Waking Up to You: Overexposed

by Leslie Kelly

  “I can’t wait to get these off you,” he murmured, coming up behind her and sliding an arm around her waist.

  She gasped, obviously startled. Oliver held her tighter, spreading his hand across her belly, pulling her hard against him so her curvy butt pressed against his rapidly hardening cock, and bent to nibble on her neck. “You make me crazy, Candace. All day long, I think about nothing but getting you naked and wet.”

  Rather than lifting her arm over her shoulder and encircling his neck, or tilting her head to give him more access, she cleared her throat and slowly turned around to face him. His hands dropped lower, cupping her backside, and he looked down at her.

  Then he blinked, wondering what was wrong. Something was...off. She wore a look of amused speculation that he couldn’t remember ever seeing before and her lips were curled up in a tiny, jaded smile that was half sneer. Candace’s grin was usually far more sexy—or, occasionally, sweet. Never jaded. Not Candace.

  Tilting his head in confusion, he stared at her, slowly drawing in a breath. Because the truth finally landed in his befuddled brain.

  “Son of a bitch,” he whispered. “You’re not Candace.”

  10

  WHEN SHE HEARD Oliver speak, Candace thought for a moment he’d called out to her from downstairs. She strode to the top of the staircase and glanced down, expecting to find him looking up at her.

  Instead, she saw the man she was falling for, with his hands on her sister’s ass.

  “Whoa!” she called, charging down the stairs, taking them a couple at a time as she descended.

  Oliver, his mouth agape, stared at her, then at Madison, then back at her. He dropped his hands and took a quick step back, almost tripping over his own feet.

  “Twins? You’re twins?”

  Realizing what had happened—that her lover had mistaken her sister for her and obviously copped a feel—Candace felt her flash of jealousy disappear. She bit down on her lips to prevent a giggle, knowing Oliver was incredibly embarrassed.

  Madison stuck her hand out, as if he hadn’t just been gripping her butt, which had always been just a wee bit curvier than Candace’s. “I’m Madison Reid. It’s nice to meet you. You’re Oliver, I presume?”

  He didn’t take her hand, continuing to stare back and forth between them, as most people did when they first realized they were seeing double.

  Finally shaking off her shocked amusement, Candace threw her arms around her twin’s shoulders. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect you until at least tomorrow.”

  “I caught an earlier flight.”

  Madison squeezed her tight, and they held each other for a long minute. Neither seemed willing to let go first.

  Ever since Candace had moved out to L.A. to try to break into movie costuming, missing Madison had been the hardest thing to deal with. Oh, of course she missed her parents and her friends, but she and her twin had a special bond. The only person who’d ever come close to coming between them was Tommy, and that was only until Madison had clued in to the fact that he was gay and wasn’t someone they ever had to compete over.

  Before the move, they hadn’t ever been apart for longer than a few weeks, since they’d both gone to colleges in Central Florida and shared an apartment throughout. Mad had been Candace’s best friend since the day they were born, and until this moment, when tears started pouring out of her eyes, she honestly hadn’t realized how long they’d been apart. It had been months since she’d flown to New York to help Mad move into her new place after she’d landed her first big-city reporting job.

  “I’ve missed you so much,” her sister whispered.

  “Right back at you.”

  She heard sniffling—not her own—and realized she wasn’t the only one who’d turned on the waterworks. Finally, knowing Oliver had to be standing there, gaping, wondering when somebody was going to explain, she let Mad go and took a step back. They both wiped their eyes, probably looking like a pair of saps.

  “Uh...does somebody want to tell me what’s going on?” Oliver still looked a little stunned.

  Candace walked over and took his arm. “Didn’t I ever tell you that Madison and I are identical twins?”

  “I think I would have remembered.” He didn’t sound happy. “How do you not mention something like that? And I can’t believe Buddy didn’t.”

  She shrugged, a little sheepish. “I guess it never occurred to him. When we were younger, we were both pretty adamant about not being thought of as just the Reid twins. We wanted to always be known as individuals.”

