Page 4 of Just One Look

She took a few steps into the room, her gaze scanning the crowd. For a moment her eyes seemed to land on him, and his heart stuttered, making him feel like he needed to gasp for breath. Before he could wave her over, her gaze bounced to the other side of the dance floor. She straightened her shoulders, and even from this distance, he could see the hint of cleavage rise and fall as she breathed, and his heart shifted into high gear, pounding blood through his veins.

Dropping his gaze to the glass in his hand, he stared at the caramel colored liquid, sniffed at the contents and pressing his lips into a thin line, shook his head and lifted the glass toward the bartender. “What did you put in this?”

“Bourbon on the rocks. What you ordered.”

Resisting the urge to take his own pulse, he nodded at the man and took a sip. Definitely bourbon. So why did Emily look so very different tonight?

Why is it that a new dress, a great hairdo, and a room filled with men in tuxedos always made the air sizzle with excitement? Liz could feel the energy to her core. This was definitely going to be a fun night. She’d promised her sister she would keep an eye on Devlin. The problem was that she’d only seen him in photos and suddenly, picking him out of the crowd wasn’t as easy as she’d expected it to be.

For a second, she thought it might be him by the bar, but then she’d spotted another man on the dance floor who looked like the photos she’d seen. By the time she’d decided that was the wrong Baron, if he was a Baron at all, the first guy she’d pinpointed had turned his back to her. Only one way to find out. Careful not to trip over her own two feet, or her new shoes, she marched across the room toward the man nursing his drink at the counter.

The sandy-haired gentleman turned and their eyes locked.Yep. That was definitely the Devlin Baron that her sister had been hanging around with for more years than she could count. “Hi, handsome.”

Devlin swallowed hard and proceeded to almost double over coughing.

“Sorry.” Liz smacked his back. “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No,” he shook his head vehemently, “just went down the wrong pipe.”

Still patting his back more gently now, she nodded. “Better?”

Clearing his throat, he straightened and nodded his head.

“Lose your tie already?” She tried not to grin too widely.

“In my pocket.” A moment later the tie dangled from his extended fingers.

“Let me.” She moved in closer and would swear she watched him swallow his tongue. Again, she resisted the urge to chuckle. Considering how crappy her love life had been of late, it was nice to know she still could get some reaction from a man, even if it was choking to death. She turned and twisted the black silk fabric, and straightening the final product, tapped his chest and took a step back. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Any time.”

He stared and swallowed and Liz suspected if he was always this awkward, no wonder he needed Emily for a plus-one all the time. “Buy a girl a drink?”

“Sorry, yes, of course.” He spun around and ordered a chocolate martini.

“Make that lemon drop instead, please.” She smiled at the bartender and then shifted her attention to Devlin.

“I thought you hated lemon drop martinis? Too much like sucking on a lemon.”

“That would be me.” Emily sidled up beside Liz, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for covering.”

By the time the two sisters had turned to face Devlin again, the man was staring slack jawed at both women, his gaze bouncing from his drink back to them before he spun on his heel and faced the bartender. “Are you sure there’s only bourbon in this?”

Liz and her sister faced each other, mirror images of confusion visible when at the same moment they cracked up laughing.

For a quick second Devlin blinked then frowned. “What the heck is going on here?”

Linking elbows with her sister, Emily grinned at her longtime friend. “I told you my sister was joining us tonight.”

“Sister?”

Emily nodded. “You know that genetic thing when you share parents with another human being?”

“I know what ‘sister’ means.” Shaking his head, Devlin sighed. “You’re twins.”

Liz and Emily bobbed their heads in unison.

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