Читать книгу: «The Right Twin»

“Sorry,” he said. “Couldn’t resist.”

“You couldn’t resist dunking me?”

Aaron’s smile faded a little. His dark eyes locked with hers. “I couldn’t resist putting my hands on you.”

“Oh.” Had the water suddenly gotten hotter? Shelby felt a definite wave of heat course through her, and was almost surprised that steam didn’t rise from her skin. “Um—”

“No one’s watching,” he murmured, reaching out to draw her closer with his left arm around her waist. He braced his other arm on her watercraft to support them. “I’m not playing a part. So if you want me to back off, just give me a shove.”

She put a hand on his shoulder, but only to steady herself in the water. She had no intention of pushing him away.

Dear Reader,

For me, revisiting characters from previous books is like catching up with old friends. I love to sit down with a cup of tea and find out what’s been happening in their lives—and then to give them new adventures and romance to entertain my readers. Members of the Walker family I introduced in my long-running FAMILY FOUND series, twins Aaron and Andrew Walker first appeared as adults in The Texan’s Tennessee Romance. They were so amused by their cousin Casey’s romance that I figured they deserved to be blindsided by Cupid themselves!

Aaron Walker is startled by a big hug from a pretty blonde who thinks she is greeting his identical twin, Andrew. Shelby Bell—a member of the big, close family that owns and operates the Bell Resort and Marina in southeastern Texas—is embarrassed by her mistake. Shelby is in trouble and she had hoped for help from Andrew. Now Aaron has to convince her that he’s the right twin for the job … and for her. I hope you enjoy their adventures together. Watch for Andrew’s story, The Texan’s Surprise Baby, in June 2013.

Gina Wilkins

About the Author

GINA WILKINS is a bestselling and award-winning author who has written more than seventy novels for Mills & Boon. She credits her successful career in romance to her long, happy marriage and her three “extraordinary” children.

A lifelong resident of central Arkansas, Ms Wilkins sold her first book to Mills & Boon in 1988 and has been writing full-time since. She has appeared on the Walden-books, B. Dalton and USA TODAY bestseller lists. She is a three-time recipient of a Maggie Award for Excellence, sponsored by Georgia Romance Writers, and has won several awards from the reviewers of RT Book Reviews.

The Right Twin

Gina Wilkins

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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Chapter One

Just once, Aaron Walker thought with a deep sigh, it would be nice if his twin brother, Andrew, would be the one to screw up. Nothing major, just something embarrassing or a little reckless. Something that would get their large, loving and well-intended family in a tizzy about anything other than Aaron’s latest debacle. But even as the selfish wish crossed his mind, he knew it was futile. Andrew rarely made mistakes, and never of the same magnitude as Aaron’s. Andrew was the one more likely to rush to the rescue than to need rescuing.

Sure, Andrew had been known to raise a little hell in his time, especially as a member of the “terrible trio”—the affectionate nickname given to the twins and their same-age cousin, Casey Walker, during their mischief-prone childhood and teen years. But now Casey had settled down with a wife and a legal practice in east Tennessee, while Andrew was rising in the ranks of the family-owned investigation and security business. Aaron was the only one still regularly causing general concern and disapproval.

Especially during the past few months, all Andrew did was work and complain about Aaron’s lack of focus. Aaron had just endured another one of those brotherly lectures, triggered by his decision to quit yet another job that hadn’t been working out for him. Andrew had stated that it was time for thirty-year-old Aaron to get serious about his life and his future. If he was determined not to work in the family business, he needed to find a purpose, and soon. Andrew wasn’t the first family member who’d given Aaron that speech—he’d also heard it from his dad, his uncles, his mother, his grandfather and a couple of random cousins—but Andrew was the one who most annoyed him. Had Andrew not been called out of his office for a quick consultation, they’d probably be in the middle of a heated quarrel right this minute.

Though Andrew had asked him to wait, Aaron decided to make his escape, postponing the quarrel for later. Just as he rose to walk out of the office, a colorful brochure lying on the floor beside the trash can caught his eye. It looked as though Andrew had tossed it that way and missed the receptacle. For no particular reason, Aaron picked it up and studied the bright photographs printed on the glossy trifold.

