Being with Lauren was easy. Lying to her and pretending to be his brother was not.
Sutton hated doing this. It felt all wrong. He was constantly walking on eggshells hoping he wouldn’t say something that would give him away. So far Lauren didn’t seem to notice. Or at least, she didn’t seem to mind the change. She’d noted that he seemed more relaxed. That made sense. Even Sutton at his most tense wasn’t anywhere near as uptight as Sebastian was on a random Tuesday.
Since he hadn’t managed to screw things up, he’d picked her up in his brother’s BMW and they drove up to Dallas together. While the ride itself was outwardly pleasant, he had a hard time keeping his hands on the wheel. Being trapped in the same small space with her, her scent lingering in the air... He desperately wanted to pull the car over and kiss her until he was gasping for air. But he kept his hands on the wheel and his mouth to himself.
He wasn’t sure why his brother didn’t see much in Lauren, but Sutton certainly did. She wasn’t stunningly beautiful like so many of the debutantes that had circled around the twins since their teen years. He was pretty certain that was only because she didn’t put in the hours of effort on her appearance like they had. That said, he was able to appreciate a natural beauty in Lauren that he hadn’t really been exposed to before.
Things like her flawless porcelain skin. It wasn’t from perfectly-applied foundation, her skin just looked that good. Furthermore, her thick, dark lashes didn’t require mascara, her arched brows didn’t need to be penciled in and her lips were pink and full without lipstick, liner or gloss. Yes, she’d enhanced all those things that night at the ball, but he found her just as attractive, if not more so, when she was working in her food truck and doing what she loved.
And if his attraction to her wasn’t enough, the minute he touched her, any doubts about her true identity went out the window. She was the woman he spent the night with at the club. There was an instantly familiar chemistry. The catch of her breath when he caught her wrist, the widening of those brown-and-gold eyes as she felt the same electric current running between them... He knew it all by heart.
That woman had been by his side from minutes after his arrival until she slipped out late in the night, leaving her mask behind. That meant she had little time to acquire a new mark and seduce his brother, as well. And based on their discussions, Lauren had no idea Sebastian Wingate had a twin brother, or knew much of anything else about his family. Bottom line? She wasn’t likely a spy sent to take down the family with that little information. But she could still be playing him, so to be safe, he intended to keep his distance until he got the report back on Lauren from his brother Miles.
That made the distance to Dallas a painful exercise in self-restraint for Sutton. It actually made him wish he hadn’t chosen to wear his tightest pair of jeans for the date.
“So are we going to the gallery first, or to the pop-up?” Lauren asked after a few miles of nothing but the radio murmuring softly in the background.
“The gallery is up first. I checked the hours and it won’t be open that late, so I wanted us to have as much time as you wanted to there. Our reservations at the restaurant are for later.”
To be honest, Sutton was not excited about going to the gallery. His aunt Piper was very observant and had an eye for detail. It made her an excellent gallery owner and a very nosy aunt. If anyone had a chance of blowing his charade as Sebastian, it was Piper. But avoiding the gallery would raise flags, too. So all he could do was go to the gallery as requested and hope for the best.
Rounding the corner near his aunt’s place, Sutton pulled into a spot along the street. He helped Lauren out of the car and escorted her down the sidewalk and into the gallery.
He loved Piper’s gallery and he could tell that Lauren was instantly taken with it, as well. It had stark white walls with colorful pieces every direction you looked. Paintings, sculptures and even a modern glass-and-metal mobile that hung from the ceiling, brought the space to life.
“This,” Lauren said with conviction, “is what I want.”
“You want an art gallery?” Sutton asked.
“No. But the feel. The colors. The modern lines. One day if I get to open my own restaurant, I want it to look like this. I love it.”
“Well, I’m sure that Aunt Piper would be happy to sell you a few pieces for the walls when you’re ready.”
Lauren chuckled dismissively. “I can’t afford a restaurant without wheels. What makes you think I can afford to hang expensive art on the walls?”
Sutton shrugged. “Maybe she could consign them to you if they’re too expensive. You could ask her about it. Some of the pieces are her own work, so she might also be willing to make you a deal. In addition to that, my aunt has an eye for young, talented artists and likes to showcase their work here for exposure. These pieces probably aren’t as expensive as you’d think.”
A petite woman dressed in all black approached them. Sutton didn’t recognize her, and that was a relief. “Welcome to Holloway Gallery. Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m Sebastian Wingate, Piper’s nephew.” Sutton focused very hard on his words to say the right name. “I brought a friend up to see her place for the first time. Is she here today?”
