Looking for Love (Boxed set) (37 page)

"We'd better hurry and run by the house, pick up our luggage, and say good-bye to my folks before we head home."

"Sure," Kimberly said, repacking her bag. She hung the beautiful wedding dress on a padded hanger, her throat tight at the memory of her wedding night.

She would tell him on the drive home. After all, she didn’t want to upset him before they saw his parents.

Surely, with hours to kill, she could make him understand why she'd lied to him, and that the feelings she had for him were real. That is, if he was still talking to her when she admitted she and Marci had pulled a twin switch.

Maybe she could talk to Marci, and Marci could explain and she wouldn't lose Austin.

Marci!

Her stomach knotted as she remembered that she still hadn't talked to her sister. She glanced at the clock in sheer panic. It was already three o'clock. Anything could have happened at the center by now.

She said a silent prayer that Marci had received her message, canceled her appointments and covered for her at work. But the uneasiness in her grew to a sick churning feeling as she and Austin drove back to his parents. Not only was she afraid she was going to lose the man she loved, but she'd worked so hard to get the children's center up and going that she was afraid she might lose it, too.

Memories of the last time Marci had filled in for her crowded her mind. The inspector for the building had shown up and Marci had confused him with a repairman and pointed out every flaw in the house. Then she'd accidentally misplaced a file that had almost gotten their insurance canceled. As if that hadn't been bad enough, she'd flirted with the social worker who'd come to counsel one of the troubled boys.

Sure, Marci had claimed the man hadn’t
looked
married. And he hadn't been wearing a ring. But the man had insisted that Marci, whom he'd thought was her, was flighty and undependable.

Kimberly had almost been fired.

An impending sense of dread clenched her chest. Yep, if Marci had botched things up as badly as she had the last time Kimberly had left her in charge, she might return home and find she'd lost her job, the center—everything she'd ever cared about. She glanced sideways at Austin.

And that included the man sitting beside her.

The man she’d married and loved with all her heart.

The man who might hate her when he discovered she was not the woman he thought he’d made his wife.

Chapter 11

Austin gulped, stunned by the woman in front of him. She looked exactly like the woman he'd spent the weekend with, except that woman was inside wearing short shorts and a bellybutton ring. Wasn't she? "Kimberly?"

She nodded, her voice low. "Yes, I'm Kimberly."

He narrowed his eyes. She sure sounded like his Kimberly.

"Did you talk to Marci already? Did she tell you—"

He cut her off, realization dawning. There were two Marci's—no, one Marci and another woman who had told him
she
was Marci but to call her Kimberly.

They were twins.

His temper rising, he grabbed her arm and practically dragged her back inside.

"Austin, you're hurting me," the woman named Kimberly said when they stopped inside the restaurant.

He saw how tightly he was holding her arm and released her immediately, appalled at his own behavior. "I'm sorry. I—"

"Please let me explain about this weekend," she said softly.

Her fingers touched him, and he looked into her eyes and saw the tenderness he remembered so well—the tenderness that had melted his heart. Totally baffled at his reaction, he backed away, his eyes zeroing in on her left hand. The hand that was wearing a wedding ring exactly like the one he had given his wife.

The woman who had lied to him from the moment she’d climbed in his car.

Sweat beaded on his upper lip, and he studied her pale face. Those liquid blue eyes seemed to be pleading with him to listen, but he was so confused his head was spinning.

Then the Marci wearing short shorts and the bellybutton ring suddenly appeared beside the one wearing his wedding ring and a sharp pain ripped through his chest. Staggering sideways, he wiped his sweating forehead, his mind racing.

They were identical all right.

"Marci," Kimberly screeched. "I've been trying to call you."

The sisters exchanged furtive looks, then turned to him. He felt as if he was seeing mirror images of the same person.

"What's going on, sis?" Marci asked, her bracelets jangling.

Kimberly gave him a beseeching look, then glanced at her twin. "I tried to reach you, Marci. I wanted to fill you in about Austin—"

He snapped out of his confused state, his anger surging forward. "You wanted to tell her that you pulled off the charade," he said, his voice tight.

Marci, no, the twin he'd married,
Kimberly,
bit down on her bottom lip. "Austin, I know how this must look to you, but it's simple, really—"

He nodded. "Yes, it is. You lied to me."

"What difference does it make?" Marci stormed. "You were lying to your family. You paid for a fiancée and you got one."

Austin fisted his hands by his side. Yeah, he'd paid for a fiancée. And he'd gotten one, a real fake one.

Not only had she fooled his parents, she'd fooled him.
He
hadn't even known her real identity.

"You made a complete fool out of me," he ground out, his gaze pinned on Kimberly, the woman he'd slept with, the woman who had made love with him, but who hadn't bothered to tell him she was Marci's sister.

Kimberly shook her head, that vulnerable expression he'd seen over the weekend darkening her eyes. The real Marci simply stared back and forth between the two of them as if she'd walked into a movie after it had already begun.

"That's not the way it was," Kimberly said. "Austin, you wanted a fiancée—"

"And I hired her," he said, pointing at Marci.

"That's right," Marci said, hitching out her hip. He noticed the tattoo on her thigh and winced. There had been so many signs—he should have seen them! Marci, no, Kimberly must have been laughing her pretty head off behind his back.

And to think, he'd fallen in love with her—he'd actually considered staying married to her!

"Austin, I was going to follow through, but something came up," Marci continued as if her explanation made perfect sense. "So I talked Kim into taking over the job for me."

The job—that's all he had been to both of them.

"I see," he said, his jaw clenched.

"I know you're upset, Austin, but we need to talk," Kimberly said in a strained whisper.

