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She grinned. “Sure. Why not? Doesn’t mean I’m going to spill any information about my sister though.” She burrowed her hands into her jacket pockets as if to further close herself off from him.
“You don’t have to.”
“Truth is, you probably know her far better than I do at this point. We’ve been out of touch for a number of years.”
Warrick held the tavern door open for her. “I heard.” The phone in his pocket buzzed with news from Colton that his pregnant mare had already given birth. Warrick read the text with amusement. Mama mare and baby colt were fine. He had the rest of the night to himself. Had Warrick been smart and invited Isabelle to the house for a slumber party?
Warrick sent Colton a quick message back to meet up at his house for a serious discussion. Explanation later.
He and Ari sat back down at the booth she and Isabelle had recently occupied, briefly. A waitress came by and took their drink orders. Ari ordered a double shot of top shelf vodka. He ordered the same.
When the drinks came, she took a sip and said, “So, Warrick, are you gainfully employed anywhere, or will my sister have to support you until you get your shit together?”
Warrick laughed out loud at the absurdity of Isabelle having to support him. “I am gainfully employed.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a lawyer.”
“Oh? Defense attorney?” He noticed quite a sneer in her tone.
“No. I’m a prosecutor for the city of Enclave.”
She brightened. “Good for you. Rock on.”
“What do you do for a living? Or are you here to have your sister support you until you get your shit together?”
Ari saluted him with her shot glass. “Touché. No. That’s not my mission. I am also gainfully employed.” But she didn’t volunteer her occupation. “I promise I’m here to help Izzy—I mean Isabelle.” She looked up at the ceiling, seemingly annoyed that she’d have to remember to call her sister a different name than she’d personally assigned long ago.
“Good. I’ll help you in any way I can.”
Warrick studied Ari’s face for a few moments. Their differences were subtle, but easily discernible. At least for him they were. He noticed a small crescent shaped scar next to one eyebrow that he hadn’t seen before.
Would Colton notice the differences? He’d love to find out. But figured his friend would clearly see Ari wasn’t Isabelle.
“Do you have a place to stay tonight?” he asked politely.
Ari shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Are you offering me one?”
Warrick shrugged in return. In fact, his first thought had to do with taking her to the Enclave Inn. He was good friends with the owner, Seth Dawson. It would likely be awkward if he took Ari to his place behind the compound walls, especially if he convinced Isabelle to come over after her work shift later on tonight.
“Do you have some twin fantasy, because—trust me—it’s not happening.”
“No comment on any of my twin fantasies, but no, rest assured, I’m not interested in you. At least not in a sexual way. I was simply trying to be civil.”
She stared at him for a long time. “You watched me kiss Sven with what seemed like quite a bit of interest. Am I wrong?”
Warrick lifted one shoulder. “Maybe I simply like watching people kiss. Doesn’t mean I’m interested in you.”
She crossed her arms and an amused expression shaped her face. “I’m her identical twin sister.”
“You don’t really look like her though. Not exactly. Not to me anyway. The more time I spend with you the more easily I can discern your differences. And while it’s true that your voice is the almost the same, still you don’t exactly sound like her when you speak. The cadence of your voice is different.”
“She sounds more formal, right?” Ari took another sip of her vodka.
“Maybe.”
“She probably gets that from all that time sucking up to rich folks at swanky hotels.”
“Possibly.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll go home with you.”
“Who said anything about you going home with me? I was offering to put you at the local motel. The owner is a friend. I can get you a fair rate for the night. That’s it, sister or not.”
A grin appeared. “I see. Rock on then. I came straight here to meet her. I haven’t secured room for the night, so an in with the local proprietor would be nice.”
“Will you tell me why you’re here at all? I gather it’s rather unexpected from Isabelle’s point of view.”
Ari looked down at the table’s surface, playing with the string dangling out of her jacket hood, as if trying to decide how much to divulge.
