by Cora Reilly
The second I spotted her, I almost laughed at my ridiculous worry. She stood out as she always had. Tall and thin like a model, with the clothes and smile to match. I felt like a rhino in comparison to her. She rushed toward me, managing to look elegant while running in four-inch heels, and hugged me.
She was about an inch taller than my five foot seven and at least forty pounds lighter. While Fiona showed off her size zero skinny jeans, I was glad for my comfortable size twelve chinos and my loose blue blouse.
Fiona pulled back and gave me a quick once-over. “You look good.”
“And you are gorgeous as ever,” I said, meaning every word. My eyes went to a tall, muscled man behind her with dark blond hair and a beard. His blue eyes twinkled with mischief and I liked him right away.
“That’s Connor,” Fiona said, following my gaze. I had never seen her look that way at someone before. Full of adoration and tenderness. She’d been in love with her childhood sweetheart, but that had been puppy love in comparison.
“I know. I Skyped with you both, remember?” I said with a teasing smile. He was taller than I’d imagined and broader. “You are quite a hunk,” I told him.
He laughed and pulled me into a hug. Fiona shook her head. “Don’t flirt with my man, Evie.”
As if I could ever compete with Fiona’s gorgeousness. She’d been a cheerleader all her life and now she was also a fitness model. She was perfection, and I was not.
Connor took my suitcase from me and led us out of the airport. The warm summer air greeted us. It was a shock to my system after the freezing cold back in Minnesota.
“You’ll love it here,” Fiona promised.
Connor drove a black Jeep that fit his size and I slumped into the backseat, feeling like I needed a week of sleep. After twenty hours of traveling, with my clothes crumpled, my hair disheveled and my makeup ruined, I felt even more like an ugly duckling. Fiona was the box of handcrafted Belgian chocolate, and I was the bag of Butterfingers forgotten under the car seat on a hot summer’s day in Arizona.
Fiona and Connor were holding hands as he steered the car. I had to admit my heart swelled with warmth seeing her this happy. I couldn’t really stay mad at her for running off if it meant that she’d found someone she loved.
“You’ll meet Xavier tomorrow,” Fiona said from her spot in the front. I’d hoped to get more of a grace period to get my bearings in Sydney, but apparently Xavier really needed a babysitter as fast as possible.
“I read up on Xavier on the internet,” I said.
Connor grinned at me in the rearview mirror. “And you’re still here. You’ve got balls, girl.”
“I suppose most of it is exaggerated or fake anyway. The press have a tendency to blow things out of proportion for shock value.”
Connor and Fiona exchanged a look.
“Right?” I prompted.
“Right,” Fiona said, but Connor didn’t say anything.
I liked to go informed into difficult situations, and Xavier—The Beast—Stevens seemed to be a difficult situation. Reading up on him had been like a cheap high school drama. He was known for his countless affairs with actresses, athletes, journalists, groupies, pretty much with everything that qualified as female and had a body to die for.
That meant I was safe.
Fiona and Connor lived in a beautiful estate in Darlinghurst with a view over the ocean. My room was twice the size of my room at home and I had my own bathroom. Fiona really had built a nice life for herself. It was obvious that she had decorated their home. The soft berry and beige tones had always been her favorite. Connor must be a man who was content with his manliness if he could bear so much pink in his home.
After a quick shower, I dropped down on my bed, determined to rest for only a few minutes. I was woken much later by a soft knock, and Fiona poked her head in without waiting for a reply. Some things would never change. “Did I wake you?” she asked with a small frown as she slipped in and sank down beside me.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, sitting up. “What time is it?” My body was completely confused with the change in time zones.
“Almost six. I thought we could have dinner together. Connor bought so much meat I think he’s trying to put the cow back together.”
I snorted and hugged Fiona. She might look like a bimbo, but her humor was cutthroat. “I missed you.”
