Billionaire Behind the Mask

by Andrea Laurence

  Sebastian came inside and settled down onto the overstuffed chair they’d moved in a few days before. “I told you that there’s something wrong about Lauren that I can’t put my finger on.”

  “Yeah.” That was one way of saying it, although it was a lot more complicated than that.

  “Well, I think I know what we should do to help us figure it all out. I think you should be the one to go on the date with her.”

  That wasn’t what Sutton was expecting to hear. “Go on a date with her? I thought you were going to say something practical like ‘have her investigated,’ which I’m already doing. I emailed Miles this morning with her information.”

  “Good. While he’s doing that, it can’t hurt for you to go out with Lauren.”

  Sutton furrowed his brow in confusion. “I don’t understand. You mean you want me to go on the trip to Dallas you have planned for Saturday?”

  “Exactly. She and I don’t have the chemistry we did before and I know in my gut she isn’t the one I spent the evening with. If you go and you two have chemistry, maybe that will help us get to the bottom of what’s going on. Maybe she’s your mystery gal in red, not mine, but we won’t know until you meet her.”

  “You said she seemed very confident that you were the man she was looking for. She even went to the trouble of tracking you down at our rental house.”

  “Yes,” Sebastian agreed, “but only because she saw my picture in the paper. But in that picture, I’m wearing my wolf mask.”

  “So?”

  “So...you and I ordered the same mask, remember. What if she just presumed I was the person she spent the night with because I was wearing the wolf mask, too.”

  That was an intriguing thought. Twins in the same masks could confuse anybody that didn’t know them well enough. Or at all, like Lauren. “Perhaps she was confused and didn’t realize there were two of us in those masks. But don’t you think she’s going to wonder why I’m taking her out instead of you?”

  Sebastian rolled his eyes. “Are you serious?”

  “What?”

  “I meant that you should go on the date, but as me, not as you. She won’t know the difference and it will give you a chance to spend time with her one-on-one. Be Sebastian for the day and see what happens.”

  Coming from the brother that normally eschewed his twin-swapping shenanigans, Sutton was stunned. “That’s an awfully big risk to take just because you have a hunch. What if she can tell the difference between us?”

  “Come on, bro. Our own family and friends struggle with telling us apart. Do you really think a woman that’s seen me twice without a mask would do any better?”

  It was an interesting proposition, but one that was completely risk free for Sebastian. But he, on the other hand, was the one that would be stuck all day in another city with Lauren if things went wrong. Then again, she was on the short list of single women at the party. What if his brother was right and she was the one he’d spent the evening with?

  “Counter-proposal,” he murmured after a few minutes of consideration. “Let’s test the waters first and see if I can pull this off. It’s been a long time since I’ve pretended to be you to mess with people.” Sutton reached for his phone and pulled up Lauren Roberts’s Street Eats account on Instagram. Her trucks moved around each day, so you had to go online and see where they would be on a given day.

  He started to look at the most recent post, but another caught his eye. It was a professional shot of a dark-haired woman with dark brown eyes. Her hair was up in a bun and she was wearing a white chef’s coat. It was nothing close to the glamorous image of the woman in a red, beaded gown, but there was something about her that was just as striking. Maybe it was the bold confidence that he liked. Something about the pout of her lips and the heart-shape of her face seemed familiar, too. He tore his gaze away from the photo to read the description. It was the Street Eats owner and executive chef, Lauren Roberts herself.

  Sebastian might just be right. This could be the woman Sutton had spent the most incredible night of his life with. There was something about her that drew him in. He couldn’t imagine his brother spending time with Lauren and not being intrigued by her knowing smirk and bewitching, dark gaze. He scrolled back up to the daily post to see where he could track her down today.

  “It looks like she’s going to have the original truck at the Courtyard Shops, and Street Eats 2 will be at Royal Memorial Hospital today. What if I take your car into town under the guise of being you and pay her a little visit?” He tried not to suddenly sound too eager about his brother’s idea, but his pulse was racing at the chance to potentially track down his mystery woman.

