Chapter 41
The next day, Andrea’s stomach was a bundle of knots. She stared at the clock as if she were on death row and would be going to the electric chair, counting down the hours until it happened.
Jack had been relatively distant most of the morning. He had been on the phone a lot with the guys. He always spoke in low whispers so she couldn’t overhear the plan. It sucked, but she knew they did it for a reason.
When she voiced her frustration more than once and snapped at him, he had tried distracting her, and it had worked a bit. She was getting tired of staring at these four walls, and there was only so much television she could watch.
Finally, it was time to get ready for the meet, so she got dressed and applied her makeup carefully. She had watched several tutorials and was impressed with how it turned out, but would it be enough to fool the buyer?
She styled her hair similar to how her sister had arrived at her house, with a slight curl at the end. Jack had pointed out her hair was a different shade and a little longer, but she hoped no one else would notice those differences.
“Andrea,” Jack called, knocking on the bathroom door.
She didn’t answer, just stared at her reflection that wasn’t her own. She didn’t know who the woman was staring back at her. She wore heavy makeup with a smokey eyeshadow that made her eyes pop. Mascara that made her eyelashes look a mile long. Lipstick that gave her that sexy pouty look.
If that wasn’t enough, her outfit was skin-tight. She wore skinny jeans and a low-cut red tank top and a black leather jacket. She wore zip-up knee-high boots with toothpicks for heels.
She heard the door open, but she didn’t turn to see Jack walk in.
“I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this,” Andrea chanted, feeling anxiety creeping over her, threatening to drown her. She placed a hand over her queasy stomach, thankful she hadn’t had much to eat today.
“Yes, you can,” Jack soothed, his hands stroking up and down her arms.
“I’m not my sister.” She could never pull this off even if she looked like her. She didn’t sound like Holly. What if they caught her in a lie?
“And you’re the better for that, but right now, you have to pretend to be her. Thousands of lives are depending on you.”
“As if I need that kind of pressure,” she hissed, feeling the anxiety come back full force.
Jack released her arms and turned her away from the mirror, clasped both sides of her face, and pulled her into a deep kiss. Andrea didn’t respond at first. Before she could, Jack released her.
“What was that for?” she asked, feeling slightly dazed. It had been a brief but powerful kiss that made her toes curl.
“To make you stop overthinking. Did it work?” he asked, looking hopeful.
“No,” she answered honestly, because now she was flush and thinking about ruining her makeup for a quickie.
“You don’t seem like you’re about to hyperventilate, so I’d call it a success.” Jack looked her over and smiled as if pleased with himself.
She knew he was trying to distract her and calm her down, but it wasn’t working.
Her brain just kept coming up with all sorts of scenarios where everything could go wrong.
“Jack, I can’t pretend to be her. I’m not the sexy suave one.
” Let’s be honest, she wasn’t Holly. One step in these heels, and she would give herself away.
“You’re twins, so whatever she has, you have, and besides, I think you’re very sexy.”
“Yeah, because my boobs are hanging out, and I have a pound of makeup on.” She pointed to herself in the mirror. Any guy would find boobs hanging out sexy. Or at least be more intrigued than with her face to notice the difference.
Jack pulled her back in his arms. Andrea resisted at first then gave in. “I always found you sexy, so it’s not any of that. It’s just you.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
“You’re just saying that to calm me down.” It was slowly working. In his arms, she always melted and forgot about everything else.
Jack suddenly looked serious. “No, it’s because I mean it, and…” He took a deep breath as if he had to prepare himself for what he was about to say next. “I love you.”
Andrea stared at him speechless, her mouth opened partially.
She had not expected him to tell her he loved her, but by the look on his face, he meant what he said, and it wasn’t just a line.
He loved her. How did she feel about him?
She had never loved anyone. Not even her own family members. She hardly knew him.
“Please say something,” he whispered, looking frightened of her answer.
“You can’t,” slipped out, and she wanted to smack herself, but what did he expect just dropping that little bomb on her?
Jack’s face turned to irritation, and he took a step back as if he had to create a physical barrier between them. “Why not?”
“Because I—” She didn’t know why. They didn’t know each other?
That wasn’t true. He knew more about her than anyone, and he had told her a lot about himself.
She trusted him. She enjoyed being with him, and the sex was incredible—but love?
That was a big step. One she didn’t know if she was ready for.
What was she supposed to do with that knowledge now? Tell him the same even though she wasn’t sure she felt the same. Did he expect her to follow him to Vegas? This just opened up a can of more complications she couldn’t handle right now.
Jack seemed to sense the same because he said, “Forget it. Focus on the mission. You just need to pretend to be Holly for a few minutes. The guys and I have all the angles covered. No one is going to be able to hurt you.”
“Okay,” was all she could say. She didn’t know how to fix this, and they didn’t have the time.
“We can talk about stuff later or not.” She hated how sad and deflated he looked, but she had no way of assuring him right now.
Jack didn’t kiss her goodbye, just walked away. She stayed in the bathroom, trying to clear her mind of everything but what she needed to do. Jack had the worst timing to tell her he loved her right before she was about to meet the buyer. How was she supposed to focus on pretending to be Holly now?
Holly’s phone dinged with an incoming message. The buyer was in place. She fired off a text that she was on her way. Showtime!