Switching Places (Sweet Romance Stand-alone Collection #13)

Chapter One

Envy is a terrible thing, Emma Carter thought as her gaze scanned the front of the huge glass-and-wood structure.

Fumbling for money, she paid the cabdriver and lifted her bag.

Maybe she could be excused for feeling just a twinge, she mused as she walked up the flagstone path.

Her eyes took in the casual landscaping, the weathered siding and the open expanse of windows.

The enormous house sat solidly on the bluff above the sea—nothing like her own petite cottage in Virginia.

The air mingled the spicy scent of the rich red carnations growing against the wood siding with that tangy hint of the sea.

She heard the muffled crash of breakers, but the house blocked her view of the beach.

From the side, she could see around to the deep blue of the Pacific Ocean stretching to the horizon.

What a difference from Charlottesville, she mused as she rang the bell, thinking of her cottage behind the Morgans’s house. The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia were a world away from the beaches of Malibu, California.

“Emma. I can’t believe you actually came. You should have called me from the airport, I would have come to pick you up.”

The woman who was her mirror image reached out to hug her, then held her at arm’s length while she studied each feature. Her own face lit with excitement.

“I asked if I could come, why are you surprised?” Emma said, almost laughing in giddy delight. Her smile matched that of her twin’s.

“It’s odd to see someone who looks just like me yet dresses so differently. If we dressed alike, maybe it wouldn’t seem so strange. Gosh, it’s good to see you.”

Lily Rambeau wore a slinky bright yellow silk jumpsuit that hugged her figure, draping curves and valleys that matched Emma’s.

Her brown hair, as short as Emma’s, looked tousled and windblown, and a lot more exotic than Emma’s neat style.

Emma’s conservative slacks and cotton sweater made her feel downright dowdy next to her glamorous twin.

“I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve been together.

Video chats are fine, but this is better.

I guess I wasn’t totally convinced you’d show up.

It’s good to see you. Come in. Is that all you brought, one bag?

I never travel anywhere without three or four.

And if I’m going somewhere for several weeks it could be more. ”

Lily talked rapidly, her hands gesturing as if punctuating her words.

Emma laughed and stepped inside. Glancing around, she noted the modern furniture, all leather and chrome, the polished wooden floors, and the wide expanse of windows that seemed to bring the sea right into the house.

“Oh, Lily, this is great.”

Letting go of her suitcase, Emma crossed the room to the sliding-glass doors and gazed out. “Imagine having this view every day. How do you ever leave it?”

“Yeah, I like it.” Joining her twin, Lily slid open the door. “Come on the deck, it’s even better. I can’t believe you haven’t come to visit before. We should have made plans long ago. I should have insisted.”

The sun blazed, a fiery ball of reddish orange in the late afternoon sky.

As far as Emma could see, the peaceful Pacific Ocean shimmered in golds and yellows, reflecting the final rays of the day.

The brisk breeze that blew from the water carried a hint of salt spray.

To her right, gulls cavorted in midair, crying their plaintive wails as they swooped on the wind.

For the first time in ages Emma felt totally free.

“I had so much going on before so the timing wasn’t good,” she said slowly, wondering for the millionth time why she and her sister didn’t get together regularly.

Lily could afford to come to Virginia anytime she wanted. Of course the quiet college town probably held no interest for her glamorous jet-setting twin. She didn’t blame her for staying away, but wished she had visited at least once in the past few years.

“And now is a good time?” Lily asked.

Emma sighed. “It won’t get any better.”

“If you like it here, maybe you could move out. It’d be great to live near each other. We missed a lot as kids. Twins should grow up together. Think of the havoc we could have wrought,” Lily said, her eyes twinkling

Emma turned and studied her sister.

“I’m not planning to move. Actually, I’ll probably go home and marry David.”

“Ouch. The dentist? Thought that’s what you didn’t want. Your call sounded almost frantic.”

“Maybe I overreacted. He’s a very nice man,” she said primly.

“Honey, nice men are a dime a dozen. But does he ring your chimes?”

Emma shrugged. She didn’t like discussing David behind his back.

They’d been friends for years, casually dating, spending their free time together.

But she hadn’t expected his proposal. She couldn’t understand when his change of interest had happened.