Bell Resort and Marina was located on Lake Livingston, a large reservoir roughly a hundred and seventy-five miles southeast of Dallas. Aaron had never been to that particular resort, but he’d visited the lake a time or two. Good fishing, peaceful setting, nice scenery. Eyeing the photos of people skiing, swimming, picnicking and lounging in the sun, he wished he were there rather than here in Dallas with his beloved but disapproving family. Just for a little while, until he could return to them with a solid new career plan in mind. All he needed was a little time to think, to regroup, to determine why he seemed to be the only one in his overachieving family who hadn’t yet found the path he wanted to follow. On impulse, he stuffed the brochure in his pocket and headed for the door.

Twenty-four hours later, he stood beside his car, idly watching numbers flash past on the gas pump from which he was filling his tank. It was midafternoon on this second Tuesday in June, the temperature hovering at ninety degrees even though summer was barely underway. The heavy scent of gasoline hung in the overheated air. He reached up to tug at the neckline of the bright blue T-shirt he wore with khaki cargo shorts and sandals. His longish, near-black hair clung damply to the back of his neck. After his almost four-hour drive, he looked forward to sitting under a tree by the water’s edge with a cold beer.

According to his directions, Bell Resort was only another fifteen-minute drive away from this little town where he’d stopped for a fuel-and-restroom break. There wasn’t much to see here—from where he stood, he spotted a few houses, a thrift shop, a dollar store and a tiny post office. Just the sort of laid-back area he needed in which to brood for a few days. Maybe a week. There was no one here to shake a head or a finger at him, no one to lecture him or advise him, no one here who knew him at all.…

Even as that thought crossed his mind, a young woman in a tank top and shorts squealed and almost tackled him with a hug. “You’re back! It’s so good to see you again!”

Aaron staggered a little with the assault, but quickly recovered his balance. He couldn’t say he was displeased about suddenly finding his arms filled with a petite, curvy blonde, but he had no clue who she was. “Um—”

She drew back a few inches to smile up at him and for a moment he forgot how to form words. Damn, but she was pretty. Clear blue eyes framed in long, dark lashes. Dimples deep enough to fall into. A nose that could only be described as “pert,” and full lips curved into a smile that made his knees feel suddenly shaky. Her scoop-necked top revealed the upper curves of perfectly sized, creamy breasts, and he could tell by feel that the rest of her was just as nicely formed.

Oh, yeah, coming here had definitely been a good idea.

“You are coming to Bell Resort, right?” she asked, surprising him again. “You’re here because I sent you the brochure and the reminder that you’re always welcome?”

The Bell Resort and Marina had been Aaron’s destination, though he hadn’t taken the time to make reservations. It looked ideal in the brochure his brother had tossed in the trash, but Aaron figured he’d find a room somewhere else on the lake if the resort was full. He hadn’t seen the personal invitation that had been enclosed with the brochure, so either Andrew had held on to it or thrown it away separately. “Well, yes, I thought I’d relax for a few days if there’s a vacancy. But—”

“Great!” She hugged him again, then pulled away. He released her reluctantly. “Of course there’s a vacancy for you! Everyone is going to be so happy to see you. We’re all still so grateful to you for what you did for us last year.”

“Listen, you—”

“You’ve grown out your hair,” she said, studying him with her head cocked to one side. “I like it.”

He was beginning to understand. Now if only he could get a few words in to explain it to her. “Thanks, but I—”

“You should see Lori’s hair. She dyed it coal-black with blue streaks. Dad nearly had a conniption. Pop said she looks like she bruised her head. Steven thinks it’s funny, but Lori complains that he’s laughing at her. Mom and Mimi just sigh a lot.”

“Yes, well, I—”

“Hey, Shelby, how’s it going?” a lanky young man in a faded camo T-shirt, denim shorts and a sweat-stained red ball cap called out as he ambled from the store toward a battered pickup truck parked at one of the other gas pumps.

“I’m good, Bubba,” the blonde replied. “Look who’s back.”

The guy nodded. “Yo, Mr. Walker. ‘Sup?”

Resigned, Aaron nodded in return, saying, “Hey,” an all-purpose greeting that seemed to satisfy the younger man.

Shelby turned back to Aaron when Bubba drove off. Her bright smile faded when she asked, “Does Hannah know you’re here? She’s out of town for a few weeks, visiting her mom’s family near Shreveport. I doubt she’ll be back while you’re here.”

