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Sarah spent most of the next day in bed. She fought to get rid of the nasty bug that was trying to take control of her body. Miki came home and took charge, feeding her tea and chicken noodle soup. She took Devon and Hershey to the park. Sarah left a message with the home security company, and the owner was going to call back with an estimate. Paisley dealt with the staffing issues at work. Emile worried, but Sarah tried to convince him it was nothing.
It wasn’t nothing, though. Her voice went from husky to scratchy, and it hurt to talk. She made her last phone call at three o’clock, confirming that the chocolate-brown table linens had been successfully delivered to the country club. After that, she didn’t speak a word for the rest of the day. She moped and read a romance novel, thinking about all the reasons the burglar couldn’t possibly have been Blake. She was dead asleep by eight o’clock.
When the morning of the chocolate wedding dawned, Sarah woke up and realized with horror that her strongest asset, the ability to talk anyone into anything, was fast disappearing as she teetered on the brink of laryngitis.
She dressed in dark-brown pants and a white tuxedo shirt and loaded everything else she needed into her car. She had all the staff’s long brown aprons in the back seat, fresh from the dry cleaners and bagged in plastic. Miki and Devon wished her luck. Then she was off to the country club, where setup was already well in progress.
The ceremony in the club’s rose garden was scheduled for four o’clock. There would be a champagne toast on the patio afterward then cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. This would be followed by dinner in the ballroom, wine, dancing, the chocolate wedding cake presentation and another champagne toast, more dancing, more drinking, and chocolate treats for the guests to take home at the end of the evening.
Sarah was relieved that the day had finally come. And by the fact that Blake Harrison was currently rolling his portable ice cream freezer into the ballroom, looking around for the best place to plug it in.
“Here,” she croaked and cleared her throat. “Over here.” She beckoned, flapping her hands, and led him over to the cake table, where a power strip was waiting.
He plugged in the freezer, looked at her with raised eyebrows, and pointed at his throat. “You okay?”
Sarah shook her head, grimaced, and mimed choking herself.
He nodded. “That bug is going around town. You poor thing!” Blake patted her on the back then let his hand linger and rubbed her shoulder.
She jumped away, remembering she was supposed to be mad at him.
Why was that again? Oh yeah, he chases women online while he’s sleeping with me in real life. Not cool.
Sarah scowled, glancing around at the staff busily setting the tables. She pointed at the doors, beckoned, and walked over to fling one open and march out into the hallway. They’d have more privacy there. They had to talk about it sometime, so why not just have it out with him right now and clear the air? No time like the present.
* * *
BLAKE WATCHED HER WALK across the ballroom and thought how little things had changed over the past few months. She was still running away.
Why hadn’t she caved in and let him catch her? They’d had terrific sex, several times. He’d been so careful to do everything just the way girls liked it, according to what he’d learned from Men’s Health magazine.
She should be head over heels for me by now. What the hell went wrong?
He racked his brain for an explanation. He knew she’d enjoyed it too. She’d moaned and bitten him and shuddered when they’d climaxed together. He didn’t get it. He’d given her plenty of space, knowing he’d see her today. He’d saved her ass at lunch that day, when the food reporter caught her off guard. Again, at the biker bar. He’d revealed his double identity and let her see how vulnerable he really was. And now, she was acting all pissy again and dragging him out into the hallway for a spanking.
Hmmmm... not a bad idea. Maybe she can get it out of her system?
Blake had hoped that when he let her figure out he was HotNCold, she would realize that he was her true friend. Someone who wanted the whole package. Because he definitely was smitten, and nothing she said or did seemed to make any difference. Even now, when she was murdering him with her eyes, he obeyed like a man bewitched.
In the hallway by the cloakroom door, Sarah turned, with angry tears on her red cheeks. His heart cracked open when he saw how upset she was. He stood in front of her, his hands dangling, helpless to do anything useful. She started to talk, but her voice broke, so she used a combination of stabbing gestures and vehement whispers.
“I know,” she hissed, glaring at him. “It’s you!” She pointed, hard. “No respect!”
He stretched out his hand toward her, trying to interrupt, but she made the “stop” sign with hers and stepped back.
“No!” She winced and clutched her throat. “I know what you’ve been doing, HotNCold!”
Blake pursed his lips and looked at her warily, wondering how much she’d figured out. “Um, how’d you know about that?” Did she realize he’d recognized her too? Maybe he should have told her. It felt wrong now to be holding anything back.
“Oh, please,” she croaked and waved her hands. “You should be ashamed, Blake Harrison. I know, because it was me you were trying to seduce online. I’m Coco.”
His eyebrows shot up. He was shocked she would confess if she thought he didn’t already know. “You... you are?” He played along, buying some time to think.
I feel... guilty. That’s it, guilty. Crap!
Sarah was crying, and it was his fault. Blake panicked. He had to do something, fast. He regretted ever starting the whole cybersex flirtation with her. It had seemed like a harmless prank at the time, but he should have known better.
She nodded, wiping away the tears with a tissue she pulled from her pocket and blowing her nose with a loud honk. Now her voice sounded a little better. “I had to tell you. It wasn’t fair for you not to know, since I was doing pretty much the same thing, but you—” She shook her head, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “You were so into it! You led Coco on, Blake. You never told her there was someone else in your real life. Never told me about Coco. Online, you had a whole different thing going on. It wasn’t honest. And the whole thing belittles me, as Coco and as Sarah. You took the power of making a rational decision away from both of us, both of me, by hiding the truth.” Her broken voice had dwindled to a squeak.
“No, no, you don’t understand,” he said, desperate to apologize now, aware of his mistakes and totally mortified, despite all his excuses and good intentions. He felt his face flush, and he tensed then spat it out. “I knew it was you.”
There it was. He watched her face display a series of emotions as the meaning of his words dawned. “From the beginning, I knew you were Coco,” he continued, though her cresting reaction was scaring him.
She shook her head, her eyes totally enraged, her mouth stretched open in a soundless scream. He worried for a second that she wasn’t breathing, then she inhaled in a long gasp.
Blake stuffed his hands in his pants pockets and went for broke, since there was no turning back now. “I wasn’t flirting with just anybody, Sarah. I was flirting with you. At first, it was just for fun, and I recognized your starfish necklace, so I messaged you. When you wouldn’t see me in reality, I couldn’t stop meeting you online. By then, things were complicated. You know what I mean, don’t you?”
“Ohmigod!” she wheezed, hanging her head and hiding her face in her hands. Her shoulders heaved.
“I meant to tell you, really, but then we hooked up, and I thought, well, maybe don’t risk it by making her mad again.” Blake rattled on while he rubbed her back, trying to calm her down. “I’m sorry, Sarah. I’m really, really sorry. If you’ll give me the chance to prove—”
She cut him off, raising her tear-stained face and waving her arms. “No more, Blake,” she rasped. “No manipulation, no lies, no games. No ‘us.’ The client is paying at the end of the reception, with a cash tip, and I’ll give you your share right then. After tonight, just leave me alone.”
Sarah shot a look of sheer poison at him, then she spun around and went off down the corridor, headed for the ladies’ room. Blake stared after her with a painful throbbing in his chest, as if a piece of him had been torn away.