The Right Twin. Laura Altom Marie
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of bogus halfhearted complaints, he felt sorry for Sadie. According to his brother, the Blueberry Inn was one of the best-kept secrets in the Midwest—which was why the Zodor’s editor in chief was so hot to get the scoop.
Keeping that in mind—and registering the fact that he’d completely enjoyed his own lunch—Heath took his fellow diners’ complaints with a grain of salt. By the time the disgruntled bunch had wandered off to their rooms or the garden for reading or an afternoon nap, he’d pretty much decided that if dinner was as tasty as lunch, he’d simply strike the petty negativity from his files.
Experience had taught him that building your own business was tough. Other than the time it had taken Sadie to get him registered and that mile-a-minute room description, he hadn’t noticed anything even remotely remiss. And so what if she had ever so slightly fudged those couple of tasks? Just as he’d been burned by the discovery that it was his latest game design that Tess had really lusted after, maybe there was some sort of behind-the-scenes situation going on with Sadie. Something she had too much class to let him or any of her other guests see.
He’d just discreetly tucked his notepad into his jacket pocket when the woman at the center of his thoughts entered the dining room. The fact that the mere sight of her produced a pleasurable jolt set him on edge. The last time he’d felt an instant attraction had been with Tess.
“Whew,” Sarah said, drawing out the chair opposite Heath’s. Her pale complexion was flushed, and the afternoon’s heat dampened the tendrils that hugged the nape of her neck where she’d pulled back her hair. Would her skin taste salty? That tempting spot on her neck? As if it were possible to shake the thought from his mind, Heath shook his head, but the motion didn’t help. Big surprise. “That was tough.”
“I’d have thought you’d be an old pro at a simple lunch.”
“Oh, sure,” she said. “I just didn’t get much rest last night. But now that my right-hand person has finally fixed her car’s flat, I’ve got time for a breather.”
“Congratulations,” he said.
“Thanks.”
After a few moments’ awkward silence, he leaned forward, toying with his blue napkin. “Not that it’s my business, but why?”
“Why what? Why was Helga’s tire flat?”
“No,” he said with a laugh. “Why’d you get a lousy night’s rest?”
“Oh, that.” She leaned back in her chair.
Had his question been too forward? Probably. Regardless, Heath forged ahead. “Simple enough question.”
“W-why do you care?”
Would Heath’s brother care?
Who could explain it, but for whatever odd reason, Heath felt a compelling urge to know something more about what made the lovely innkeeper tick. From the time they’d met until now, her appearance had gone from frazzled to casual grace. Which image was the real Sadie? Over the course of the weekend, would he get the chance to learn the answer? With elegant fingers, she traced the floral-patterned white-on-white tablecloth.
“No reason,” he said, covering for himself when it seemed she preferred to avoid the topic. “Sorry I asked. I was just trying to make small talk, but maybe my question came out as invasive.”
“No,” she said, staring at Heath straight on and then sighing. “Truthfully, I didn’t get a wink of sleep last night for a fairly simple reason. You.”
Chapter Two
“Me?” Eyebrows raised, Heath said, “I’d like to be flattered, but judging by your pained expression, it wasn’t my devastating good looks that kept you up.”
Sarah laughed. “Not specifically you, per se, but folks like you. Guests.”
“Why? I mean, this is your livelihood. Has been for, what, five years you said?”
She nodded, leaning forward with her elbows on the table. “But I’ll let you in on a little secret.” One that Sadie had shared with her not too long ago. “The more I’m in the business, the more it seems my guests are getting harder to spoil. To well and truly please. The big chains have phenomenal employee bases, while I’m just me—and a few trusted employees who’ve become dear friends.”
“Friends who help fend off me? The enemy?” He laughed again, clearly poking fun at himself.
Was it wrong to be affected by the rich, mellow voice of the guy that your sister had specifically told you was hands-off? Probably, but Shane Peters’s laughter struck Sarah as delicious. Tempting. Like a superrich dessert you knew you shouldn’t have but were hard-pressed to resist. Alas, because of her deep sense of respect for Sadie, she would resist. Not only because the man was off-limits for the sake of her sister, but because of the pain she still felt from her involvement with Greg.
She wasn’t ready to open herself up to another man.
“You’re hardly the enemy,” Sarah said. “It’s just that…I’ve worked hard for this.” She gestured toward the opulence of the inn’s dining room. Antique tables, linens and china. Blue-and-white-toile walls and ornate moldings. Gentle sun slanting through open French doors, leading to a dreamy garden. A hundred varieties of blooms that Sarah couldn’t begin to name. Sweet and lovely, humming with butterflies and bees. Beyond that, a lake so crystalline and blue and in perfect harmony with the wedding cake of a house on its shore that her sister had said she’d shed a few tears the first time she’d seen it. And all of this—every last bit—was in Sarah’s hands right now.
Granted, her sister was arguably deranged when it came to her love for the place, but Sarah knew that Sadie had worked hard to achieve all this, and out of love and respect for her twin, Sarah intended to maintain her sister’s standards. Even if the dreaded reviewer never showed.
“Sometimes,” Sarah said, again sharing more of Sadie than herself, “I want perfection so much, that I…” She shook her head. “Sorry. I’m just rambling on about nothing, when you’re here to relax and not listen to me whine.”
Shane flashed her a smile of such warm concern Sarah knew in a heartbeat he was sincere. And then she swallowed a sour taste in her mouth over the notion that at the moment she was anything but sincere.
Oh, she was sincere in terms of being nervous. But it pained her to think that this compassionate man was actually sympathizing with her over a lie.
“Relax,” he said. “From all I’ve heard, this place is a little slice of heaven, right here in your corner of Missouri. And, you know, maybe this bout of nerves is your body’s way of telling you you’ve been working too hard. Maybe if you’d try stealing a few minutes for yourself here and there, you’d be back to business as usual.”
Great theory. Trouble was business as usual for Sarah consisted of working from eight to six at the accounting firm of Geoffrey, Deloite & Bartholomew. It was Sarah’s dream to one day have her name added to the list of partners. Numbers were her game, whereas for as long as she could remember, Sadie had been into the whole hearth-and-home thing.
Like her father, Sarah had toyed with the idea of going into physics, but seeing how she also had a thing for nice shoes and expensive handbags, she’d opted for accounting over science. Where Shane had been telling “Sadie” to relax, the reality was that the real Sadie was thrilled with her life. It was Sarah who needed rest and relaxation to put things into perspective. What had happened with Greg had shaken her to the core, had made her distrust not only other people but herself.
“What’s the matter?” her new friend asked in a light tone. “My pep talk was supposed to bring back your smile—not make you scowl.”
“Sorry,” she said with a hesitant laugh. “Promise, I’ll try to do more guffawing.”
“You’d better,” Heath teased. “Otherwise