“No one knows I’m here,” he said with a shrug. “It was an impulsive trip.”

She laughed and patted his arm, her momentary gravity evaporating. She was definitely the demonstrative type—not that he was complaining. “That’s so funny. I never would have pegged you as impulsive, but I’m glad you’re here, anyway.”

He nodded, wryly amused now that he’d finally figured out what was going on. He tightened the gas cap on his car and closed the flap, having already paid by credit card. Even here it seemed he was living in his brother’s shadow.

“Listen, before we head for the resort, would you mind if I buy you a soda or a cup of coffee inside?” Shelby asked, gazing up at him with a thoughtful expression. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you before you see everyone else. Something’s been bothering me and everyone thinks I’m being overly dramatic, but maybe while you’re here you could help me out a little? You know, tell me if there’s reason for me to be concerned or if I really am nuts?”

He didn’t have the faintest idea what she’d just asked, but something about the way she looked at him made him want to agree to any request she made of him. “Let me move my car away from the pump and I’ll meet you inside,” he said.

The return of her generous smile rewarded him. “Thank you. I knew you would help. See you inside.”

He watched as she turned and all but sprinted for the door of the station, her shoulder-length blond curls bouncing against her shoulders. The back side of her was every bit as appealing as the front, he thought, his gaze lingering on those snug shorts. Making himself look away, he climbed into his car. He would park and then join Shelby inside. Maybe when she finally ran out of steam he would find a chance to break it to her that she had embraced the wrong twin.

There was something different about Andrew Walker, but Shelby Bell couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was. It wasn’t just his hair, though he’d worn it almost militarily short when she’d met him last year. The color of strong, rich coffee, it looked much softer now that he’d let it grow. A girl’s fingers could get lost in there for a while. His eyes were the same deep brown she remembered, and his facial structure was classically handsome. But something had changed.…

She’d met Andrew almost a year ago when he’d spent nearly two weeks at the resort, helping her family with a sensitive legal matter. Her dad and grandfather had hired the private investigator from a Dallas firm, and Andrew had pretty much single-handedly saved the family business from a spiteful con man. By the time he’d left, he’d been the family hero, invited to return for free lodging whenever he needed a vacation from his demanding job.

Like the rest of the family, Shelby had been extremely grateful to Andrew for what he’d done for them. She had liked him very much, and she’d certainly noticed how good-looking he was, but there had been no romantic chemistry between them. She had spent little time alone with him, always surrounded by family and guests of the resort. And she’d been dating Pete then, so she hadn’t really thought of Andrew in that way. Nor had he seemed particularly interested in her other than as a member of the family he had worked for and befriended.

She couldn’t quite figure out what had changed, why she was suddenly noticing things like the shallow indention in his chin and the way his T-shirt outlined the hard, lean body beneath. Why her toes were curling in her flip-flops just because of the way he smiled at her from across the table. She didn’t remember him smiling quite like that before. Maybe it had been too long since she’d been alone with an attractive man. She’d broken up with Pete last winter—well, okay, Pete had dumped her, but it sounded better her way—and she had been too busy to even go on a date since.

Drawing her thoughts from such an irrelevant path, she started talking as soon as they were seated in a small snack corner of the station with their drinks—iced tea for him, a frozen cherry-flavored drink for her. Now she needed to quickly outline what she wanted to ask him before he had a chance to dismiss her concerns without hearing her out, as her family was prone to do.

“So, I know you’ve just gotten here and you’re probably hoping for a nice, relaxing vacation,” she began in a rush of words. “And I know it’s presumptuous of me to ask a favor before you even get to the resort, especially after all you did for my family last summer—and even more especially since I can’t afford to hire you, exactly. But what I ask would only take a few minutes, and I’ll make sure you have a great time at the resort in return. Well, not that I wouldn’t do that, anyway—I mean, we all invited you to come back anytime and to make use of all our facilities for a nice, relaxing vacation, which we all figured you needed because you work so hard.”