  “Right,” Madison interjected. “Individuals who had each other’s back no matter what, switched places all the time and sat in on each other’s classes for the subjects one or the other of us didn’t like. But everybody had to call us by our given names, not, ‘the twins.’”

  Candace exchanged a smile with her sister, both of them obviously remembering their stubborn insistence during childhood on being unique people, not part of a duo. Of course, they’d been inseparable anyway. Oh, how she’d missed her.

  “I really wish I’d known,” Oliver said. When he rubbed his hands over his eyes and shook his head, she realized he was more embarrassed than anything else. He confirmed it. “I was an ass. I’m sorry, Madison, I truly thought you were Candace.”

  Her sister, who prided herself on chewing men up and spitting them out, both romantically and in the cutthroat world of journalism in which she’d immersed herself, offered him a wide smile. “Are you kidding? I loved every second of it.”

  Wondering just how much she’d missed, Candace shot a pointed stare at her sister that silently said, Back off. He’s mine.

  Madison put her hands up, palms out in a conciliatory gesture, but ruined it when she wagged her eyebrows up and down. “Candace wasn’t quite as descriptive about you as she might have been.”

  Wishing her twin hadn’t mentioned the fact that she’d been talking about him, she changed the subject. “Come on in, sit down, relax. Do you want something—coffee? A glass of wine?”

  “Is it from a fifty-thousand-dollar bottle?”

  Candace grinned. She’d filled her sister in on the treasure in the basement. “Sorry, no. We figured we’d better leave everything else that’s down there for the appraiser. I have horrible visions of accidentally misreading something and breaking open a bottle that would pay off the mortgage on this place.”

  “Ah well,” Mad said, waving a hand. “I guess I’ll make do with cheap swill for tonight.”

  “I’ll see if I can find something up to your New York City tastes,” she replied with a chuckle.

  Mad followed them into the living room and plopped down on a recliner, flipping the handle to lift the footrest. She kicked off her comfortable shoes and flexed her feet, making herself at home.

  Candace went to the bar, grabbed a bottle she’d picked up at a nearby store and popped it open. Oliver, meanwhile, sat on the couch, trying unsuccessfully to hide the fact that he was looking back and forth between them, trying to find differences that were hard even for family members to spot. Candace’s second piercing in one ear, a freckle on her left hand, the tiny scar on Madison’s chin, which she’d split open in nursery school—those, and their vastly different wardrobes, were all that really told them apart now that Mad had given up her redhead experiment and gone back to her natural color.

  “You doing okay?” she asked Oliver after she’d given Madison her wine. She touched his shoulder lightly. “I’m really sorry I didn’t say anything. I meant to.”

  “It’s all right,” he said. “As long as I’m not going to get charged with groping a stranger.”

  Her brow went up. “Groping?” She cast an arch look at her sister. “Just how long did you let him think you were me?”

  Mad smiled sweetly. “Long enough to be impressed, little sister.”

  Little by virtue of being born twenty-seven minutes after her twin.

  Candace sat down and dropped a possessive hand on Oliver’s leg. H
e covered it with his own, squeezing her fingers, and she knew his embarrassment was fading.

  As she sipped her wine, Madison asked a million questions, mostly about Buddy. She was just as fond of their grandfather as Candace and was looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. Deciding his heart probably wasn’t up to any pranks right now, she agreed not to sneak into Candace’s closet and try any identity swaps.

  “So when is he going to be able to come home?”

  “The day after tomorrow,” Candace replied.

  “I’m sure he’s looking forward to it.” Madison dropped her gaze, eyeing the ruby liquid in her glass. “Are you, uh, still planning on leaving as soon as he’s released?”

  Her stomach lurched. That had been the plan all along. Mad had promised to come visit her in L.A. once Grandpa was back on his feet, since she knew Candace had already been here for almost two weeks.