  “If she doesn’t suspect anything,” he continued, “then I’ll see if I can pull off a whole date this weekend as you. Hopefully, by that time, we’ll get the information back from Miles and we’ll have an idea if she’s someone that can be trusted or not.”

  Sebastian grinned. “Brilliant. How do you know which truck she’ll be at today?”

  Sutton looked over the account. “Seems like she’s always with her original truck based on what I see here, so I’ll start there first.”

  “Excellent idea.” Sebastian fished his car keys out of his pocket and tossed them over to his brother. “Don’t scratch my baby.”

  Sutton rolled his eyes. He was the car aficionado. The car he’d just been forced to sell was worth three times what Sebastian’s BMW would run. “Don’t worry. I’m pretending to be you, so I’ll drive like an old man.”

  “Ha, ha!” Sebastian retorted as he got up and left the room. “Good luck pretending to be as charismatic and suave as I am,” he said over his shoulder as he disappeared down the hallway.

  What a joke, Sutton thought to himself. Sebastian and he were alike in some ways, but polar opposites in others, especially when it came to the ladies. He loved his twin, but he was so uptight he squeaked. It didn’t surprise him that any chemistry he might have with a mystery woman would be snuffed out by reality. Sebastian’s dating habits were enough to put Sutton to sleep.

  Over the years, his brother had brought around a long parade of sweet, southern debutantes that Mother would approve of. Not once had Sutton ever looked at one of his brother’s girlfriends with the slightest bit of interest. He had a completely different taste in women from his twin. That alone should’ve been enough to convince him that there were two women in similar red dresses at the party that night. There’s no way he and Sebastian would both be taken with the same woman, even if she was playing them both somehow.

  Which meant that if Lauren Roberts wasn’t Sebastian’s girl, perhaps his brother was right and the pretty chef was his mystery lady. There was only one way to find out. He glanced down at his phone and noted the menu available for today.

  “Tamales,” he said with a satisfied grin. It kept getting better. No matter what, the trip wouldn’t be a total loss because one of his favorites was on the menu.

  * * *

  Lauren was swamped. Tamales were always one of the more popular items at her food trucks. They sold well and they were assembled ahead of time, so it made for a less stressful day. She would do them more often, honestly, but she didn’t want to get pigeonholed into one type of cuisine. There was a whole culinary palate out there in the world and she wanted to cook and taste it all.

  They’d made it through lunch to the afternoon lull. Between about two and five, the crowds dropped down enough for them to reevaluate supplies, do additional food prep and if the site wasn’t doing that well, to move to another spot.

  Fortunately, she’d chosen a good place near the Courtyard Shops today. Priceless, the antique shop in the old barn, always seemed to do good business, as did Natalie Valentine’s bridal salon. People said this time of year was the start of proposal season and it looked to be true. There were more than a few crowds of ladies heading into the store to try on gowns with th
eir families and girlfriends.

  Wedding gowns were of little interest to Lauren, she could barely get through a successful first date, but she actually planned to head over to the artisan cheese shop later to see what she could find.

  Amy was loading another batch of assembled tamales into the steamer when Lauren looked out front and saw a black BMW pull up. It wasn’t an uncommon car, but the moment she laid eyes on it, she knew who it was. Her heart kind of sank at the idea of having to face Sebastian again so soon. He was a nice, handsome man and came from a good family. And her mother’s voice in her mind urged her not to screw it up. But whatever they’d shared that night had been smothered by reality. Pretending otherwise was a painful experience for her and she was a terrible liar.

  Sorry, Mom.

  “We’ve got a customer,” Lauren said to Amy, turning away from the window to busy herself on the other side of the kitchen.

  She dismissed her friend’s sigh of irritation as Amy dropped what she was doing to greet the diner waiting for them.