She let out a shaky breath and hugged me back. After a moment, she pulled back, as composed as always. “Come on, Connor is probably already massaging seasoning into the beef as if it’s my ass cheek. I don’t want him to strain his fingers before he gets the chance to put them to use on me tonight.”
I shoved her lightly. “Holy shit, TMI, Fiona. I don’t want to imagine Connor kneading your ass whenever I eat steak.”
She sent me a teasing smile. “Who’s marinating your ass, Evie?”
I flushed and stalked past her out of the room. Fiona came after me, laughing. From the kitchen window, I could see Connor manning the barbecue. He looked like a man about to set sail to undiscovered lands. Why did men take their barbecuing so seriously?
Fiona began assembling vegetables and fruit on the counter.
I stifled a smile. She gave me a look. “What? I know what you and Dad enjoyed eating when I was still home. I doubt your greens intake improved once I left. Why don’t you help me with the fruit platter?”
She had a point. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy fruits and salads, and I ate plenty, but in the evening I preferred the taste of warm comfort foods like lasagna, mac and cheese, or a good roast.
“I suppose you will change that now,” I said.
“I’ll try. Not sure I’ll succeed, knowing how stubborn you can be,” she muttered as she prepared a salad while I arranged a fruit platter.
“I’m not stubborn,” I protested, which was a freaking lie. Fiona and I were both mules disguised as humans.
“It’ll benefit your health, trust me,” she said in the same enthused voice she’d always used when talking about fitness or healthy eating. Fiona truly enjoyed her lifestyle and I envied her for it, and more: for the body that it had given her.
“Maybe I don’t want to lose weight,” I said as I slipped a piece of mango into my mouth. Another, even bigger lie. Since I could remember I’d bought every magazine that had promised to include the newest, life-changing diet. I’d tried them all and had given up on them just as quickly.
She pursed her lips as she poured dressing over the salad. “I didn’t say anything about losing weight. I talked about improving your health.”
“Isn’t that a synonym for losing weight?”
“No, it’s not. You can be healthy and have a few pounds more on your ribs. But if you ate healthy and did sports, you would probably lose weight.”
She was probably right, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a size zero badly enough to do sports and forgo carbs and chocolate for the rest of my life.
“Don’t give me that look,” Fiona said. “Like I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m thin. I work hard for it, Evie. We share the same genes, and I gain weight just as quickly as you do, but I get up an hour early so I can squeeze in an additional workout, and I almost never eat carbs even though the taste of bread makes me weep with joy. This isn’t gifted, it’s earned.” She pointed at her body. It was true.
“I know,” I said softly. She put down the salad tongs and wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “And my goals shouldn’t be yours. We are twins but we aren’t the same person. You are beautiful, and I wish you could see it and stop comparing yourself to others, especially to me. I always admired your smarts. You had better grades than me no matter how hard I worked, and for a while it really got to me, but then I realized we have different strengths, and that’s okay.”
“Fiona, when did you turn so wise?” I teased, then kissed her cheek.
“I’m so happy you’re here, Evie.” Fiona smiled.
“Me too,” I said softly.
“I’m sorry
for leaving you alone to deal with Dad, you know?”
I touched her shoulder. “Let’s not talk about it. That’s the past. I want to focus on the future.”
Relief filled her gorgeous face. “You will love it here, Evie.”
“I’m nervous about tomorrow,” I admitted.
“You will do fine. Xavier is charming and funny if he wants to be.”
The tabloids had made him sound like a misogynistic player, so her words calmed some of my worries.
“Can I help you with anything else?” I asked when I was done slicing the fruit.
She handed me a basket with sliced up bread. “Can you take that to Connor so he can put it on the barbecue for a sec?”
“Bread?” I said with raised eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes.
I moved out into the garden, where Connor was turning steaks with a look as if this was a task that required the utmost concentration. Men and their meat. Dad had always made a big deal out of barbecuing as well.
I went over to Connor. “Fiona sent me to give you this.”