  She had to do it, knowing real life was waiting for her. But oh, God, she did not want to go. She wasn’t ready to end this wonderful interlude. The time she’d spent here, her days with her grandfather, as well as the long heated nights with her lover, had been the happiest she could remember for a very long time. She loved the climate, loved the country, loved being involved in the excitement of her grandfather’s collection.

  She loved Oliver.

  That realization had been creeping up on her a little more every day, but she hadn’t allowed herself to really believe it until now. While her first inclination was to continue to shove the very idea away, pretend it had never occurred to her, she knew she wasn’t that good at denial.

  Somewhere between her first night here, when she’d attacked him with a pot and fifteen minutes ago, when she’d seen him holding her sister, she had lost her heart to him. All her mixed-up feelings toward the man had cemented into pure and simple love.

  “Yeah, Candace,” Oliver asked, his tone serious and his stare intense. “Are you leaving?”

  She swallowed, but since her mouth had gone so dry, it didn’t help. “I, uh...I’m not sure yet.”

  He nodded slowly, then cast a glance between her and Madison. “Listen, it sounds like you two haven’t seen each other for a while. I’ll get out of here so you can catch up.”

  “You don’t have to...” she protested.

  “Don’t go on my account!” added Madison.

  He stood anyway. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day.” He cast a glance toward Madison. “Candace and I were supposed to go to a winery owner’s event down in the city tomorrow evening. Why don’t you take my spot?”

  That was the courteous offer to make and she wasn’t surprised he’d extended it. But her heart twisted anyway. She’d been so looking forward to an evening out with him, being on his arm, dancing with him. Spending the night in an opulent hotel room where they didn’t have to share a small, lumpy bed or sneak out of Buddy’s house like she was a teenager getting it on with her high school football player boyfriend.

  Especially if it was to be the last night they’d have together.

  The last night ever.

  Tears formed in her eyes again. She blinked them away, willing him not to notice.

  “Not a chance!” Madison replied with a visible grimace. “I’ve been working fourteen-hour days lately. I’m so burned-out I think I’ll do nothing but sleep and visit the old guy for at least a week.”

  “It really isn’t...”

  “Forget it,” Mad said, cutting him off. “I’m not being nice—ask Candace. I don’t do nice. I’m just being honest. I really don’t want to go.”

  True. Mad didn’t play nice for niceness’s sake. She was blunt and honest. Still, seeing the twinkle in her sister’s eye, and knowing Madison had to realize by the way she’d been talking about him that Candace was crazy about Oliver, she couldn’t help thinking that this time, her sister’s crusty heart was speaking for her.

  “If you’re sure,” Oliver said. He turned to Candace. “So will you be ready to leave by three o’clock tomorrow?”

  Spoken as if he didn’t think he’d see her tonight. Ha. She had a key to his cottage and she wasn’t afraid to use it. She’d proved that to him already.

  But, figuring she’d surprise him later by showing up in his bed without a stitch, she merely smiled. “Of course.”

  Bidding Madison good-night, he left the house. They were silent for a few minutes, then without saying a word, her sister got up, went to the bar and poured two glasses of wine. She came back, handed one to Candace and sat beside her on the couch.

  “You’re in love with him.”

  Candace could only nod.

  “I think he’s in love with you, too.” She chuckled. “He’s definitely in lust. Whoa, girl, that man has some plans for you. He’s totally delish, by the way.”

  “I know.”

  She didn’t go on, feeling that deep well of sadness rise up within her. Because yes, she suspected Oliver had developed feelings for her. But no, she was not going to have the happily ever after her twin seemed to be envisioning.

  It was silly, really. Most women would be envious, thinking she’d be blissfully happy when her engagement to one of the most eligible bachelors alive was announced. In truth, her heart would be shattered, knowing she’d given up her only chance at happiness with the lawyer-turned-groundskeeper who had made her entire world come alive.

  “So why are you miserable?” Mad asked, sensing her mood. Her mouth twisted into a frown. “Has he done something to hurt you? Jesus, he’s not married is he!”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Then what is it?”

  She sighed deeply. “I can’t keep him.”

  Her sister snorted. “Of course you can.”

