Page 3 of The Ruse

But from the front… From the front, he was basically the kind of guy who every girl from the ages of twelve to sixty would leave their boyfriend or husbands for if he asked.

I swallowed as I took him in, momentarily wondering if he was even real because I had never seen anyone so physically attractive in my entire life.

Which was saying something, since Eden Falls seemed to be a breeding ground for the world’s most beautiful people.

This guy had a jawline that could cut glass; his light tan skin was smooth and almost glowed. His eyebrows were dark, bold, and defined.

Everything about him was gorgeous.

But it was his large, hooded eyes that made me lose all coherent thoughts when they locked with mine. Because while his eyes were dark brown—a completely normal color for eyes—there was something in them that instantly drew me in. There was almost a dangerous quality to them.

Something that made me think he had secrets.

But that was a strange thought to have about a complete stranger, wasn’t it? To assume someone had secrets from one look in their hypnotizing eyes.

Stop staring at him, Elyse,I told myself.

I pressed my eyes closed for a moment. Forcing my brain to remember that it knew how to say words, I said, “S-sorry if it looked like I was spying on you. I wasn’t. I just heard the music and I had to see who was playing…” I shrugged. “You’re really good.”

“Oh, that?” He glanced behind him at the music room, and then back at me. “I was just playing around.”

“That was ‘playing around?’”

If that was the case, what did it sound like when he was being serious?

“Yeah.” He narrowed his eyes like he was uncomfortable. “Just testing out the Hastings’ piano while I wait for dinner. Is there something wrong with that?”

“N-no. I’m sure it’s fine,” I hurried to say, even though I really didn’t know if the Hastings had rules on who could and couldn’t touch their piano. “I-I’m Elyse, by the way.”

I held my hand out for him to shake, but he just stared at it like he was confused about what to do with it. He lifted his gaze to meet my eyes, and with a frown on his perfectly shaped lips, he said, “I thought you said your name was Ava. Now you’re Elyse?”

Ohhhh. Okay. So that was why he looked confused. He thought I was my twin.

Ava had come over early to hang out with her boyfriend Carter, while my mom and I had opted for a slower morning in my mom’s hotel suite. This guy must have met Ava already. And since we looked identical—even our own mother sometimes got confused about who was who when we dressed and did our hair alike—I could see how it could be confusing.

Especially if he didn’t know Ava had a twin.

“Ava is my sister. I’m her twin, Elyse Cohen.”

“Oh.” The guy whose name I still didn’t know nodded his head slowly. “That makes sense, I guess. I thought it was weird that you changed outfits.” His gaze slowly ran up and down my body, taking in my clothes.

And not for the first time, I wished that I’d taken more after my fashion-savvy mother. Instead of wearing an amazing dress like Ava had worn when she’d left with Carter this morning, I’d gone for the comfortable route with a simple sage-green T-shirt and plain jeans.

But I couldn’t magically snap my fingers and have a better outfit appear, so I shrugged and said, “Nah, I like to keep things simple.”

He seemed to study me for a moment, as if trying to compare me with whatever opinion he’d formed of my sister earlier. Then he said, “So, if you’re not the girl I met earlier, I’m guessing this means Carter and Nash didn’t send you to spy on me and report back.” He arched a dark eyebrow.

“No?” I frowned, remembering his initial greeting when he’d assumed I was spying on the enemy. “W-why would you think that?”

He rolled his broad shoulders back and sighed. “Ah, it’s nothing.”

But it didn’t seem like nothing.

Who was this guy, and why did he think Carter and Nash would have it out for him when he was at their house for Thanksgiving?

Didn’t people usually spend the holidays with people they liked?

But then again, he was downstairs all by himself while the rest of the people our age were upstairs.

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