Body Double (17 page)

“...looks gorgeous,” Blake was saying. “And she’ll be even lovelier tomorrow.”

“If that’s it,” Charlotte said, “we can call it a day.”

Andrea nodded, feeling steadier on her feet, thankful for Blake keeping her upright. She let him know with a touch on his chest that she was all right now.

“Everything’s going to be perfect,” Scotty said, clapping his hands together. “I can’t wait until you see it tomorrow.”

“If you think of anything else, Scotty, give us a call.” Blake hugged and kissed his mom, as did Andrea. When Harold opened his arms to embrace his daughter, Andrea turned away to give Charlotte a hug. Blake shook his hand instead.

“You did great,” Charlotte whispered.

When they stepped apart, Joe opened his arms for a hug from Andrea, a lusty grin on his face.

Blake stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Mine.” He took Andrea’s hand, engulfing it in his own. They waved and bid everyone a pleasant evening as they started off across the grass toward their waiting limousine.

Walking hand in hand with his fake bride-to-be, Blake smiled down at Andrea. She was amazing, and he couldn’t help feeling proud of her—and jealous that some other guy, maybe even Joe, would end up with her. It was a marvel she wasn’t already married. “You did great today. How’re you feeling?”

“He was starting to notice the little differences.” Her eyes were round, and concern creased her forehead. “I don’t know about this.”

“But he didn’t. Tomorrow will be even easier because you’ll have the veil on. At least you remembered the birthmark.”

Andrea grimaced. “Charlotte reminded me when she found me in the ladies’ room.”

Blake heard the sounds of chatter behind them and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, great. The rest of them are heading this way. Let’s hope that’s our car so we can make a clean getaway.” He increased the pace to a brisk walk.

As they neared the limo parked at the curb, the driver got out and jogged around to the passenger side. “Mr. Thomas? I’m Sean, taking over for Steven.”

Andrea stopped, her hand slipping out of Blake’s. Her face was ashen, and she gaped at the driver.

“Andrea?” the driver asked, a matching gape on his face.

He knew her? Hell. Blake reached for her hand again and guided her to the door. “No, this is my fiancée, Dr. Sarah Gentry. You’ve mistaken her for someone else.”

His mother and Harold walked up. “Is there a problem?” Gloria asked.

“Who is Andrea?” Harold asked.

“Nobody we know,” Blake said. He snapped his fingers in front of the driver’s face. “Sean, pay attention.” Andrea’s eyes were brimming with tears, and her lower lip quivered.
Hold it together, babe,
he thought.
Just a few more seconds.

The driver startled, snapping his eyes away from Andrea, and opened the rear passenger door. “I beg your pardon. You look exactly like—”

“That’s interesting,” Blake said, cutting him off. “Call your friend later and yap all you want, but right now, you’re talking when you should be working.”

“Yes, sir.” Sean stared at Andrea as Blake helped her inside.

When she was settled in her seat, he leaned in and kissed her lightly. “Just a few seconds longer,” he whispered. He glared at Sean, instructing him silently to back the hell off, and shut her door before walking around to the other side.

“What was that all about?” Gloria asked.

“Nothing, Mom,” he said over the limo’s roof. “Just our driver being unprofessional. See you tomorrow.”

“All right. Good-night, sweetheart.” Gloria stooped down and waved at the window. “Good-night, daughter-to-be.”

As soon as Blake got in and shut the door, he asked, “You know him?” Andrea burst into tears and hid her face in her palms. After pulling the tissue box out of the console between them, he lifted the console into the seat back and slid to the right so he could take her into his arms. “I’m here, babe. I’ve got you.” He plucked a couple of tissues from the box and put them in her hand.

The intercom clicked on. “Where to, sir?”

“To Dr. Gentry’s house. The address is on file.”

“Got it right here, sir. On our way.”

Blake waited for the red light to blink out, indicating the intercom had been turned off. Andrea continued to cry softly into his shoulder. “Driver?”

“Uh, yes sir?”

“Turn off the intercom.”

“Yes, sir.”

