Twin Temptation
Cara Summers

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CARA SUMMERS has written more than thirty books. She has won several awards, including an Award of Excellence, two Golden Quills and two Golden Leaf Awards. Last year she was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Series Storyteller of the Year from Romantic Times BOOKreviews. She loves writing for the Blaze® line because it allows her to write so many different kinds of stories – from Gothic romances and mystery adventures to romantic comedies. When Cara isn’t creating new stories, she teaches in the writing programme at Syracuse University.

Table of Contents

Cover

Title Page

About the Author

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Copyright

To my daughter-in-law Mary Plante Hanlon – who just happens to be a twin!

You’re also an amazing mother and a good friend. I love you!

Prologue

IT WAS a mansion right out of the books she’d read as a child—Jane Eyre, Rebecca, Wuthering Heights.

Those were Maddie’s first fanciful thoughts when she stepped out of the limousine and got a good look at the massive stone structure. Gray and solitary, Ware House soared up three stories and boasted three turrets and a roof edged in carved stone. A man could have tucked away a crazy wife in any of those turrets, she thought a bit giddily. And the fact that the sky was lead colored and cast the front of the house in shadows only added to the illusion.

But this wasn’t some English gentleman’s mysterious country home. It was the Long Island residence of the Ware family. And she was about to meet them for the first time.

A tall man who reminded her a bit of Michael Caine answered the door. He had to be a butler. His posture was ramrod-straight and his face totally expressionless. But Maddie thought she saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes before he stepped aside and said, “Come in, Ms. Farrell. Let me take your bag.” Just as if she were a regular visitor.

Still hesitating on the threshold, Maddie firmly reined in her imagination. It had rocketed into overdrive from the moment she’d received the phone call from that attorney, Edward Fitzwalter III. Gripping the strap of her purse more tightly, she stepped into the dark-paneled foyer. Since she wasn’t at all sure of her welcome, she’d asked the limo driver to wait for her. She had an escape plan in place.

“This way.” The man turned and started down a wide hallway. “The family has already gathered in the library.”

Family.

The knot of anxiety in Maddie’s stomach tightened. She was about to meet a family she hadn’t known existed until two days ago. Up until that time, she’d believed that she was the only daughter of Mike Farrell, a successful cattleman whose ranch was located about an hour north of Santa Fe. Mike had been an only child, the last of a line of ranchers, and Maddie was supposed to carry on his legacy. All her life she’d believed her mother had died when she was a baby. That was the story her father had told her…and since he’d passed away a year ago, there was no way she could ask him why he’d lied.

And according to the gruff-voiced attorney who’d called her two days ago, her father had indeed lied to her. And it had been a whopper. All these years, she’d had a mother she’d never met—a mother who’d been raised in this house and who just happened to be renowned Madison Avenue jewelry designer Eva Ware.

Oh, Maddie was very well-acquainted with the professional persona of Eva Ware. She’d studied the woman’s designs ever since she was in junior high and had first dreamed of creating her own line of Southwestern-style jewelry. Her father had known of her admiration for Eva Ware Designs, but he’d never once mentioned that the woman she’d so admired was her mother.

She was still struggling with the idea when the lawyer had told her that five days ago Eva Ware had been struck down by a hit-and-run driver.

No.

The news, shocking and unexpected, had set her head spinning. Sitting down hard on a nearby chair, she’d tried to gather her scattered thoughts as the voice on the other end of the phone droned on. Maddie had caught bits and pieces—her mother’s request…fly to New York…reading of the will…claim her inheritance.

Inheritance? She’d still been grappling with that word when the attorney had sprung another one on her. A real kicker. Sister. In addition to having a mother she’d never been aware of, she also had an uncle, a cousin and a sister—an identical twin, Jordan Ware.

For a few moments, the attorney’s voice had become nothing more than a buzz in her ear. She had a sister? A twin sister she’d been separated from since birth?

No. That was straight out of the plot a Disney movie—two of them, in fact. The Parent Trap had been one of her favorite films when she’d been a child. A memory flooded her mind of watching the older Hayley Mills/Maureen O’Hara version of the film with her father when she’d been nine or ten. And he’d never breathed a word.

No. She couldn’t accept that. Her father couldn’t have lied to her all these years. Gripping the phone as if it were a lifeline, Maddie had stood up and interrupted the man on the other end of the line. “You’re lying. If this is some kind of hoax, or some kind of scam you’re running, it won’t work.”

In a calm voice, as if he’d fully expected that reaction, he’d told her to call information and get the number of the Fitzwalter and Carnegie law firm in New York City and then to call it and ask for Edward Fitzwalter the Third. Pacing back and forth in the living room of the ranch house, she’d debated following his instructions for a full fifteen minutes.

She couldn’t, she wouldn’t believe that her father had lied to her. The man who’d called her had to be some kind of a con artist. Pausing at the window that filled one wall of the living room, she’d stared out at the land that had been in the Farrell family for five generations.

And then she’d thought of Daniel Pearson, the local real estate agent who’d been pressuring her to put the ranch on the market for the past six months. It was pretty common knowledge that ever since her father had died, she’d been struggling to run the ranch and still grow her jewelry design business. Could Mr. Fitzwalter’s call be connected to that? But how? If she had in truth inherited something from her mother, it would only help her hold on to the ranch and carry on her father’s legacy.

In the end, Maddie had succumbed to curiosity and a gut feeling that the man who’d called her was indeed Edward Fitzwalter the Third. And he had been. More than that, he’d been patient and kind enough to repeat all the information he’d given her before. He’d even told her that he’d booked an airline ticket for her on the following day. All she had to do was go to the airport and pick it up. A limousine would be waiting for her at JFK airport and it would take her to the Ware family’s estate on Long Island for the official reading of the will.

Maddie dragged her thoughts back to the present when the butler man stopped in front of a double set of paneled doors. Nerves jittered in her stomach as he turned the handles and pushed them open.

Still on the threshold, Maddie let her gaze sweep the room. It was cavernous. Three of the four walls were packed with books. The scent of leather-bound volumes mixed with the aromas of lemon wax and lilies from the vases scattered throughout the room. Four narrow stained-glass windows took up the wall directly across from her and let in a gloomy light.

And she was stalling. Screwing up her courage, she stepped into the room and one by one met the gazes of the five people who’d turned to stare at her. She began with the mustached and balding man who was sitting at the desk. She guessed him to be Edward Fitzwalter the Third. Then Maddie looked to the three people seated to the left of the desk.

Fitzwalter had given her a thumbnail sketch of each member of the Ware family. The handsome gray-haired man in the red leather chair must be Carleton Ware, Eva’s brother. Carleton wasn’t involved in Eva Ware Designs. He ran the Ware Bank, which had been established by his great-great-grandfather and whose branches were scattered all over Long Island. Carleton, his wife and son resided year round at Ware house. Eva, though she’d inherited half of the house, had lived in New York City. Carleton’s hazel eyes were cool and assessing as they met hers. The younger man seated to his right had to be her cousin Adam. He had wavy, chestnut-colored hair that he wore long and tucked behind his ears. His brown eyes held hostility.

According to Mr. Fitzwalter, Adam was very involved in Eva Ware Designs. He’d gone to work there right after college and he’d been trained by Eva from the time he was in high school. Fitzwalter had described Adam’s mother Dorothy, the woman seated to Carleton’s left, as a society matron with a very active social life both on Long Island and in Manhattan. She served on several charitable boards and spearheaded fundraisers for institutions like the Museum of Modern Art. She was a tall slender woman with a model’s figure. Her gaze was several degrees cooler than her husband’s, and superiority radiated off her in waves. Dorothy Ware’s perfectly coiffed brown hair and impeccably tailored black suit had Maddie feeling underdressed.

Growing up on a ranch had never allowed her much time to spend on fashion, and her khaki slacks, embroidered denim jacket and leather ankle boots were perfectly acceptable business attire in Santa Fe. She shifted her attention to the small Chinese man sitting farthest away from the attorney. He had to be Eva’s longtime assistant, Cho Li. He wore his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and it had begun to thin on top. According to Fitzwalter, Cho Li had been with Eva even before she’d opened her Madison Avenue store. When he nodded his head and smiled at her, she finally found the courage to turn to the one familiar face in the room—Jordan Ware’s.

