Nine
She caught the bridal bouquet.
Aidan was standing on the sidelines drinking a beer with his brother and their Duke cousins as the ladies all gathered on the dance floor behind Sally. Without any warning, Sally heaved that big bundle of pink and white flowers and ribbons over her head, directly into the hands of Ellie, who had the good grace to look terrified by her good luck.
Sally turned and when she saw who’d caught the bouquet, she laughed. Clapping her hands happily, she called out, “I was aiming right for you, Ellie.”
“What the hell?” Aidan muttered to no one in particular.
Earlier, during the hors d’oeuvres and champagne portion of the party, Aidan had caught Sally and Ellie deep in conversation again. He’d had a moment of concern but wouldn’t have thought much more about it, except that Cameron had walked up at that exact moment.
“Listen, Aidan,” Cameron had said, nudging his chin toward Sally and Ellie. “I’ve heard that you and Ellie have something going on, so I have to warn you. My mother has these weird special powers. You know that, right?”
“I’ve heard stories,” Aidan said, not willing to agree and sound completely deranged.
Cameron shrugged. “Well, everything you’ve heard is true. So unless you and Ellie are planning to take your own trip down the aisle one of these days, I’d go over and nip that conversation in the bud.”
Aidan frowned as Sally and Ellie laughed quietly together over something. Then he noticed that another few yards beyond the two women, his brother, Logan, stood with Adam and Brandon Duke. The three men were staring straight at him. When Aidan scowled, they all began to laugh uproariously.
He turned to Cameron, who had obviously been goaded into giving him grief. “Okay. Thanks for the warning, man, but I think I can handle it from here.”
“Really?” Cameron said, raising one eyebrow. “Are you feeling lucky?”
So that had happened, and Aidan had quickly brushed it off as a practical joke played on him by his moronic twin. But then Sally had deliberately thrown her bridal bouquet straight at Ellie, who hadn’t even lined up with the other ladies to catch it. What was that all about? Wasn’t there some bizarre old omen that the woman catching the bridal bouquet would be the next to get married? He was going to have to look that up. Fast.
“Nice catch, champ,” Logan said to Ellie, who laughed and grabbed him in a big hug.
The Dukes’ wives all gathered around Ellie to congratulate her.
“Guess you’re next,” Trish teased.
Aidan felt a hard lump of something cold and near-panic-like settle in the pit of his stomach.
“I don’t think so,” Ellie said, but she blushed as she held the bouquet up to breathe in the floral scent. “I wasn’t even trying to catch it.”
“Then it’s doubly meant to be,” said Kelly, Brandon’s wife.
Aidan frowned.
“Doesn’t she look beautiful holding those flowers?” Sally said fondly.
Aidan jolted, then looked down, a little disturbed to see Sally standing next to him and staring directly up at him. He’d been so distracted by the flower toss that he’d let her sneak through his defenses.
He debated whether to call her out right then and there. Because really, this little matchmaking act of hers was beyond obvious, at least to anyone paying attention. Unfortunately, Ellie seemed to be the only one who wasn’t paying attention.
A little desperate now, he glanced around. What about the Duke brothers? Was there no solidarity among males anymore? Where were his cousins and twin brother when he needed them? Instead of coming to his aid, they were all standing back enjoying the show. What the hell?
They’d all been innocent victims of Sally’s relentless attempts to get them all married off. And she’d succeeded! Aidan was the last line of defense. The least they all could do was rally to his side when he needed them most. They were all brothers now. They needed to band together. But no. Looked like they were all anxious to see the last of them fall.
“Aidan, dear, are you all right?” Sally said with a concerned pat on his arm.
“Huh? What? Oh yeah, Sally. Fine,” Aidan said, feeling like a cornered rat.
“Well, then?”
He had to mentally retrace their conversation. “Oh, yeah. Absolutely right. That was nice of you. Ellie looks great with the flowers.”
“Yes, she does,” the older woman said softly, tucking her arm through his. “Such a beautiful girl. You’re so lucky to have her.”
“As a business partner? That’s for darn sure.” That was all he was willing to say. Lucky? Damn straight he was lucky. He had thought he’d lost her to Blake, but now that he had her back, he wanted her for however long it lasted.
He followed Sally’s gaze across the room and found Ellie. Sally was absolutely right. Ellie looked flat-out gorgeous today, flowers or no. She was wearing her hair up on top of her head in that sexy style he’d grown to like so much, if only because he couldn’t wait to pull the pins out one by one and watch as each of her thick strands of hair draped gently across her shoulders. The pink roses she held in her hands looked perfect against her soft skin and rosy lips.