"We had all weekend to talk," he said, emphasizing the last word. "And several hours on the way home."

Kimberly's shoulders slumped. "But I want to explain—"

"Explain what?" Marci asked.

Kimberly turned to her sister. "Marci, I have to tell you something. This weekend, Austin and I—"

"Don't bother," he said, realizing in horror she was going to tell her sister that he'd
married
her.

Wouldn't Marci Turner get a kick out of that? She'd probably spend the day telling all her customers. He'd never be able to set foot in this restaurant again. Not that he'd want to.

Marci’s face would always be a haunting reminder of Kimberly.

He pulled out his checkbook, furiously scribbled the amount they'd agreed on, adding an extra bonus, then ripped out the check and handed it to her. "Here's the money I owe you."

Tears pooled in Kimberly's eyes. "No, Austin—"

He looked at both of them with disdain, silencing her. "It seems the two of you would do anything for money."

Kimberly's chin quivered, but her sister Marci snatched the check and stuffed it in Kimberly's hands. "Go on, Kimmie, take it. If he's been this rude all weekend, I'd say you more than earned it."

Kimberly's hand trembled, but he didn't care. He had to get out of the restaurant before he created a scene. People were already staring. "That's right, Kimberly," he said in a sarcastic voice. She winced, but he continued. "Take the money. You earned it, all right. Every penny."

Then he turned and stormed out the door, his chest throbbing with anger, his head reeling with confusion. He forced himself not to think about the fact that Kimberly had had tears streaming down her cheeks when he'd left. And that even though she'd made a fool out of him, he felt like a heel for making her cry.

"Well, he certainly is a hothead," Marci shrieked as Austin left, slamming the door. "Imagine him getting mad over a little twin switch when he was the one who started this whole thing!"

Kimberly darted into the ladies' room and sank onto the chaise, sobbing into her hands.

Marci followed her inside, then stuffed a wad of tissues in her hand. "Shh, that jerk isn't worth crying over, Kimmie."

"But you... you don't under... stand," Kimberly mumbled brokenly.

"I guess not," Marci said with a huge sigh. She patted Kimberly's back again. "Tell me what's wrong, sis. Was he that bad all weekend?"

Kimberly shook her head, a fresh wave of tears streaming down her face. "He wasn't... bad... at all."

"So, did he turn out to be gay?"

Kimberly moaned and blew her nose. "He's not gay."

"He's not."

"Trust me, Marci," Kimberly said, letting out an unladylike whimper. "Austin McDane is definitely not gay. He's the sexiest man I've ever met."

"Uh-oh." Marci snatched Kimberly's hands from her face, her eyes wide. "Kimberly... you didn't?"

Kimberly nodded miserably.

"You, Kimberly Turner, the responsible and shy twin slept with a guy you just met, a guy who thought you were me?"

"Worse."

"Worse?" Marci gasped. "Don't tell me you fell in love with him?"

Kimberly nodded, sniffling again. "Even worse than that."

Marci's mouth gaped open as if that were impossible. "Worse than falling in love with him?"

Kimberly nodded and held out her left hand. "Yes. I... I married him."

* * *

Austin considered burying himself in work, but his mind kept straying to the mess he'd made of his life, and he headed to his favorite bar instead.

Not only had he lied to his family, but his fake bride had turned out to be a bigger fake than even he’d thought. And now, he not only had to call and explain to his folks that he'd conned them, but that he'd also been duped himself. That he had paid a woman named Marci to marry him to impress Josh, only Marci was really her identical twin Kimberly, that his wedding was a fake, that he had to get a divorce.

And the worst part was that he was still in love with Marci.

No, not Marci, he corrected himself as he accepted another shot from the bartender. He'd fallen in love with her twin, Kimberly. A woman he'd never even met before.

A woman who'd made love to him and had failed to tell him her true identity.

No wonder she'd asked him to call her Kimberly, he thought in disgust. It had probably made it easier for her not to trip up. And he had been so damn gullible!

He downed the drink and pushed his glass forward for another. Then he reached inside his pocket and his fingers brushed the plane tickets his family had given him for his honeymoon. A bitter taste filled his mouth.

How was he going to explain to his family that they'd wasted their hard-earned money on a wedding gift that he would never use? Because if he suspected correctly, Kimberly would have their marriage annulled before the plane ever left the ground.

* * *

"You should go after him," Marci coaxed.

Kimberly wiped her eyes. "I can't do that. You saw how angry he was."

"But you're in love with him," Marci screeched.

"It's obviously one-sided, sis."

"You don't know that," Marci said. "He's mad right now, but wait till he calms down."

Kimberly shook her head, her throat thick with unshed emotions. She couldn't go chasing after Austin. That was definitely something Marci would do.

And her days of acting like Marci were over.

After what had happened, she'd ended up married and heartbroken.

And she'd probably be single by morning.

"He said from the very beginning that he didn't want a commitment, that was the reason he was paying me—I mean you—to pretend to be his fiancée," Kimberly added.

"He might change his mind," Marci said lamely.

"No, I have to forget him." Kimberly traced her finger over the beautiful teardrop engagement diamond, and fresh tears burned her eyes. Austin had been so loving, so sexy, and his family, they'd been wonderful.... For a little while she'd thought, had hoped....

She squelched her ridiculous, childish fantasies and forced herself not to dwell on her memories but to face reality. "It was a weekend fling and it's over." She stood and brushed at her clothes. "Now I need to get back to work."

A wary expression framed her sister's face.

"You did get my message and go to the center yesterday?" Kimberly asked, suddenly panicking. In the heat of the last few minutes, she'd completely forgotten her work, something that had never happened before.

Marci nodded.