Page 25 of Just One Look

“Great idea. Thanks!”

“This is why you pay me the big bucks,” her assistant teased. Heaven knew the woman deserved more money than Liz could pay, but some day when she reached her goals the best assistant she ever had would get a well deserved raise.

A few smaller details out of the way and Liz disconnected the call, returning her attention to the swatches and samples she’d picked for the hotel side project. Hotels weren’t her normal clientele, but when the opportunity arose, she couldn’t resist. She didn’t have ambitions to be rich like the Barons, but she did aspire to grow her business into something that could allow her to splurge on travel and a few of the finer things in life without having to sacrifice an arm or leg, or someday her first-born.

Rich like the Barons. Devlin. All week she’d hoped he’d call her for another date. Hoped that there was more to their few evenings together than an auction agreement or a thank you for services rendered. Dinner had been wonderful. They’d stopped at a mom and pop Italian restaurant. Not flashy, but cute, and the food was amazing. She’d probably eaten enough stuffed mushrooms for half the patrons. The conversation had been easy, comfortable, and fluid. When he’d dropped her off at Emily’s door Sunday after dinner, she’d thought for a moment, the way he seemed to lean, that maybe he was going to kiss her. Instead, he’d inched back, thanked her again, and waited until she’d locked the door behind her to turn and leave. She’d discreetly watched him through the crack in the living room curtain and didn’t look away until long after his car had disappeared down the street.

“Any luck?” Emily popped her head in the guest-room door, hesitated a moment, then let herself into the room. “Not going well, huh?”

Since she hadn’t shared with her sister how much she’d enjoyed her time with Devlin, or how every time her phone buzzed, she’d snatched it up thinking it might be him, or how her stomach sank when another name appeared. “Could be worse.”

“Tell little sister all about it.” The teasing reference to the seven-minute difference in their ages was Emily’s fall back to make Liz laugh. Most of the time it worked too.

“Nothing much to tell.”

“Okay. Tell me not much.” Emily smiled and now that she had Liz alone, Liz knew there would be no getting out of telling her sister the truth.

“Besides the challenges of putting together a reliable work crew here in Houston, I suppose I have a few other things on my mind as well.”

“Other things, or a man?”

Liz’s gaze shot up. Why did her sister always have to read her so well?

For most of the week, Emily and her sister had barely crossed paths. Liz had been working day and night on her new Houston ventures and Emily had kept pretty busy herself at work. Still, Emily had known in her gut something was bothering Liz and now she could see there was more to it than finding a crew. Some things never changed and her sister’s expression was shoutingman trouble.

Liz chuckled. “Why do you know me so darn well?”

“What can I say?” Emily shrugged. “Maybe it’s because Mom insisted on dressing us alike for the first ten years of our lives.”

“Oh yeah, that explains it.” Liz laughed loudly.

“So who is it?” Even though Emily was pretty sure she knew. Every time she talked to Devlin this week, he sounded off. Not his normal confident self. The man never hemmed or hawed, and yet, every time they spoke, he seemed to be searching for words. A few times he managed to casually slip in asking about Liz, but Emily was pretty sure there was nothing casual about it. From the look on her sister’s face now, betting that the two of them had taken a fancy to each other would not be gambling.

Her sister blew out a sigh. “I thought Devlin had a nice time the other night.”

Emily didn’t say a word, but she knew it was going to be Devlin on her sister’s mind. “It sounds like you both had a good time.”

Liz nodded. “That’s what I thought, but I guess he was just being nice to your sister.”

While Devlin was a nice guy who would most definitely want to be kind to family and friends, Emily doubted he was merely being altruistic. Debating what to say next, how not to betray what she knew about her dearest friend, but still wanting to make her sister feel better, Emily couldn’t make up her mind. About to reassure her sister that Devlin had clearly been out of sorts all week and Emily’s money was on Liz as the reason, she didn’t get the chance. Liz’s phone rang and the second her glum expression fell away, Emily knew who was calling.Devlin.

For the better part of the week, Devlin had done his best to stay focused on business. No matter how hard he pushed, no matter what business he dived into, Liz kept creeping into his thoughts. Her smile, her sense of humor, and those deep blue eyes that could mesmerize him with the simple blink of her lids.

Though the idea was absurd, somehow he felt like falling for his best friend’s identical twin was akin to being unfaithful to Emily. The feeling made no sense at all since they were not now, nor had they ever been an item. She truly was his best friend. Always bringing balance to his perspective, always protecting him from the cloying gold diggers only interested in the Baron fortune and his access to it, and always making him laugh when life got a little too intense.

The problem, of course, was that he couldn’t shake off the way he felt about Liz, so after picking up his cell multiple times over the course of the day, this time he hit call and waited for Liz to answer.

“Hi,” her voice sounded soft and quiet and a little low.

“Hey.” Swallowing, he pushed to his feet and began pacing as he spoke. “Are you busy?”

“Just working. Nothing that can’t wait.” Her voice sounded stronger.

“Have you ever been horseback riding?”

“You mean sit on a horse as it follows butt to butt with more horses on a trail? Not since my eighth-grade graduation trip to a dude ranch.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I was thinking something a little less regimented. At the ranch. Tomorrow. If you’re free.”

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