Covert Kisses. Jane Godman

Dark, wavy hair, swept back from a broad brow and worn slightly long so that it curled onto his neck. Deep-set eyes above high, Slavic cheekbones. A hawk-like nose and lips that were contrastingly full. She had the right man. There was no mistaking him. Tall and powerfully built, he moved toward her with the grace of an athlete, a frown line pulling his dark eyebrows together.

      Judging the distance between them to perfection, Laurie waited until he was close enough. As she fell into a pretend faint, she saw shock and something more register in the hazel depths of Cameron Delaney’s eyes. Advantage number three was always going to be the one that clinched it. As his reflexes kicked in and he scooped her up into his arms, Laurie let her head flop back, allowing him a clear view of her face.

      His exhalation was an audible hiss. Mission accomplished. The fact that she was trespassing on his land had been the thing that made him notice her. The swimsuit had drawn his attention to her curves and kept him looking. Neither of those things had succeeded in driving the breath from his lungs. That had been achieved for one reason only...because she was the mirror image of his dead girlfriend.

      * * *

      Pure adrenaline fired through Cameron Delaney’s nerve endings as he gazed down at the head resting against his arm. It’s not her. His head insisted on repeating that mantra, even as his heart tried to tell him a different story. Her eyes were closed, so he was free to drink in the features he thought he’d never see again.

      Subtle differences began to imprint themselves into his brain. Her weight in his arms felt different. She was an inch or two taller, a few pounds lighter than Carla. Her hair was a tumbling mass. Even though this woman’s was wet, he could tell it was the same dark chestnut as Carla’s—although Carla’s had been longer and artfully streaked with lighter highlights. Carla’s skin tone had been a touch closer to gold than the pale porcelain he was studying so carefully now. This smattering of freckles would have been a cause for outrage if it had dared to spoil the perfection of Carla’s dainty nose and smooth cheeks. A corner of his mouth lifted in amusement as he imagined Carla’s horror at the prospect. My God, am I finally able to remember her with something other than guilt and sadness?

      The thought was chased away as the girl in his arms stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open, thick eyelashes lifting to reveal eyes that were a brilliant cornflower blue, a shade lighter than Carla’s. She fixed him with a slightly unfocused stare, then, apparently becoming aware of several things at once—she was in the arms of a complete stranger, her own state of undress and his naked torso in contact with her body—her eyes opened wide.

      “Oh, goodness!” Her voice was husky, deeper than he’d expected, her accent hard to place, but definitely not local. “I’m so sorry. I don’t make a habit of trespassing on private land and flopping into the arms of men I don’t know. You can put me down now.”

      “Are you sure you can stand?” It seemed incredible, impossible to be talking to someone who looked so much like Carla, yet wasn’t Carla. To not be asking her the dozens of questions that were chasing around inside his head.

      “No, but I’ll try...if you don’t mind lending me your arm.” She smiled as she spoke. In that single instant, the subtle physical differences ceased to matter. That smile was pure Carla. It was like an electric shock to his heart and a karate kick in his solar plexus at the same time.

      Carefully, Cameron lowered her to the ground. “Who are you?”

      As far as he knew, Carla had no family. Could two people who were not blood relatives bear such a striking physical resemblance to each other? The living proof that they could seemed to be standing right next to him.

      She clung onto his arm, testing her ability to remain upright. Apparently satisfied with the result, she let go and held out her hand. “Laurie Carter. It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Delaney.”

      Cameron raised his eyebrows as he shook the proffered hand. “You know who I am?”

      She smiled again. He might have to ask her to stop doing that. It was playing havoc with his heart rate. “Surely everyone in Stillwater knows who you are?”

      “But you’re not from around here.” He could make that statement with absolute certainty. Stillwater, Wyoming, was a closely knit community. He and Carla had been together for almost three years. During that time, someone would have mentioned the fact that the mayor’s partner had a double living in the county.

      “I was born here in Stillwater, but my dad died when I was three, so my mom went back home to her folks’ place in California. That’s where I was raised. I’m here on vacation...curious to see where I started life.” Laurie shivered, wrapping her arms around herself.

      Cameron silently cursed his own clumsiness. Were the biographical questions necessary when she’d sustained a severe shock? “Let’s go up to the house and you can warm up.”

      “Oh, hey—” she glanced up at the striking wood and glass structure, just visible through the pine trees bordering the lake, her teeth chattering slightly “—I don’t want to be any trouble.”

      Ignoring her protests, he smiled down at her. “It’s an election year. Rescuing tourists who get into difficulties is good for my public image.” Turning away for a second, he stooped to pick up the lightweight sweater he’d discarded when he came down to the beach. “Put this on.”

      “It’ll get wet...” Her protests faded at the determined look on his face. Taking the sweater from him, she slipped it on, tugging it down over her swimsuit. “Thank you.”

      “Didn’t anyone warn you how difficult it is to swim across the lake?” He gestured for her to precede him up the steps that were hewn into the rock face. The sight of those long, slim legs beneath his sweater did something to his insides. It was a sensation he hadn’t experienced for a long time.

      Laurie glanced back at him, a hint of mischief in her smile. “Actually, they did.”

      “But you didn’t listen?”

      One slender shoulder hunched in a hauntingly familiar gesture. “I’m a good swimmer. I’m also very stubborn. If someone tells me I can’t do something, it becomes the one thing I have to do.”

      Cameron’s heart clenched. Hard. It could be Carla talking. How many times had he cursed her obstinacy? She’d made him so mad that last night with her refusal to listen to reason...

      He realized Laurie was still speaking and forced himself to tune back in to what she was saying. “If I’d known I’d get a cramp and end up trespassing on your private land, I would have listened to the warnings.”

      He returned her smile. It was impossible not to. “I’m glad you didn’t.”

      * * *

      So far, so good. The house was amazing. All glass and natural wood, it perched above the rock face, jutting out over the lake so every room seemed to be suspended above the water.

      “It’s amazing.” Laurie stood at the full-length glass wall in the kitchen while Cameron made coffee. She had used the towel he gave her to get the worst of the lake water out of her hair. When it dried, she would look like a wild woman, but that couldn’t be helped. She was here, inside Cameron Delaney’s house. She’d take successful over well groomed any day. “Who designed it?”

      He paused, and she wondered if he was about to tell her the truth. She already knew the answer to her question, of course. Carla Bryan had been one of several architects to submit plans for this beach house. The youngest and most inexperienced, she’d won the contract and Cameron’s heart at the same time. It had all been in the file. The one Laurie had spent the last few weeks painstakingly memorizing.

      “The ideas were mine. It just needed a professional to bring them to life. Cream and sugar?”

      They took their drinks through to a large family room with floor-to-ceiling windows that opened onto a wraparound deck overlooking the lake. Furnished in colors reminiscent of the pine forest outside, the room managed to be elegant and comfortable at the same time. Tucking her legs under