Chapter Sixteen

Something was wrong.

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it was like an itch in his brain.

When Lillian had shown up for lunch today her smile had been a little less bright than normal. She’d said work was getting stressful, but the words had rung hollow for some reason.

Now he watched her finish her food, cutting the last bite in two with precise movements.

“Are you sure everything’s fine?” he asked again.

She smiled at him. “Absolutely.”

“Okay.”

Everyone has bad days. It’s nothing.

Some something deep inside him refused to accept the explanation.

“The wedding’s coming up fast,” he said. “Soon we’ll be able to escape all this. Take a tropical honeymoon. Tell me a beach and some sand doesn’t sound perfect. Let’s throw in a Mai Tai or two. Hell, make it a dozen.”

He expected a ready smile, but Lillian merely arched a brow as she set her cutlery down without making a sound as the metal hit the plate.

“There’s so much to do with the companies merging. It’s probably not the best time to leave.”

He blinked.

“You usually jump at the chance to get away from your father.”

Blue eyes flicked to his. Was it just him or were they a slightly different shade today?

He glanced around the open, airy restaurant. The windows were all pushed wide to let the summer breeze in. Maybe it was just a trick of the light.

“It’s just not a good time,” Lillian said.

Crossing his arms on the table, he leaned forward. “What’s wrong, Lillian? Did something happen?”

She avoided responding while the server came to clear their plates.

“Just the check,” she said to the waiter before the man left.

“Guess we’re skipping the coffee,” he teased.

Those blank eyes swept back to him. “My apologies. Would you like me to call him back?”

My apologies?

What was going on?

“It’s fine,” he said. “If you were in a rush, we could have rescheduled.”

“I have…a few things to catch up on,” she said. “But we had this planned. It’s no trouble.”

It was like dining with a body snatcher. Everything she said or did was perfect. Her manners were as impeccable as always. But there was a chill to her movements where there had once been life.

Is this something to do with her secrets? What the hell is going on with the Abbotts?

She folded her hands in her lap, her back ramrod straight, and gave him a close-lipped smile. “I’m glad we did this, though,” she said. “It was good to see you.”

“You see me every day,” he pointed out.

Lillian blinked slowly. “Yes, of course.”

He waited for more, but when the silence stretched, he realized she was done. No stammering, no blushing, no self-deprecating smiles.

It was like she was a different person.

He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something was off about Lillian. She’d been too cynical. Too cold. She certainly didn’t seem like the woman who’d turned into liquid fire in his arms.

What happened?

Had he done something unforgivable he didn’t remember?

He’d never cared before if a woman lost interest in him, but Lillian’s blank stare was driving a dagger into his chest.

Something isn’t right.

“Are you coming over tonight?” he asked, already knowing her answer but not understanding it.

Her gaze never wavered from his. “I have a lot of work to catch up on. Rain check?”

“Sure.”

She touched her napkin to her lips before setting it on the table and standing. “I should run. Thanks for lunch.”

“Wait.” He shot out of his seat after her. Taking her elbow, he steered them toward a more secluded part of the restaurant.

“I know you’re swamped at work,” he said. “But I’m here for you.”

Something softened in her face, but there was still no joy in her eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate that.”

“But you’re not going to let me help.”

She shrugged. “I have some things to sort out. I’ll call you later, okay?”

He sighed. “Fine.” Who was he to talk? He knew what it was like to get hung up on work. “Just don’t work too hard.”

He leaned down to kiss her only to have her avert her face at the last second. His lips brushed her cheek rather than her lips, and another red flag went up.

“I should go,” she said softly, not looking at him. “See you later.”

“Yeah,” he said, taking a step back. “See you.”

She ducked around him and raced out of the restaurant.

What just happened?

Nothing good.

His chest tightened. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something was wrong. What had he missed?

He was moving before conscious thought caught up. Rushing out onto the street, he looked both ways for Lillian and caught a flash of her skirt as she turned a corner.

What are you doing? he asked himself as he chased after her. What’s the plan when he reached her?

