Kathryn flew to Los Angeles for what she claims was supposed to be a week-long spa treatment. She decided to get some minor plastic surgery while she was there, and—”
“What kind of plastic surgery?” Jenna’s eyes had grown perfectly round.
Their conversation was interrupted by the waitress delivering their meals and drinks. Jenna continued to watch him as she dug into her burger.
When the waitress left, Travis continued. “Some kind of procedure where the doctor takes fat from one part of your body and injects it into the cheeks and lips. Kathryn is outraged with the results, and she refuses to come home until the problem has been corrected.”
Jenna laughed out loud. “What, her face is too fat now?”
Travis smiled. “Something like that. She says she looks lumpy.” He couldn’t begin to understand why anyone would endure such a procedure, especially not for beauty’s sake, but of all the people he knew, Kathryn was the easiest to imagine having fat injected into her face.
“Now I’ve heard it all.”
“The problem is, we can’t postpone the wedding or any of the prenuptial events. For one thing, Kathryn doesn’t want my family to know she was off having facial enhancements done. My mother hasn’t exactly welcomed her into the family.”
“I can imagine how important it is for Kathryn to impress her future mother-in-law.”
“She has a long list of people to impress, I’m afraid. Kathryn initiated a project with Blake to establish a women and children’s shelter through the Roth charity foundation, and she is supposed to meet with a couple interested in donating land for the project later this week.”
“So reschedule.”
“They’re already hesitant about the project thanks to Blake’s reputation for flakiness. Kathryn doesn’t want to give them any reason to back out, because such a prime piece of land so central to the Bay Area is nearly impossible to come by.”
Jenna frowned. “Sounds like she’s got herself in a real bind.”
“Not just herself, but my business, too. Our family’s investment firm has suffered recently as a result of Blake’s inability to handle responsibility, and this wedding is our chance to give some of our clients a better impression of him, to leave them feeling warm and fuzzy about Roth Investments. We need everything to come off without a hitch.”
Jenna’s expression turned wary as she bit into a French fry. “Why can’t you just tell everyone that the bride has come down with pneumonia or something and is too sick to go through with the wedding?”
Travis took his first bite of meat loaf and decided he’d been missing out all these years. He made a mental note to ask the family chef to prepare the dish regularly.
“Any postponement will look like flakiness on the family’s part, no matter what the excuse, and that’s an image we have to avoid at all costs. Several of our biggest clients have threatened to leave because of Blake’s unreliability. This marriage will show them that he’s settling down and becoming a family man.”
“Why doesn’t someone just fire your brother?”
If it were only so easy. “My father has forbidden it. Blake is Dad’s favorite.”
“This all sounds a little crazy, and I don’t understand how you think I can help.”
“The doctors have assured Kathryn that her face will look normal before the wedding, but she still refuses to come home until the damage has been undone.”
“So you just have to hope she’ll come back in time for it.”
“And that’s exactly what I’m doing, except that still leaves us without a bride for the prewedding events my parents have planned, along with the land donation meeting.”
“Does your brother know about Kathryn’s little problem?”
“No, and he cannot find out. He’s awful at keeping anything secret. He’s expecting Kathryn back from her trip on Monday, but she obviously won’t be back.”
“Isn’t he going to notice when his bride doesn’t show up for the rehearsal?”
Travis took a deep breath. “That’s where you come in. We need you to impersonate Kathryn until she returns.”
Jenna dropped her cheeseburger onto its plate and stared at him as if he’d just sprouted antennae.
“You’re out of your mind,” she said matter-of-factly, her cheek full of half-chewed cheeseburger.
“You haven’t even heard my offer yet.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not going to help Kathryn or the dimwit who agreed to marry her.”
Kathryn had never explained why she and Jenna were estranged from each other. Apparently the rift was a deep one, judging by Jenna’s reaction, but Kathryn had mentioned how she and her twin had switched places many times as children—how it had in fact been one of their favorite games.
“You’ll be quite well compensated.” He noted a gleam of interest in her eye that she quickly subdued.
“I’m earning a good living already. I don’t need anyone’s charity.”
From the looks of Jenna’s neighborhood, Travis was willing to bet she was barely scraping by on her meager freelance earnings, and that she could definitely use the money he had to offer.
“Not charity. Payment for a job completed.”
“Yeah, whatever. I still won’t do it.”
“You don’t even know what the compensation will be.”
“Not enough.” She turned her attention to her milk shake.
He could tell by the tenseness in her narrow shoulders that he had to pull his final punch. “Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
Chocolate milk shake spurted from her mouth across the table and onto the lapel of his favorite jacket. She stared at him wild-eyed.
He dipped his napkin into a glass of ice water and dabbed at the spot until it disappeared, and when he looked back up, she was scooting out of the booth.
“Where are you going?”
“Away from you and whatever crooked scheme you’ve cooked up.” She stood and shrugged on her small leather backpack.
Travis stared after her as she headed for the door.
He hadn’t anticipated her walking away once he’d started to talk money. Nor had he imagined he’d be so mesmerized by the sway of her hips in those faded Levi’s that he’d be frozen in place, speechless and unable to form complete thoughts. No, things weren’t going the way he’d planned at all.
2
JENNA CLIMBED THE STAIRS
