Zac stroked the cool compress across his patient’s forehead.“You shouldn’t have surprised her like this.”
“No?Tell me, what’s the standard protocol?Howdoyou inform someone she’s an identical triplet?”
Lexie came back into the room, brushing off her hands.When she saw that nothing had changed, she let out a worried sigh.She dropped into the chair behind the desk and scooted closer to the couch.“You were right, Rox.I should have said something on the phone, but I couldn’t get it out.”
“At least I managed to stay on my feet when you walked into my bar.”
“Barely,” Lexie muttered.
Roxie moved Maxie’s feet into a more comfortable position.“Yeah, barely,” she agreed.
In his arms, Maxie stirred.First, it was a hitch in her breath, then a flutter in her eyelids.He put the compress aside.“I think she’s coming around.”
She didn’t wake lightly.She went from fluttering to bolting upright.“Easy,” he said as he caught her.“Take it slow.”
She lifted her hand to her face and then her hair.He helped smooth it out, stroking one hand down her back.The motion seemed to soothe her.Propping his foot on the nearby stool, he bent his leg and coaxed her into leaning back.The position put her hip right against his crotch, and he gritted his teeth.His body was reacting to her as normal—more so, because he was finally touching her.It wasn’t the best timing, but he’d deal.
He stroked her hair again, this time letting his fingers fist when they came to the end of the soft strands.“How are you doing, Beauty?”
For a moment, maybe two, Maxie didn’t know where she was.The last thing she remembered she was out front watering flowers.Now she was inside a room.Her gaze darted over the wall, the bookshelf across from her, the woman sitting at the end of the couch, the far window—
The woman sitting at the end of the couch?
Her gaze slammed back hard.Someone who looked exactly like her raised her hand and waved.
Maxie tried to push back, but somebody was behind her.Andunderher.Turning her head, she found herself staring into blue eyes.The tip of her nose brushed against someone else’s.She was face-to-face with Zac Ford.Not just face-to-face, she was rubbing noses with him and—
Oh, dear Lord, she was sitting on his lap.
She tried to scramble away, only her legs wouldn’t cooperate.She felt clumsy, out of sync and utterly embarrassed.What had happened?How had she gotten here?Who were these people?
“Calm down,” the sheriff said as firmly as he held her.“You fainted.”
Maxie’s brain was doing flips.No.Not flips, it had tripped.Yes, that was what had happened when she’d seen him walking down the street, staring at her as if he could eat her alive—only to be distracted by someone or something behind her.
Her breath caught on a rasp.This time when she scoured the room, she knew what she was searching for.Zap—woman on the end of the couch.Zap—a twin on her desk chair.Identical to each other.Replicas of herself.
“Who are you?”she whispered.She was afraid to say it too loudly.What she was seeing couldn’t be real.Could it?
“I’m Lexie,” the one closest to her said.
Lexie?“The flowers?”
The woman nodded.
“And I’m Roxie.We’re your sisters.”
Sisters?
The word was like a slap to the face.Maxie’s brain stood at attention, ready, functioning and absolutely rejecting that statement as wrong.She frowned at the two women, confused and almost angry.What kind of game were they playing?Did they think this was funny?“I don’t have any sisters.”
Roxie cleared her throat.“That’s what I thought too.”
Thought?No, Maxieknew.That fall hadn’t affected her memory.She was an only child.She’d never had any siblings, brothers or sisters, steps or halves or otherwise.
What was going on here?
Lexie gave Roxie a quieting wave.“It’s a surprise to both of us too, sweetie.Neither of us knew about the other until we met.From what we’ve been able to learn, we were separated around the age of two.Roxie grew up in foster care, and I was adopted.”