On the long flight from Santa Fe, she’d imagined this moment so many ways. But she hadn’t anticipated the swift punch of recognition in her belly or the instant sense of connection. For a second she couldn’t quite catch her breath. It wasn’t like looking in a mirror—not exactly. In the dove-gray suit and turquoise blouse, Jordan looked as though she’d stepped right out of a fashion magazine, making Maddie feel even more the country bumpkin.

But the woman who rose from her chair and faced her now had the same blue-violet eyes and the same facial features. And though Jordan Ware wore her hair in a chic style that framed her face in a sleek curve and Maddie wore hers in a long braid down her back, the color was the same honey gold.

Everything that Fitzwalter had told her on the phone was true. For the first time, Maddie felt the reality of that sink in. She really did have a twin. A sister.

Maddie had no idea how long they stood there in that freeze-framed moment taking each other in, nor how many times Fitzwalter cleared his throat before the sound penetrated.

It was Jordan who moved first, rushing forward and taking Maddie’s hands. Looking into her sister’s eyes, Maddie saw her own feelings mirrored—curiosity, excitement and fear. Would they have anything in common? Would they even like each other?

“Welcome,” Jordan whispered.

For the first time since she’d entered the mansion, some of Maddie’s tension eased.

Then Jordan turned to the others in the room. “Uncle Carleton, Aunt Dorothy, Adam, Cho Li, this is my sister, Madison Farrell.”

For a moment there was silence in the room.

Cho Li was the first to speak. Stepping forward, he bowed. “It is my pleasure to meet Eva’s other daughter.”

Maddie found herself bowing back.

Then Carleton rose from his chair. “You’ll have to forgive us, Madison. The shock of my sister’s death coupled with the news that she had a second daughter tucked away all these years in Santa Fe…well, we’re still trying to absorb everything. Until you walked into the room right now, I’m not sure that any of us really believed what Edward had told us. Dorothy, Adam and I want to welcome you to Ware House.”

Adam and Dorothy, their eyes cool, remained silent.

Grateful that she didn’t have to walk into the room alone, Maddie let her sister lead her to a chair.

As they sat, Jordan sent her a smile and a conspiratorial wink. “Once the will stuff is over, we’ll talk.”

Chapter One

JORDAN WAS still holding Maddie’s hand when Fitzwalter opened the file in front of him and lifted the papers. Out of the corner of her eye, Maddie studied her sister. Jordan’s lips were pressed tightly together and her eyes were totally focused on the attorney.

She was nervous, Maddie realized. And it went beyond the fact that they’d just met. Since her chair was located at the right of the desk and angled in a way that gave her a view of the other occupants of the room, she took a moment to study the other Wares.

With his arm draped casually over the back of his wife’s chair, Carleton appeared to be perfectly at ease. But there was a stiffness in his shoulders and his mouth that belied that. At first glance Dorothy appeared to be bored, but her hands were clasped so tightly in her lap that the knuckles had turned white. Adam sat poker-straight, his hands gripping the arms of the chair.

If there was one thing her father had taught her it was the importance of reading facial expressions and body language. According to Mike Farrell, it was an essential skill in all kinds of activities—from playing poker to bargaining for a price on his cattle. Two things were clear to Maddie. The other Wares’ nerves were stretched as tightly as Jordan’s were. And the family didn’t seem to be very close-knit.

Why not? Had any of them provided support for Jordan as she’d dealt with the terrible news of her mother’s death? Something tightened around her heart as Maddie recalled the numbness and the piercing pain she’d felt when her father had passed on a year ago. That had been sudden too. She still felt guilty about the fact that she’d been at a jewelry show in Albuquerque, and Mike had suffered a heart attack while he’d been out checking some fences. Alone. Cash Landry, her neighbor and lifelong friend, had found the body the next morning.

Since she’d never met Eva Ware, Maddie couldn’t know exactly what Jordan was going through. Was there someone her sister could turn to as Maddie had been able to turn to Cash? As Edward Fitzwalter donned a pair of reading glasses, she linked her fingers with Jordan’s.

Gripping the papers in two hands, Fitzwalter peered over his glasses, first at the Wares and then at Jordan and Maddie. “My plan is to make this brief. If any of you want a complete draft of the document including all the whereases, wherefores and so on, I’ll be happy to make a copy. But if no one objects, I’ll get right to the bequests.”

Silence reigned in the room. When the attorney shifted his gaze back to the paper he was holding, Jordan’s fingers tightened on Maddie’s. She was worried about the contents of the will. Maddie’s heart sank. Of course she would be. So would everyone in the room. The only reason that Eva Ware would have requested her presence today was because she’d left something to the daughter she’d deserted. And that something would be taken out of someone else’s inheritance.

“To my personal design assistant Cho Li, I leave the sum of five hundred thousand dollars so that if he chooses, he can retire. But my hope is that he’ll remain in his position until the new owners of Eva Ware Designs get up to speed.”

Dorothy Ware whispered something to Adam and he jerked forward in his chair. “New owners? Who are the new owners?”

Fitzwalter glanced up. “I’ll get to that part sooner without interruptions.”

Adam opened his mouth and then shut it.

“To my brother Carleton, I leave all of my shares in the Ware Bank. I hope that he’ll finally make the fortune he’s always believed I’ve prevented him from getting.”

Maddie noted that the news didn’t seem to make Carleton very happy.

Fitzwalter cleared his throat. “The rest of my estate, including stocks, bonds, cash, Eva Ware Designs, my fifty-percent share of Ware House on Long Island and my New York City apartment, I leave to my two daughters, Jordan and Madison, to be shared equally. It is my sincere hope that they will run Eva Ware Designs together. However, there is one requirement. They must change places and walk around in each other’s lives for three consecutive and uninterrupted weeks beginning within seventy-two hours from the time this will is read. If they refuse to fulfill the terms as I’ve set them out or if they don’t stay the course for three weeks, my fifty percent of Ware House will go to my brother Carleton. Everything else, including the business and my apartment, will be sold and the profits divided equally among all my surviving relatives.”

Jordan’s mouth dropped open, and this time Maddie thought she knew exactly what her sister was feeling.

Dorothy touched Adam’s arm and he leapt out of his chair to plant both of his hands on the desk inches from the papers that Fitzwalter had just set down. Anger radiated off of him in waves, causing Maddie to sit forward in her chair.

“That can’t be right. I’ll be the chief designer now that Aunt Eva is gone. She should have put me in charge. She always led me to believe that one day I would step into her shoes.”

“He’s right.” Dorothy Ware spoke for the first time. Unlike her son’s, her voice held no trace of emotion.

Unperturbed, the attorney met first Dorothy’s and then Adam’s eyes. “I assure you that Ms. Ware’s will is in perfect order.”

“No,” Adam argued. “She had to have changed her mind since she wrote this. She was…busy. She just didn’t have the time to see you about it.”

Fitzwalter slipped the papers back in the file. “She came to my office two weeks ago and reviewed every detail.”

Adam’s face had colored to a deep red, and for a moment, Maddie was afraid that he was going to shove the oak desk over on the attorney when Carleton’s voice intervened. “Adam.”

The younger man drew a deep breath and backed away from the desk. As soon as he was a safe distance away, Maddie turned to Jordan and spoke softly. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t she leave the business to you—and why would she want us to change places after she’s kept us apart all these years?”

“I’ve got a theory about that.” Jordan glanced over at the other Wares who’d gone into a small huddle.

Maddie looked too. Dorothy was speaking, but her voice didn’t carry, and from the expression on Adam’s face, he didn’t like what he was hearing.

“Let’s blow this scene,” Jordan whispered. “I’ve got a reservation at an inn in Linchworth. I wanted you to myself and I thought staying over would be better than battling rush-hour traffic back into the city.”

They’d made it nearly to the front door when Adam caught up with them. He grabbed Jordan by the arm and jerked her around to face him. “You can’t get away with this.”

