Page 24 of Two Is Better Than One

"Yes," I whispered. I made a serious expression. "But seriously, it's necessary that you keep it a secret," I said intensely.

He smiled at me for being intense, and I shook my head.

"Brooks has no idea, and honestly, I don't know if your cousin knows. He probably thinks it was me he was with." I pictured Casey, I thought of him and wondered if he had a crush on me.

AJ grinned and shook his head, wearing a confident grin.

"What?" I asked.

"There's no way Casey's fooled."

"What do you mean? Everyone's fooled. She has glasses and a wig and the makeup is perfect."

"If they spent time together, and he was up close to her, Casey knew who she was."

"I don't think so," I said shaking my head. "My sister would have told me if we had a security breach."

"So, you're saying my cousin has a crush on you, but it's really your sister pretending to be you?"

"Yes. Maybe. It's really weird to think about that, but don't think my sister told him."

"Are you planning on telling her you told me this?" he asked.

AJ was smart, and I smiled at him. I started to say that I was going to tell my sister the truth, but I wasn't sure, so I hesitated.

"I'm, w-we, no. No, I'm not… I'm still stuck on wondering if your cousin knows it was Summer the other day."

"He does. No doubt."

"Did he tell you that?"

"No. Definitely not. I wish I would have known."

"I know. That's why I felt like I had to tell you," I said. "I didn't want you to think I was thinking about your cousin or Garrett. I'm not thinking about either of them."

AJ looked at me when I said that. Our eyes locked and we shared a glance that was deeper than any glance we had ever shared before. I had said I was not thinking of two other guys, and AJ filled in the blank and realized I was thinking of him. I hoped he knew it.

"Do you know something?" I asked.

"What?"

"I read a lot of romance novels."

"I know. You told me that."

"And I, so, I…" I cleared my throat. "I've lived a thousand lives and been in countless situations where boy meets girl and everything, but honestly, AJ, I don't know much about it in real life."

"How? How does that happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"How does someone who looks like you even say that? You could have any man you want."

"Thank you. I know that's a compliment, but it doesn’t apply. In theory, I might be an okay catch, but that doesn't translate into me ever being with anyone."

AJ looked around, glancing into the hotel with an unreadable expression. I watched him. I loved the look of his profile—he had the perfect bite. That was an odd thing for me to think, but I just love the way his mouth was shaped. I studied the lines of his face, and stared at his eyes, and not for a second did I regret telling him about the switch.

"Allie, can we go somewhere else?" he asked.

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