Page 30 of Just One Look

Liz shook her head.

“Lose a few pounds? Not that you needed it.”

Again she shook her head and a smile teased one side of her mouth.

“Well, it can’t be the jeans.”

Both Devlin and Liz broke out in full, rolling laughter as Devlin smacked his cousin on the back. “Sorry, Porter. Meet Liz Carter. Emily’s twin sister.”

Porter’s eyes rounded wide before a smile took over his face. “Sorry about that. Nice to meet you.” Glaring at his cousin, he leaned in and softly muttered, “You could have warned me the sister was a twin.”

Biting back a laugh, Liz’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Now where’s the fun in that?”

“Okay.” Hazel waved her arms at the Baron grandchildren. “I have work to do. Y’all can debate genetics and family later. For now, everyone out of my kitchen.”

“I need more ice.” Porter held up the bucket.

“Fine.” Hazel nodded, taking the bucket from his hands and lifting her chin towards the door. “You’ll get your ice. Now shoo.”

They’d made it into the foyer when Grams came down the stairs, one of the dogs at her side. At the sight of Liz, Devlin’s grandmother sprouted a broad smile. “What a pleasant surprise. Devlin didn’t tell us you’d be joining us. It’s always such a pleasure to have you.”

“Oh, yes. Well.” Liz turned to Devlin and Porter at the same time the doorbell rang.

Porter stepped away from the group and opened the door.

“Sorry, I’m a little late. Somehow I managed to get everything taken care of.” Emily smiled at all the faces staring at her.

Her head turning from Liz to Emily, Lila Baron grabbed the newel post at the bottom of the stair. “I may need to call Dr. Rayburn.”

Devlin took a step closer and kissed his grandmother on the cheek. “Sorry, Grams. Liz and Emily are twins.”

“Twins?” Grams glanced at one, then the other, and slowly bobbed her head. Another moment and her smile returned. “Well, how much more wonderful is it for us. Come along, everyone. I want to see the Governor’s face when he meets you both.”

Over the next few moments, Devlin would have sacrificed his soul to have had his phone out and the video recording. The chatter in the living room slowly came to a halt as one by one, a family member looked up and spotted not one, but two Emilys. When his grandfather raised his head and spewed his coffee clear across several feet, like a credit card commercial, the moment was priceless. Actually, lately a lot of things around here were priceless.

Liz had no idea if she should laugh with everyone, or turn on her heel and high tail it back to Dallas. The whole day had been insanely surreal. Yes, she knew the Barons had money. Any idiot would know that. But it hadn’t dawned on her until today that the Barons had money with a capital M. They probably ran in the same circles as the other billionaires on theForbeslist. Heck, for all she knew, they were on the dumb thing!

And yet, if she didn’t look at her surroundings, most of the time, Devlin seemed like an ordinary nice guy. Yes, a nice guy with connections, but mostly just… nice.

“It will be a pleasure having both of you join us for dinner.” Mrs. Baron nodded and waved toward the dining room. “I have it on good authority that supper will be served shortly.”

At the table, Devlin’s grandmother seated Emily and Liz on either side of Devlin. The way the older woman kept eyeing Emily and smiling, Liz almost felt as if the lady knew something no one else in the room did.

The sound of chairs scraping across the hardwood floors filled the room. One by one, family members settled in. Liz glanced down at the table setting in front of her and was once again reminded about the capital M in money. If her first instinct was right, she’d bet a year’s salary that the silverware before her was sterling. Not that it should matter, right? After all, a fork is a fork.

Not till Jeeves moved around the table pouring water from a silver pitcher did she realize the purpose of the large goblet to her right. As for the other two, she suspected at least one was for wine. But what the heck was the other for?

As the conversation grew around the table, her confusion over the goblets was solved. Apparently, the larger of the two remaining glasses was for red wine and the smaller for white. It had never dawned on her how much she didn’t know about how the upper crust lived. And yet, once the conversation got rolling, a plethora of forks and goblets wasn’t really a big deal, was it?

“I heard that Steer’s Den is having trouble re-opening?” Mitch passed the bread basket to his right.

Devlin practically growled. “Fire department found evidence of arson. Now the insurance company is refusing to pay out until the cause of the fire can be confirmed—”

Bushy brows buckled together, the Governor nearly growled, cutting Devlin off. “And Stuart proven innocent.”

On a sigh, Devlin nodded. “I’m afraid so. Stuart is currently their suspect of choice simply because the place was well insured.”

“Of course it was well insured.” Mitch’s wife flipped the palm of her free hand upward. “It’s one of the best, if notthe best, steak house in Houston. Business is always booming. Burning it down makes no sense.”

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