The red light flickered but stayed on. “Sean,” Blake shouted. “Turn the damned thing off. Now.” When the red light went off and stayed off, he turned his attention to Andrea. “It’s okay, love.” He held her close and kissed her hair. They rode that way most of the way to Sarah’s house, and Andrea’s cries quieted to sniffles. He was eager to know who this guy was to her to cause so much pain, but he wouldn’t push her to talk about it until they were safely home where she wouldn’t have to face Sean again.

When they turned onto Sarah’s street, she pulled back. “I could use a tissue.”

Blake reached over for the tissue box he’d set aside and offered it to her. She plucked another tissue from the dispenser and blotted her face. Her mascara had run, leaving her looking almost like a raccoon. He took a tissue too. “Close your eyes.” When she complied, he tipped her chin up with one finger, wet his thumb on his tongue, and wiped away the smeared mascara below her eyes and then cleaned it up with the tissue. “There you go.”

She met his gaze with such a sorrowful expression, his chest tightened. The pain in her eyes ignited his protective instinct, and he felt the blood flow to his muscles, readying him to dish out a beat down that bastard would never forget.

When the car pulled into the driveway, Blake patted Andrea’s arm. “Stay put for a second. I’ll get your door.” He got out, slammed his door shut and put a firm hand on Sean’s shoulder as the driver climbed out of the car. “Get back in and stay there until we’re inside.”

“Yes, sir. I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding earlier.”

“Just get in.”

“Would you prefer another driver, sir? I could have the company send over another car to take you home.”

It was tempting, but Blake actually wanted to talk to this guy, just not in front of Andrea. “No. I won’t be long.” Once Sean was back in the car, Blake jogged around to the passenger side and helped Andrea out.

At the front door, her hand trembled so badly, she couldn’t get the key into the lock. “Let me get that for you.” He took the key and unlocked the door.

Inside, she let loose a shudder. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why he rattled me so much.” She went into the kitchen and set her purse on the counter.

Blake went to the mini bar. It occurred to him that Andrea apologized a lot. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever hearing the words
I’m sorry
from Sarah’s lips. “Can I fix you a drink? A little something to relax?” Though he’d attended a few classes at one of the local bartending schools on how to mix drinks for cocktail parties, he’d never bartended professionally. His father had always stressed that being a good host was as much a man’s responsibility as a woman’s, and learning to mix a drink was a good place to start.

“Sure. Can you make me a Washington Apple?”

No one had asked for that in years, and he had to think for a second to remember the ingredients. “Let’s see if she has the Sour Apple. I didn’t peg you for a fruity drink kind of girl.”

“I’m not much of a drinker. The fruitiness makes it easier to choke down.”

He rummaged around in Sarah’s liquor cabinet. “Found some. She has everything we need. Now let’s see if I remember how to make it.” He filled two small glasses about a third of the way up with Crown Royal. “That driver really got to you. I’m sorry about that.”

“You couldn’t have known,” she said. “He caught me off guard, that’s all.”

Was she going to pretend she didn’t know Sean? The man had said her name. “How do you know him?” He poured the Sour Apple into the glasses and cracked open a small can of cranberry juice.

Andrea sat heavily on the couch. “We used to date.”

“But not anymore?”

“No. I haven’t seen him in two years.”

Blake added a splash of 7-Up to each glass and dropped in a couple of ice cubes, stirred them and tasted one. Perfect. He hadn’t lost his touch. He brought both glasses to the couch, handed Andrea one, and sat beside her. “Bad breakup?”

She sipped her drink, averting her gaze, and then set it on the table. With a deep breath, she nodded. “We were engaged. Obviously, we didn’t actually get...” Her chin puckered and quivered, and she pressed her lips together.

Blake set his drink down and put his arm around her. “The bastard broke your heart, didn’t he?”

She nodded. Tears spilled loose once more. “I thought I was over him, but I guess the wedding preparations have opened the wound a little. Sean left me at the altar. He didn’t call, didn’t explain, didn’t apologize. He just never showed up, and I never saw or heard from him again until today.”

Besides being hurtful, what he’d done was disrespectful. And the idea of that pencil-necked limo driver hurting her made his blood boil.

