The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1) (7 page)

“Your family sounds amazing. You must
all get along really well.”

“You might have a different opinion if
you were there during the holidays or during a football game, but yeah, we’re
pretty tight.” There was obvious affection in his voice.

“So where do you fall in the Kaczmarek
family line-up?”

“I slipped in between Becca and Maegan.”

“And even though there’s no current
girlfriend, I’m sure there’s been a long line of girlfriends past?” Makenna
asked as she sipped her wine.

He had the grace to look uncomfortable.
“I wouldn’t say an unusually long list.”

“Any names that stand out from the
rest?”

He laughed at her line of questioning.
“Maybe a couple, but none even came close to having their last name changed.
Not by me, anyway.”

Makenna felt the warm glow of
satisfaction at knowing he had never been engaged, much less married. Not that
their relationship -  should they even get to that stage - stood a chance,
she reminded herself; she was lying to him, impersonating someone else. He
didn’t even know her real name! He thought he had kissed Kenzie Reese, not
Makenna Reagan.

“So,” Hardin said with a tone of
decisiveness. “You now know all about me, which means it’s my turn to ask the
questions.” He turned his intense blue gaze her way. “Tell me about Kenzie
Reese.”

Makenna casually crossed her arms on top
of the table and took a deep breath, before launching into the story of her
best friend’s life. For the sake of keeping her stories straight, she decided
right then to tell everything as truthfully as possible; she would simply tell
it from a different perspective. “I double-majored at the University of Texas
in Communications and Journalism, minoring in Photography. I landed my dream
job with
Now Magazine
two years ago, as a photojournalist. I’ve had the
pleasure of traveling all over the United States and even to Europe, Sweden,
and Mexico, covering stories through my camera lens. I even get paid for it!”
she quipped, using a line she often heard Kenzie say.

“But you live in Austin,” he prodded.

“That’s right. I share an apartment with
my best friend.”

“What does she do?”

“Until this week, she was a reporter
with one of the local newspapers. They let her go in favor of a blond bimbo
with implants.” She tried to keep the bitterness from her voice, but even she
could hear the disdain dripping from her words.

“I take it you and your roommate are
close.”

“Everyone thinks we’re sisters. We look
alike, talk alike, think alike. We’re like one person, divided in two.” It was
a joke they often told, even though it was steeped in reality.

“Your real family?” he asked. Their food
arrived, but after the initial distraction, he got back on track. “What does
the Reese family tree look like?”

Makenna thought about her answer for a
moment. After hearing him talk about his family, it was hard not to gush about
her own closely-knit clan. She, too, came from a big and loving family. After
having four children of their own, Madeline and Kenneth Reagan had adopted
three more; a troubled pre-teen, a lost and abandoned toddler, and a special
needs infant. She was quite proud of her family and enjoyed talking about them.
But she was pretending to be Kenzie, and it was best to stick to the truth, as
seen through her friend’s eyes. “Like a lone, lonesome pine on a barren hillside,”
she finally said, her heart heavy for her friend.

His brows furrowed together in a frown.
“Oh?”

“I’m an only child, and I’m not close to
my parents. The Reagans have more or less adopted me as one of their own.”

“The Reagans?”

“My roommate’s family.”

“So how’d you meet your roommate …
Makenna, is it?”

She nodded. It was strange, hearing her
own name and pretending it was someone else. “We met the first day of college.
We were in the ladies’ room, washing our hands, and I looked up into the mirror
and saw myself. Only I was wearing different clothes and the hair was
different. Then the person beside me glanced up and I saw the same sense of
recognition flash across her face.” Makenna laughed as she recalled the
incident. “We turned to each other and put our palms up, like we were touching
a mirror. Only there was no mirror, but a real person. She said it reminded her
of a game she used to play when she was little, talking to the girl from her
mirror. I said I played the same game in my mirror. We chatted all the way out
the door and down the hall. The next day, we discovered we had a journalism
class together. By the end of the week we were fast friends; by the end of the
month we were inseparable.”

“You look that much alike?” he asked,
cocking his head in amazement.

“It’s a little freaky, actually. I’m a
little taller, a couple of pounds heavier - of course!- and our coloring is
different. I have auburn hair and green eyes, she has black hair and green
eyes. But yeah, if you didn’t know better, you’d swear we were related.”

He studied her so long that she began to
squirm in her seat. “What?” she finally had to ask, a nervous laugh coming
through her voice.

“I was just thinking what it must be
like to see you two together. Two total knockouts, side-by-side. Every guy’s
fantasy,” he said, a playfully wicked gleam in his eyes.

Makenna hid her blush behind her wine
glass. “You are definitely good for a girl’s ego, Hardin Kaczmarek! Full of it,
but good for the ego.”

“Full of it?” he feigned hurt feelings.
“I give you a sincere and heartfelt compliment, and you accuse me of being full
of shit. What’s a guy gotta do to catch a break?”

In response, Makenna merely laughed and
rolled her eyes. She cut into her chicken as Hardin picked up the conversation.

“So you said the Reagans took you in as
their own. Where are your parents?” he asked between bites of crusted fish and
rice pilaf.

Makenna shrugged. “I honestly couldn’t
say.”

“You mean, you don’t know where your
parents are?” he asked incredulously.

“They haven’t spoken to me in three
years.”

“Wow, that’s harsh.” He looked truly
stunned at her revelation. “Where were they, last you knew?”

“The last address I had was somewhere in
South Carolina. Or maybe it was North.” She frowned, trying to recall what Kenzie
had said. Not that it mattered; that had been three years ago, and according to
her friend, they rarely stayed in one place more than a couple of years at a
time.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” His voice was
low and sincere. “It’s hard for me to imagine a family that’s not close. Having
mine all around me can sometimes be a pain in the butt and God knows there’s no
such thing as keeping a secret, but I can’t imagine living my life without them
all up in it.”

