you a total moron? Of course it means something! Women don’t accept marriage proposals if they don’t think you’re serious about marrying them. What were you thinking?”
“You know, Ry, that was exactly my thought not ten minutes ago. I guess I panicked. That, combined with the world class blow job she’d just given me, well, I guess all the blood was in the wrong head, if you know what I mean. All I can say is it seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“She needs to be told.”
“Tell her what, Ryan? What should I say? How about ‘Oh, hi, Penny. Guess what? My twin brother and I switched places. That’s right, he’s the one who’s been porking you.’ How do you think that will go over? I know you’ve been fucking her. That’s why you’re so outraged.” He laughed. “After all these years, you still have that knight-in-shining-armor complex. Hey, I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, you can do her all night, every night. Hell, it’d save me the trouble. Sometimes she can be such a needy bitch.”
“You’re talking about your fiancée.” A headache wove its way from his clenched jaw up between his eyes.
“Ha! Only until I get this mess cleared up. Then I’m outta here.”
“What was her name? Penny? What about Penny?”
“What about her?”
“She deserves an explanation. After all, you did propose to her.”
“What she deserves, big brother, is a gigantic, mind-blowing orgasm to loosen her up. I never did do it for her. Maybe you can.”
“You’re a real asshole.” Ryan ground out. “She deserves to know the truth. If you have no plans to marry her, you need to tell her. If you don’t, I will.”
“Ah, I don’t recommend that, big brother. Leastways, not right now.”
“Why?”
“You know the guy I told you about? The one I owe all that money to, who wants to take it out on my kneecaps, among other things?”
That didn’t sound good. Taking a deep breath, Ryan asked, “What about him?”
“He’s Penny’s daddy.”
Ryan sat with the cell phone still at his ear long after his brother had hung up. Great. He’d not only just slept with his brother’s fiancée, she was also the daughter of a loan shark. A loan shark who thought he was Braedon.
He dropped the phone to the fuzzy throw rug and hung his head. What kind of hell had he gotten himself into?
One thing was for sure. If he survived this mess, he was going to have to kill his brother.
Penny wrapped her silk robe tighter, padded to the closed bathroom door, and tapped softly.
“Braedon? Honey, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.” She swallowed another laugh. “I was just surprised. Um, I actually think you look kind of…sexy in my underwear.”
No answer.
She tapped again. “Come back to bed. Please?”
The door flew open. Braedon stood bathed in the light from the bathroom, with a towel once again wrapped around his lean hips.
Her mouth went dry. Her hormones must be active. She’d never been so turned on by the sight of his naked chest—or naked anything, truthfully. Very strange. Not that she was complaining. Lusting after your future husband was a good thing.
She hooked her finger in the towel and tugged. It fell to the floor.
Oh, yeah, a very good thing…
Ryan stood rooted to the spot. She needed to be told the truth. He needed to tell her. Braedon sure as hell didn’t plan on doing it.
He swallowed, but before he could open his mouth, she dropped the silky robe to stand before him in all her naked glory.
His cock sprang to attention.
She looked at it and smiled.
It was the smile that got to him. It was a secret, sensual smile. The smile a woman gets when she’s confident in her sexuality, knows she’s aroused her mate. Did he want to be the cause of the smile going away?
Images of potentially very hot sex on the rumpled bed flashed through his mind like an X-rated video, making him harder. Sex with her was unlike anything he’d ever experienced.
He wanted to experience it again. Technically, she was single. He’d tell her the truth…later.
She reached toward his erection, stroking him in a whispering, circular motion that had him vibrating with need.
Tomorrow would be soon enough to end things…
6
D aylight barely peeked through the drapes, while Ryan kissed his way down Penny’s slumbering body as he slid out of bed.
Today he would tell her the truth. He just needed some time to gather his thoughts. A run always did that for him, so after a quick shower, he donned a pair of running shorts he’d found on the shelf of the closet. On his knees, he strained his eyes to find a pair of running shoes.
All through college, he’d run to sort through things. Although Braedon scoffed, he’d dragged himself out of bed most mornings to join his brother.
Biting back a triumphant exclamation, he grabbed the Nikes he’d given Braedon for Christmas last year, with the three pack of running socks still tucked inside. Evidently, his brother wasn’t into running these days.
Ryan made his way through the apartment, pausing on his way to the patio door to absorb the high-end furnishings. From the looks of things, Braedon had hired a professional decorator. Chalk up one more thing to his brother’s frivolous spending habits.
While he appreciated fine furniture and granite countertops as much as the next guy, his brother was over the top. A twinge of—what? Envy?—swept through him at the disparity of his own sparse accommodations, compared to those of his twin’s.
Once the patio door was closed, he began stretching, trying to clear his mind. Although he and Braedon were identical in appearance, that was where the resemblance ended. While he, Ryan, at thirty-two, was a self-made millionaire, thanks to wise investments and frugal habits, his brother, despite his accounting degree, was lucky to make it from paycheck to paycheck. Night and day. He took off at a fast pace.
Still, though, Braedon had some classy digs. Maybe once he got back home and into his routine, he’d contact someone about decorating his place, or at least his beach house. Yeah, that would probably be better, he thought, waiting for the light on Ocean Drive to change while he jogged in place.
He’d try out whichever decorator he decided on with the beach house in Pleasure Beach first, then move on to his condo in Houston.
Meanwhile, he needed to figure out a way to break the news to Penny that