“No, actually she’s out of town,” the woman said. “She won’t be back until Monday, but feel free to walk around and let me know if you need anything.”
He nodded, trying to hide his relief, and the gallery employee disappeared. With the worry of exposure out of the way, he could focus on enjoying himself. Lauren’s eye drew her to a large, colorful portrait and he followed her there. They made their way through the gallery, discussing pieces and talking about which ones would look best in her future restaurant. So far, his vote was for a pop art piece of a giant avocado.
They were admiring a painting on the far wall when the front door’s bell chimed. Sutton turned around to find someone he knew stepping into the gallery. “Brian?”
The man turned around to look in Sutton’s direction and recognition lit up his face. “Hey,” he said as he walked toward them, carefully avoiding names and indicating to Sutton that he didn’t know which one of the twins he was talking to.
Perfect.
“Sebastian,” he said knowingly, and Brian sighed in relief. “And this is my friend, Lauren Roberts. Lauren, this is Brian Cooper. Although we’re technically not family, he’s like a cousin because he’s the nephew of the man we all call Uncle Keith. Keith was my father’s best friend and he’s basically been at my mother’s side since my father had his stroke and then passed away.”
Sutton wouldn’t elaborate on the creepy turn “Uncle” Keith’s attention to his mother had taken since his father died. He didn’t actually care for the man. But his mother seemed happy enough with him around, so he’d decided it wasn’t any of his business. Others in the family were less welcoming to Keith’s attentions to Ava.
Lauren smiled politely and shook Brian’s hand. Sutton couldn’t help but notice that Brian seemed disinterested in talking to them. At the very least, distracted. He kept glancing over Sutton’s shoulder to the gallery behind him, as though he were looking for something or someone.
“Brian is an attorney here in Dallas,” Sutton explained to Lauren. “So what are you doing up here at the gallery?” Sutton asked. “Looking for a piece to hang in your firm’s lobby?”
“No, although that isn’t a bad idea. I was hoping to have a word with Piper.”
Sutton couldn’t fathom what Keith’s nephew would have to say to his aunt, but he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he delivered the bad news. “We just spoke to the lady here and she said Piper won’t be back until Monday.”
Brian frowned, but nodded in acceptance. “I guess I should’ve called before I came all the way down here. Not a total waste of an afternoon, though. I got to see you and this lovely lady. What are you two doing in Dallas?”
“We just drove up for the day and thought we’d stop in to see the gallery.”
“What else do you have planned?”
“After this, maybe some walking around downtown before our dinner reservation. We’re checking out a pop-up restaurant tonight.”
“That sounds fun. Well, I’ll let you two continue with your afternoon. It was good to see you.” Brian backed away toward the door and waved his hand in parting.
“You, too,” Sutton said as the family friend slipped out the door. “That was weird,” he murmured aloud once the door closed.
“Why is that?” Lauren asked.
Sutton just shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Are you done here? What do you say we go get some ice cream and walk around for a bit? The weather is nice enough.”
“Sounds good.” Lauren grabbed one of the gallery’s business cards off the counter as they went to the door. “Just in case I get a place someday,” she said before stuffing it into her pocket.
Sutton didn’t know Lauren very well, but he was confident she’d need that card sooner than later.
Lauren had never been to a pop-up restaurant before. It was a relatively new concept—at least to her—and she was anxious to see how it worked. After Sebastian mentioned coming here, she’d looked up more about the restaurant online. Like hers, it operated primarily as a food truck. One Saturday a month, it would pop-up in a different brick-and-mortar location. Sometimes in vacant venues. Other times in operational restaurants looking to take a night off. And sometimes under a tent in an old K-Mart parking lot. This had helped the restaurant build a large, cult following and they were hoping to open a permanent location within the year.
It was an intriguing idea to Lauren. There wasn’t a lot of unused real estate in Royal, Texas, but there were some options. She just had to convince the property owner to let her do it. Oh, and find a way to come up with everything she needed for a fully functioning restaurant.
As they walked in the front door, she quickly realized her dream was really just a far-fetched fantasy. This was more than just a restaurant squatting in an old retail space. They had completely taken over the site and if you didn’t know what you were walking into, you might think this was their permanent location. That cost money.
Money Lauren didn’t have. She wasn’t the local lottery-winning celebrity. And all her extra cash went into keeping the trucks running.
This restaurant was experienced and had spared no expense with their design and implementation. The stark black-and-white theme carried through the space, punctuated by dark red roses in bud vases on each table. White fabric draped the walls, Edison lights hung overhead and black-and-white photography was placed with care every direction you looked. Two dozen black tables with pressed white linen filled the space, surrounded by chairs they probably rented each time from a party supply company.