Demand to know what’s wrong? People have bad days. It’s not a crime.

And yet something was tugging at him, telling him he couldn’t just walk away.

I’m a lunatic. It’s official. The Abbotts have stolen my sanity.

He zigzagged around the other pedestrians in his way and tried to reach Lillian, but by the time he turned the corner, he’d lost sight of her.

What am I doing?

He’d reached for his cell to call her when the crowd ahead parted and revealed a blond head he recognized.

“Lillian,” he called but she was too far away to hear him.

Putting his phone away, he set off after her.

It took five blocks to catch up with her, and once he did, his feet slowed to a stop.

Across the street, his fiancée walked into a small outdoor patio.

We just had lunch. Why is she going to another restaurant?

A pit formed in his stomach. Was there someone else? Was that why she’d been so distant today?

Her blond hair shone in the sunlight as she weaved through the tables. He was so focused on her he barely noticed when a second blond woman stood at her approach.

Lillian smiled, holding out her arms to the second woman. He watched them embrace, trying to understand what he was seeing, when the second woman turned his way.

His body went numb. Two. There were two Lillians.

What the hell is going on?

The women took a seat, looking lost in their conversation.

Twins.

He’d know she had one, of course, but the absent sister hadn’t been high on his list of priorities.

Not so absent anymore.

A spiral of relief went through him. Her sister was back. That might be why she was so off today. Family drama.

Who am I to cast stones about that?

A huffed laugh escaped him. Here he was spinning worst-case scenarios in his head when this hadn’t been about him at all.

What am I doing?

Clearly, Lillian had been focused on seeing her sister and not on seeing him. Not that he had a problem with it, but he did wonder why she hadn’t told him her twin was back in town.

What was her name? Ivy? Rose?

He searched his memory trying to recall the rare times Lillian had mentioned her.

Holly.

That was it.

Holly sat across from his fiancée, dressed in jeans and a white blouse. Glasses perched on her nose, and her hair was pulled back in a messy bun.

He stiffened. He’d seen hair like that before. Lillian had put up hers that way one night when they were getting ready for bed, the movements almost absentminded.

Frowning, he watched more closely.

Lillian sat straight in her designer channel dress, her back not even touching the chair. She waved her hand airily as she talked, in a way she never had before.

Holly leaned forward with a smile so identical to the one he’d been falling for it shook him. She nodded to her sister before reaching up to play with her necklace, letting it run through her fingers.

A loud hum filled his ears at the habit. A habit his lover shared.

Lillian was cold and distant today. Like she didn’t know me.

And her suddenly present sister was playing with her necklace. He was telling himself multiple people could have the habit when Holly dropped her gaze to her plate the way she had with him in the early days. Like she was trying to shrink and disappear.

The hum turned into a thunderous drone as the pieces fell into place. Lillian had looked through him like he’d been a stranger.

What if I am?

Identical twins. Perfect replicas of each other.

No one would notice if they switched places.

Especially a man who only knew about Lillian on paper.

The longer he watched them, the more obvious their differences became.

There was calm confidence in the way Lillian held herself, the way she moved. Even the way she signaled their waiter.

In contrast, Holly fidgeted in her seat, gripping her chair as if she needed to hang on to something. She was nowhere near as composed as her sister. Especially when Lillian said something that caused her head to hang low and her shoulders to hunch.

Instinct surged through him, demanding he rush to her side and find out what was wrong. What had made her look so defeated.

And that instinct enraged him.

They tricked me.

Why?

He shouldn’t give a damn if Holly was upset. What they’d done to him was far worse than anything they could be discussing.

Anger boiled up pushing back the shock. They’d been playing with him. Had they been switching throughout the time they’d been together? Who was he dating?

Who was he marrying?

His hands clenched at his side. If they thought they could take Julian Worth for a fool, then the Abbott sisters had another thing coming.

They will pay for this.

He’d make sure of it.

…

“What did you say?” Holly asked again, needing to hear the words Lillian had just said one more time.