The fury in his voice sent Maddie into action. Enough was enough. She gripped the arm holding Jordan. “Let my sister go.”

“What?” Adam sent her a startled look.

Maddie placed both hands on his chest and gave him one hard shove into the wall. “Just because you’re frustrated by the terms of your aunt’s will doesn’t mean you can manhandle my sister. Got that?”

Adam stared at her. “You shoved me.”

“I did.”

“Adam.” The cool tones of Dorothy Ware’s voice carried the length of the hallway.

“This isn’t the end of this,” Adam said as he pushed himself away from the wall and strode back to his mother.

Jordan waited until they’d collected their bags from the butler and run down the steps to the waiting limo. Then she whirled to face Maddie. “I’ve wanted to give Adam a good shove for years.” She pulled Maddie into a hard hug. “I guess I’ve been waiting for my superhero sister to do it for me.”

JORDAN LED the way into the suite she’d rented in the Linchworth Inn. She hadn’t said a word to Maddie during the five-minute ride in the limousine. In spite of the distracting and somewhat amusing altercation with Adam, Jordan knew her head was still spinning with the contents of her mother’s will. Maddie’s must have been too. She’d tried to think, to plan her strategy. But in business, the key to any successful strategy always depended on knowing your audience.

And she didn’t know her sister very well at all. Oh, she’d done as much research as she could—first cross-examining Mr. Fitzwalter and then checking out Maddie’s Web site. In Jordan’s opinion, the Web site needed a makeover, but the jewelry didn’t. Her sister had talent. Most of Maddie’s work was focused on Southwestern belt buckles, tie clips and pins. The designs were dramatic, the workmanship exquisite, using a lot of turquoise and intricately inlaid patterns. There’d also been a few examples of finer pieces—earrings and bracelets. Perhaps she could use her sister’s interest in jewelry design as a bargaining chip.

But she needed to know more. And she didn’t have a lot of time. The seventy-two-hour clock was ticking.

Leaning down, she opened the door of a small refrigerator and then glanced back at Maddie standing just inside the room, taking it in.

Jordan let her own gaze sweep the area. It was a small suite with two bedrooms. The sitting room had dormer windows with lace curtains and was furnished in antiques. Two chintz-covered love seats faced each other across a small coffee table with a marble top.

“I can offer you some wine. Mom and I always liked white. But I can order up a bottle of red or something else if you’d prefer.”

“White’s fine,” Maddie said.

Silence stretched as Jordan uncorked a bottle of chardonnay and filled two glasses. Stalling. That’s what she was doing. What in the world was the matter with her? She was hardly ever at a loss for words.

“This is a lovely room,” Maddie said.

Jordan glanced around again and felt her throat tighten a little. “Mom liked it. We used to stay here whenever we had to visit Uncle Carleton and company.” She would never stay here again with her mother. But she couldn’t let herself think about that right now. Not yet.

“You didn’t stay at Ware House?”

Jordan handed her a glass and waved her over to one of the love seats. “The atmosphere there has always been a bit frigid. And things have gotten worse since I got my MBA and started working at Eva Ware Designs. But it goes back further than that. I don’t think that Uncle Carleton and Mom ever saw eye to eye even when they were kids. The friction escalated when my grandfather died. Uncle Carleton is one of those old-fashioned men who believes that the oldest son should inherit everything outright. Thank heavens, my grandfather didn’t agree. When he died, he divided everything up between Mom and Uncle Carleton—even Ware House. She took her half of the stocks, bonds and cash and invested everything in her design business. She was able to move into the Madison Avenue store.”

“Smart decision,” Maddie said.

“I agree, but the other Wares didn’t.”

Maddie grinned suddenly.

“What?”

“What you called them—the other Wares. I’d already started thinking of them that way.”

Smart, Jordan thought. Her twin was perceptive. That could work in her favor. Tucking her feet underneath her, she leaned back. “As a sort of peace offering, Mom agreed to let Uncle Carleton, Aunt Dorothy and Adam live in Ware House. She got to use the place for business parties, and she agreed to attend any social gatherings that had to do with Ware Bank.”

Maddie sipped her wine. “You said the friction’s gotten worse since you went to work for Eva Ware Designs.”

“Because before that, Adam thought he had a clear shot at taking over the business one day. He’d been there for three years before I joined the company. He’s a brilliant designer. Mom was very aware of that. His parents were disappointed with him because he didn’t go into banking, so I think he feels he has to succeed. Aunt Dorothy certainly does. Plus, he has a temper.”

“I noticed. He may be a fine designer, but he doesn’t have your background in business.”

Jordan studied her for a moment. “How do you know that?”

“I looked you up on the Internet. A bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School, an MBA from Harvard. Very impressive.”

Slowly, Jordan smiled. “Touché. I visited your Web site. It needs some work, by the way. But the jewelry doesn’t. What I saw was beautiful.”

Setting her glass down, Jordan leaned closer and fingered one of the earrings Maddie was wearing. The silver had been configured into fragile lace surrounding a clear turquoise stone. “This is quite lovely. Mom was always looking for turquoise of this quality.”

“She should have come to New Mexico.”

Jordan met her sister’s eyes and saw a hint of pain that she totally understood. “She was in New Mexico when she gave birth to us. I badgered Fitzwalter until he showed me our birth certificates. We were born in Santa Fe.”

“She was at the ranch?”

“I don’t know about that, but she was definitely in Santa Fe.”

“She should have come back.”

“Yes, she should have. And our father should have come here. I’m not sure we’ll ever find out why they didn’t. Or why they separated us.”

“Why does she want us to switch places?” Maddie asked. “You said you had a theory about that?”

“I do. I got it the moment I searched your name. I think she wants you to get an in-depth experience at Eva Ware Designs because she wants you here.”

“No. That’s impossible.”

“I know her. She was a very focused woman. I’m sure she was keeping track of your career, and if and when something happened to her, she wanted you to see what she’d created—to know that you could share in it.”

“But why didn’t she contact me? Why put it in her will?”

Jordan rose and began to pace. “I’ve asked myself those questions over and over. She could have been afraid to contact you after all these years. The other thing about her is that designing jewelry was her driving passion.” Jordan waved a hand. “She gets—used to get—totally lost in her work. Other things got pushed to the back burner.”

“Why three weeks?”

“She probably thought twenty-one straight days would do it.” Jordan’s smile was wry. “When she first started at her gym, her trainer told her that doing something every day for three weeks was what it took to build a habit.”

“But that’s…crazy. And it’s not fair to you.”

“It’s not crazy if you knew Mom. Eva Ware Designs meant everything to her.” Jordan paced to one of the windows before she turned back. “That’s why we have to talk about the will.”

Maddie rose also. “Yes, we do. I want you to know that—”

Jordan held up a hand. “Stop right there. Since I’m the oldest, I get to go first.”

Maddie’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know you’re the oldest?”

Not a pushover either, Jordan thought. “I told you I’d seen the birth certificates. I beat you into the world by almost four minutes.” Impulsively, she strode over and grabbed Maddie’s hands. “I want you to please hear me out before you say a word.”

Maddie nodded.

Jordan dropped her sister’s hands, whirling away. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this in a way that will convince you.”

“You don’t have to.”

Jordan glared at her and pointed a finger. “You said you’d hear me out.”

“Okay. Okay.” Maddie threw both hands up and sat back down on the love seat. Watching her sister made her think of her father. That glare Jordan had just given her had been pure Mike Farrell and her father had always paced when he was trying to talk her into something. But she’d just wanted to make it easy for Jordan. The money, the house, Eva Ware Designs—none of it belonged to her. It should have all gone to Jordan. How could her sister want her to take it?

“I know it’s crazy.” Jordan sat back down on the love seat. “The thing is, we have to agree to the terms of the will.”

Maddie simply stared at her. “How can you possibly want that? It’s not fair.”

Jordan ran her hands through her hair. “I know it’s not. It’s horribly unfair. Switching places will be complicated, to say the least. But I don’t see what else we can do. I saw on your Web site that you have a jewelry show in Santa Fe in four days.”