“How can a man love a woman one day, and then not love her the next?”

“Sweetheart,” he said, pulling back to look into her eyes. “I’m not going to do that to you. Tomorrow, we’re going to pretend to get married. You and me.” He picked up her left hand and kissed each of her knuckles. “Do you think I’m an idiot?”

Andrea snorted a small laugh and shook her head.

He smiled, encouraged by her laugh, however tiny. “Oh, good. Considering I mistook you for my actual fiancée, I wasn’t sure how that was going to go. Want me to go out there and kick his ass? I will if it’ll put that sexy-sweet smile back on your face.”

She rewarded him with a smile. “No, don’t kick his ass. He’d probably sue you.”

“All right. Got my smile though.”

“I see what you did there. Thanks, Blake. I’m glad you were with me.”

He leaned in and kissed her lightly. “I’ll make sure they don’t send him again. Do you want me to stay over?” He didn’t mean anything sexual, though he certainly wouldn’t object if she wanted him. His intent was simply to assure her that he wouldn’t stand her up the next day.

A moment passed while she searched his eyes. “No, it’s okay. I’ll be all right.”

He drained his drink and stood, then offered her a hand to help her rise. “What time is the limo picking you up tomorrow?” He took his glass to the sink and rinsed it out.

“Around nine.” A worried crease pinched her brow. “What if Scotty sends Sean?”

“I’ll call him and make sure that doesn’t happen.” He took her hand and walked with her to the front door. “If, by some stroke of awful luck, you end up with Sean as your driver, call me. I’ll come get you myself.”

She looked up at him with an earnest expression. “Sarah doesn’t realize what a lucky woman she is.”

He drew her into his arms. Andrea was sweet and tender and vulnerable and sexy as hell. Her beauty had little to do with her close resemblance to Sarah. “Sean’s an idiot
and
an asshole, and for the next two weeks, I’m going to be the luckiest man alive.” His resistance crumbled, and he kissed her with the passion that had been building since he met her. She returned his kiss with equal fervor, moaning into his mouth as their desire ignited. Maybe he wouldn’t be marrying Andrea, but he sure as hell would enjoy the wedding and honeymoon as if he were.

At last, she pulled away, breathless and with a sparkle in her eye that let him know her worries over Sean were forgotten, at least for the moment. “You’d better go.” A slow smile turned her lips.

“What are you smiling about?”

“Nothing, really. I’m glad it’s you, that’s all.”

“Well,” he said, pressing his forehead to hers, “you’re the loveliest, sweetest bride I could imagine.” He took her hand and opened the front door. “Step out onto the stoop to give me one last kiss good-night. I want Sean to see this.”

Her face pinkened, but she stepped across the threshold with him under the orange and purple sky. “Blake, that’s not really necessary.”

“We’re getting fake-married tomorrow.” He stroked her face gently with his knuckles. “If you have any worries, any old fears haunting you, call me. I won’t do to you what that jackasshole did. You can count on me. I’ll call you in the morning, okay?” She nodded, and he kissed her once more before heading to the limo.

Sean got out from behind the wheel, and his gaze immediately went to Andrea. Blake ran back and gave her one last kiss while the driver went around the car to open the passenger door for him.

“Love you,” he said, backing toward the car. His own words shocked him as much as they did her. He’d said it for Sean’s benefit, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew that some part of him did truly love her. Did he even know Andrea well enough to love her? He paused at the limo’s open rear door. “Can’t wait to marry you tomorrow.”

“Me too,” she said, though she still looked unsure.

Once he got in and Sean shut the door, Andrea went into the house. She wouldn’t have been able to see Blake wave to her through the limousine’s dark tinted window, and she probably wanted to avoid any eye contact with Sean. Still, it felt like a dismissal. Everything in him wanted to run up to the house and beg her to let him stay the night, but he didn’t. She needed her space and time to process what had happened and to get her head straight for the wedding. It was just rotten luck that her ex-fiancé had to show up today, of all days. It could’ve been worse; he could’ve been the one to pick her up and drive her to the country club on their wedding day.