“Shelby—”

She was making such a mess of this. In frustration, she powered on. “There’s this guy who’s been staying at the resort. He’s quiet, doesn’t make any trouble, is all paid up, even tips very well. But I don’t trust him. There’s something hinky going on with him, and no one in the family will listen to me when I try to tell them. You know how they are—’Oh, you’re just being Shelby again,’ they say. And, okay, I know I get carried away sometimes and maybe overreact a little, but wasn’t I the one who just knew the evil ex had been stealing from us last year? I kept saying that if we looked hard enough, we’d find plenty of ammunition against him and his stupid, greedy lawsuits, and I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Okay.” He took a sip of his iced tea, and she had a sneaking suspicion that he was trying not to grin. “Why don’t you finish telling me about this ‘hinky’ guy, and then I’ll talk?”

She didn’t know what it was about her that made people not take her seriously. Just because she was energetic and enthusiastic, quick to show her feelings, a little too prone to jump to conclusions, everyone seemed to think they should just brush off her suggestions and ideas. But Andrew had listened to her last year when she insisted her cousin Hannah’s ex-husband had been stealthily stealing from the family business, and that he had then falsified legal claims against them that could have put the resort in serious financial straits had he won. She had even helped Andrew come up with a plan to prove her suspicions, though she had suggested perhaps a half-dozen schemes before she’d stumbled onto one he’d approved. She hoped he would be inclined to listen to her again now.

“So, this guy—he says his name is Terrence Landon, but he doesn’t really look like a Terrence, you know? Anyway, he’s been at the resort for about two weeks. He pays in cash. Says he’s on an extended vacation from a high-stress marketing job in Austin that almost put him in the hospital with high blood pressure and ulcers. Every other day or so, he has men join him—associates, he calls them—for fishing and business talks. They always bring stuff in boxes and cases, and they never seem to leave with the same stuff they brought. And either they’re the world’s worst fishermen or they just don’t try very hard, but they hardly ever bring in a good catch.”

“And you think he’s—what? Dealing drugs? Weapons?”

She narrowed her eyes on his face, but he didn’t seem to be mocking her. It sounded like a legitimate question.

“Maybe,” she said cautiously. “Or maybe he’s just baking brownies for their kids. Who knows? Dad and Steven both say I’m misinterpreting things and Dad told me to stay away from the guy before I run off a good-paying customer with my ‘crazy imagination,’ to quote him. Maggie thinks I got a little too enthusiastic about all the private investigating last summer and I’m looking for a way to relive that excitement. As if I’d want to relive that horrible time,” she added indignantly. “Poor Hannah still hasn’t gotten over the stress and humiliation, which is probably how she ended up …”

She swallowed and shook her head, deciding to focus on one mystery at a time. “Anyway, I’m willing to concede that there’s nothing at all suspicious going on with Terrence Landon, but since you’re going to be with us for a few days, and since you’re trained to look for things like that, maybe if you just happen to bump into him while you’re here? Talk with him for a couple minutes or sort of discreetly observe one of his meetings with his associates? Then you can tell me if I’m seeing things that aren’t there, or if there really is any reason for me to worry about him staying at the resort.”

He had set down his paper cup of iced tea and laced his fingers on the table, looking at her more seriously now.

She swallowed hard in response to his expression. “I’m sorry, was I out of line asking? I know you said you’re here for a vacation, and I certainly didn’t mean to ruin it for you before you’ve even unpacked your car. Forget I asked, okay? It’s probably nothing. I’ll keep an eye on the guy just in case, but you should just relax and have a good time.”

He was shaking his head before she finished apologizing. “It isn’t that, Shelby. What you asked sounded perfectly reasonable—if I was who you think I am.”

She felt a quick jolt of pleasure at having her concerns called reasonable, something she’d yet to hear from her family—but then the rest of his words sank in. “I don’t understand.”

“You see, the thing is, you’ve made a mistake. I’m not Andrew Walker.”

Chapter Two

Aaron’s head was spinning a little—both from confusion at trying to follow Shelby’s convoluted request and from a growing fascination with her. He liked the way she looked, but he was even more intrigued by the way her mind worked. She was different from the women he’d spent time with lately—and that was a good thing.

He had been almost tempted to allow Shelby to continue believing he was Andrew, just to see how long he could get away with it. It wouldn’t be the first time he and his brother had switched places for one reason or another, though it had been years since they’d pulled such a stunt. But then he’d realized he wanted those generous smiles of hers aimed at him, not Andrew, and he’d known it was time to tell her the truth.