Her sister reached across the table and took her hand. “He didn’t notice, Olly. I’m so sorry. He asked if I was having a bad day, but that was it. He even tried to kiss me when we left.”

The world tunneled before her eyes. A roar filled her ears no one else could hear. Lillian’s lips kept moving, but there was no making out the words.

He failed?

She hadn’t believed it was possible. All morning she’d been anxious, but it had been because after this lunch the truth would have to come out. Julian would realize Lillian was another woman and choose Holly. That’s how today was supposed to have gone.

Now her worst nightmare had come true.

“I’m so sorry,” her sister said again.

She stared at the face that was so similar to hers. Lillian had brought her an answer to the question she’d never wanted to know.

Would Julian be just as happy with her as with me?

“Yes” was not the response she’d been hoping for.

Am I really that forgettable?

She should have known better. She shouldn’t have let herself hope. No one had ever cared enough to try telling them apart. Why would they? Holly was simply the backup Abbott. So long as Lillian was around, she wasn’t needed.

Even, it seemed, by Julian.

Her nails gouged into her palms. She was always the understudy. Always the B team. In life and, it seemed, in love as well.

Why am I never enough for anyone?

What was she doing wrong? Surely it wasn’t just the inheritance. This had happened too many times over the years for her to believe it all came down to money. No, something about her was lacking. Something others always seemed to sense. If she could just figure out what it was, maybe she could fix it. Maybe she could become…

Someone Julian would remember.

Her throat tightened. That wasn’t fair. He was the victim here. And when the truth about their company came out, that would all get even worse.

Too bad she didn’t have the energy to care right now.

“I wanted you to be right,” Lillian said, her shoulders slumping. “I don’t want to marry him any more than you want me to, but what other option is there? I hid this from you for a reason. I couldn’t see any way out and still can’t. What can we do?”

She’d never seen her sister look so defeated.

I know the feeling.

“Nothing,” she whispered. “There’s nothing we can do.”

They were just pawns caught in their father’s game. Pawns, and their hearts, were expendable.

“If I could think of anything…”

“You tried,” she said, feeling numb. “You tried to save us.”

I didn’t even realize we needed saving.

“And I couldn’t even do that right.” Pain flashed across Lillian’s face. “All I had to do was convince a man who hates our father more than we do to help, and I couldn’t…” Her voice trailed off. “I’m the oldest. It’s my job to protect you, and I hurt you worse than anyone.”

“Not you,” she said.

No one had ever driven a knife into her chest the way Julian had, and the worst part was, he would never have any idea.

“What are we going to do?” Lillian said.

That was the million-dollar question. Because if Julian couldn’t tell them apart, then their relationship wasn’t as strong as she’d thought.

I was so sure he’d pass.

Then she would have had the proof to strengthen her resolve. She might have actually believed confessing to him would make a difference.

Now she realized he’d been playing the game as much as she had. Saying what she wanted to hear in order to get her down the aisle, just the way he wanted.

Was I only ever business to him?

If he couldn’t recognize her, he probably would have been happy with anyone else. Maybe her appeal had only ever been the merger in the first place.

I thought I was special.

And morons like that deserved to get their hearts broken.

“Holly? Are you okay?”

No.

And she wouldn’t be for a long time.

But for now, they had bigger problems than her heartache.

“If he doesn’t care about me, he won’t help,” she said through numb lips.

“We can’t tell him,” her sister agreed. “Not if the employees are our main concern.”

Her father had been right all along. Julian had never seen her as anything more than a stepping stone. And now that everything was laid bare, she had to keep up her side of the bargain.

“We gambled and lost,” she said. “Time to face the music.”

She took a deep breath. The numbness was starting to fade and being in public when it disappeared entirely wasn’t an option. It was the only thing holding her together.

“I can’t be here,” she said, grabbing her purse. “I’ll see you at home.”

“Holly.”

“Bye.”

She navigated through the café without really seeing the other patrons. Only one thought was in her mind.

If he can’t recognize me, he can’t love me.

And that truth was about to bring her to her knees.