Maddie did, and in all the turmoil of the last few days it had entirely slipped her mind. “I can’t miss it. I’ve worked for months on those designs, and it’s essential that I be there to make contact with new buyers.”

“No worries. I should be able to handle the show. I’ve done several with my mother. Marketing the product is the part of the business I’m good at.”

“But there are other things—problems at the ranch,” Maddie said.

“What kind of problems?”

Maddie raised her hands and dropped them. “I’m just not the best rancher in the world, and I’ve been struggling to fill my father’s shoes and at the same time grow my jewelry business. My neighbor, Cash Landry, has been helping me, but I can’t let that go on forever. And there’s this real estate agent, Daniel Pearson, who wants to sell the ranch for me.”

Jordan moved back to the couch. “You can’t be seriously thinking of selling?”

“No.” But Maddie felt a stab of guilt. Wasn’t that exactly what she was thinking of doing? After all, she hadn’t given Daniel Pearson a flat-out no. And here her sister was, arguing that they keep her mother’s business going. How could she even think of doing less for her father?

A gleam of interest leapt into her sister’s eyes. “Maybe I can help.”

“How?”

“Three weeks will give me a chance to get a feel for what the problems are. Not that I’m a rancher—but I do have those business degrees. Plus I’ll bring a fresh perspective. How many people did you tell about flying east for the reading of the will?”

“No one. My foreman Mac and Cash were both away, driving my cattle to market, then meeting with future buyers in Albuquerque. They’re not due back for a few days yet. Cash’s foreman comes over to tend the horses and check on things when Cash is gone. But I didn’t even have a chance to tell him I was leaving.”

Jordan took a thoughtful sip of her wine. “I’ll bet I could pretend to be you at the jewelry show without anyone knowing the difference.”

“Pretend to be me? You’re serious about this.”

“Very.” Rising, Jordan began to pace again. “I know buyers prefer to talk to the designer, and I’ve learned enough at Eva Ware Designs to masquerade as you. If the ranch is deserted right now, I’d only have to pretend when I go into Santa Fe. You won’t be able to pass yourself off as me, of course. The other Wares already know who you are, and so does Cho Li. I’ll let everyone else at the Madison Avenue store know. You’ll just have to do my job for three weeks.”

“But I have no idea what you do for a job.”

“My schedule is on my laptop. And Cho Li will fill you in. He’s been working with Mom for as long as I can remember. Is there someone who can fill me in at the ranch?”

“Wait. You’re going too fast.” Maddie felt as if all her objections were being picked off like ducks in a shooting gallery. “I haven’t told you all the problems at the ranch. It might not be safe for you there.”

“Why not?”

“There’ve been some incidents of vandalism lately. Minor ones at first—cut fences, graffiti on the bunkhouse. Cash was pretty sure it was the Trainer twins. Joey, the older one, had a sort of a crush on me. But lately, the incidents have gotten more serious. Due to a cut fence, some of my cattle strayed, and we couldn’t round them up in time to drive them to market. And a couple of weeks ago someone doctored the feed in my stables and I nearly lost my horse.”

“You called the police?”

“They couldn’t do much except file a report.”

Jordan joined Maddie on the couch. “I’ll be careful. Besides, it’ll be as safe for me there as it would be for you.”

“I can handle myself.”

Jordan’s eyebrows shot up. “So can I. After all, I’ve been raised in New York City. But there’s something you should know about the store. A month ago Eva Ware Designs was robbed. Someone broke through the security codes and took approximately one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry from the main salon. The police are still looking into it. But in the meantime, the security codes have been changed. And it happened after hours, so you should be fine.”

Maddie was more worried about Jordan than she was about herself. But Cash was due back from the cattle drive in another few days, she told herself. She could call him and tell him to look out for Jordan.

Suddenly, nerves tightened in her stomach. Was she really thinking of switching places with her sister?

“Is there anyone at the ranch who can fill me in on what I have to do?”

“Cash and my foreman can when they get back from the cattle drive.”

Jordan narrowed her gaze on her sister. “This Cash—are you and he…seeing each other?”

Maddie shook her head. “No. We grew up together. He runs the ranch next to mine. My father and his father had this idea that someday we might fall in love and join the two ranches. But it hasn’t happened. Cash and I are just friends.”

“Good. Do you think I could fool him into thinking I’m you if he shows up at the ranch?”

Maddie studied Jordan. “You’re really getting into the idea of masquerading as me.”

“It’s a practical approach. I won’t have to explain to everyone about the will and switching places. Do you think your cowboy neighbor will buy it?”

Maddie considered, then shook her head. “He’s pretty astute.”

Jordan grinned at her. “Really? I love a challenge. We’ll have to write things up for each other, and we’ll keep in touch by phone. That’s what the girls did in The Parent Trap, and they were only half our age.”

“You saw that movie?”

“Only about fifteen times. When I was little I remember watching it with Mom.”

“There’s one big difference between us and The Parent Trap girls. They switched so that they could get to know the parent they were separated from. We’re not going to be able to do that.”

“No.” Jordan sat down next to Maddie again and took her hands. “We’re not. I wish with all my heart that there was a way for you to meet our mother.”

The understanding she saw in her sister’s eyes helped ease the tightness in Maddie’s throat. “Same goes about our father.”

“Maybe switching places is the only way we have left to get to know them. We can do this.”

Maddie searched her sister’s face. “I don’t understand. Why do you want to? And why would you want to share your inheritance with me?”

Jordan stared at her. “Because you’re my sister, and because our mother wanted it this way. However late it is, she must have had some regrets about separating us, and this is her way of making sure we get to know one another.”

“There are other ways for us to get to know one another.”

“Maddie, you heard the terms of the will. If we don’t change places for three weeks, Eva Ware Designs will be sold. I can’t stand by and let that happen. Our mother worked her whole life to create it, and I can’t let it be destroyed. I want her legacy to live on. No matter what it takes, we have to fulfill the terms of the will. Please say you’ll do it.”

Maddie wasn’t an impulsive person—at least she didn’t think of herself that way. But she could sympathize with what Jordan was trying to do. It was the same thing that made her want to hold on to the ranch and keep it going so that her father’s legacy would live on.

And Jordan was right. If she did switch places and step into Jordan’s job at Eva Ware Designs, it would provide her with the only opportunity she might ever have to learn more about the woman she so admired. The woman she’d never met. And it was just possible that she could find out why their parents had decided to separate them. Hadn’t that been one of the primary questions on her mind since she’d accepted the truth of what Edward Fitzwalter III had told her during that phone call?

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“You will?”

Maddie nodded.

“Thanks.” Jordan gave her sister a quick hug. “Okay. Now for the practical matters. You can live in my apartment, of course. I have a roommate, Jase Campbell. He was a few years ahead of me in college and we shared an apartment there. He moved into my place when he came to New York and started up his security firm. The arrangement has become sort of permanent.”

“Are the two of you involved?”

“No, we’re strictly pals. He’s like a big brother to me. But you probably won’t even run into him. He’s off on some mysterious job in South America. I can’t even reach him by cell. I haven’t been able to even tell him about…”

When Jordan suddenly stopped talking, Maddie took her hands.

“I don’t think it’s totally sunk in yet that she’s gone,” Jordan said.

Maddie handed Jordan her wine. “How could it? You had to identify the body.” Fitzwalter had told her about that. “Then there were the funeral arrangements and to top it off you find out you have a sister you never knew about.”

Jordan met her sister’s eyes. “When you lost your father, how long did it take for you to accept it?”

Maddie sighed. “I think I’m still trying to adjust.” She raised a hand to her sister’s cheek. “But I think that visiting the ranch may help you. There’s a kind of serenity there.”

“I’m glad I have you, Maddie Farrell.”

“Ditto.”

“Well.” Jordan drew in a deep breath and let it out. “We only have about seventy hours left. We’d better get started.”

Maddie blinked as Jordan rose, strode to a desk and pulled out her laptop.

“There’s a lot we have to learn before we switch lives.”

