Sex. Lies. And...

consequences to last a lifetime...

Heiress Scarlet O’Malley doesn’t do commitment, but when she finds herself pregnant after a hot hookup, she must find the father. What Scarlet doesn’t know is that Alec Velasquez was posing as his twin brother that night. Even more surprising, when she learns the truth and reconnects with Alec, she still yearns for his touch. Does she need to rethink never falling in love? Never say never...

KATHERINE GARBERA is the USA TODAY bestselling author of more than ninety-five books. Her writing is known for its emotional punch and sizzling sensuality. She lives in the Midlands of the UK with the love of her life; her son, who recently graduated university; and a spoiled miniature dachshund. You can find her online on at www.katherinegarbera.com and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Also by Katherine Garbera

Tycoon Cowboy’s Baby Surprise

The Tycoon’s Fiancée Deal

Craving His Best Friend’s Ex

Rancher Untamed

One Night with His Ex

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk.

One Night, Two Secrets

Katherine Garbera

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09282-1

ONE NIGHT, TWO SECRETS

© 2019 Katherine Garbera

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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This book is dedicated to my kids, Courtney and Lucas. I’m so proud of the adults you’ve become. You know I love you more than words and that you both mean the world to me. Someday I’ll have to reveal that my favorite child is… Just kidding! I couldn’t choose between the both of you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Epilogue

About the Publisher

One

Throwing up three mornings in a row wasn’t unheard-of for an O’Malley. After all, they were a family known to live life to the fullest, and that often involved excess. But Scarlet hadn’t been drinking for weeks, ever since her best friend, Siobahn Murphy, lead singer for the hottest girl group since Destiny’s Child, had broken up with her fiancé and he’d immediately eloped to Vegas with Siobahn’s main rival. The paparazzi had been on Siobahn 24/7, and Scarlet had wanted to keep her wits about her to help protect her friend. She’d had her own experiences being hounded by the press, and wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Now Siobahn was safely ensconced in the guest room of Scarlet’s East Hampton cottage, being watched over by Billie, Scarlet’s personal assistant.

As Scarlet splashed water on her face, she went through all the reasons she might be throwing up. Food poisoning wasn’t the issue. No one else staying here had been sick and her personal chef, Lourdes, was pretty scrupulous about kitchen hygiene.

“Not food poisoning,” she muttered aloud as she wiped her face with a muslin cloth recommended by her aesthetician. At twenty-eight, she didn’t have many fine lines or signs of aging, but still, her mother had always said it was never too late to take steps to prevent them.

You’re distracting yourself from the obvious.

Scarlet looked in the mirror, knowing the voice was in her mind and that she was alone. She’d lost her sister three years ago to a drug overdose, but that hadn’t stopped Scarlet from still hearing her voice at odd moments. Usually when she least wanted to hear it.

Tara had been a bossy older sister and apparently didn’t want to stop giving her orders. Scarlet sighed and stared down at her stomach. She hadn’t had a period in over six weeks even though she’d always been regular as clockwork.

Yup, you’re preggers. Wish I was still there to see the old man’s face when he hears the news.

“Shut up, Tay. I’m not even sure yet.” Scarlet couldn’t believe she was talking to herself, and that she was even in this situation to begin with.

If there was one thing the O’Malleys were good at, it was making money, living life full on and making colossally bad decisions. It went all the way back to her mother, who’d died when Scarlet was seventeen. Dying under mysterious circumstances that had been concluded an accident but many believed might have been more deliberate. Her father was on his sixth wife, and that didn’t count the mistresses he’d had in between and often during those liaisons. Scarlet’s longest relationship to date was twelve days, and honestly, she knew that was because they’d been on her private island and Leon’s private plane couldn’t land because of high winds.

She couldn’t be pregnant.

If she was...

God, this was a nightmare.

She knew the responsible thing would be to give the child up. Everyone said she was spoiled, and she took it as a compliment. Her goal had always been to live her best life.

But a kid?

She had a few acquaintances who had children but they tended to employ an army of nannies to care for them. Her own childhood had shown her how alienating that could be.

She walked into her bedroom and fell back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling that she’d had painted to resemble the night sky. As she looked up at the “stars,” Lulu, her miniature dachshund, bounded up the ramp that Scarlet kept next to the bed and hopped on her stomach. She petted her sweet little dog as she lay there trying to ignore the inevitable.

What about the dad?

Tara’s voice again.

The dad?

That’s right... Mauricio Velasquez. Texan Humanitarian of the Year. Other than drinking too much with her and hooking up for one night, he was pretty rock solid. And he’d told her about his large family and how close they all were.

She put her hand on her stomach again. Mauricio might be the best chance this baby had...if there was one. She’d have Billie get Dr. Patel to drop by later on today. If she was pregnant, she’d book a trip for herself, Billie and Siobahn to Cole’s Hill. The tiny town might be the perfect place for Siobahn to recover from her breakup while Scarlet checked out her baby daddy.

Four hours later she was sitting on the couch across from Billie and Siobahn, who were both staring at her as if she’d lost her ever-loving mind. To be fair, she might have.

“Texas?” Siobahn asked again. “No way. That’s the last place I want to be chased by paparazzi.”

“Precisely my point,” Scarlet reminded her friend. “They won’t follow you there. It’s the perfect move. I rented a house this morning in something called the Five Families neighborhood, which has a manned security gate. We’ll have plenty of privacy.”

“But why Texas?” Billie asked. “I mean, I don’t mind going, but it’s hot in Texas in July.”

Not as hot as it was going to be when she found Mauricio Velasquez. Dang, but the two of them had burned up the sheets during their one night together.

“I need to see someone there, and we could all use a break,” Scarlet said. “Trust me. It will be fun, and Siobahn, you’ll forget all about Maté.”

“I already have,” her friend said.

“Liar,” Scarlet said in a kind tone. She walked over and sat down on the arm of Siobahn’s chair and hugged her friend.

“This will be good for both of us,” Scarlet promised.