Could she have done something to delay it, or had his proposal been inevitable?

It certainly wasn’t his fault she felt uncertain about her future.

Something seemed missing, but she couldn’t identify exactly what.

“We’ve been friends for years, but he doesn’t ring any chimes,” Emma admitted reluctantly.

Was that the missing piece, no bell-ringing?

“Then hold off, honey, until you find someone who does,” Lily advised.

“Like you did?” Emma asked slyly.

Lily laughed and shook her head.

“Pierre was wonderful. I was crazy about him and he about me. But we just burned out. Too much, too fast, I guess. But he rang chimes like Quasimodo. And we have a friendly enough divorce. We still enjoy each other’s company when our paths cross.”

Emma didn’t ask what enjoying each other’s company entailed—she could imagine. Probably exactly what she’d do if she had a French playboy ex-husband.

She smiled at the sister she hadn’t seen in more years than she wished to count. Of course, they hadn’t been raised together. Still, they should have managed more get togethers than they had.

“When do you leave?” Emma asked.

“In the morning. I’ll only be gone a week or so, two tops.

I can’t believe the timing. Two days ago the schedule called for me to leave in a month.

Then the studio contacted me to say they were rearranging the filming sequence because Miss Adams got sick and I have to get there right away.

Then your call came. I thought you might not come if you knew I wouldn’t be here the entire time.

But don’t you dare leave—plan to stay right here. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“They’re filming in Mexico?”

“Yeah, down on the Yucatán. When the lead actress got sick, they decided to continue filming as much as they could of the other scenes—to keep from interrupting or delaying the schedule. We’ll film all my part, then I’ll be back.”

“I think it’s wonderful you’re in another movie.”

“Just a bit part, Emma, nothing like the leads Dad gets. I’m restless, can’t settle on anything.

I’ve been a bit player in a couple of other movies and would love to have a stronger role, but I don’t want to make this my life.

I don’t know what I want to do. But the filming won’t take long, then I’ll be back and we’ll do the town. ”

“Nice—even if it is a bit part.”

“Perks of being the daughter of Damien Carter.”

For a moment the old hurt resurfaced in Emma. She, too, was the daughter of Damien Carter, but there had been no perks for her. Their famous movie star father had waltzed out of her life when he’d divorced their mother. Each parent had taken a child to raise.

While her mother made an effort to keep in touch with Lily, her father only remembered he had a second daughter on her birthday and at Christmas. A hasty call to make sure she was doing all right was about as involved as Damien managed.

Sometimes she suspected his presents were purchased by a secretary. No notes ever accompanied the gifts, no invitations to come visit had ever been issued. Only vague promises to get together “soon”.

She touched the wooden railing, leaning over a bit to study the path that led to the top of the bluff. There must be a way down to the beach. Afraid her sister might pick up on her anger, she concentrated on the sandy path.

It had not been fair. She, too, would have enjoyed experiencing some of the glamorous life Lily took for granted. Would it have hurt Damien Carter to invite his other daughter out for a visit once in a while?

“You okay?” Lily asked, touching her lightly on the shoulder.

“Sure.”

It wouldn’t do to complain to Lily. It wasn’t her fault. They’d been seven when their parents divorced. Emma still remembered the heartbreak of being separated from her sister, her twin, seventeen years ago. But Lily had had no more say in the arrangement than she’d had.

It was all water under the bridge now.

Smiling, Emma met her sister’s gaze.

“I’m dying to see your house. Show me around.”

“Come on. I love it—purchased it with my divorce settlement. It’s just what I wanted.”

Lily had done all right as a result of the divorce from her former husband, French playboy Pierre Antoine Rambeau.

As they wandered through the large house Emma couldn’t help thinking that Lily appeared far wealthier than Emma would ever be.

Lily moved in socially exalted circles, a darling of the Hollywood crowd, a friend of numerous high-placed government officials courtesy of her diplomatic corp ex-husband, and the sweetheart of the posh jet-setters of the French Riviera, thanks to Pierre and their celebrity father.

Wistfully Emma listened as Lily recounted where she’d purchased her paintings, or the statue that graced one table. The whole house seemed more like a movie set than a home. Yet Lily fit in perfectly. It suited her.

When the tour ended, Lily put Emma’s suitcase in the master bedroom.