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And holy mother of smoulder, I come face-to-face with a gorgeous thundercloud. He’s wearing a flattering mix of grays and blacks, his suit finely pressed and buttoned perfectly. I’ve never seen eyes so dark before. A dark brown with tiny flecks of gold. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was Lucifer himself popping up to add to my torture tonight.
Swallowing, I brush the crumbs from around my lips. Bringing a fist to cover my mouth, I clear my throat before smiling at the man. At least, I think I’m smiling. I can’t be sure because he’s completely shocked me.
“Hi, Charles,” Jenna calls hesitantly from behind me. The man nods and I hear her walk away again.
I wrack my brain for a Charles. Has Gill mentioned this man before? Then it hits me. Oh, Charles equals Charlie. Duh me. Gill has talked about him before. If I recall right, he works down in marketing. Though looking at the handsome man before me, there’s no way he’s in his twenties. Isn’t he teased for always being carded when their group goes out for drinks after work? Strange.
I could do this though. Gillian may not have told me how to handle talking to work friends, but it should be easy. I could probably mimic their relationship dynamic—which I’m hoping was respectful but chill.
Facing him fully, I give him a bright smile. His eyes assess me, squinting just the tiniest bit. I have a moment of fear that he knows I’m not Gillian, but the thought disappears as fast as I can think it. There’s no way.
“Good evening, Charlie.”
His jaw ticks, giving me the impulse to step forward and touch the area. Thank God I don’t do that. How embarrassing would that be? Also, it would absolutely give me away.
“Hello”—he pauses for a heartbeat—“Gillian. I heard that you’re helping out with the auction now.”
“Yes, I am helping out with the auction now,” I parrot back, feeling proud that I’m nailing this whole twin-swap scheme.
He nods, letting his eyes trail down my dress. I look down too. I must have dropped something on it to have him looking at me—or, er, my sister—this way. Or maybe he’s assessing my outfit to see if it’s acceptable for the auction. I’m not sure how my sister will feel when she has to part with this dress, but I’m sure knowing it’s going to a good cause will help. It’s a little weird to bid on stylish dresses on live models but whatever.
“Good,” he murmurs. “Good.”
“Did you need anything?” I force myself to ask. It’s a compulsion.
“No, thank you. I’m good. Came back to have a word with Tony about the donation announcement.”
Tony. Tony? Who the hell is Tony? I nod anyway, relieved that I won’t have to do anything for him. I need time to prepare myself to walk onto a stage…and have hundreds of eyes on me. Urg, the mental image makes my knees shake.
“Thank you for filling in. I appreciate it.”
Under his appreciation, I glow. A warm, fuzzy feeling blooms in my stomach. “No prob. No problem,” I correct quickly. “Happy to help in any way I can.” The charity event must have a tie to a member of the marketing team to have him taking such an interest. That’s cool.
Charlie gives me a funny look again before nodding. The lights begin to flicker, indicating that the event is about to begin. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah. Sounds great.”
I watch him go…because why not? My eyes stay hooked on his ass until he exits through the curtain. Mmm.
“Gillian! Come on! You need to get ready.”
Right. The auction. Hurrying toward Jenna as fast as my heels will allow me, I apologize for the delay. I’m smoothing down my dress, fluffing up my hair so that it’s at its full glory, when I hear the music that marks the beginning of the event. I’m calm, excited even. I really hope this dress goes for a good price.
Then two things happen that knock me off my cloud of positivity.
The other women in the auction file in around me.
And I hear the emcee introduce the event.
Oh no. I’ve made a huge mistake.