Chapter Two

IT WAS nearly midnight when Jase Campbell descended the steps of a small private jet at LaGuardia Airport. After nearly a month in the bowels of the steamy Amazon jungle, he welcomed the stiff breeze that had made their landing a little rough. New York City’s humidity level couldn’t even begin to compete with what he’d been experiencing.

The Cessna was the third plane he’d been on in the last twenty-four hours and the only one that had provided any amenities. Thanks to Federman Corporation, the company that had hired him as a consultant in their efforts to free three hostages, he’d been able to shower, shave and even change his clothes—luxuries that he’d sorely missed.

The one thing he hadn’t been able to do was catch much sleep. The last days of the mission were still too fresh in his mind. It had only been partially successful—one of the men hadn’t made it out of the jungle. Each time he closed his eyes, his mind would run through the other options he might have used, other tacks he might have taken with the captors.

He needed sleep, Jase told himself as he strode up the steps of the terminal building. Thank heavens his apartment was only a thirty-minute cab ride. And at this hour of the night, Jordan would be sound asleep. That would save him from being cross-examined on what he’d been doing for the last three and a half weeks.

Jordan and he had been friends since they’d been undergraduates together at Wharton. His lips curved as he recalled exactly how they’d met. He’d been a senior and she a freshman. Off-campus housing had been at a premium, and they’d arrived to view an apartment at the same time. They’d each wanted to sign a lease, so the landlord had suggested they flip a coin. Jordan had flatly refused, claiming that her luck was abominable. Instead, she’d suggested that they share the place and split expenses.

For Jase it had been an ideal solution. Unlike a lot of the trust-fund students, he’d come to Wharton on a scholarship. Jordan had drawn up a set of rules to follow so that they kept out of each other’s way. The list with its bullets and highlighted passages had been Jase’s introduction to the highly organized world of Jordan Ware.

And though she was a very attractive woman, their relationship had never progressed down a more intimate path. Instead, she’d become like a sister to him, competing against him for grades, nagging him when he’d gotten so wrapped up in a project that he’d forgotten to keep in touch with his family and even criticizing his selection of dates. In Jordan’s opinion, Jase had a tendency to attract what she’d termed “psycho babes.”

Jase’s lips curved at the memory. The first thing he’d done when he’d left the navy and decided to set up a security business in New York City was to call Jordan. His goal had been to enlist her help in finding an apartment. Instead, she’d suggested he move in with her. If it didn’t work out, he’d at least have more time to find a place of his own. That had been a year ago, and so far everything had gone very smoothly. Jordan, who’d worked for her mother’s jewelry design studio since she’d gotten her master’s degree, had put him in touch with a few clients, and he’d even done some work for Eva Ware Designs. In fact, there was a job he’d left hanging when he’d taken on the hostage-negotiation project.

Once he entered the terminal, Jase glanced around, spotted a secluded niche and headed toward it. Before he caught a cab, he needed some privacy to check in at his office. He’d been out of contact for far too long, and his patchwork of odd flights home hadn’t allowed any calls. Even at this hour, there’d be someone at Campbell and Angelis Security picking up the phone. With any luck, it might even be Dino Angelis, his partner of six months.

Sure enough, someone answered on the second ring.

“Campbell and Angelis Security.”

Jase frowned as he tried to place the familiar voice. Not Dino. His partner’s voice was much deeper and he didn’t speak with a drawl. But it couldn’t be who he thought it was. His brother D.C. was currently serving with the military police on a second tour of duty in Baghdad.

“D.C.?” Jase asked.

“At your service. Where are you? Dino and I were getting worried.”

“I’m at La Guardia. What are you doing in my office?”

“Since I got here two days ago, I’ve been holding down the fort and helping Dino out. Got my leg busted up a little, and the army decided that I should take some leave time while I got it back in shape.”

Jase frowned. “How bad is the leg?”

“Nothing that can’t be fixed.”

“Does Mom know?”

“I spent a week in Baltimore and let her pamper me. I gained at least five pounds while I checked out Darcy’s latest boyfriend.” Some of Jase’s tension eased. If his brother had the time and energy to torment their kid sister, then he must be on the mend.

“Are you going to tell me how bad the leg is?”

“You’re as bad as Mom. It’s going to be fine. With any luck I’ll be back in Iraq by Christmas.”

Jase didn’t see that as lucky. But he knew he’d gotten as much out of D.C. on the subject of his injury as he was going to. “Let’s go back to my first question. What exactly are you doing in my office? And where’s Dino?”

“I came to pay you a surprise visit and Dino offered me a temporary job. Right now I believe he’s at his fiancée’s apartment.”

It was thanks to Dino’s pretty fiancée Cat McGuire that Jase had been able to persuade Dino, his old navy buddy, to become his partner last December.

“Where are you staying?”

“Dino fixed me up temporarily with an empty apartment in their building. Not that I get to spend much time there.”

“Business is good, I take it?” Jase asked.

“So good that you’ve been missed, bro.”

More of Jase’s tension eased. If Campbell and Angelis had to take on some extra help, Dino couldn’t have found a more perfect person than D.C. His brother had a sharp and inventive mind and the kind of intuition that made for an excellent cop. Unable to stop himself, he yawned hugely. What he needed even more than a good night’s sleep was work. One lesson he’d learned when he’d been working special ops was that the best way to dim the images from the previous operation was to immerse yourself totally in a new one.

“By the way, your roommate, Jordan Ware, has been trying to contact you. Mom told me that the two of you are sharing an apartment again.”

“When? What did she want?”

“About a week ago. She talked to Dino and asked him to pass on a message to contact her if you called in.”

Once again, Jase frowned. Jordan never called him at work. Then he pushed the small worry aside. No doubt she’d called the office because his cell phone had been worthless where he’d been for the last few weeks. At any rate, he’d see her sometime tomorrow.

“Hold down the fort. If Dino calls in, tell him I’ll be in the office tomorrow afternoon.” Once Dino brought him up to speed on all their active files, he knew exactly which case he would start on. He’d promised Eva Ware that he’d look further into that break-in and robbery at her Madison Avenue jewelry store. In his opinion, it had to have been an inside job, and that worried him a bit.

“Right now, my aim is to crash for at least twelve hours,” Jase said, then added, “Thanks for covering.”

“I live to serve.”

A BIT DIZZY from sleep deprivation and jet lag, Maddie let herself into Jordan’s Soho apartment. During the last few days, she’d managed to lose all sense of time. The only reason she knew that it was shortly after midnight was because she’d asked the cab driver who’d driven her from JFK.

According to her estimate, she’d spent nearly eighteen of the last forty-eight hours on an airplane. Severe thunderstorms in the midwest had delayed her flights both to and back from Santa Fe. She’d barely been at the ranch long enough to pack what she thought she’d need for a three-week stay in New York. Jordan, the lucky girl, had only had to make one flight.

In the very short time they’d spent together before Jordan had insisted she immediately fly back to the ranch and set things in order for the switch, Maddie had learned that her sister was a ruthlessly organized woman who gathered data, made lists, assembled files and was quite used to having her “suggestions” followed. Had Eva Ware been like that? Maddie wondered. Would she ever know? She hoped that Jordan was right and that by switching lives each of them would come to know the other parent better. But she was beginning to feel a sense of loss that she would never have a chance to talk to Eva about her design process.

And Jordan would never hear Mike Farrell’s laugh.

Not that her sister wouldn’t discover as much as she could about the ranch and their father. The woman was meticulous. She couldn’t think of one thing that had escaped Jordan’s attention. Jordan had even suggested that since Maddie possessed very few outfits appropriate for the city and Jordan experienced the same lack of wardrobe for ranch life, they could borrow clothes from one another and cut down on what they needed to pack. Maddie figured that was Jordan’s subtle way of letting her know not to appear at Eva Ware Designs in her jeans and boots.

Yawning hugely, she muscled her suitcase through the door, then sagged against it for a moment, nearly paralyzed with exhaustion.

“Just a few more minutes,” she muttered. “You can do it.”