  “I have to get back to my life in L.A.”

  “Bullshit. You can work from here.”

  “It’s not the job,” she admitted. “I’ve made a commitment and I can’t back out on it.”

  Madison leaned forward, dropping her elbows onto her knees. “There’s no commitment in the world that’s more important than figuring out if this guy is the love of your life.”

  “Yes, there is.” She sighed heavily, glad to be able to reveal her secret to someone. Madison would understand, of that she had no doubt. “I’m engaged.”

  Her sister spit out her mouthful of wine. It dribbled down her chin, landing on her sweatshirt. She grabbed Candace’s left hand, noted the absence of a ring and gaped. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “It’s true,” she insisted. “I’ve made a promise. I’m going to marry Tommy.”

  * * *

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON, Oliver walked up to the main house, knocking on the door for the first time in as long as he could remember so he didn’t make any more identity mistakes. Candace answered right away, holding a small suitcase in her hand. She looked beautiful, as always, wearing slim-fitting tan slacks and a bright pink blouse, the color of cotton candy, cut low over those delicious curves. His mouth watered with the need to taste her, because oh, did she ever melt on his tongue.

  Judging by the way her nipples pebbled beneath the fabric, she’d seen his expression and read his thoughts. Those dusky points were prominent against the material, and he wondered if she’d eschewed a bra. Candace was generously built, with breasts that invited lots of deep sucking, which he knew she loved. The thought that she was bare beneath her clothes would torment him throughout the whole drive into the city.

  His pants tightened across his groin. He couldn’t even look at her without wanting her. If they weren’t on a timetable, he’d have her on the couch and be between her thighs, cock-deep in heaven, within ninety seconds.

  She’d left his place maybe seven hours ago, after a long night filled with eroticism. But seeing her now, he wanted her all over again. He didn’t think he could ever possibly get tired of making love to this woman. For all the years that he’d scoffed at friends who’d fallen victim to the love-and-marriage trap, he suddenly repented. Because the very idea that she might lea
ve tomorrow, that this might all be over, had him ready to offer her just about anything if only she’d stay.

  Hell, he’d even follow her. And considering his loathing of Southern California right now, that was probably the biggest sacrifice he could offer, the most sincere declaration he could make of his feelings for her.

  Love. That’s what he felt for her. He’d never experienced it before, with any woman, but Candace Reid had crept into his heart and planted a flag, claiming it as her own.

  Unable to resist, he slid a hand into her thick, beautiful hair, and drew her close for a kiss. He didn’t for a second worry that he was kissing the wrong woman. Now that he knew there were two of them, he allowed his senses and his instincts to tell him this was his lover. His woman. He’d never mistake anyone else for her again.

  They kissed for a long, sultry moment, before finally drawing apart. Candace was pink-cheeked, her lips parted and her breaths shallow.

  “Hello to you, too,” she murmured.

  “I’ve missed you.”

  She didn’t demur or wave that off with an it-was-only-seven-hours comment. Instead, she simply nodded. “I know.”

  They stared at one another, exchanged a slow smile, then he reached for her bag. “Ready to go?” he asked, knowing he’d be hard and hungry for her the entire forty-minute drive to the hotel.

  “Yes.”

  “Where’s your sister?”

  “She stayed with Grandpa. The two of them are old backgammon enemies. She brought his board and I doubt either of them will be willing to quit until they’ve played a half-dozen games.”

  He would definitely have bowed out if her sister had wanted to attend tonight’s function, but Oliver couldn’t deny he was glad Madison had declined his offer. No, he didn’t give a damn about some fancy party, during which the big wineries would pat themselves on the back. But getting away with Candace for a night sounded like pure heaven.

  They made the drive in her rental car. The old farm truck he used was not exactly formal ball material, and he couldn’t imagine driving it up to the valet stand and handing over the keys. Since her car was a convertible, they put the top down for the drive. It was breezy, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A perfect day. She seemed to delight in it. Her long hair whipped behind her and she closed her eyes, obviously savoring the feel of the sun on her face.