Page 67 of Replacement

He rolls over, and I sigh in relief at my freedom, shaking my arm to restore circulation.

“You all right?” His voice is still thick with sleep.

A quick glance at the clock shows it’s just after five in the morning. The room is dim. “Yeah. My arm’s just asleep.”

He nods and stretches, looking relaxed and almost debauched with his softened features, bare chest, and sprawled position on the wrinkled sheets. “Everything else all right?” he asks after a moment, his eyes scrutinizing my face carefully.

I frown at him, immediately understanding what he’s asking. “Do you think I would change my mind overnight? That I would regret what we did?” I’m quite sure my expression indicates my outrage at his ludicrous question.

His lips twitch slightly. “Just checking.”

Since I feel kind of icky, I get up to go to the bathroom, wash my hands and face, and get some coffee for both me and William.

William is a perpetually early riser, but he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry today. We drink our coffee in contented silence, leaning against the pillows.

“Were you ever close with Amber?” William asks without warning.

His tone matches my quiet, reflective mood, so I answer easily. “I don’t know really. I thought we were growing up. We were best friends. We did everything together. I told her all my secrets. Looking back, I wonder if she was equally open with me. I thought she was back then, but I can think of times when she kept secrets from me even as kids. She never had an… an open personality. She was a great liar, and I used to think it was funny, but she lied a lot to me too. She always wanted more than we had. I think she loved me. And I can’t help but hope that, in her own way, she still does. But I don’t think relationships—even sisters—mean the same thing to her that they do to me.”

He’s listening closely as I talk. He puts his empty coffee cup on the nightstand and reaches over to take my hand in both of his.

“I kept trying to reconnect. For years and years. So when she finally responded and acted like she wanted to reconcile, I thought…” My voice breaks. I swallow over the lump.

“There was always this kind of hardness at the core of her. I assumed there was at least a small amount of softness and vulnerability beneath the shell, but she never showed me even a hint of it. That’s part of why it was so bewildering when suddenly I could sense real softness in her. Inyou. I couldn’t figure out what happened, but I liked it so much—I wanted it so much—I kept trying to convince myself there was an explanation for it.”

“There was an explanation.” I lean over to press a kiss on his jaw. “It wasn’t her anymore.”

“That never even crossed my mind. Maybe it was a major blind spot on my part, but I’d like to think no one would jump to the conclusion that a stranger had taken someone else’s place. It’s just not a natural assumption.”

I can’t help but giggle at that. “No. It’s definitely not. It wasn’t a failure of intelligence or insight on your part. There was no way you could have guessed it—not without knowing Amber had a twin.”

We sit in silence for a few minutes until I finish my coffee and set the cup down too. Then I snuggle against him, and he wraps an arm around me. “Part of me—a tiny, naive part of me, still hopes that maybe Amber will change. That she’ll want to be close to me again.”

“I can understand that. I don’t think it will happen, but I can understand the hope.” He’s mild, soothing.

“I don’t think it will happen either. What are we going to do about her?”

“What do you want to do?”

I sigh. “I don’t know. She doesn’t know that you know the truth. I assume she’s eventually going to make an appearance and demand we switch back so she can marry you and get the money in the contract.”

“I’m willing to still give her money if that’s what you want.” He feels slightly tense. It’s clear he doesn’t like the idea but will do it for me.

I’m touched. I turn my head to kiss his chest. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s already stolen money from you. You said she gained access to that account. She shouldn’t get any more of your money unless you freely decide you want to give it to her. I don’t want you to do it just for me.” I pause and admit the truth. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think she deserves any more.”

He chuckles. “Okay then. We agree. I haven’t cut off that account because I was going to use the money trail to track her and figure out what she was up to. But if you want, I can cut it off and we can be done with her.”

“And what will we do when she shows back up? What about the contract?”

“The contract allows either of us to pull out before marriage. The only payouts are after the wedding. I’ll pull out and square it with my lawyers. Cut off that account she’s been draining. Then it won’t matter if she shows back up. What can she do?”

“Not much. I guess she could expose the situation to the world.”

“She signed nondisclosure agreements. About our arrangement. We both did. If she talks, she risks getting sued.”

“Well, that will help, but it might not stop her.”

“Maybe not.”

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