She groped blindly along the wall until she located a switch. The muted light from a Tiffany-style lamp allowed her only a shadowy impression of the living room—stained-glass-fronted bookcases flanking a brick fireplace, an antique desk, a comfy-looking leather couch and a flat-screen TV. The furnishings with their mix of the feminine and the masculine suddenly reminded her about Jordan’s roommate—Jase Campbell.

The man’s image slipped instantly into her mind. Jordan had provided her with photos of everyone she might possibly meet during her three weeks in New York, and she’d been reviewing them one by one on the long flight from Santa Fe. From the moment she’d glanced at Jase’s picture, she hadn’t quite been able to get him out of her mind.

Maddie recalled Jordan describing Jase as a big brother. They’d been friends ever since they’d roomed off-campus together in college, and when he’d left the navy to start up his own security firm here in New York, he and Jordan had hooked up as roommates again. Jordan’s description of her relationship with Jase Campbell could have fit her own relationship with her neighbor, Cash.

However, as Maddie had studied Jase’s photo, her response to him had been anything but sisterly. He had a strong face, lean with sharply defined bones. And though he wore a jacket and a tie, he didn’t look quite…tamed. Perhaps it was the longish, windblown hair that hinted at a streak of recklessness. Or maybe it was the eyes. She was baffled by the fact that every single time she’d closed her own eyes and tried to sleep on the plane, she’d thought of those angled cheekbones, the strong jawline and firm lips.

And each time his image had popped into her mind, her palms had tingled with the desire to touch his face. When she’d imagined herself doing just that, a heat had begun to build inside her. She’d even foolishly given into an impulse to run her fingertips over the image in the photo—touching first his mouth, then the rest of those sharp features.

When the heat simmering inside her had rushed to her face, she’d glanced nervously around to see if anyone had witnessed what she’d done. To her great relief, everyone within sight had been sleeping. Something she herself should have been doing. But instead of slipping the photo back into the file, she’d glanced down at it again.

And traced her fingertips over it once more. Her desire to touch the image, to touch him was baffling…and unprecedented. She’d experienced a purely chemical reaction to a man before. But no man’s photo had ever affected her in such a physical way.

Perhaps it was because she hadn’t had any sex in a while. During the past year, between the plans she had to expand her jewelry design business and the extra work she’d had to take on at the ranch, she simply hadn’t had the time. Or the desire.

Yawning again, Maddie struggled against a huge wave of exhaustion as she turned and dragged her suitcase down a narrow hallway. The effort of placing one foot in front of the other almost defeated her.

Probably her whole odd reaction to Jase Campbell’s photo was due to sleep deprivation and the emotional whirlwind she’d been caught up in during the past few days. When she met him, she’d find him a pleasant man, and her unusual and highly sensual response to his photo would turn out to be much ado about nothing.

Not that meeting Jase was a sure thing. Jordan had mentioned that for the last three and a half weeks he’d been out of the country and out of contact. So she had no idea when he’d be back.

Maddie stopped short at the first door she came to, not sure if she could take another step. If she didn’t find a bedroom soon, she was simply going to curl right up on the floor. She bit back a groan when the door to her left opened onto a tiny bathroom. Putting all her effort into the move, she half stumbled into the room directly across the hall. There was just enough moonlight pouring through the window for her to make out a bed. Not bothering to turn on the light, she shoved her suitcase against the wall. Unpacking would have to wait. Using the foot of the bed as her guide, she moved to the side nearest the window and pulled the drapes. Then she stripped down to her tank top and panties. With the last bit of energy she could summon up, she tugged just enough of the covers back to slip beneath them. The moment her head touched the pillow, she fell abruptly into sleep.

IT WAS nearly one when Jase let himself into the apartment. At some point during the taxi ride from La Guardia, the adrenaline that had fueled him for the last few weeks had drained away as surely as if someone had pulled a plug. Setting his duffel down, he shut the door and locked it. Then, without turning on the lights, he made his way to his bedroom, shed his clothes, eased back the covers, and climbed in. Sleep claimed him before his head settled fully into the pillow.

THE DREAM came slowly, slipping into his mind as a lover might slip into his bed. A woman, soft and warm, was nestled against him. With lazy pleasure, he let himself drift in sensations, absorbing each one. The press of a palm against his chest, the silky length of a thigh trapped between his. And the scent—he had to draw her closer to place it—he’d caught that fragrance before on drives through the country—a mix of wildflowers and sunshine.

When she sighed and snuggled closer, Jase ran a hand from her shoulder to her thigh and back again, absorbing the contrasting textures of smooth, soft skin and rougher cotton. Desire tugged at him when she pressed against him and her hands moved to slide over his back.

Drifting with the sensations, Jase touched his mouth to her temple and slipped his hand beneath her shirt. The throaty sound of pleasure she made when he cupped her breast had the tug of desire turning into a sharp pull. Nothing would be simpler than to give in to the temptation to shift her onto her back and make a place for himself between her legs. To thrust into her and lose himself in her.

But equally tempting was the thought of exploring her more thoroughly and discovering how far the dream would take him. Slowly, he ran his hand from her breast down the taut length of her torso, over that firm, narrow waist until he could slip his fingers beneath the band of her panties. The soft moan she made when he found her heat and began to stroke her urged him to take his mouth on a leisurely journey over her face from her temple to jawline and back again. Her breath was hitching now and she began to arch faster and faster against his hand. Desire pulled even more strongly against his control. But first…first, he wanted to take more, to give her more. He traced her mouth with his tongue, then began to tease her lips with his. When he finally allowed himself to fully taste her, the flavor was so sweet, so potent, that he thought he might never get enough. Taking the kiss ever deeper, he slipped two fingers into her and felt her soar.

THE ORGASM shot through Maddie in one glorious wave after another until she was sure she was going to drown. When she finally surfaced, she had only a few moments of respite, barely enough time to register what that clever mouth was doing to hers before those long hard fingers began to move inside her again. She’d never dreamed anything this vividly before. Even as the incredible pressure began to build once more, other sensations bombarded her. She inhaled his scent, something dark and male. The sharp nip of his teeth on her bottom lip. And his body—it was so hot that she felt as if it was branding her at each and every contact point.

The second orgasm was sharper than the first, and before it peaked, he was there, just where she wanted him to be, thrusting into her. And then they began to move together.

Yes, she thought as she wrapped arms and legs around him. This was what she wanted—this wild, fast race. This was what she’d always wanted, and no one had been ever able to give it to her before. Holding on for dear life, she rode the climax, rode him, until they leapt over that final crest together.

Chapter Three

MADDIE DRIFTED UP slowly through layers of sleep, trying to hold on to each one. The dream she’d been having was so wonderful, so real. With each breath, she drew in her lover’s scent—potent, male. His arm held her close, and she felt the length of that hard body pressed against her. The sensations were vivid enough to have her blood heating all over again.

She wanted more than anything to sink back into the dream so that he would touch her, tempt her, tease her again. But there was light beyond her closed eyelids and she could hear muted sounds. Motors rumbling, brakes squealing…

Traffic? Frowning, she struggled to remember.

The insistent beep of a horn, louder than the others, triggered a kaleidoscope of memories. Her sister, the terms of her mother’s will, the endless series of plane rides, the detailed files Jordan had insisted she study.

The horn blasted again.

She definitely wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Nor was she at the ranch in Santa Fe. She was in her sister’s New York City apartment. The last thing she clearly recalled was dragging her suitcase into the closest bedroom and falling into bed.

That’s when the dream had begun—and her lover had joined her. And he was still with her. The smooth taut skin on his shoulder was warm beneath her hand, and above the sounds from the street below she heard the steady rate of his breathing.

Was she still trapped in her dream?

A mix of emotions swept through her—fear, excitement. Anticipation? Gingerly, Maddie opened one eye. There was just enough light seeping through the slit in the drapes for her to see that her senses were not deceiving her. Her hand was indeed resting against a man’s shoulder. And the rest of her body was totally wrapped around his. Everything about him, the hint of stubble on his chin, the strength of the arm wrapped around her waist—even the erection growing harder against her stomach—seemed to be very real.