Still, Sally was up to no good.
The orchestra members came back from their break and began to play a slow, romantic love song. Several couples walked out onto the dance floor and began to sway to the melody.
“Oh, the music has started back up,” Sally declared, and patted Aidan’s arm once more. “I want to see all my sons dancing.”
He had no argument with her there. Turning to her, he smiled and held out his hand. “May I have this dance, Mom?”
She let out a little gasp and Aidan had the distinct pleasure of watching her eyes well up with tears.
*
Two days later, the Dukes left the island and Ellie missed them horribly for an entire day. She loved having all those wonderful women around. They had included her in everything and it had turned into a sorority party. Or at least, it seemed like every sorority party Ellie had ever heard of or seen in the movies, since she’d never been involved in a sorority herself. The night before the wedding, Sally, Trish, Julia, Kelly, Grace, Ellie and Sally’s two best friends, Beatrice and Marjorie, had stayed up late gossiping and laughing and sharing secrets and plans for the future.
“You’ll come visit us in California,” Sally had said, just before they’d all piled into two limousines to take them to the island’s airport. She had gripped Ellie’s hands and then hugged her so tightly that Ellie had felt tears prickling her eyes.
It wasn’t an exaggeration for Ellie to feel that, for a few days, Sally Duke had been the mother she’d never had. She was warm and kind, older and wiser, a woman who loved unconditionally and would always be there for her children, no matter what. During their conversations, Sally had made her laugh and think and wonder and dream. Ellie hoped she could be that same sort of mother to her child someday, and she tucked Sally’s California invitation away in a special place in her heart.
And now that things on the island had calmed down a bit, Ellie decided to follow Sally’s advice. The older woman had made it sound so easy. Just tell him how you feel, Sally had said. Honesty was always the best way to go.
So with a deep, bracing breath, Ellie called up Aidan and invited him to her cottage that night for dinner. Tonight she would tell Aidan she loved him. Excited and more than a little bit nervous, she left the office early to set the scene for the most romantic evening ever.
*
Aidan set the phone down carefully and stared out the window.
“What’s wrong?” Logan said, sitting across the desk from him. “Who was that? You look like you just received a warning from the grave.”
“Close enough,” Aidan said numbly as his eyes narrowed in thought. “That was Ellie. She’s invited me to her place for dinner tonight.”
“Jeez, man, I thought something terrible happened.”
“Maybe it did.” His mind was racing, trying to stay a step or two ahead of the gorgeous woman who was taking up way too many of his thoughts lately. “Who knows what she has in mind?”
“Aw hell, you’re right. This is despicable.” Logan smirked. “A dinner invitation? Man, that’s low. How could she do this to you? I hope you told her to take a hike.”
Aidan made a rude gesture. “Go ahead and mock me, but this isn’t funny. Ellie spent the last four days conspiring with Sally Duke at every opportunity. Now all of a sudden she wants to make dinner for me?”
“Oh man, that’s sneaky,” Logan said. “Yeah, you’re right to be terrified—”
“Who says I’m terrified?”
“You should be. She could slip some aphrodisiac into the mix and turn you into her love slave.”
Aidan tried not to dwell on the sudden image of Ellie carrying a satin whip and wearing a little black mask. And nothing else.
He gulped in air and pushed his chair back. “I’m finished talking to you.”
Logan laughed. “You can’t really be paranoid about this, can you? It’s just dinner. And probably wild sex afterwards. Is that a problem?”
He frowned. “Maybe not.”
“We’ve all been giving Sally too much credit,” Logan said sensibly. “All we’re really talking about is dinner and sex. End of story.”
“It’s not the end of the story.” Aidan glared at his brother. “Are you blind? We have empirical evidence of Sally’s power.”
Logan was laughing so hard, he had to rest his elbows on his knees. “Oh man, I want to hear this.”
Aidan held up his fingers and ticked off the evidence. “One, Sally talked to Grace. Two, you’re now married to Grace. And that’s the end of the story.”
“My God,” Logan said, feigning shock and dismay. “You’re right.”
“Thank you.”
Logan grinned. “So what are you going to do about it?”
“I already told her I’d come for dinner.”
“Call and cancel,” Logan said easily.
Aidan frowned. “I don’t want to do that. It would hurt her feelings.”
“What do you care?” Logan asked. “You could be dodging a bullet here if she’s truly plotting to get you to marry her.”
“I know.” Aidan thought about it and then sighed. “No, she’s going to a lot of trouble to make a nice dinner. That’s all this is. She doesn’t want to get married. Hell, at first she was going to have a baby through a sperm bank so there’s no way she’s interested in getting married. It’s ridiculous to worry about it.”
