A grin tugged at one side of her lip as she followed his lead. “Getting married.”
He nodded, pulling crabmeat from the broken shell with a tiny fork. “Right. And we, unlike probably ninety-nine percent of married people in the US, said yes to a perfect stranger. That’s a story not many can relate to.” He glanced up to catch her gaze, causing a dose of warmth to skitter up her neck and into her face. “Unless they’re in an arranged marriage, I guess.”
If he was trying to close the gap between them, he’d have to try harder. Sure, they had that one thing in common, but from her perspective, they were still worlds apart. After all, she knew the differences between them better than he could; Duke Benton had a reputation. One that suggested he wasn’t a whole lot like Kat.
“We do have that in common,” she finally said.
Ice clanked against the glass as he brought it to his lips. He spoke before taking a sip. “Let’s find out what else we have in common. Tell me about yourself.”
Another dose of heat pooled into her face. “About me. Okay, I’m an environmental chemist. I monitor the quality of air, water, and soil in Los Angeles County and do what I can to help local businesses support a healthy environment.”
“That’s impressive,” he said. “I’m looking forward to hearing more about it.”
Kat sensed sincerity in his comment and grinned. “So being a billionaire—is that an occupation of its own? Like, what do you do for a living? Oh, I’m a billionaire. Enough said?”
“Exactly.” A low chuckle sounded deep in his throat. “No, I help run a number of businesses I’ve invested in over the years. I rescue the occasional company in jeopardy. You ever watch The Lion’s Den?” The glass was back in his hand, the ice clanking once again as he lifted it off the table.
The mere mention put her back in Zander’s office in a blink. The intensity of those blue eyes as he held her gaze. An unwarranted thrill shot through her; Kat chalked it up to the man’s resemblance to his twin. A man she’d just taken vows with.
“I’ve seen it, yes,” she said. “Which reminds me…I kind of met your brother a few weeks ago.”
A muffled cough sounded. Duke smacked his chest and lowered the glass, coughing yet again. “Sorry about that. You talking about Zander?”
“Did he tell you?” She hadn’t said it was his twin brother.
“No.” He shook his head. “I mean, how would he have? He doesn’t even know who I married.”
“I meant, did he say anything about having an environmental chemist on his back about a company he just rescued?”
He dabbed his mouth with a napkin, cleared his throat, and—though he couldn’t be anywhere near finished—scooted his plate toward the center of the table. “Uh, now that you mention it…I think he said that some…really gorgeous woman showed up at his office, upset with him over rescuing Milton and Brewster. That must have been you.”
Embarrassment rushed through her. “Well, now that you’ve added the really gorgeous part, I’m not so sure.”
A wide grin spread over his face. “It’s you.”
The look in his eyes erased the embarrassment in a blink. Sparks of warmth flittered over her skin.
“Actually,” he said, “Zander felt bad after you left. Said he wanted to tell you about his plans to make the company eco friendly.”
Kat rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he plans to do that…now. After I told him they’d be under a microscope.” She thought better of the remark once it left her lips, but it was too late to take it back.
His face tensed. “Zander wouldn’t have saved them had he not planned on updating their equipment. We’re looking for solid investments, not money pits.”
She’d made him angry now, hadn’t she? “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know he’s your brother, but he’s…” She watched him tense in preparation for her words. Shoulders tightening. Jaw clenching.
Kat swallowed the word pompous and went a new direction. “Kind of abrasive,” she said, “in my opinion.”
His defensive guard seemed to drop suddenly, his features softening as he nodded. “Yeah, people say that about him.”
“But it’s not a big deal,” she was quick to say. “I’m not holding a grudge. Hopefully he isn’t either. I’m sure it’s something we’ll laugh about one day.”
“True,” he agreed, face pinched in thought. It made him look more like Zander than ever.
“You look so much like him. Actually, you look exactly like him. It’s trippy.” She shook her head as a chuckle escaped. “I’ve known there was such a thing as identical twins, but I had no idea they could actually be…interchangeable.”
He shifted in the chair. “It’s only because I cut my hair.”
“Did you two used to trick your mom when you were young?”