Siobahn looked up at her, and it broke Scarlet’s heart to see her usually bubbly friend’s sad, red-rimmed eyes. She would do whatever it took to distract Siobahn, and though she hadn’t mentioned it to her friend, Scarlet knew that this pregnancy was going to be a distraction for both of them.

Dr. Patel had confirmed it—she was going to have a child. Scarlet was still reeling from the news but she’d always been the kind of girl who dealt with things by getting busy and moving. She couldn’t stay in New York City or the Hamptons. She had to see Mauricio again and then she’d figure out this entire baby thing.

If there was one thing the O’Malleys were bad at it was taking care of someone else.

A baby.

She had always wanted someone of her own to love, but she had promised herself that she’d never have kids. She’d seen firsthand what happened when the wrong sort of people had kids. And she had never been anyone’s idea of a “good girl.”

She put her hand on her stomach and looked in the mirror. Mauricio Velasquez was a decent guy. He’d won a humanitarian award. He’d be a good father, right?

She’d meet his family and make sure, but she wanted everything for this baby that she’d never had. Two loving parents, and a family support network so that her baby wouldn’t turn out like her.

Sunday brunch with the parents was a Velasquez tradition, one that Alec Velasquez had been lucky enough to miss for the last month thanks to various speaking engagements at different technology symposia around the globe. In fact, if he could figure out a way to miss this week, he would do it, as well.

He hadn’t been back to Cole’s Hill since the fiasco where he’d posed as his twin brother, Mauricio, to accept a humanitarian award on Mo’s behalf in Houston and—damn. He’d had the night of his life with Scarlet O’Malley. But there’d been no way for him to contact her again. He’d tried to come up with a plan where he’d go to New York and just casually run into her, but then he kept coming up against how to tell her he wasn’t Mo. He knew straight off that no woman liked being lied to like that.

At least he’d spoken on the phone to Mo’s girlfriend, Hadley Everton, and cleared things up with her. After initially thinking it was Mo in the tabloid photos with Scarlet from that night, Hadley had been able to sort it out with him. And now they were engaged. That made their mom so happy she’d almost been okay with Alec missing all those brunches.

But she knew he was back in town and she wanted answers. Given that Hadley and Mo were engaged, everyone knew it was Alec who had hooked up with Scarlet O’Malley. Around town, the gossips referred to her as “the heiress.” And unless he wanted to deal with the full force of his mother’s temper, he’d be at brunch.

He sat down at his laptop and looked at the email to Scarlet he’d saved in his drafts folder. He kept changing it but every time he read it he knew he couldn’t send it to her. He should be happy they had one night together and let it go.

He heard the ding of his security system and suspected it might be his twin brother, who had texted him that they could ride together out to the polo grounds where brunch was being held today.

He hid the email window on his computer and stood up just as his brother entered the room. The walls of Alec’s home office were lined with leather-bound volumes of books; the interior designer had thought they would make the study look more elegant. But Alec had insisted that the books all be ones he’d read. So there was an entire shelf of Goosebumps and Harry Potter, all leather-bound, right below the Shakespeare and Hemingway.

“Morning, bro.”

“Morning,” Alec said. They did the one-arm bro hug and then he stepped back. “Where is your better half?”

“There was some sort of emergency with Helena’s wedding and she had to go see Kinley this morning to solve it,” Mo said. Hadley’s sister, Helena, was planning a wedding to her high school sweetheart, Malcolm. They had faced a rough patch recently when Mal had gambled away their wedding fund. But the couple had come back together stronger than ever.

Kinley Quinten-Caruthers was a sought after wedding planner working for the famous Jaqs Veerland. Kinley was a hometown girl who’d moved back to Cole’s Hill a few years ago to open a Texas branch to service high profile clients including former NFL bad boy Hunter Caruthers, who became her brother-in-law after she married Nathan Caruthers, the father of her child.

“What kind of emergency? It’s a Sunday.”

Mauricio shrugged and shook his head. “I have no idea. I’m told it’s better not to know.”

“Indeed,” Alec said. “I guess we should be heading out.”

“Before we do...”

“I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“That you were here for something other than to carpool,” Alec said.

“Well, you’ve been shifty recently.”

“Shifty?” Alec asked, arching one eyebrow.

“Mom’s words. She suggested I use our twin connection to find out what’s going on with you,” Mo said, pacing over to the bookshelf. “I didn’t want to tell her that it’s probably a girl problem because that would activate her matrimony radar and you’d never have a moment’s peace today.”

“Thanks for that.”

“You need to come up with something I can tell her,” Mo said.

“Yeah, we don’t want a replay of what happened when we were kids and you told Mom that I skipped soccer practice to talk to a girl.” Alec smiled at the memory.

Harking back to their childhood provided a momentary distraction, but he knew that Mo wasn’t going to let this go that easily. While neither of them believed in a psychic twin sense, they’d always been able to perceive when the other brother was in turmoil.

“And still it’s a woman causing you problems—wanna talk about it? We have some time before we are due at the polo grounds.”

Did he want to talk about it? Hell, no. He wasn’t a touchy-feely sort of guy, and to be fair, neither was Mo.

“Not really.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Mom would be so disappointed,” Alec said.

“No she wouldn’t. I suspect that Bianca is going to be the next one to try to figure out what’s going on with you.”

Alec groaned. Their sister would be a lot more persistent. Even though she was a year younger than the two of them, she’d always had a way of getting what she wanted from all of the Velasquez men.

“I don’t think there’s anything that can be done about this,” Alec said. “It’s Scarlet. I can’t stop thinking about her but I can’t contact her because she thinks I’m you. If I say, ‘Hey, I was pretending to be my brother,’ I don’t think she’s going to want to see me again.”

There, he’d said it. And saying it out loud made him realize how ridiculous the entire thing was. He and Mo were thirty years old, almost thirty-one. The time for switching places with his twin had long passed.

Mo clapped Alec’s shoulder.

“That is a tough one. But if I learned anything from my relationship with Hadley, it’s that if you want a woman badly enough, you go after her. Apologize for your mistakes, tell her the truth and then tell her how you feel.”

“Ugh. That’s a lot of telling.”