“Then why are you worried about it?”
“I’m not,” Aidan insisted. “We have an agreement. We even signed a contract. There’s nothing else going on, so why am I letting Sally and all of you guys get to me? That ends here and now.”
“Does it?”
Aidan blew out a breath of frustration. “I don’t know.”
Logan shot him a look of profound pity, then said, “Tell you what, bro. If it’ll make you feel any better, I’m willing to work the Switch for you.”
Aidan’s eyebrows shot up at Logan’s suggestion and he weighed the possibilities and drawbacks for a moment. The Switch was an old twin trick they’d used a few times in the past. As recently as a few months ago, they had pulled the Switch on Grace, but she had seen through the ruse within seconds and had laughed when Aidan tried to insist he was his brother.
As far as Aidan was concerned, that was as close to a declaration of love as you could get. After all, their own mother had never been able to tell the twins apart. Since then, they’d met no woman who could differentiate one twin from the other. Until Grace. That’s when Aidan had realized that she was the perfect woman for his brother.
“Wait,” Aidan said. “This won’t work. She can already tell the difference between us. Remember that day in the office? You were sitting at my desk, but she knew it was you.”
“That could’ve been a fluke,” Logan said logically.
“I guess so.”
The only thing Aidan knew for sure was that if he didn’t take Logan up on his plan to do the Switch, his brother would issue a final decree to put up or shut up. So ultimately, Aidan’s choice was a simple one.
“Fine,” he said finally. “Let’s do it.”
“Cool,” Logan said with a grin, as he rubbed his hands together. “Just don’t tell Gracie. Now. What time is dinner?”
*
Ellie had just finished lighting the row of twinkling votive candles on the mantle when her doorbell rang. Thousands of butterflies in her stomach fluttered to life and she commanded them to calm down, but they just ignored her. Rubbing her tummy, she had to accept that she would always have this tingly fluttering reaction whenever Aidan came around.
She opened the door and smiled at him. “Hi.”
“Hi.” He extended a small bunch of pink and purple flowers toward her. “These are for you.”
“Oh, how beautiful. Thank you.” She took them and waved him inside. “Come in.”
“Thanks.”
Ellie started to ask Logan what he was doing here, but something made her hesitate. Aidan couldn’t be sick or Logan would’ve said something right away. So what was wrong here? Maybe Aidan was on his way and Grace was planning to join them, too. That would be fun. Ellie had made enough pasta for ten people. But finally she decided to wait and hear what Logan had to say before she asked any questions.
“You look beautiful, Ellie,” Logan murmured.
“Thank you. You look nice, too. Would you mind opening the champagne?” She pointed to the coffee table, where she had laid out a platter of appetizers, a bucket of champagne and two flutes.
“I’ll be glad to,” Logan said. He went through the motions, popped the cork off, filled the glasses, and handed her one. “What shall we drink to?”
Ellie smiled as she realized Logan wasn’t going to say a word. They were teasing her! She wondered if Aidan was hiding out on the veranda, waiting to burst the door open and shout surprise.
“Let’s drink to surprises,” she said, and clicked her glass against his.
“To surprises.” He took a sip, then set his glass down on the table. “Come here.” He reached for Ellie and took her into his embrace. “Mmm, this feels good.”
Ellie tried to sigh, but it was no use. She began to giggle. Her shoulders shook until she finally managed to push away from him—and laughed out loud.
“What is it, Ellie? What’s wrong, honey?” He rubbed her back. “Please don’t cry.”
“Cry?” It took her a few more seconds before she could speak again. “I’m not crying.”
“Then what are you doing?”
“That was my question,” she said, shaking her head as her laughter subsided. “Logan, what’re you doing here?”
“Logan?” he said indignantly. “I’m not Logan. I’m Aidan.”
She rested her fists on her hips and shook her head. “Logan, does Grace know what you’re up to?”
“Why would Grace care?” he said, trying to look outraged. “And stop calling me Logan.”
“All right, fine. I’ll stop.” And suddenly she grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him up against her. Staring into his eyes, she said, “Kiss me, please.”
He gulped and said, “How about some more champagne, first?”
She let him go and smacked him on the arm. “Not before you tell me what’s going on. Or would you rather I call Grace and ask her?”
“Damn it, Ellie,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “How the hell did you know it was me?”
“Is that some kind of joke? You guys may be twins, but it’s easy to tell you apart.”
“No, it isn’t,” he groused.
“Yes, it is,” she argued. “I could tell you two apart from the first day I met you.”
“How?” he demanded.
