opened the door, but stayed in the doorway. “Oh. Hi,” she said when she saw him.
“I came up here to check on you. You ran away so quickly.” He looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her bare legs and feet. Damn if his heart rate didn’t speed up a notch at the sight.
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice a bit breathless.
He smiled. “I can see that.” More than fine.
“This is a beautiful house, Mr.-ah-Zach. Does your family live here year-round?”
“We spend much of the ski season here, of course, and we’re always in town for Saturday’s Memorial Weekend golf tournament. Do you golf, Ava?”
“No, actually.” Her long lashes swept across her downcast eyes. “I’ve never tried it.”
Her answer didn’t surprise him. Ava Divine probably didn’t do anything that could break a nail. “You can come along and watch, or you can hang out here. May I come in?” At her nod, he stepped inside the room. “Have you had a chance to look around?” His gaze lingered on the bed. He’d never been in Ava’s bedroom before. He’d never wanted to be. So why had his heart rate sped up?
She shook her head. “Jeeves brought me straight to my room when I arrived. We didn’t pass Go, nor did we collect $200.”
With anyone else, Zach might have chuckled. But not with her. Ava Divine rarely made jokes. He cocked his head and studied her. Somehow, in the weeks since he’d last seen her, she’d morphed into a kinder, gentler, funnier Ava. A hell of a lot sexier, too.
Exactly what he didn’t want, or need, this weekend. He’d chosen Ava primarily because she wasn’t his type. Damn.
Maybe his family’s behavior affected her more than he’d expected. “I know I warned you about my family, but I’ll apologize for them anyway. You get my mother and Theresa together, and they’re worse than Donald Trump in his boardroom.”
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 124