“I’m Aaron,” he said gently. “Andrew’s brother.”

She blinked rapidly, her long lashes sweeping her pinkening cheeks. “Twins?”

“Identical,” he said, though she’d probably already figured that out. “Though we’re told it doesn’t run in families, our dad is an identical twin, too. Coincidence, I suppose, but here we are.”

“Wow.” Her face had turned as cherry-red as her icy drink. “It never even occurred to me—”

“I take it Andrew didn’t mention he has a twin?”

She shook her head slowly. “No, but then he didn’t talk about himself that much. He was here on a job, after all, though we all got very friendly with him. You’re Aaron?”

He nodded, familiar with the reaction of new acquaintances shocked by how much he and Andrew looked alike. If it wasn’t for their different hair and clothing styles—he favored a more casual and colorful look than his brother—few people outside their family would be able to tell them apart.

She covered her cheeks with her hands. “Oh, my gosh. You must have thought I was crazy when I threw my arms around you out there.”

He chuckled. “Actually, I thought I’d just gotten very lucky.”

She didn’t even seem to catch the joke. She was still shaking her head and looking embarrassed. “And I didn’t give you a chance to correct me, did I?”

“Well, no, you—”

“I just kept talking and talking and then I practically dragged you in here to hit you up for a favor.”

“Shelby, it’s—”

“My family is right. I do get carried away,” she muttered in self-recrimination. “I really do need to—”

“Shelby.” This time it was he who interrupted, reaching across the table to catch her hands in his just to make sure he had her attention. “My turn to talk, remember?”

She nodded, her slender throat working with the words she must be swallowing.

He squeezed her fingers, then rather reluctantly released her. “I don’t think you’re crazy. You certainly aren’t the first person to mistake me for my brother and you won’t be the last. And you didn’t have to drag me in here. I’m pleased to have met you.”

Her bright blue eyes widened, her humor returning as her blush faded. “Oh, my gosh, we haven’t actually met, have we? I’m Shelby. Shelby Bell. It’s very nice to meet you, Aaron.”

“Bell as in Bell Resort and Marina?”

She nodded. “My paternal great-grandfather built a little bait shop on the river back in the early 1940s. They owned some land on what would become the banks of Lake Livingston when the river was dammed to form a reservoir in the late sixties. My grandfather started Bell Resort with a small marina, bait shop and a few campsites in 1970, and now it’s a family-run business. My grandparents have two sons—my dad, Carl Jr., and my uncle, Bryan. Both sons and their wives work in the resort. My brother, Steven, and I have jobs there, along with our cousins, Hannah and Maggie. My youngest sister, Lori, is still in college. She hasn’t decided yet if she’s going into the family resort or if she wants to do something else. Our parents and grandparents always say they want the kids to follow their own dreams, do whatever they want, but there’s still a lot of pressure to stick with the family and keep the resort running. I think poor Steven feels that obligation the most.”

Aaron couldn’t help wincing a little. “I’m familiar with family pressure.”

“Oh, right. The D’Alessandro-Walker Agency. That’s how we met Andrew, of course. My cousin’s evil ex-husband, Wade Cavender, had been embezzling from the resort for a couple years, and then the bastard had the nerve to try to sue us for a ton of settlement money he wasn’t due—extortion, really—and Andrew helped us find proof it was all a scam. He turned over evidence of the embezzlement to the police, which is why Wade is currently in jail, which is exactly where he deserves to be. His sentence wasn’t nearly long enough, but I don’t think he’ll mess with us again when he gets out.”

She’d given him a lot of information to process at once. “Um—”

She shook her head quickly. “But maybe you know all that, since I’m sure the case is on file at the D’Alessandro-Walker Agency. It’s a family-run business, too, right?”

Since she’d given him the history of her family business, he figured he owed her the same. “The agency was founded by my uncle Tony D’Alessandro, who took on my dad and his twin as partners in the business before I was even born. Several of my cousins, as well as my brother, work for the agency.”

Her brows drew downward in what might have been a slight frown of disappointment. “You’re not an investigator?”