He took the basket with a smile. He was doing that a lot. He seemed easygoing and relaxed. Perfect for someone like Fiona, who was always on edge. Before he could put the first slice on the barbecue, I snatched one up and took a bite. I was starving. The airplane food had been inedible, so I’d only forced down the dry bread rolls with cheddar they’d served with the main meal.
He chuckled. “Xavier will be delighted to have someone at his side who also likes to eat.”
I swallowed and shrugged. Connor with his athlete’s body and Fiona with her model measurements probably wouldn’t even have bought bread if it wasn’t for me.
“What’s he like?” I asked. “Fiona wasn’t very forthcoming with information about him, and the internet didn’t portray a very positive image.”
“He’s a self-centered, arrogant Casanova… and my best friend.”
“Then you should reconsider your life choices,” I said with a laugh.
“Touché.” Connor’s eyes crinkled in amusement. “He isn’t a bad guy. He’s loyal.”
“Not from what I hear. He’s changing girls quicker than others do their underwear.”
“He does.” He pointed the barbecue tongs accusingly in my direction. “I thought Fiona didn’t tell you anything about him.”
“She mentioned that, but nothing else. And it was all over the press as I said.”
“He rucks and fucks. That’s about it,” Connor said with an apologetic smile.
My cheeks heated. “Ruck?” I’d seen the term when I’d read up on rugby, but I had forgotten what it meant.
“It’s when they all cuddle,” Fiona said with a glare at Connor as she sauntered over to us. “Watch your language. My sister isn’t like me. She has sensitive ears.”
I snorted. I was many things but not a delicate flower.
Connor winked at me when Fiona wasn’t looking. Then he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her against his chest for a firm kiss. I took the basket with the griddled bread and walked back to the table, not wanting to watch them getting it on. Her words about ass-kneading would haunt me for a while anyway.
I sank down on one of the garden chairs, staring up at Sydney’s cloudless summer sky.
He fucks and rucks.
Oh man, what was I getting myself into? I closed my eyes, jet lag catching up with me. I needed to grab a few hours of sleep.
Soft steps made me open my eyes again.
Fiona took the seat beside me with an understanding expression. “Don’t worry. Xavier won’t make a move on you. You’re not his type.”
I glanced down at my curves and regretted that third piece of bread I’d wolfed down. “Why?”
Fiona delicately put a piece of mango into her mouth—her version of a starter. “Too much work. Xavier prefers his conquests easy and uncomplicated. You are neither.”
“How would you know? Maybe I changed?” I softened the hint of bitterness my words held with a smile.
Fiona paused, then looked away and sighed. “I know it wasn’t fair to leave you to deal with Dad, but I just had to go…”
The past was harder to let rest than we both wanted. I took a sip of water to gather my thoughts. “You never said why you ran.”
“I didn’t run…” Fiona’s eyes found Connor, who was still manning the barbecue, but slanting the occasional curious glance in our direction. “I caught Aiden in bed with Paisley a few weeks after Mom’s funeral.”
I choked on the water in my mouth. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Aiden had been Fiona’s first love, her high school sweetheart since they were fifteen, and Paisley had been Fiona’s best friend.
She shrugged. “I was humiliated. I didn’t want people to find out. And you were grieving Mom.”
“So were you, Fiona.”
“I know,” she admitted.
“You went to prom with him.”
“Like I said, I wanted to keep up appearances. But after that, I just wanted to leave.”
“And you had to round the globe because of one cheating asshole?” I muttered indignantly.
“It was a knee-jerk reaction. I never thought I’d stay for long, definitely not forever, but then Connor came along.”
“And now you’ll stay.”
“Yeah,” she said softly, her eyes finding him again. I was happy for her, and the flicker of resentment that I’d still harbored for her disappearance vanished. Even if my new job didn’t work out, my trip to Sydney was already worth every last penny.
