“And you’re the better for that, but right now, you have to pretend to be her.Thousands of lives are depending on you.”
“As if I need that kind of pressure,” she hissed, feeling the anxiety come back full force.
Jack released her arms and turned her away from the mirror, clasped both sides of her face, and pulled her into a deep kiss.Andrea didn’t respond at first.Before she could, Jack released her.
“What was that for?”she asked, feeling slightly dazed.It had been a brief but powerful kiss that made her toes curl.
“To make you stop overthinking.Did it work?”he asked, looking hopeful.
“No,” she answered honestly, because now she was flush and thinking about ruining her makeup for a quickie.
“You don’t seem like you’re about to hyperventilate, so I’d call it a success.”Jack looked her over and smiled as if pleased with himself.
She knew he was trying to distract her and calm her down, but it wasn’t working.Her brain just kept coming up with all sorts of scenarios where everything could go wrong.“Jack, I can’t pretend to be her.I’m not the sexy suave one.”Let’s be honest, she wasn’t Holly.One step in these heels, and she would give herself away.
“You’re twins, so whatever she has, you have, and besides, I think you’re very sexy.”
“Yeah, because my boobs are hanging out, and I have a pound of makeup on.”She pointed to herself in the mirror.Any guy would find boobs hanging out sexy.Or at least be more intrigued than with her face to notice the difference.
Jack pulled her back in his arms.Andrea resisted at first then gave in.“I always found you sexy, so it’s not any of that.It’s just you.”He kissed the tip of her nose.
“You’re just saying that to calm me down.”It was slowly working.In his arms, she always melted and forgot about everything else.
Jack suddenly looked serious.“No, it’s because I mean it, and…” He took a deep breath as if he had to prepare himself for what he was about to say next.“I love you.”
Andrea stared at him speechless, her mouth opened partially.She had not expected him to tell her he loved her, but by the look on his face, he meant what he said, and it wasn’t just a line.He loved her.How did she feel about him?She had never loved anyone.Not even her own family members.She hardly knew him.
“Please say something,” he whispered, looking frightened of her answer.
“You can’t,” slipped out, and she wanted to smack herself, but what did he expect just dropping that little bomb on her?
Jack’s face turned to irritation, and he took a step back as if he had to create a physical barrier between them.“Why not?”
“Because I—” She didn’t know why.They didn’t know each other?That wasn’t true.He knew more about her than anyone, and he had told her a lot about himself.She trusted him.She enjoyed being with him, and the sex was incredible—but love?That was a big step.One she didn’t know if she was ready for.
What was she supposed to do with that knowledge now?Tell him the same even though she wasn’t sure she felt the same.Did he expect her to follow him to Vegas?This just opened up a can of more complications she couldn’t handle right now.
Jack seemed to sense the same because he said, “Forget it.Focus on the mission.You just need to pretend to be Holly for a few minutes.The guys and I have all the angles covered.No one is going to be able to hurt you.”
“Okay,” was all she could say.She didn’t know how to fix this, and they didn’t have the time.
“We can talk about stuff later or not.”She hated how sad and deflated he looked, but she had no way of assuring him right now.
Jack didn’t kiss her goodbye, just walked away.She stayed in the bathroom, trying to clear her mind of everything but what she needed to do.Jack had the worst timing to tell her he loved her right before she was about to meet the buyer.How was she supposed to focus on pretending to be Holly now?
Holly’s phone dinged with an incoming message.The buyer was in place.She fired off a text that she was on her way.Showtime!
Chapter 42
Andrea tucked the drive in her back pocket and headed for the elevator.Each step was slow and careful as she balanced on her heels, trying not to roll her ankle.The ride down the elevator felt like it took an eternity when in fact it was less than a minute.
She walked through the lobby with her head held high, like she owned the place.Holly had always looked confident and in control every time she stepped into a room.Andrea tried to embody that now.
She stuffed her hands in her jacket pockets to hide the shaking as she sailed through the corridor to the conference room.
Her heartrate tripled when she saw four men inside.One sat at one of the tables while the other three surrounded him.The three standing had buzz-cut hair styles and wore black suits.All that was missing were the sunglasses, and they would look like they could be extras inMen in Black.The one sitting must be the buyer.He had a charcoal grey suit on with a thick bushy mustache.
“Holly,” the buyer purred her name more like a lover than a customer.