“Maybe you could write an app that would do it for you,” Mo said sarcastically.

“Screw you.”

But Alec felt better after talking to Mo. Maybe he would call Scarlet or even take the jet to New York and see her. It wouldn’t hurt. And then he’d have an idea if this obsession was simply because she was out of reach or if it was something else.

When they finally arrived in Cole’s Hill, Siobahn decided to stay at the house but Scarlet was eager to find Mauricio right away and talk to him about the pregnancy. She had Lulu in the large bag that she carried her in when they were in a new place and Billie by her side as they drove into town for coffee.

She wasn’t sure what kind of man he was; after all they’d spent only one night together and they’d both been drinking and dancing and laughing. When she’d woken up the next morning, he’d been gone, and she didn’t blame him after she’d seen the paparazzi pictures from the night before that had ended up on TMZ.

Her life wasn’t for everyone, but she’d gotten used to it. Tara used to say they’d been born a goldfish bowl and like good little guppies they’d learned how to preen for the press. There were times when Scarlet wished for a simpler, less public life, but to be honest she loved it most days.

In this town, though, no one seemed to pay her the least bit of attention. She could get used to this. When she stopped into the coffee shop to get her coconut milk latte, everyone left her alone.

“Do you know the Velasquez family?” Scarlet causally asked the barista after ordering.

“Everyone knows them. They’re legends in Cole’s Hill. I think they’ll all be out at the new polo grounds today. I don’t follow the sport but there’s a former professional scheduled to play today... Dee, do you remember his name?” the barista asked the woman at the espresso machine.

“Bartolome Figueras. He’s also a model. Oh, my, he’s good-looking,” Dee said.

“He is,” Scarlet agreed. She had met him and his sister at a polo match in Bridgehampton earlier in the summer. She might even have his number. “I love polo. Do you think that we could attend the match?” Scarlet said, turning to Billie, who smiled.

“I’m sure you could. They’ve been doing monthly matches to raise money for a housing charity that Mauricio Velasquez runs,” the barista said. She pushed a button on her register and some receipt paper came out. She ripped it off and jotted down a website.

“I think you can get all of the information from here,” she said, handing the paper to Scarlet. “Have fun.”

When they had their orders, Scarlet and Billie walked out of the coffee shop toward the parking lot.

“That was surprisingly easy,” Billie said.

“It was. Let’s go home and get changed. I bet Siobahn will want to join us,” Scarlet said.

“I don’t know about that. She’s sort of in a funk this morning.”

Scarlet stopped walking and turned to her assistant. Billie had been picking up the slack the last few days, looking after Siobahn for her while Scarlet had been trying to figure out this pregnancy thing. She hadn’t mentioned the test results to anyone, even Billie. Only she and Dr. Patel knew.

“I should have stopped in to see her. I’m sorry I’ve been so focused on finding Mauricio.”

“It’s okay. I’m just saying I don’t know if you’re going to be able to persuade her to come with you to the polo match.”

“Fair enough,” Scarlet said.

They went back to the house. While Billie tracked down contact info for Bartolome Figueras’s assistant and texted her to put their names on the VIP list, Scarlet talked with Siobahn. She wasn’t in the mood to leave the house, so Scarlet left Lulu with her.

The polo grounds were busy when they arrived. Billie went to see if she could find out where the stables were. Scarlet moved through the crowds, searching the men who were dressed in traditional polo shirts and jodhpurs, scanning for the one she’d spent the night with.

She saw Bart first, and heard his sister Zaria’s laughter. Scarlet smiled at the sound of it. The Argentinean heiress had a big, bold laugh that matched her personality. Scarlet headed toward them, then noticed Mauricio Velasquez was standing in the same group. He had his arm around a very pretty woman with thick dark curly hair that hung to the middle of her back. She watched them for a minute. Maybe she was his sister. But then he bent to kiss the woman, and not in a sisterly way.

Scarlet had never in her life been a timid person, and seeing the father of her unborn child kiss another woman made her angry. For a split second she realized she’d had a little fantasy of some sort of perfect rendezvous where they’d instantly agree to spend the rest of their lives together.

It was as if she’d forgotten she was an O’Malley and that kind of thing wasn’t in the cards for her. She didn’t do commitment. She wasn’t programmed for long term. She’d seen what that had done to her mother, who couldn’t handle being left by Scarlet’s father as he’d moved on to someone younger, hotter and a little bit wilder.

Tara had been the same as their father, living fast and hard and burning bright for such a short time. But Scarlet had been confused, caught between two opposites. On the one hand, she had the dream of having the perfect family that at times she saw in old pictures of the O’Malleys taken when she was a child. And then there was the reality that she had never been responsible for anyone but herself.

O’Malleys were better when they only had to look out for themselves. It was what they were the best at...that and doing something outrageous and creating scandal.

Plastering a smile on her face, she strode determinedly toward the group, forcing herself not to look at the woman or Mauricio again. Instead she’d just play it cool and pretend she was here to see Bart. But as she got closer, she couldn’t prevent her gaze from straying to Mauricio.

He was still handsome—damn him. For a brief second she wondered if there was a world where the Velasquez good would balance out her O’Malley bad. She’d heard nothing but good things about the Velasquez family and how close knit they were.

And it had created a longing inside her for the family that she’d never had and had always been a little curious about. Even though she wasn’t built for commitment, it might be nice to be a part of this kind of thing for real.

“Scarlet,” Bart said in his wonderfully accented English. “What a surprise! I’m glad you’re here. Please meet my friends Mauricio Velasquez and his fiancée, Hadley Everton.”

Fiancée?

What the hell?

She turned toward the man she thought she knew and noticed the set of his shoulders and the scar on his eyebrow. The man she’d slept with didn’t have that. What the hell was going on?

“Hello, Mauricio,” she said. “I believe we’ve met. At that gala in Houston.”

“Well, actually—” Mauricio began.

“I’m the one you’re looking for,” a male voice said from behind her.