“I know what you mean.”

The moment the words were out, Makenna
realized her mistake. She toyed with the stem of her wine glass and tried to
sound philosophical. “It is hard to imagine. I guess that’s why I have adopted
the Reagans. I’d much rather pretend they are my family, than my own flesh and
blood.”

“Has is always been that way? What was
it like growing up?”

“We moved around a lot.”

“What does your father do for a living?”

“You know what? I’d rather not discuss
my family, if you don’t mind. I’d rather discuss something pleasant.” It wasn’t
intentional, but when she leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table,
the precarious neckline of her borrowed sweater slid even further down her arm.

“And what did you have in mind?” he
grinned, gaze lingering on a creamy shoulder.  

“Tell me what’s planned for tomorrow.”

The conversation flowed smooth and easy
as they discussed plans for the next day, and Makenna could not remember the
last time she had enjoyed a date so much. Hardin was easy to talk to and
engaged her in a two-sided conversation. It was a complete change from most of
the men she had dated in the past, particularly Derek. With her former
boyfriend, everything had been about him; Makenna’s opinions and tastes had
been of little consequence. Derek was constantly posturing, portraying himself
as the fastest/brightest/best, no matter the subject. Not for the first time,
Makenna wondered what she thought she had seen in him.

By the time they sampled from the
other’s plate and critiqued both offerings, they had discussed a dozen topics
and had at least one good-natured argument. They were contemplating dessert
when Hardin caught a glimpse of Bob and Lisa Lewis coming out of the bar.

“If you don’t mind, let’s skip dessert,”
he suggested. “If we hurry, we might can get out before the Lewises spot us.”
He caught their server’s attention and asked for the check, murmuring something
about a minor emergency. She hurried back with the receipt and Hardin paid in
cash, telling her to keep the change.

They almost made it to the door. Makenna
tucked her head and studied the wooden planks beneath her feet as she and
Hardin hurried past the other couple, thinking if she didn’t see them, perhaps
they wouldn’t see her. It was a valiant effort, but just as they reached for
the handle, they heard Lisa’s high-pitched whine carry across the room,
“Kenzie! Hardin! Hey there, you two!”

“Oh, hi!” Makenna hoped she looked
appropriately surprised as she looked their way. She wiggled her fingers in
greeting, even as she threw a desperate glance over her shoulder toward Hardin. 

“We’ll say a quick hello and then make
our escape,” he whispered out of the side of his mouth, giving her waist a
slight squeeze. She felt his sigh as he moved away from the door and extended a
hand to the other man.

“Are you leaving?” Lisa pouted.

“Just headed out,” Hardin confirmed.

“I told you we shouldn’t have made that
last stop!” Lisa complained to her husband, slapping him against the arm. He
grunted but made no comment as she continued on. “He just had to stop at one
last covered bridge! You ask me, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all! But I
guess you like to photograph things like that, don’t you, dear?” She looked at
Makenna but didn’t wait for her answer. “I don’t suppose the new power lines
will take down any of the bridges, will they? Aren’t they like historical
landmarks, or something?” 

“I imagine they might be, so I doubt any
of them are in danger,” Makenna agreed.

“So did you start on your project
today?”

She nodded. “‘Started’ being the
operative word.”

“I know you two must be hungry,” Hardin
broke in, “so we’ll let you order your meal. In fact, order anything you like.
I’ll get this tonight.”

“No, no need for that,” Bob argued.

“I insist.”

“Not tonight!” Lisa whined. “We’ll let
you treat tomorrow night, when we can all enjoy the meal together.”

Makenna glanced at Hardin, who quickly
came up with a plausible excuse. “We have plans for tomorrow. We probably won’t
be back in time for supper.”

“Well, let’s try to meet here tomorrow
night about this same time. If you don’t make it back, we’ll reschedule for the
next night. How’s that sound?” Lisa asked brightly, peering at first one, then
the other.

“Sounds like a plan,” Hardin said,
sounding more enthusiastic than Makenna felt. “Have a good evening, you two.”

“Enjoy your meal,” Makenna called over
her shoulder as Hardin once again ushered her toward the door.

“Did she just rope us into another
dinner?” Hardin muttered as he opened the truck door for Makenna to slide
inside.

“I think so.”

Groaning out loud, Hardin shut her door,
then went round to the driver’s side. “I say we stay out late tomorrow night
and miss dinner. I’m willing to go to bed hungry.”

“I’m sure our ears will thank you,”
Makenna lamented, pounding on her earlobes to dislodge any lingering echo.
“Have you ever heard a more irritating voice?”

“Only on television. What was that show
with the nanny with the horrible voice? Sounds just like her, but with a
Southern twang!” As he pulled out of the parking lot, he said, “Sorry about
dessert.”

“I’m too stuffed for dessert, anyway.
These little bits of white chocolate they give out are just right. Here, have
some.”

They discussed the next day’s events as
they made the short drive to the resort and then took the stairs to the second
floor. Makenna nibbled nervously on her lower lip, wondering if she should
invite him in for a nightcap. Kenzie would, she knew, but she wasn’t certain if
she was ready to push their relationship a notch further just yet.

At her door, Hardin took hold of her
wrist and gently tugged her around to face him. He stepped closer, bringing his
body to within a few inches of hers. “I had a really good time tonight. In
spite of running into the Lewises, that was the most fun I’ve had on a date in
…  I can’t even remember when.”

“Me, too,” Makenna agreed. With an
impish grin, she added, “It was almost perfect, right up until the end.”