Soft music played from speakers overhead and a golden light twinkled from the votive candles on each dinner table. The scent of roses and the candles lingered in the room along with the spicy and enticing scents of garlic, onion and simmering tomato sauce.
She loved Italian food and she was excited to find out what was on Mama’s Secrets menu tonight. Normally the food truck offered classic handheld favorites like meatball subs, chicken parmesan hoagies and fried arancini balls described as being the size of a regulation softball. Tonight, their website promised the same great tastes fans loved, but utensils would be required for a change.
Judging by the crowds, their dedicated customers had shown up in full force. While Sebastian checked in, Lauren noticed that every table was full but one and a few people were lingering around the doorway, awaiting their turn. That was good. Better people waiting for tables than tables waiting for people, she’d been told once by a wise mentor.
Luckily, their reservation put them ahead of the crowd. The one corner table that was unoccupied had been waiting for them. Sebastian placed his hand on Lauren’s lower back and guided her ahead of him to follow the hostess to their seats.
It was the first time he’d touched her—really touched her—today. He’d taken her hand to help her out of the car, but otherwise, he’d been very hands-off. Considering that Lauren’s nervous system was humming with excitement every time he got close, it was extremely frustrating. She almost hated to pull away from the heat of his hand to take her seat, but she couldn’t keep the hostess waiting.
Seated together, they both lifted the sheet of paper that served as the day’s menu. Lauren’s mouth was watering as she looked over the options. Osso bucco with risotto. Veal saltimbocca with a polenta cake. Cacio e Pepe pasta. Eggplant parmesan. Potato gnocchi with pork shoulder. There were so many amazing sounding options to choose from, she hardly knew what to pick.
Adding to her indecision was the distraction across the table. Lifting her gaze from the paper, she noticed Sebastian was watching her again. This new habit of his was unnerving. He’d never done it before the day at the food truck. Now, every time she looked up, he was watching her. Appraising her somehow. There was a hunger in his eyes that had nothing to do with Italian food. And yet, he kept his distance.
He hadn’t kept his distance that night at the club. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her. What had changed, aside from the masks? Sebastian said he preferred seeing her without it, but his actions said otherwise. He seemed conflicted, both wanting her and distancing himself. It made all her insecurities flare up uncomfortably, sending the tasty menu items to the back of her mind.
“Have you decided?” she asked. He wasn’t looking at his menu, so it seemed a reasonable question.
“I thought I’d let you order for me. You’re the chef that knows all about food. I’ll let you pick.”
Lauren’s lips parted, ready to argue, but she stopped. If he wanted her to order, she would. No one had ever asked her to before, and this gave her the opportunity to show off her foodie knowledge. “Okay. Well, if there were two of me at this table, we would have the arancini, the gnocchi and I think...the osso bucco. Hopefully there will be room left for tiramisu.”
Sebastian laughed. It was a hearty and familiar sound, but not one she’d heard lately. It vibrated to her core, and released some of the tension she’d been holding in her shoulders. He’d been so serious when she first approached him. Perhaps he’d finally loosened up around her. His idea to leave town for a more casual date was a good idea, looking back at it.
When the waiter arrived, she ordered it all, adding a plate of fried squash blossoms for good measure and a bottle of red wine to compliment it all nicely.
“You’re going to have to roll me back to Royal,” he said. “Are we going to be able to eat all that? I expect you to hold up your side of this.”
“With pleasure.”
He nodded with visible appreciation. “I’d like to see that. I’m so used to women pulling the usual girl trick and barely eating on the date. I know they’re hungry. I can hear their stomach rumbling while they pick at their salad. I figure when they get home they raid their refrigerators. But offer them a buttered roll and they’ll practically stab you with their unused steak knife.”
“I’m a chef. Food is life. I’m always eating.” It wasn’t a pretty statement. Or the kind of thing most women would say to a man on a date, but it was true. To drive the point home, she tore off a piece of the focaccia bread the waiter had put on the table and dipped it in oil and herbs. “And I’m not scared of bread,” she added before taking a bite.
“I like it.” He took a piece of bread for himself. “So how do you stay so slender if you aren’t pathologically afraid of carbs?”
She hardly thought of herself as slender, but she would accept the compliment. “Stress, for one thing. I’m on my feet for hours in the trucks. When the trucks aren’t open, I’m shopping, prepping, catching up the books and inventories. My pedometer tops twenty thousand steps most days. I also have an elliptical I try to get on regularly to get my heart rate up and burn off the day’s overindulgences.” She raised up the glass of red wine she’d chosen. “Like this. After all this Italian food, I will have to do an hour when I get home or in the morning for sure.”