She turned to face the man and was struck speechless. He was a mirror image of Mauricio. He had a twin? In that moment, Scarlet realized that in true O’Malley fashion this situation had gone from bad to worse. A baby scare from a one-night stand? Sure, it happened. But learning that her baby daddy was an impostor, a virtual stranger whom she knew nothing about... Well, that was the old O’Malley bad luck.

Two

Alec really wished he’d figured out a way to send that email. The look on Scarlet’s face as she turned to face him was one of shock, followed quickly by disdain and anger. He’d actually never had a woman look at him like that before and he didn’t like it.

He prided himself on being a good guy.

He had always treated women with respect—he had a sister after all. He never wanted to be the kind of man who did anything to incur this kind of look.

In his head words swirled around like computer code when he was trying to figure out a new algorithm. He sorted through them with lightning speed.

But this wasn’t the time to really talk. Bart, Mo, Hadley and the others were all staring at him. Mo and Hadley at least knew what was going on, but to everyone else... It had to seem crazy.

He reached for Scarlet’s arm, to draw her away and speak privately, trying to ignore the fact that her honey-blond hair, falling in waves to her shoulders, seemed even thicker and more tempting than he remembered. Her gray-green eyes sparkled with temper as she shrugged away from his arm and turned, the full skirt of her flowy dress swinging around her legs. Her shoulders were straight as she headed toward a copse of trees on the edge of the polo grounds. Alec had no choice but to follow her.

She stumbled on the grass and he reached out to steady her.

“Thanks.”

He nodded. He couldn’t believe she was here. Or that his lie had been found out in such a public way. He knew he’d screwed up.

When they finally reached the shade of the trees, he immediately launched into an apology. “I’m sorry. I should have told you everything that night. Mauricio was sick with food poisoning and he asked me to step in and accept the award for him. For some reason, I thought it would just be easier to let everyone think I was Mauricio, instead of having to explain his absence. I didn’t want the organizers to think that Mo had blown them off. It goes back to how we handled things like this when we were young. I should have told you, too, but by the time I realized my mistake, it was too late,” he said.

She tipped her head back, lifting the hat that he hadn’t realized she was carrying in one of her hands and settling it over her hair. Then she drew out a pair of large dark sunglasses and put them on.

“I don’t accept your apology,” she said. “Who are you? I don’t even know your name.”

Shame made him shake his head. How could he ever make this up to her? “I’m Alejandro. Mauricio and I are twins. My friends call me Alec.”

“That’s good to know, Alejandro. I think you should have told me when we got back to my hotel room.”

“We were too busy with...other things to talk at that point,” he said in his defense. “But you’re right. I definitely should have stopped and told you who I was. I meant to do it in the morning but by then our photo was going viral and I knew my brother was going to be in hot water with Hadley. And I rushed out to try to warn him. Not that you should take that as an excuse.”

She crossed her arms under her breasts and his gaze drifted down for a moment. He enjoyed the deep V of the bodice of her wrap dress before he realized what he was doing and brought his eyes back up to meet hers.

“Fair enough. I get why you left,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Was it actually that easy? He’d been afraid to let her know and now it seemed his worry had been for nothing. He might actually be able to ask her out and maybe get something started.

She nodded. “Actually, I need to talk to you about that night.”

Talking was good. Right? He was a practical man. A rational man. But he’d been raised by parents who believed in fate and destiny, and a part of him thought Scarlet’s presence in Cole’s Hill had to be more than just coincidence. But what was it?

He easily attributed his longing for her to the fact that one night hadn’t been enough for him. It never was. One weekend...maybe. But one night—no way! Now he was standing in front of her and that ache he’d felt when he’d been trying not to think about her for the last six weeks was stronger than ever. So he wasn’t going to walk away from it.

He’d learned early on that the more he denied he wanted something, the more he craved it. But Scarlet hardly seemed like she was going to give him a second chance.

And really, did he blame her?

No, of course not.

His smart watch buzzed, warning him he needed to head to the barn to get ready for the polo match.

He scrubbed his hand over his face and wished for once that he had more self-control. Though following his gut had led him to great success in business, this wasn’t the first time it had landed him in hot water with his personal life.

“I have about ten minutes before the match starts,” Alec said. “My family is having a brunch afterward and I’d love it if you would accompany me. So you can see I’m not a total douchebag.”

“I don’t think you’re a total douchebag.”

He almost smiled at the way she said it but he knew he was still in hot water. It reminded him of why he’d hooked up with her. She’d been so spot-on with her descriptions of some of the more pretentious people in the room the night of the awards banquet, they’d sort of started bonding over it.

“Will you please come with me?” he asked. “They all know what I did...well, at least that I kissed you while pretending to be Mo. So they will definitely understand you’re angry with me.”

“My assistant is here. Can she come, too?”

“Yes, of course. I think Bart and Zaria will be joining us, too, so there will be more familiar faces for you.”

“Fine. I’ll see you after the match,” she said, walking past him in a cloud of feminine ire and Chanel perfume. He glanced over his shoulder, watching her retreat and ignoring the spark of excitement that was spreading through him.

She kept her cool until she was sure she was out of his line of sight and then she finally stopped walking like she had all the confidence in the world.

Whom the hell had she slept with?

She’d made some dumb decisions in the course of her life. Heck, who hadn’t, right? But the truth was she was usually pretty picky when it came to bed partners. She didn’t hook up with just every cute guy who came along, despite what the tabloids liked to print about her. And that night... Well, she’d thought she was connecting with Mauricio Velasquez. As for Alejandro—Alec—she’d had no idea she was being tricked like that.

Ugh.

“You okay?” Billie asked, coming up next to her.

“Yeah. I mean no. I don’t know,” she admitted to her assistant. “This isn’t going like I planned.”

Billie laughed in that honest way of hers and Scarlet couldn’t help smiling. “When does it ever? What’s going on here? You haven’t told me a single deet except you wanted to reconnect with that guy you met in Houston.”

Scarlet took her sunglasses off and glanced at her friend, trying to find the words. But they still escaped her. This was the kind of situation Tara had always found herself in. Usually Scarlet prided herself on being smarter about her personal life.

“It’s complicated,” she said.