She was taken aback and reached for her champagne glass. After taking a sip, she said, “I’m not sure what to tell you. There are so many ways the two of you are different.”
“No,” Logan insisted. “There aren’t.”
Ellie chuckled. “Well, it’s certainly true that both of you are incredibly handsome men.”
“Yes, that’s a given.”
She laughed out loud. “Oh, Logan. What more is there to say?”
“Give it a shot,” he said with an appealing grin.
This was the Logan she knew from the office, the man with whom she’d always enjoyed joking and sparring intellectually. Still, how could she possibly explain all the subtle differences she’d seen from the start between him and his brother?
She stared at Logan now and tried to pretend she was looking at Aidan. But it was impossible. They were virtually identical, from their haircuts down to their shoe size. They were both tall, both handsome, with the same shade of dark blond hair and dark blue eyes. But Aidan was more approachable, more touchable, more…lovable.
Although Grace would probably disagree with her, Ellie thought to herself.
“When Aidan smiles,” she said finally, “his mouth curves up ever so slightly higher than yours.”
“It does?”
“Yes, definitely,” Ellie said with an emphatic nod. “And his eyes twinkle a bit more. Those are two differences I’ve noticed.”
“Really?” Logan raised one eyebrow. “Did you ever consider the fact that his smile was a little brighter because of the way he feels about you?”
She paused to consider that. “No.”
“Well, think about it.”
As much as she wanted to, she brushed that improbable theory away instead and continued. “Aidan’s wit is a bit sharper than yours.”
“Sharper? Wait.” He held up his hand. “I know you’re not trying to say he’s smarter than me.”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “But his sense of irony seems, I don’t know, more highly developed than yours.” The fact was that Aidan made her smile, made her giggle and laugh, made her want to be a better person, made her want to spend her life with him. But she wasn’t about to mention all that to his brother.
“So you’re saying he makes you laugh?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Logan smiled. “Again, this is your fault.”
“My fault? How is it my fault?”
He shrugged. “You two travel so much together that you’ve developed an incredibly tight friendship. And that’s totally cool. But it means that Aidan only shows his ironic side—and by ironic, I mean sarcastic and mocking—with the people he feels closest to. Like me. And you.”
“But you and I travel together, too.”
“Yes, but not as often.”
“And you’re also my friend, right?”
“I like to think so. But you and I don’t seem to have the same sizzling chemistry between us that you have with my brother.”
She felt herself beginning to blush. “Thank goodness, or Grace would take out a contract on me.”
He chuckled softly, but it faded as a thought occurred to him. “Ellie, why aren’t you attracted to me?”
She smiled. “You almost sound offended.”
“I am,” he said with mock sulkiness. “I’m just as cute as Aidan.”
She laughed and patted his cheek. “Yes, you are. And Grace is a lucky woman.”
“That’s for sure,” he said, grinning.
“And she’s probably wondering where you are,” Ellie added lightly.
“She knows I’m having dinner with you.”
“Alone?”
His lips twisted. “Not exactly.”
She checked her wristwatch. “If you hurry, you can still get back and have dinner together.”
He gazed at her intently, as if to assure himself that she would be all right.
“I’ll be fine,” she promised, smiling confidently.
After a moment, he seemed to understand that she would be. “Okay, maybe I’ll take off.”
Her smile faded. Apparently, Aidan didn’t plan on showing up tonight. She supposed she should’ve been flattered that the two men had gone to all this trouble to trick or tease her, but there was one question she wanted an answer to. She hated to ask, but she needed to know.
“Logan, can you tell me something before you go?” she said as she walked him to the door.
“Sure.”
“Where is Aidan tonight? Is he out on a date with another woman?”
He whipped around. “What? Hell, no. Why would you think something like that?”
She bit her lip anxiously. “I just can’t think of another explanation of why you’d show up instead of him. Maybe he met someone or…maybe he just got busy doing something else.” She despised the helpless tone in her voice and shook herself out of it. “Oh, never mind. Forget I said anything. Have a good evening and say hello to Grace for me.”
“Ellie, wait.” He gripped her arm. “This was stupid. It was my idea. It’s something we’ve done a few times before in the past and I thought it would be funny, but it’s not.”
“But Aidan went along with it.”
He shrugged apologetically. “I didn’t give him much choice.”
“Why?”
“Look, Aidan cares about you a lot. And it scares him to death. When you called to invite him for dinner, he…”
She nodded slowly as she realized what he was inferring. “He thinks I’m pushing him into something.”
“Yeah, and no matter what he says, he wants to go there. So do me a favor, okay?”
“What’s that?”
Logan’s smile was conspiratorial. “Keep pushing.”