  “Lauren, it’s for you. Sebastian Wingate has come to pay you a visit.”

  Damn. She was hoping he was just hungry, but no, he wanted to see her specifically. Lauren took a deep breath and pasted a smile onto her face before turning back around. Sebastian was standing patiently with a wider-than-usual grin on his face.

  As she approached the counter, she couldn’t help but feel that he looked a little different today. Perhaps he was in a good mood and it changed his whole demeanor. Or maybe he was having a good hair day. But whatever it was, it made him appear happier and more open than before. It made him more appealing to her in an unexpected way.

  “Good afternoon, Sebastian,” she said with a smile. “What are you doing out here at the Courtyard Shops?”

  He held up his phone. “I heard there were going to be some excellent tamales served out here today.”

  Lauren couldn’t keep from blushing at the compliment. She dismissed most people’s comments—good or bad—on her appearance, her intelligence even her sense of humor. But when folks spoke about her food, she knew it was genuine enough and she took it to heart. Those were the opinions that mattered the most to her. “That’s sweet of you to say. You came all the way over here just for my tamales? The other truck is over by the hospital, which is a lot closer to your place.”

  “I really love tamales. But, of course, I couldn’t pass up on the chance to see you, too. It was worth the extra driving time.”

  He sounded like he meant it. And given their last conversation on her porch about the inevitable demise of this relationship, Lauren was confused. Had he forgotten her desire to throw in the towel? Or was he determined to make the most of their last try? She appreciated his determination to make things work, but she wasn’t sure it would be enough to salvage things between them.

  She focused on the food because it was easier than the relationship stuff. “We’ve got a fresh batch that will be ready in a few minutes if you’d like to wait.”

  “Sure. I don’t mind.”

  “I’ve got things handled in here,” Amy said loudly from over Lauren’s shoulder. “Why don’t you two go sit somewhere and I’ll bring an order out to you when they’re ready?”

  Lauren snapped her head around and eyed her employee warily. Amy smiled sheepishly. She knew full well how things were faring with Sebastian, but she was pushing anyway. And she would get away with it, because he had heard her and it would be impolite for Lauren to turn her offer down.

  “That would be great,” she said between gritted teeth. Turning back to Sebastian, she asked, “Would you like a drink to go with your tamale?”

  “Sweet tea?”

  “You bet.”

  Lauren poured them both glasses and gave Amy a cutting glance before walking to the back of the truck. When she opened the door, Sebastian was waiting there for her, his hand extended to help her down. She thrust a glass into his hand instead and got down using the handle on the door the way she always did.

  Earlier that morning, the truck had set up an umbrella and a portable picnic table to give an option to anyone who wanted to sit and eat. Downtown that wasn’t an option, but here they had more space and the owners didn’t mind. Lauren gestured over to the empty table she’d wiped down not long before he arrived.

  They both settled in sitting across from one another. For some reason, Lauren felt the flutter of butterflies in her stomach. Perhaps it was the way Sebastian was looking at her. There was a new curiosity there, but underlying it, was an unexpected dose of heat. He seemed to appreciate the way she looked today, which made no sense at all. She’d looked ten times better at the party and even when they went out to dinner. Today she was dressed to cook, with her hair in a tight bun and a boxy chef’s coat over her T-shirt and jeans.

  His silence was just as unnerving as his heavy appraisal of her. He didn’t try to make any small talk like he had before. He just sipped his tea and watched her.

  Lauren had to break the silence. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Or at all until Saturday.”

  “I know. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I saw your post on my Instagram feed and decided I should come out. I haven’t gotten to try your food yet, after all. If I’m dating a chef, I should get some of the perks, right?”

  Lauren couldn’t stop herself from returning his smile. “Honestly, most of the guys I’ve dated haven’t seen it as a perk. It takes up too much of my time and doesn’t leave much left over for them.”