Now was the time when he should tell her that not only was he not a dashing P.I. like the twin she and her family seemed to idolize, but he was currently unemployed. Again. He cleared his throat. “Like you, I grew up in the family business.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. He’d worked in the offices of Dee-Dub, as the agency was familiarly known within the family, during his teen years, breaking away after high school to pursue his own goals. It just happened that none of his experiments had led yet to a career in which he wanted to spend the foreseeable future. He knew it wasn’t the investigation and security field.

Shelby’s face lit up again and he was selfishly glad he’d prevaricated. “So maybe while you’re staying with us, you could still take a look at Terrence Landon?” she asked hopefully. “You know, just to sort of get an impression of whether he’s as shady as I think he is?”

He couldn’t stand to see disappointment on her face a second time, especially when he knew what Andrew would do in his shoes. “I’m not promising anything, but I guess I could take a discreet look at the guy while I’m here. That doesn’t mean I’ll agree with your suspicions. Or that I’ll even see enough to form a proper opinion of my own.”

She waved off his warnings with one hand. “Of course,” she said. “Maybe there’s nothing to it at all. But I’d feel better if at least someone took me seriously enough to just get a good look at the guy.”

Aaron leaned back in his plastic chair and studied her thoughtfully. If he was reading her correctly, this was something else they seemed to have in common. Being the family oddballs, the ones over whom all the others shook their heads and clucked their tongues. Even as he wondered what he was getting himself into, he shrugged. “Sure. I’ll check him out.”

This time she was the one who reached across the table. She caught both his hands in hers and squeezed. “Thank you, Aaron.”

Oh, man. He could be in big trouble, he thought with a hard swallow. Something told him Andrew was not going to like this at all. As for Shelby—would she still look at him with such glowing eyes when she found out that he’d just promised something he was in no way qualified to deliver?

And speaking of his brother, just how had Shelby gazed at him?

“Um, you and Andrew …”

She seemed to follow his line of thought easily enough. She laughed again, and every cell in his body responded to the sound. “Me and Andrew? No way. I liked him, of course—the whole family liked him. But as for the two of us—just no sparks, you know?”

Watching her gather their empty cups to toss into the waste can, Aaron wondered if she would say the same thing about him in a few days. As for himself, sparks were already flying. He hoped his impulsiveness didn’t get him burned but good this time.

After extracting a promise from Aaron that he would say nothing about her request of him, Shelby drove away from the station, where she’d come to get away from the resort for a little while. Whenever she needed a break from family and chores, she headed to town for a cherry freeze. She’d never expected to be followed home this time by Andrew Walker’s identical twin brother.

Every time she thought of the way she’d thrown herself at him, she felt her face warm again. And not only from embarrassment. Remembering how his arms had gone obligingly around her, drawing her against that very fine, fit body, she felt a wave of heat climb from somewhere deep inside her all the way to her cheeks. Funny, she’d hugged Andrew when he’d left last year, standing in line with the rest of the family to do so, but she didn’t remember having a reaction anything like this! Was it because there had been so many other people around? Because she had considered herself in a relationship with Pete then, tenuous as it had been? Or because there was some fundamental difference between Aaron and Andrew other than the way they wore their hair?

She couldn’t wait to see how the rest of the family reacted to meeting him.

Turning off the two-lane highway onto the resort’s entrance road, she drove the short distance to the gate booth. The family employed teenagers and senior citizens in part-time positions at the booth. Overnight guests of the resort were issued passes to allow them entrance, but day users of the boat launch, picnic or swimming areas were charged five dollars’ admission per vehicle.

She spoke through her open car window to the seventysomething man currently working the booth. “The man in the car behind me is a guest, Mac. Wave him on through, okay?”

“Will do, Shelby.”

The paved road forked just beyond the gate. Staying straight led to the campground—forty RV and camper sites with concrete pads and electric and water hookups, and a central unpaved area for more basic tent-camping enthusiasts. Half of the RV slots were waterfront sites, while the others were shaded by trees, within view and easy walking distance of the lake. Shelby turned right, driving past the boat-and-trailer parking lot toward the large L-shaped building that housed the offices, marina, a diner and a convenience store offering food and camping and fishing supplies. Behind the boat-trailer parking lot was a grassy compound holding a large pavilion, charcoal grills, tennis and basketball courts, and a children’s playground. The pavilion was often rented out for family and high school reunions, corporate and church functions, and birthday parties. Even a few weddings had taken place there.