Page 15 of Passions & Peonies

Her friend walks along the border of the slip, searching for the other one. “Sorry, I don’t see it either.”

A pink flip-flop floats nearby. “Here it is!” I hold it up in the air.

“Throw it up here,” Josh says. I toss it to him like a frisbee.

“How do I get out of the water?” Lacey grouses. “Is there a ladder somewhere?” She spins around in search of one.

“Yes. Follow me.”

We swim over to it, then I stop. “Ladies first.”

She mimics me while she climbs up with no problem. Of course, I had a nice show of her ass on the way up. I won’t complain. Her friend meets us by the ladder and hands us towels that Josh fetched for us. She drops Lacey’s flip-flops on the ground for her to put on. Lacey dries her face, then wrings out her long hair.

I walk away to give them some space. Josh picks up my stuff and brings it over to me. My wet shorts feel like they weigh a hundred pounds, and my shirt clings to me like plastic wrap. I peel it off and drop it on the ground with a splat. I quickly dry off and toss the towel onto my shirt. I always have spare clothes in the office.

“That was one hell of an introduction. I can’t believe you know her.” Josh mumbles. “It should’ve registered that she might have been talking about you. It didn’t dawn on me because we just got back yesterday.”

“I sat next to her on the plane. I’ll tell you about it later. Damn, she’s pissed off.”

“Did you know she was staying at this resort?”

“No! Now shut up.”

They come toward us, but they’re busy talking. Lacey looks at me, and suddenly her body language completely changes. Her eyes flash and drift slowly down my chest to my abs and back up again. She rubs her neck, then drops her hand to her chest. I like what I see, and so does she. Her wet hair falls over one shoulder. Her black bikini top clings to her breasts, scrambling my mind. Her cut-off jeans cling to her slick, toned legs. I’ve never seen a sexier woman. And I’ve seen my fair share.

“Th—thanks for the towel,” she says nervously. I take it from her and drop it on mine.

“Lacey, this is my twin brother, Josh. He’s the one you ran into yesterday.”

Her friend smiles and gives a slight wave. “Just in case you’re wondering, I’m Skylar. But people call me Sky. As I told Lacey yesterday, there’s a twin out there for everyone, but who knew?” She shakes our hands.

“This is amazing,” Lacey says. She’s looking me and Josh up and down. “At a quick glance, there’s no telling you two apart. I thought your voice sounded different yesterday, but…” She puts a hand on her hip and steps sideways, toward me. “There are two things I noticed about you on the plane. Let me see if you’re really who you claim to be. If you are Will, you have a tiny birthmark behind your left ear and gold specks in your right eye.”

I bend my neck to the right and try not to smile. She stands on tiptoe and traces the birthmark lightly, then trails her soft finger down my neck. I wonder what her lips would feel like instead of her fingers.

She goes over to Josh but doesn’t touch him. She knows he’s not me. This is all a game.

“Nothing on you. Now the eyes.” She checks Josh first. “Nope.”

“See. I said I didn’t know you,” he remarks. Skylar shakes her head.

“Josh!” I warn.

“What?” He backs away with his hands up.

Lacey stands in front of me again. I gaze into her eyes. Their color is even more stunning in the sun. Just like I imagined.

“Your eyes look beautiful in the sunlight. I could never forget you.”

Her mouth quirks at the corners and then my phone rings. I growl. Timing fucking sucks. This better be important. I pat down my shorts, in search of my new phone that is thankfully waterproof. I pull it out and shake the water off it. Sawyer’s name flashes across the screen. My shoulders droop and my mood changes. I shift my eyes to Josh. “It’s Sawyer. I have to take this.

“Excuse me for a second,” I say to Lacey.

“Hey, Sawyer.” He mumblesDeband something else. I hope he isn’t drunk this early in the morning. “Give me a second.

“Lacey, Skylar, I’m sorry. I have to take this call. Can you stay around for a little while? This shouldn’t take too long.” I only focus on Lacey to see her reaction.

“No… we can’t. We have plans,” Lacey says robotically. Skylar’s forehead wrinkles. Her mouth opens like she wants to say something, but she doesn’t.

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