  “It’s not like you’re just a chef at someone else’s restaurant. You’re running your own business and trying to build it up. That takes time, I know. Now, without a company to run, I don’t know what to do with myself. I end up dropping in on pretty ladies with lame excuses about wanting lunch.”

  Lauren chuckled. “It wasn’t a lame excuse. Just a transparent one.”

  Before she could ask Sebastian about how things were going with the Wingate investigation, Amy showed up with two paper trays of tamales and a spicy Bloody Mary rice she was trying out on the menu today. “Bon appétit,” she said, wagging her eyebrows suggestively at Lauren before she turned back to the truck.

  “Wow, this looks great,” Sebastian said. He took his fork and immediately dove into his steamy hot food.

  Lauren just waited for the reaction, holding her breath the whole time. She watched him blow on a bite before putting it in his mouth and chewing thoughtfully. He took a second bite before speaking, making her tenser with each second that ticked by. Him liking her food was about more than just goodwill in their relationship. Positive word of mouth in his social circles could do wonders for her business, even if they didn’t continue to see each other.

  “This is without a doubt the best tamale I’ve ever had,” he said at last.

  A rush of air escaped from Lauren’s lungs. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  “Not at all.” He put another bite in his mouth and chewed happily. “So good.”

  Within minutes, his plate of food—and hers—were safely hidden away in Sebastian’s belly. He had an appetite today she didn’t remember from their dinner together. So either he really liked it or he was very hungry. He even made a bit of a mess of himself in the process.

  Without thinking, she reached out with her napkin and wiped a bit of the chili sauce from the corner of his mouth. It was a weirdly familiar gesture for people in their position and his eyes met hers for a moment, as they both seemed to realize it at once.

  Sebastian’s hand shot up and caught hers. As his warm fingers enveloped her own, the napkin fell from her hand. Neither of them really noticed. All Lauren was aware of was the feel of his skin pressed against hers. Familiar. Addictive. Her heart started racing in her chest as though her body suddenly remembered his touch. Flashes of their night together, of these same big, masculine hands on her body, rushed to her mind all at o
nce.

  And just like that, their chemistry was back in full force. Like a lightning bolt had struck them through the conduit of the aluminum umbrella, it hit Lauren all at once. She wasn’t sure what had changed, but things were definitely different today.

  Sebastian noticed it, too. His green eyes narrowed at her, suddenly more wary, yet more interested than they had been since she’d shown up on his doorstep. With his gaze fixed on her, he unconsciously licked his lips. Then he brought his hand down to where he could look at her fingertips and took a deep breath. “Your manicure has held up nicely.”

  That wasn’t what she expected him to say. Especially since Sebastian hadn’t mentioned her nails before. He might have commented about them at the club, but not since then. It seemed odd that he would mention them now. Of course, maybe he was just searching for something to say to break up the tension crackling between them.

  “I’m surprised they’ve done so well,” she said. “Cooking is hard work on hands. They usually don’t look so polished. That’s a remnant of my makeover.”

  “Makeover?”

  Lauren frowned. If she wasn’t looking Sebastian dead in the face, she would think she was talking to someone else today. “Yeah, you know. I told you about how I won the party tickets and makeover as part of that contest on the radio.”

  A moment of realization flickered in his eyes for a moment and then vanished as he smiled again. “Oh, yes. I’d forgotten about that. Well, they did a great job. You look just as lovely today. Just put on that red gown and we could be back at the club playing billiards.”

  Lauren froze for a moment, gently extracting her hand from his. That was the first time he’d made any real reference to their night together. At first, she’d thought he was just being gentlemanly about it. If they were trying to start over in their relationship, not talking about their hot one-night stand on a pool table was advisable.

  But at the same time, there’d been no mention of their evening together at all. He didn’t seem to remember that she liked dirty martinis despite buying her several that night. None of their conversations in the alcove of the club or out on the dance floor seemed familiar to him. She’d chalked it up to drinking too much.