Squeezing her eye shut again, Maddie drew in a deep breath and let it out. One thing she’d learned growing up on her father’s ranch was that you had to face facts. So the dream lover who’d joined her in bed last night had been real. Was real.

And facts had to be dealt with. A cut fence had to be mended ASAP so cattle didn’t stray. Still, a real lover in one’s bed instead of a dream one presented more complicated problems—one of them being that she didn’t seem to want to disentangle herself from him. What she was tempted to do more than anything else was to push him onto his back and taste him again, touch him again.

Not happening, Maddie lectured herself. And why was she even considering the possibility? No man had ever made her feel the way this one had. Ever. And she didn’t even know who he was.

Stiffening her resolve, Maddie slowly drew her head back and this time she opened both eyes. Even in the dim light, recognition was instantaneous. After all, she’d memorized those features—the angled cheekbones, that strong chin, the firm lips.

At some point in the night, she’d made love to Jase Campbell. And he’d made love to her.

Heat shot through her. But it wasn’t from embarrassment. Her body was on fire because she wanted to repeat the experience. Right now.

Not going to happen. She had to get a grip. And she had to get out of this bed. If she could just get away before he woke up, maybe she could pretend that the night they’d just shared hadn’t happened. If he brought it up, she’d just tell him that he’d been dreaming. That would be one way to mend the fence. Maybe the only way.

Dragging her eyes away from his face, she focused on ungluing herself from him. But her body rebelled, refusing to take orders from her brain. Her hand seemed permanently affixed to his shoulder, her fingers splayed. Maddie faced another fact—she didn’t want to stop touching him, and she knew that if her hand moved at all, it would slide down to wrap itself around the length of his erection which was pressing against her stomach more insistently with each passing moment.

When he sighed, his breath feathered along her temple, and his arm tightened more firmly around her waist. Maddie barely managed to stifle a moan. He was waking up. Once he did, the pretend-it-never-happened scenario would no longer be an option. But it wasn’t panic she was feeling, it was a wild thrill.

What was happening to her? Why was she reacting this way?

He stirred again. Maybe there was still time to slip away. She focused all her effort on pushing against his shoulder. It was like trying to dislodge a boulder. Then she felt his whole body stiffen. Before she could blink, he slipped a hand beneath her chin and tilted it up so that she had to meet his eyes.

She was aware of several things at once. The body pressed against hers had grown harder, and the heat that seemed to leap from him to her was enough to melt her bones. But it was his eyes she couldn’t look away from. The photo hadn’t captured the color. The mix of dark green and blue reminded her of some of the rarer turquoise stones she worked with.

Then suddenly his gaze narrowed, darkened, and his fingers tightened their grip on her chin. Their mouths were close, nearly touching. If either one of them moved…Just anticipating the brush of those lips against hers, Maddie felt her brain cells wink off one by one. Yes.

No. Jase felt his mind clouding over and fought to clear it. He was holding a woman in his arms, and he had no idea how that had come to happen.

The last thing he remembered was reaching his apartment and falling into bed. Memories began to trickle in. That’s when the dream had begun. There’d been a lover waiting for him, hungry for him. What she’d ignited in him had gone beyond anything he’d ever experienced before. Desire had never been so compelling. Passion had never been so consuming.

But what had happened during the night hadn’t been a dream.

It was morning now. The sound of traffic floated up from the street below. Her hair was just brushing his chin, her breath was hot on his chest. She was very real. And so was the fresh surge of desire he was feeling. A thin stream of sunlight fell across the delicate line of her cheekbone.

If he gave into temptation and traced a finger along the path of the light, he knew just what her skin would feel like. Soft as the petal of a flower, warm…

Jase clamped down on the heat that shot through him. She wasn’t a dream. This was a real woman. And she was wrapped so tightly around him that he wasn’t sure he could ever break free.

And he still wanted her. Desperately. Her mouth was so close, barely a breath away. His leg was already nestled between hers, and he could feel that she was ready for him. More than anything, he wanted to sink into her, to lose himself in her again.

No. Gripping her shoulders, Jase disentangled himself, pulling back far enough so that he could see her face clearly for the first time. It was the eyes that drew his attention first. They were dark—a deep blue that bordered on violet. And they were very familiar. The color, the shape—they were Jordan’s eyes. And she had Jordan’s face. But…Narrowing his gaze, he studied her more closely.

“You’re not Jordan.”

He would have staked his life on it. Her scent was all wrong. Jordan always smelled like some exotic French perfume. This woman smelled like wild flowers and sunshine. And Jordan’s hair wasn’t long enough to pull into a braid.

Then there was the chemistry. As long as he and Jordan had known each other, there’d never been any spark between them. And spark was far too tame a word for what he’d experienced with this woman.

Those eyes, damn them, were still clouded with desire. The pulse at the base of her throat was hammering. Whoever she was, he could have her again. Right now. Jase wasn’t usually one to throw caution to the winds either in his personal or his business life. But for one precarious moment, he was outrageously tempted.

He tightened his grip on her shoulders. “Who are you and what are you doing in my bed?”

THE NOTE of command in Jase’s voice snapped Maddie out of the trance she’d fallen into ever since he’d pulled back and she’d looked into those mesmerizing blue-green eyes. A moment ago, she’d been sure he was going to kiss her again. And she’d wanted him to. More than that, she’d willed him to. But he hadn’t. And now he seemed to be focused on getting answers. Okay, maybe he had a right. But so did she.

She squirmed backward, intending to get out of bed. But she was naked. Sweeping her hand beneath the covers, she searched for her tank top. Without success.

“I’m still waiting for an answer.”

The sudden hint of humor in his tone had her chin lifting and her temper surging. This was not funny. “What I was trying to do here was sleep. When I arrived last night, I was nearly blind with exhaustion and I simply got into the wrong bed. Do you know how many planes I’ve been on in the past three days?”

“Not as many as I have, I’ll wager. Is this what you’re looking for?”

She glanced up barely in time to catch the tank top he tossed her. Then her gaze focused on him. Big mistake. He was lying on his side now, his head propped on his hand. The sheet barely covered him to the waist.

An intense wave of hunger shot through her. Why was this happening to her? Baffled, she tore her eyes away from him, slid off the side of the bed, and tried to cover as much as she could with the tank top. If she wanted to think clearly, her best bet was to get out of the room. But the door was on his side of the bed. There was just no way to make any kind of a dignified exit.

“You haven’t answered my first question. Who are you?”

She shot him a narrow look. He was definitely enjoying this. “I’m Jordan’s twin sister and Eva’s other daughter.”

It gave her some satisfaction when a bit of the humor faded from his gaze.

“You’ll have to do better than that. Jordan doesn’t have a twin.”

“Yes, she does. Turns out we were separated when we were babies, and neither one of us knew anything about it until four days ago.”

For two full heartbeats silence stretched between them. He was studying her as if he were weighing what she’d told him. And she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Worse, she could feel her brain cells start to click off again. She had to get a grip.

“Where is Jordan?” he asked.

Her chin lifted. “She’s at our father’s ranch in Santa Fe.”

“Why?”

Maddie welcomed the surge of temper. “Look. It’s a very long story, and if you were any kind of a gentleman, you’d leave right now and give me a chance to get dressed. Then I’ll be happy to answer all of your questions.”

He smiled slowly, fully.

Maddie felt the heat shoot all the way to her toes.

“Never let it be said that my mother didn’t raise me to be a gentleman.”

Maddie stared as he threw back the covers and got out of bed. For the first time, she got a good look at what she’d explored with her hands during the night—the broad shoulders, the strongly muscled back, the bronze skin that ended with a clearly defined tan line at his waist.

And his butt. There were muscles there too. She remembered exactly what they’d felt like beneath her palms, tensing and then relaxing as he’d moved inside her. When he turned, Maddie’s throat went dry as fresh need thrummed through her.

“My jeans…ah, there they are.” He leaned down to scoop them up. “But these are yours, I believe.” He laid her panties on the foot of the bed.

She ignored the panties and focused her gaze on his. He knew exactly what effect he was having on her. Damn him.

Still smiling, he took another step toward her, extending his free hand. “I’m Jase Campbell, by the way. I’m Jordan’s roommate. And your name is…?”