“I’m all ears,” Billie said.

“Well, I can’t say too much here,” Scarlet said, glancing around at all the people gathering on the observation deck to watch the match. There was a bar set up and a small buffet table. The conversation was about the Velasquez brothers; apparently one of them was married to the British jewelry heiress Phillipa Hamilton-Hoff.

“Later, then?” Billie asked.

Scarlet nodded.

“Do you need me? I thought I’d go back to the house and check on Siobahn and then go grocery shopping. I have two interviews lined up for later this evening with private chefs but I’m probably going to have to cook dinner tonight,” Billie said.

Billie was obviously busy, and a part of Scarlet knew she should just let her get on with her job. What was she going to say to Billie?

“Scar?”

She just shrugged and shoved her glasses back on her face and turned away. The quick movement made her stomach churn.

Crap.

She didn’t want to throw up here. She couldn’t.

But she felt the bile in the back of her throat and put her hand in front of her mouth.

“Bathroom?” she said to Billie.

“Shit. Too far,” Billie said, quickly realizing that Scarlet was going to throw up. Billie grabbed her hand and they started running away from the crowd as the first chukka of the polo match got under way. Billie drew her behind the side of the barn in the nick of time and Scarlet was sick while Billie squeezed her shoulder and held her hair out of the way.

When her stomach was empty, Billie handed her a water bottle and she rinsed her mouth and spit before standing up and turning to her friend. She’d lost her sunglasses somewhere and she needed them.

She liked the illusion that she was invisible hiding behind the large-framed glasses. And as she saw the surprised look Billie’s brown eyes, she knew she needed to hide. Her friend wasn’t going to buy any excuse. She knew for a fact that Scarlet had been on a detox, eating and drinking healthy.

“You’re pregnant?”

Scarlet swallowed, her throat dry and sore. “Yes. But it’s complicated.”

“The father is that Mauricio guy?” Billie asked, taking a few steps away from Scarlet and picking up her sunglasses from the ground.

She handed them to Scarlet and she put them on. “I thought so. But the guy has a twin brother. They switched places that night.”

“Okay, obviously we are mad about this. What do you want me to do? I can reach out to our press contacts and start a smear—”

“Not yet. I don’t even know this guy. He invited me to join him and his family for brunch after the match. I was hoping you’d come with me,” Scarlet said.

“Oh, hell yes, I’ll be there. What’s his name?” Billie asked, pulling her smartphone from her pocket.

“Alejandro Velasquez,” Scarlet said.

“Shit, are you kidding?”

“Do you think I’d joke about that? Why? Who is he?”

“Well, let me do a quick internet search to confirm it but I’m pretty sure he’s a tech genius who owns a billion-dollar software company.”

“So why would he do something so immature, like pretending to be his brother?” Scarlet asked. “B, what am I going to do? You know my family... I thought—”

“I’ll do some research while you watch the match. Then at this brunch thing we can see what kind of family he has, what kind of people they are. Maybe the switching-places thing was innocent. Whatever happens you’ve got me by your side,” Billie said as she hugged Scarlet.

She wasn’t alone. Why, then, did she always feel that way? Billie was the best assistant she’d ever had but, in a way, she was just like the nanny Scarlet and Tara had shared growing up. Paid family. Though she knew Billie wasn’t with her just for a paycheck.

“Thanks, B,” she said. “This has completely screwed with my head.”

“That’s saying something. Nothing ever rattles you.”

She had to smile at that. She had built up a resistance to the kinds of situations that would freak out most people. But this... Maybe it was the fact that Tara wasn’t here for her to talk to about it. Tara would be able to make her laugh about it even though a part of her was hurt.

Scarlet couldn’t help but think that maybe he hadn’t worried about lying to her because of who she was. Because she was the kind of person who’d lived her life going from one scandal to the next. She had a reputation. So lying to her hadn’t worried him.

She hoped that wasn’t the case.

But then she’d learned that hoping was a waste of time. She’d hoped her dad would stop marrying younger women and actually be a parent to her and Tara. She’d hoped that Tara would stop using and get clean. Now she was hoping that Alejandro Velasquez was a decent guy...

Alec had grown up playing polo with his brothers. The Velasquez family had been horse breeders for generations, and Alec’s dad had been playing on a team with Tio Jose and their cousins since they were children. So riding was second nature to Alec. His four-player team generally consisted of Alec, Mo, their eldest brother, Diego, and the youngest Velasquez, Inigo, with either Malcolm Ferris—Mo’s best friend—or their dad often subbing for Inigo, who was gone a lot of the time on the Formula 1 circuit. Technically Inigo wasn’t supposed to play when he was home because of insurance concerns, but the Velasquez men had a problem with following the rules.

Diego was always number one—the goal striker. He’d always had a good eye for hitting goals, so it made sense for him to play in that position. Alec and Mauricio traded off being number two, the forward, and number three, the pivotal player who switches between offense and defense. Then number four protected the goal. Malcolm was really good at that position and since they’d grown up playing with him, he knew everyone’s strengths and weaknesses.

But when the third chukka ended, Alec knew his brothers and Malcolm weren’t pleased with his performance. It didn’t help that they were playing against Bart and his friends, who’d all played polo professionally at some point in their lives.

Alec hung back from the others trying to search out Scarlet in the crowd. He finally spotted her standing with Zaria and laughing at something Bart’s sister had said. Scarlet’s head was thrown back and he felt a jolt of lust just seeing her happiness.

“You’re not going to be in a state to even talk to her if you don’t get your head in the game,” Mo said, coming over to him.

His twin was known for his hot temper, but since he and Hadley had gotten engaged, Mauricio hadn’t been giving in to it as often. For a while after Hadley and Mo had broken up he’d been getting into fights with everyone in town and drinking way too much. It had been Mo’s way of dealing with losing Hadley while not having to admit he’d pushed her away.

“I’m trying,” Alec said. “I wasn’t expecting to see her today. Why is she here? And how am I going to make up for lying about being you?” he asked his twin. She’d thrown him and he wasn’t used to being caught off guard. Part of the reason he was so successful was that he could usually envision all the possibilities in a situation. But this was completely out of left field. He’d done some research on Scarlet—she was known for moving forward and rarely going back to anything or anyone.