My jet lag had only marginally improved overnight, but I was excited for this day as it marked a new beginning, and what could be more exciting than that? I walked into the kitchen, where Fiona was already eating an Acai breakfast bowl or whatever the current it-breakfast on Instagram was. It was bright purple with a bit of granola sprinkled on top. She snapped a photo, her brows drawn together in concentration.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I said with a smile.
Fiona looked up and shook her head. “Still a morning person.”
“You don’t look as grumpy in the morning as I remember.”
She smiled. “I had to get used to an early schedule to get a workout in before work.”
“Isn’t working out part of your work?” I asked, confused, as I prepared a breakfast of cereal and fruit for myself.
“It is. But I record my morning workout for Instagram. I can’t do that with my other workouts. There’s a no-recording policy in place.”
I sat down. “I checked the internet for Xavier’s previous assistants, and a lot of images popped up. Why did they all run away? Is he a choleric asshole?”
“No, not a choleric one,” Fiona said with pursed lips.
I raised my eyebrows.
“He’s okay. He isn’t an assholey boss if that’s what you’re worried about. He just can’t keep it in his pants.”
I froze. “He’s a groper?”
Fiona laughed. “Oh, no, Evie. I wouldn’t do that to you. Xavier doesn’t grope women who don’t want to be groped, trust me. He’s not that kind of asshole. Women throw themselves at him faster than he can dodge them, not that he’s trying. Every single one of his assistants landed in bed with him, and then either Xavier dumped them because they thought it meant something and turned too needy, or the women quit because they realized they were nothing but his fuck thing and didn’t want to be his assistants anymore.”
“So you think I’m either a lesbian or frigid?”
Fiona snorted. “What?”
“Because I assume you are certain I won’t land in bed with him, or you wouldn’t have asked me to work for him.”
She snapped another picture of her food. “You won’t land in bed with him because you have standards and don’t do casual sex.”
I flushed. I didn’t do any kind of sex, much to my chagrin, but I had every intention of rectifying that. Not with a serial womanizer though.
Fiona put down her p
hone, her eyes searching. “You never mentioned a boyfriend when we Skyped.”
I ate another spoonful of my cereal, considering what I wanted to tell Fiona. We had been close once and then we hadn’t been, but in the last few months, things had improved. We’d Skyped often and now I was here. “Because there wasn’t anyone.”
“You never…?”
I shook my head, then shrugged. “Don’t give me that pitying look, all right? It’s no big deal.”
She smiled. “We’ll find you a nice guy to date. I could ask Connor if he knows someone.”
“Don’t,” I blurted. “That’s too embarrassing. And I’ve come here to work, not to date.”
“Okay. But keep your eyes open. Only promise me that you’re not going to fall for Xavier.”
“I won’t,” I said firmly. “Did you show Xavier a photo of me before he hired me?”
Fiona shook her head. “No, he should stop choosing his assistants by their looks.”
Great. He’d be in for a nasty surprise if he expected me to look like his former assistants. “See, even if I fell for him, which I won’t, there’s nothing you have to worry about, because Xavier won’t take me into his bed. I’m not model material.”
Fiona nodded thoughtfully and finally took a spoonful of her breakfast.
I cringed inwardly. That was a blow. I hadn’t expected her to contradict me, but to nod, that hurt even my ego. I guessed I should count myself lucky. I had no plan to make headlines as Xavier’s conquests or losing my job, so it was for the best that I wasn’t his type.
I drank another sip of my water. Sweat was dripping down my face. Coach had made me run four extra rounds for being late again. He’d probably keep kicking my ass throughout the remaining training if his pissed expression was an indicator.
“Try to be a decent human being around Evie, all right?” Connor muttered beside me on the bench.
I shot him a look. “I’m not paying her an assload of money so I have to cater to her feelings. I’m paying her so she caters to mine.”
Connor shook his head. “In moments like this I get why Fiona hates your guts.”