“Well, it seems one of you has a disgruntled admirer. If I had to guess, I would say it was you, Ember, by the way you flaunt yourself in front of the cameras every chance you get.” I snap my gaze back to the guy on my father’s right. A look of disgust crosses his face at my father's words, and I want to tell him it’s all an act—an act my parents want me to play to maintain the public image of me as a Temptress to help sell jewelry for our family’s company.
I want to pull him aside and tell him that’s not who I am. I hate going out every night acting like a party girl, when all I want to do is stay at home and curl up with a good book or even a good man if I could find one.
“Which one do I get?” Elsa’s normally confident voice shakes as she asks the question.
“Elsa, you get Mr. Jack Smith.” He nods toward the guy on his left. The man keeps looking straight ahead, almost as if he’s staring at a spot just above Elsa’s head on the wall behind her. That means I’m stuck with the guy with the sneer on his face who doesn’t seem to like me much.
Refusing to let him intimidate me, I slip into my public persona and lean into the spoiled-brat Temptress everyone thinks I am. “Oh, so I get the big, bad wolf on your right.” I bat my eyelashes and give him my best seductive smile. “How fun.” His sneer deepens, and my heart drops. It doesn’t matter anyway. He won’t be around long enough to get to know the real me—no one ever stays that long. “Does my protector have a name, or can I make one up?”
“His name is Trace Jones.” My bodyguard bites out before my father can answer. Normally, my father would have the head of anyone who spoke out of turn, but there’s something about Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith that holds my father in check.
Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith—if those aren’t fake names, I don’t know what is.
I cross my arms over my chest, not caring that the movement pushes my breasts up and out toward Trace, and glare at my new bodyguard. “Is it too late to switch bodyguards with Elsa?” A chorus of no’s fills the air, from my mother and father to Elsa and Jack, and even from Trace.
“Sorry, Ember, but the plan is already in motion. Elsa and Jack will head to Cupid City, and you and Trace will head to Valor Springs.” Father’s tone doesn’t match the sorry in his words. If anything, he sounds happy about the new turn of events. “We need to continue promoting the latest collection, Frozen Flame. You’ll both be expected to attend public events in each city—even you, Elsa.” Now it’s Elsa’s turn to look happy over our fate. “Your bodyguards will act as your escorts while you attend those events.”
Unable to help myself, I raise an eyebrow. “Our escorts?”
“Stop that, Ember. You know what your father meant.” I’d almost forgotten our mother was in the room. “Don’t be so vulgar. I’m sure if you need some sexual relief, you can find one of the local men as long as they can keep their mouth shut about the arrangement.”
I stare at my mother, my mouth open wide. Does she honestly believe I’m really the wild-party-girl persona she created about me to sell more jewelry? I’m left staring at the floor, unable to look Trace in the eyes.
Elsa knows the truth, and I really don’t care what Jack thinks of me or my reputation. But I hate that Trace thinks I’m so promiscuous that I would sleep with anyone and everyone, whenthe truth is I’m still a virgin. All the guys I date are just for show. I’ve never even let them kiss me.
“Ember, isn’t like that. She doesn’t sleep around.” Elsa says, her words oddly directed at Jack.
“It doesn’t matter.” My father waves his hand, dismissing the rest of the conversation. “You girls will behave and do what’s best for the family company. Jack and Trace will handle any threat that arises. I want this all handled before the special edition Frozen Flame necklace’s Valentine’s Day release. Now go to your rooms and pack. You leave in one hour.”
One hour. I need to talk to Elsa before we leave.
“Can I have a few minutes alone with Ember before we leave?” I don’t know if it’s the psychic twin connection everyone always talks about, but Elsa must have read my mind.
With a sigh, our father gives in. “You have ten minutes to discuss whatever you think is so important. You’ll still be able to call and text each other, just under the supervision of your bodyguards.”
Our mother and father leave the room first, while Jack and Trace hang back, as if they don’t trust us to be alone. Finally, they reluctantly leave the room, but I’m sure they’re right outside the closed door waiting for us to try to escape.
“I’m so sorry, Ember. Last night, I went out and met a guy. I pretended to be you and gave him your name.” Elsa turns her chair to face me, her eyes darting toward the closed door.
“Good for you. It’s about time you went out and had some fun.” Actually, that’s not a bad idea—maybe we can trade places more often so I can take a break from the party-girl lifestyle.
“You don’t understand. The guy I was with last night was Jack. I didn’t know who he was, and I’m sure he didn’t know who I was, but now he thinks you’re me.” Her eyes snap to mine as she grabs my hands in hers.
“I’m not mad, Elsa.” I pull my hands from her death grip with a confused smile. There’s no way this is as bad as she’s making it seem. Elsa’s still a virgin. She wouldn’t sleep with a stranger she just met. “It’s not like you slept with him or anything.” Elsa’s face turns a sickly pale green. “You did, you slept with him.”
“Yes, but don’t be mad. Besides, it’s not like he even cares about last night, since he hasn’t even tried to talk to me—well, you, actually.” I’m still trying to wrap my mind around my quiet, virginal sister playing the wild child temptress and ending up in bed with a stranger—a stranger who is now her new bodyguard—when I hear her mutter, “Some virgin he claimed to be.”
Now isn’t the time to bring up my problem with my strange, lust-filled attraction to my new bodyguard. Elsa has enough on her plate dealing with her own bodyguard issues.
“He didn’t force himself on you, did he?” I’ll kick his ass if he did. No one hurts my baby sister. Sure, I’m only three minutes older than Elsa, but it still counts.
“No.” A hint of a smile touches Elsa’s lips. “He was perfect, it was everything I could have ever hoped for.” The dreamy look in her eyes sends an unexpected surge of jealousy through my body.
“Do you want a relationship with him?” I ask, trying to hold back my own desire for a husband and a family.
“Of course I do.” Her eyes blaze with fury. Maybe she truly is the flame, and I’m the ice princess. She’ll get her man, and I’ll be left cold and alone. Who wants a former party girl as their wife, even if it was all pretend? The damage to my reputation is done. I can always be the cool, fun aunt to all my nieces and nephews—that’s just as good as having a family of my own.
My head might think those words, but my heart refuses to accept them. After all this is over, I’ll reinvent myself as something more than a pretty face and a wild child.