“I sit at a desk all day,” he admitted. “Or I did practically from college graduation until now. Now I just sit around the house at a loss of what to do with myself. I used to swim, but the pool was taken with the family home. I play golf or tennis from time to time, but it’s not enough to really count. Thankfully, a good metabolism seems to run in my family. We’re all fairly slim.”
“Lucky. I have to work at it, but it helps that I’m also incredibly picky when it comes to food. I’ll eat almost every fruit, vegetable, grain and meat known to man, but if I don’t care for the way it was prepared, I’ll spit it out and waste the calories on something better. Processed, canned boxed junk usually isn’t worth it to me. I grew up on that stuff and now I can’t stand it. But give me a beautiful slice of imported cheese, some crusty artisan bread, some ripe fruit and good wine, and I’ll eat every last crumb without fail.”
Sebastian smiled another wide, genuine smile. She was getting used to seeing those out of the more-relaxed version of him. “I like it. You cook and you eat. You’re beautiful. Smart. Sexy.” He reached out for her hand and ran his thumb over the back of it before bringing it to his lips. He pressed his mouth to her skin, his gaze never leaving hers. “And you’re dating me.” He seemed surprised somehow by that fact.
Lauren’s mouth fell open and she nearly groaned aloud at the feel of his lips against her skin. She managed a nervous laugh and pulled her hand away while she still had the willpower to do it. “I-I don’t get it,” she stuttered. “You flatter me while piling on yourself. Why wouldn’t I be interested in you?”
He sighed and sat back to take a large sip of his wine. “This isn’t exactly the greatest year of my life. Things are different now, but there was a time where I was downright arrogant. Cocky, even. Women were lucky to catch my eye and more than once I’ve had women fight over me. The Wingate boys have always been a hot commodity in Royal.”
“You have a brother?” she asked.
Sebastian seemed to stiffen in his seat for some reason. “Yes,” he said. “I have a younger brother, Miles. He’s off the market now, however. He’s lucky to have found Chloe. Now he doesn’t have to look at a woman and see that look in their eyes.”
Lauren flinched. “What look is that?”
“Like I’m tainted somehow. I don’t know how closely you’ve followed what’s going on with my family, but it’s not good. I’ve gone from the CF—I mean CEO of my family business and living on a huge estate to losing everything. My job, the company, our family home... It’s all gone. I’m not sure we’ll ever fully recover. At this point, I’m going to be lucky not to end up in an orange jumpsuit.”
She hadn’t realized their situation was as dire as all that. No wonder he was so serious and uptight when she showed up at his door. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to trust anyone if she were in a mess like that. “Prison? Wow. That is serious stuff. I’ve heard a little bit, but I haven’t paid much attention to it all. I’m usually too busy to focus on town gossip.”
His jaw tightened as he nodded. “Are you going to look at me that way, now?”
There was the slightest flicker of vulnerability in his green eyes as he asked the question. Everyone must have turned their backs on Sebastian and his family. It made her heart ache to think of that. But she understood how it felt. She’d never been truly accepted by the elites in this town. Most of them ignored her and the ones that didn’t were downright cruel. She only fit in when she was wearing a mask. Her dreams of having a successful, high-end restaurant in Royal were just that. Dreams. Unless she could find a way to make them love her food enough to overlook her lack of social pedigree.
She was a great chef, but she wasn’t a miracle worker.
Lauren looked him straight in the eye. She was known for being brutally honest, although it usually involved food critiques. She wouldn’t lie to boost his ego, but he would have to be honest with her, too. “Are you guilty of anything you and your family are being accused of?”
“No,” he said sharply, and his spine straightened defiantly as he spoke. Every inch of his body suddenly seemed to tighten with the audacity of the allegations. “Someone has gone out of their way to ruin us all and I don’t know why.”
“I believe you,” she said softly. And she did. She didn’t know much about Sebastian, but she trusted the man sitting across the table from her. Maybe she shouldn’t, she had a bad habit of being too naïve when it came to men, but she did. “Then no, I won’t look at you like you’re tainted. As long as you give me the same courtesy.”
“Of course. Why would I look at you that way?” He seemed genuinely surprised by her stipulation.
Apparently the tale of the infamous school dance at the club hadn’t reached him. He was older and perhaps hadn’t heard about Dunk Tank, or at least didn’t realize Lauren was one and the same. He didn’t see her as an outcast or an interloper into his world. She was grateful for that. He was one of the few that saw her just as she was.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the waiter coming with the arancini and squash blossoms. The perfect way to end the current line of conversation.
“No reason,” she said with a dismissive smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”