“I’m Maddie Farrell.” She sent him a thin smile as she shook his hand. The instant he relaxed his grip, she hooked her foot behind his right ankle, then used both hands to shove hard against his chest. His butt hit the floor with a very satisfactory thud. There, she thought. Enjoy that.

He grinned up at her. “Nice move, Maddie Farrell.”

She snatched her panties off the bed. “I believe you said something about your mother raising a gentleman.”

He winced a little. “So I did.” He stretched out a hand. “You wouldn’t want to give me a hand, would you?”

“Do I look as though I have stupid branded on my forehead?”

“No. But it was worth a try.” He rose in one graceful movement, but she noticed that he took his time walking to the bedroom door. When he reached it, he turned back. “I’ll make us some coffee, Maddie Farrell. Then we’ll talk.”

For a full thirty seconds after he’d disappeared from view, Maddie didn’t move. Because she wanted to run after him? What in the world was wrong with her? The man thought this whole situation had a humorous side to it. Maybe—in a hundred years—she could agree with him.

Biting back a groan, she sank onto the bed. Maybe if she burrowed under the covers, she’d wake up and discover that it was all a dream.

But it wasn’t. In a few moments she was going to have to join him for coffee and answer his questions. Besides, she wasn’t the kind of person who ran from problems. On a ranch you just couldn’t do that.

You grew up around men. You know how to handle them.

All she needed was a plan.

Chapter Four

JASE LEANED his hip against the counter and sipped coffee. He could hear the shower still running in the bathroom, so he had a few more minutes to figure out what in the hell he was going to do. Usually, he wasn’t at such a loss. But the night he’d just spent with the woman who called herself Maddie Farrell had been unprecedented. She’d scrambled his brain.

And she was going to be a problem for him.

For the first few minutes after he’d left her in the bedroom, he’d struggled hard against the urge to forget about the questions he had and just walk back in there, toss her onto the bed and make love to her again. Instead, he’d run water in the sink and splashed it on his face. He might not be a gentle lover, but caveman tactics weren’t his style.

Then again, no other woman had ever shoved him onto his ass. His lips twitched at the memory, then he sipped more coffee. He’d told her the truth about his mother. His father, a career army man, had died when he was ten. D.C. had been nine and their sister Darcy had been six. Their mother had gotten a teaching job in Baltimore and had proceeded to raise her children the way she managed her classes—with a firm hand.

Problem was, he didn’t want to be a gentleman with Maddie. If he did make a move on her, she wouldn’t resist. Just in those few moments that they’d lain together in his bed after they’d awakened, he’d sensed she was as reluctant as he to pull away. And she was just as curious as he was about what it would be like to make love while they were both fully awake. That made the temptation almost irresistible.

If he joined her in that shower now, they could both find out. In a matter of seconds—perhaps ten to get into the bathroom and another five to strip out of his jeans—he could step under the spray and…

With an oath, Jase set his mug down, then gripped the edge of the counter with both hands. Being this enthralled by a woman just wasn’t like him. He couldn’t deny that he had a reckless streak. He and D.C. had gotten into more than their fair share of trouble in their teenage years. According to his mother, they were responsible for turning her hair prematurely gray. But college with a major in business and four years in the navy, two in special ops, had pretty much drummed recklessness out of his system.

As he glanced down the hall at the closed shower door, guilt moved through him. Hadn’t he already taken enough advantage of her? Sure, he’d been exhausted, sleep-deprived, but the bottom line was that he’d allowed himself to be lulled into making love to a woman he’d found in his bed. He should have fought harder against the dream she’d enveloped him in. Making love to her had been a mistake. A big one.

And he shouldn’t have to be fighting so damn hard against the desire to repeat the experience. If she was telling the truth, she was his best friend’s sister.

Jase refilled his mug and took a long swallow. Time to step back, look at the big picture and come up with a plan. That was what had saved his life several times during his specialops missions in the navy.

He should be focusing on what she was doing here, not joining her in that shower. And what in the hell was Jordan doing on a ranch in Santa Fe? He nearly grinned at the thought. Talk about a fish out of water. From the time he’d first met her, Jordan had been a city girl right down to her weekly manicure and pedicure.

While he’d waited for the coffee to brew, he’d tried to contact Jordan on her cell to check out the twin story, but she wasn’t picking up. Then he’d typed Maddie Farrell into his laptop.

Madison Farrell was a Southwestern jewelry designer in Santa Fe. In addition to her photo, her Web site featured images of finely carved silver pins, belt buckles and rings, all with a clearly Southwestern flair. When he’d searched Santa Fe’s newspaper, The New Mexican, he’d found an article praising the intricacy and modern artistry of her designs. Like mother, like daughter, he’d thought. He’d also come across an obituary for a local rancher, Mike Farrell, who’d died a year ago and had been survived by his only daughter, Madison.

So, she was evidently who she said she was, and she looked enough like Jordan to be her twin—but he still had questions—a lot of them.

And until he got some answers, he was going to put any plans for taking Maddie Farrell back to his bed on hold.

MADDIE TURNED a complete circle in the shower and let the hot water sluice over her. Her body ached in places it had never ached before, places where Jase Campbell had touched her. And it felt wonderful.

With a sigh she rested her head against the shower wall. She had to think—and not about Jase. What had happened between them in that bed of his during the night had been crazy. Wonderful. Amazing. But it had been a mistake. And mistakes were for learning, not for repeating.

Waking up beside him had distracted her. Big-time. He didn’t even know about Eva’s death. Jordan hadn’t been able to reach him.

Pouring shampoo into her palms, she lathered her hair lavishly, then rinsed it, wishing she could wash the man right out just as easily as soap. It might not be that simple, but she was going to try. She had to be practical, use some common sense. And get herself back on track.

After all, she only had three weeks to walk around in Jordan’s shoes, and she had a lot to do. It hadn’t been just to please her sister and fulfill the terms of the will that she’d come to New York, she reminded herself. Before she went back to Santa Fe, she intended to find out everything she could about Eva Ware. If Jordan was right and Eva had been truly interested in a daughter who designed jewelry, why had she waited so long to act on that interest? Too long.

Each time she thought about the fact that she’d never really get to meet or talk with Eva, a little band of pain tightened around her heart.

If she could, she was going to find out why she and Jordan had been separated. The key was there. She was sure of it. Though she hadn’t mentioned it to her sister, she had a theory that Eva might have confided in someone that she’d had twins. She’d bet that Cash’s father had known. But he’d passed on a year before her own father had.

Getting the answers to her questions and getting to know as much as she could about Eva Ware—those had to be her priorities.

Twisting off the faucets, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped her hair in a towel. Then she swiped the steam off the mirror over the sink and faced her image.

“You have too much on your plate right now to fit Jase Campbell in.”

And wasn’t it possible that Jase felt the same way about her? After all, he’d been out of the country for over three weeks. He must have a lot to catch up on at his office.

Bending over, Maddie began to towel-dry her hair. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that she might have hit on the key to extricate them both from an…awkward situation.

Reason and logic—that was the strategy. After all, she’d grown up surrounded by men—her father and Cash, to name two. The business of running the ranch had always been the men’s primary focus. Her father had even missed her first jewelry show because he’d had to meet personally with a buyer in Albuquerque.

Though it had hurt at the time, she’d come to understand his decision. How many times during the past year had she prioritized her growing design business over the ranch? Often enough that Cash was growing concerned. He’d taken over more and more of the work she should have been doing, including driving her cattle to market.

It had helped to talk to Jordan about her concerns that she really couldn’t run the ranch on her own. How much longer could she rely on Cash’s help? She hoped that Jordan would have some ideas on that score, because she didn’t want to have to sell.

Maddie hung up the towel and pulled on the clothes she’d unpacked from her suitcase—her old standbys—jeans and a T-shirt. Then she frowned as she glanced at her image in the mirror. Her problems at the ranch had to go to the back burner for now. Jase Campbell was the big issue she had to deal with. Surely he’d understand that what had happened between them was, no, had

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.