Mo sighed. “Dude, I have no clue but winning the game would probably go a long way to impressing her.”

Alec knew the outcome of this match didn’t matter to her at all. “I think that would make you happy, not her.”

“Maybe your right... But damn, you’re in trouble now.”

“What?” he asked, glancing over at Scarlet and noticing that his sister, who was almost six months pregnant, and his mom had joined the group Scarlet was in.

Oh crap. That was all he needed: Bianca and his mom over there talking to her. “I wonder if Dad wants to play for me for a minute.”

“No. Don’t do it. There’s nothing you can say to make anything better. Plus, Dad hasn’t played in a couple of weeks and he’s taking care of Benito,” Mo said, referring to their little nephew. “Come on, time to finish the match.”

Alec’s performance was as crappy in the last two chukkas as it had been in the first four. He gave his twin a wide berth when they were in the locker room, showering and changing. He wasn’t looking forward to joining his family, who were up on the second-floor balcony of the main barn area. When Diego and Alec had started designing and developing the polo grounds, they’d known they wanted a place for the family to hang out after matches. In fact, Diego was hiring an event manager to run the space as it had become popular with many of the townspeople in Cole’s Hill.

When he left the locker room, he went to the barn instead of up to the balcony where everyone was waiting, including Scarlet O’Malley. He wished he had his laptop with him but instead he leaned against Dusty his polo pony’s stall, took out his phone, pulled up the internet and deployed the search algorithm that he’d developed to find all imprints left by a person on the web. It wouldn’t help him in time for the brunch he was having with Scarlet and his family, but afterward he’d have a better idea of who she was and why she was here.

One night in her bed had whetted his appetite for her but he’d resigned himself to never seeing her or touching her again. There was just too much explaining to do, so he’d figured that she’d just be one of those women he thought about wistfully from afar. But now she was back and he wanted her, as badly as he had the first time he’d kissed her.

Dusty lifted his head and looked toward the barn entrance. Alec turned and saw Scarlet walking through the doors toward him. He took a deep breath as he pocketed his smartphone.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Alejandro. I was waiting for you upstairs,” she said.

“Sorry. I wanted to apologize to Dusty for my poor playing today,” he said.

She tipped her head to the side and studied him. She didn’t say anything, just crossed her arms over her chest and waited.

“What?”

“Nothing. But now I know what you look like when you lie.”

He straightened away from the stall and walked toward her. “No, you don’t. That’s the truth.”

“Are you sure? Because you have the exact same look on your face as you did when you introduced yourself to me as Mauricio.”

Three

He stood there in the middle of the stables looking more at home than he’d been at the gala in Houston. She wondered if she was glimpsing the real man now. But then how would she know? Since they’d been introduced, he’d done nothing but lie to her.

“I’m sorry I lied to you, Scarlet,” he said. “If there had been a chance to tell you the truth I would have, but I got carried away and the last thing on my mind once we got to your hotel room was explaining the rather complicated fact that I had helped my twin out by pretending to be him.”

As close as he stood to her she couldn’t help but inhale the spicy, outdoorsy aftershave he wore. She closed her eyes. The scent wasn’t unpleasant, but she was pregnant and it bothered her the slightest bit.

Damn.

If she got sick in front of him, she was going to throw the biggest, ugliest fit anyone had ever witnessed. She needed the advantage here. She wanted to find out what kind of man he was before she told him about the baby.

She took a few steps back and turned toward the horse stalls that held the polo ponies. She didn’t mind horses but hadn’t really ever been a great rider. Tara had been the rider in their family. And since their father always insisted on making a competition of everything the two of them had done, they’d quickly decided not to pursue the same passions.

The queasiness subsided as soon as she stepped away from him.

She turned to look back at him over her shoulder. She’d left her sunglasses on when she’d entered the stables and now it was hard to see him. The lenses were very dark, and she couldn’t make out his expression.

Maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. She skimmed her gaze down his body. He wore a pair of white jeans with a black belt that emphasized his narrow waist and the strength of his legs. He also wore a light-colored button-down shirt and gray blazer. She wished he appeared unkempt or wrinkled. But instead he looked like the sophisticated man she’d thought him to be.

“So you’re a tech guy?” she asked.

One side of his mouth lifted in a sort of half smile. “You could say that.”

“I just did,” she quipped. Something she’d learned from a lifetime of dealing with her father—a man she’d never understood and still didn’t really know—was to always stay on her toes.

“Touché.”

“What do you do?” she asked.

“I’ll be happy to tell you about it over brunch,” he said. “Should we go and join the rest of my family?”

“Not yet,” she said. “I want to know more about you, Alejandro.”

“Fair enough. I want to know more about you as well, Scarlet. I want to know the woman behind the headlines.”

She shook her head. No one knew that woman... Well, maybe Tara had, but she was dead. And Billie and Siobahn saw what she wanted them to see. She had never felt comfortable letting someone all the way in. She doubted this man who’d lied to her when they’d first met would be the one.

“That’s not how it’s going to work,” she said. “It’s not a tit-for-tat thing. You lied about who you are. I didn’t.”

He came over and reached out, taking her hand in his. When he lifted it to his mouth and kissed it, a shiver went up her arm and awareness spread throughout her body. Here was a reaction she could understand. Lust. Pure and simple.

“I did lie. I’m incredibly sorry about that. If I could do it over, I would have told you who I was right away. But everything else about that night was me. I wasn’t acting like Mo. He’s much duller than I am.”

He was inviting her to see the humor in the moment and if she hadn’t been pregnant, if her family hadn’t been the biggest mess on the planet and if she hadn’t thought he was a better man, she might be able to laugh. But there was too much riding on this. She didn’t want to give birth to another tragic little human who was doomed like Tara or her mom, or to be fair, like herself. And this man had been a ray of hope until she’d realized he wasn’t who she thought he was.

“Are you ever going to be able to forgive me?” he asked.

Sincerity radiated from every inch of his body. He might be a great guy. She just didn’t know him.

She shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“At least meet the rest of my family. I think you’ll see that I’m not as big of an asshole as you take me for.”

He dropped her hand and turned away from her, but she stopped him with her hand on his shoulder. She couldn’t help letting her fingers flex against the rock-hard muscles.

“Did you do it because of who I am?” she asked. It was one thing she needed to have answered before she could move forward.

“What are you talking about?”

“Did you and your brother believe that lying to me didn’t matter because you think I’m morally bankrupt?” she asked. It was one of the nicer ways her critics had put it over the years.

“Dios mio, Scarlet. Mo and I never discussed you until after it happened. I told him you were enchanting, beautiful and the kind of woman who made me forget everything but being by your side.”

She caught her breath. She wanted to believe him. When she looked into his dark chocolate-colored eyes, she hoped it was truth she saw there. But she didn’t know him.

She could only reserve judgment for now and tuck that sentiment away. Time would tell if Alejandro Velasquez was a man of honor.

Given that he’d done nothing but think about Scarlet since she’d shown up at the polo match, Alec was glad to be back in the company of his family. Everyone, including Bart and his sister, was milling around by the bar. Normally they’d be seated at the table and eating by now.

They’d waited for him, or more precisely for Scarlet.

As soon as they walked onto the balcony, Bianca and her sisters-in-law, Kinley and Ferrin, turned toward them.

“I should warn you that everyone here is going to be very curious about you,” he said to Scarlet. “Also, I’m not sure if you’ve ever been in a small town before, but it’s pretty much like being on a reality TV show without the cameras. Everyone will know who you are in less than a day and they’ll want to know why you’re here.”

“Nice. I’m used to it. You saw how TMZ published those pics of us kissing before we’d even left the ballroom.”

“Fair enough. I will say that generally most people are pretty nice here.”

“I’ll wait and see. I tend to bring out extreme reactions in people,” she said.

“What kind—”

“Alec, where have you been? I’m starving but Mom wouldn’t let us start eating until you were here with your date,” Bianca said, coming up to them. “And it’s not nice to keep a pregnant lady away from food.”

“Sorry, Bia,” he said, leaning over to kiss his sister’s cheek. “Have you met?”

“We did earlier. I’m glad you’re here,” Bianca said to Scarlet. “Now, how about if we mosey over to the buffet line.”

She looped her arm through Scarlet’s and drew her toward the food. As the two women walked away, he realized that it might be in his best interest to step back and let his family do their thing. Maybe their warmth and kindness would help convince her that he wasn’t a total jerk.

“Mom would scold me if I didn’t make sure you’re eating, too,” he heard Bianca announce as they walked away.

As soon as Bianca and Scarlet were at the buffet table, most of the crowd shifted from their conversations to line up. Mo held back and Alec went over to join his brother.

“So?”

“What?”

“Did you make things right with her?” Mo asked.

“In twenty minutes? It’s a wonder that you got Hadley back. I mean you have no clue about women,” Alec said.

Mo punched him in the shoulder a little harder than was necessary, but Alec knew his brother was still mad about losing the match to Bart.

“I think I have a bit more than a clue, Alec. After all, one of us will be going home with the woman he loves today, and the other one...”

“Will still be trying to figure out how he screwed up so badly. I don’t know what it was about that night,” Alec said. “Don’t listen to me. I’m tired and have to leave for Seattle in the morning to meet with one of my clients. I’m a little distracted by that.”

Mo shook his head at him. “It’s not fatigue that made you say that. I get it. It’s hard when you screw up. It took me a long time to get past my own anger and realize that I had to change if I wanted Hadley back in my life.”

“But you knew she wanted you back,” he said.

“Not really,” Mo said. “You’ll figure this out. Be yourself and see what happens. It’s not like all your hookups show up in Cole’s Hill. She must be back for a reason.”

A reason?

Well, that showed how screwed up he was that he’d never stopped to think about why she had sought him out. Was she in trouble?

She was an heiress with her own reality show and an A-list lifestyle. He doubted she’d come looking for him to solve a problem for her. Maybe she hadn’t been able to write off their night together as a onetime thing.

By the time he got his plate of food, there was only one chair left at the table, conveniently between Scarlet and Hadley. He took the seat and noticed that a woman he didn’t know was seated across from him. He guessed she must be Scarlet’s assistant. She had midnight-black hair that she wore in a ponytail and large sunglasses pushed up on her forehead. When their gazes met, she glared at him.

She was definitely Scarlet’s friend. He didn’t need to guess how she felt about him. “I’m Alejandro.”

“I know,” she said.

“And you are?”

“Billie Sampson,” she said. “I’m here with Scarlet.”

“I guessed,” he said. “So are you from New York originally?”

He had learned a long time ago that if he kept asking questions eventually whoever he was talking to would relax.

“No. I’m originally from Maine.”

“I have some business interests in Maine,” he said. “I need to plan a visit. Can you recommend a time of year?”

“Yes.” But she didn’t say anything more.

He almost smiled. She was stubborn and he could tell she wasn’t going to give him an inch. He respected that. He’d lied to her friend. He liked that Scarlet had someone like Billie in her life.

From what he’d read online, it seemed like her life was a big chaotic mess, but this interaction with Billie and his earlier conversation with Scarlet showed him how little he knew of the real woman.

Billie turned to talk to Ferrin. Alec took a bite of his food before glancing at Scarlet, who was watching him.

“You have a good friend in her,” Alec said.

“I know. It takes a lot to tick her off and even more to win her over,” Scarlet said.

“Like you?”

“Yes, just like me. It’s just that so many people think they know everything about me that I hold my close friends to a different standard,” she said. “They really have my back.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” he said. He wanted to be cool and just make small talk, but he had never been that kind of guy. He was someone who got answers; it was what made him so good at his job. He solved problems and helped companies by researching their digital imprint and finding ways to clean up the bad stuff.

“I’m glad you’re glad,” she said, a soft smile playing around her lips.

“I stink at small talk,” he said.

“You do,” she agreed. “What’s on your mind?”

“Why did you come to Cole’s Hill?”

Her face lost all color and she chewed her lower lip before wrinkling her nose and sort of shaking her head. “I’m not ready to talk to you about that yet.”

So it was something... But what?

Scarlet enjoyed meeting the Velasquez family and their friends. During the lunch, Alec took a lot of good-natured ribbing from his family members about pretending to be Mo. Scarlet wished she could laugh about it but she wasn’t there yet.

After they were done eating, Alec’s nephew, Benito, and Penny, the daughter of Kinley and Nate Caruthers, wanted to ride the ponies, so the group went back downstairs so the kids could ride. Billie was deep in conversation with Ferrin Caruthers, the daughter of illustrious college football coach Gainer.

“Hey, Scarlet, come over here,” Hadley called out.

She sat down next to Hadley, who was engaged in an intense conversation with her sister and her sister’s fiancé. Hadley leaned closer to Scarlet. “So, I figure you and I are the only ones who don’t think the fact that Mo and Alec switched places is funny.”

“Yeah. I mean I get that this family likes to joke but it was kind of a dumb thing for grown men to do,” Scarlet said.

“I agree. Do you know why they did it?”

“No. Alec has promised to tell me when we’re alone,” she said.

“Well, it’s totally Mo’s fault. You should know that to begin with. He got sick with food poisoning and didn’t want to cancel. So, he asked Alejandro to accept the award for him, and read the prepared speech.”

“It sounds so reasonable when you say it like that,” she said softly, almost to herself.

“It does. But, of course, I saw the photo of the two of you kissing and I thought it was Mo. He and I have some history, so it caused problems for us. Once we talked, I got why they did it, but it still hurt to see his name and yours linked together everywhere on social media,” Hadley said. “I think... I can’t speak for Alec but once he realized the photo was everywhere, he rushed to Mo to try to fix things. Still, I know that doesn’t make him a good guy in your eyes.”

Scarlet leaned back in the chair and tipped her head up to stare at the summer sky. It was hot, and she felt sticky and tired. Hearing Hadley’s explanation of the lie didn’t make her feel better. She was more confused than ever.

Alec should have said something to her at some point that night.

“Thanks for sharing that with me,” she said, realizing that Hadley was waiting for a response from her.

“It didn’t help, did it?”

“No. I’m still ticked.”

“Me, too,” Hadley said. “Half the town thinks I took Mo back after he kissed you.”

“They think we just kissed?” Scarlet asked.

“Well, probably more, but I’m not giving them any of my time. The thing with Mo and me is more complicated because we have a long relationship. So, I’ve definitely seen the real guy behind the hottie that everyone in the town thinks he is. I’ve seen him angry and sad and apologetic. He’s real to me. I don’t think that Alec is that way for you yet.”

“He’s not,” Scarlet admitted. “I don’t know that he ever will be.”

“If you need someone to talk to,” Hadley said, “I’m here. In fact, I’m hosting book club at the Bull Pen on Friday night if you want to join us.”

“What’s the Bull Pen? What book are you reading?”

“It’s a bar and music hall on the outskirts of Cole’s Hill. We never read a book but just call it book club so our moms won’t be on us about going out too much. Funny how a weekly book club is fine, but drinks aren’t.”

Scarlet had to smile at the way Hadley said it. “Who will be there?”

“Let’s see. My best friends, Zuri and Belle, and Helena if her fiancé, Malcolm, is working late,” Hadley said. “You can bring Billie if you want.”

“Let me talk to her and see if she wants to come. My friend Siobahn is here with me, as well,” Scarlet said. “Your book club sounds like her kind of thing.”

“Great. So, I’ll put you down as a maybe.” Hadley reached for her phone. “What’s your cell? I’ll text you, so we can keep in touch.”

After Hadley sent her her number, Scarlet realized she was starving. She hadn’t been able to eat at the buffet mainly because everyone at the table had been asking her questions and her stomach was in knots. But now she wanted to eat.

“Do you know where I can get something to eat here?”

“I’m heading there now.”

“Scarlet, this is my sister, Helena,” Hadley said. “Hel, this is Scarlet O’Malley.”

“Hello, I love your show. And I have to be honest—you’re gorgeous in person,” Helena said.

“Thank you,” Scarlet said. “Your fiancé is playing with the Velasquez team?”

“Yes,” Helena said. “He grew up hanging out with the Velasquez brothers.”

“There was tons of food left from the brunch. Come on, I’ll show you the kitchen.” She followed Hadley and found Bianca was already in there eating a plate of enchiladas.

“Busted,” Bianca said. “I’m going to be on a water and carrot stick diet after I give birth but right now I don’t even care.”

Hadley, Helena and Scarlet laughed with Bianca as she took a huge bite of her food. Scarlet made herself a plate.

Hadley left the kitchen to take a call. Bianca wiped her mouth as Scarlet and Helena sat down next to her and started eating. She was so hungry she ate too quickly, and she didn’t realize it until she felt the food start to come back up.

Crap.

Glancing around trying to find the bathroom, she got out of chair, pushing it back too forcefully. Bianca glanced over at her as she tried to be cool and walk out of the room, but she felt the bile in back of her throat and no amount of swallowing was going to keep this down. She looked around and saw the sink. She ran toward it, getting there just as she threw up. This was the worst. She rinsed her mouth and straightened, taking the towel that Bianca was holding out to her and Helena had gotten her a cup of water.

“So... How far along are you?” Bianca asked.

“What are you talking about?” Scarlet knew there was a slim chance that Bianca was going to let her get away with pretending she wasn’t pregnant.

“Okay. I guess it was the pork. Sometimes it doesn’t agree with me. Especially when I’m meeting new people,” Helena said.

“No,” she said, not wanting to add another lie to her life right now. “You were right. I’m six weeks...maybe seven. When was that gala in Houston?”

“No wonder you were so upset when you found out he lied,” Bianca said.

“Yeah. I’m not sure if I should tell him or not,” Scarlet said. “I know you don’t know me, but would you mind keeping this between us for now?”

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