Resorting To The Truth. Lisa Dyson

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      “How do you know him?” Veronica whispered frantically as she tugged at Charlotte’s elbow. “He is one very hot guy. Too bad he so obviously dislikes you.”

      Charlotte shrugged and sipped her drink. She’d forgotten Veronica stood next to her. In fact, the woman hadn’t left her side since they’d first spoken. How should she answer Veronica’s question? Charlotte didn’t know this Sam Briton, but obviously Allie did. How did they know each other, and what had Allie done to earn his aversion?

      Charlotte knew Allie had a troubled past, but she’d worked hard to move on. Especially since she and Jack had gotten together.

      “I hope your stay here will be very rewarding, as well as relaxing,” Sam was saying. “If you have any problems or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or one of the staff. Breakfast is served from seven to nine. Enjoy your evening!” He waved, leaving everyone to talk among themselves.

      Whew! This Sam person was leaving. No more caustic stares. She’d be sure to steer clear of him this week.

      When he headed straight for her, she nearly inhaled a sip of her drink. She began coughing and someone took her drink from her hand. Instead of making herself invisible, she’d captured everyone’s attention.

      “Come with me.” Sam took her by the elbow and roughly guided her away from the group. His grip tightened the farther away they got from the reception.

      Unable to voice her opinion of his actions because she was still coughing, she finally jerked her elbow from his grasp. “Ouch!”

      “Sorry.” His apology didn’t sound genuine.

      He moved his hand to her lower back and his touch was anything but gentle.

      They were alone in the middle of the hallway, past the sign that read Employees Only. She stopped and faced him. “Where are you taking me?” She cleared her throat. “I’m fine now. I just need some water.”

      He didn’t speak, merely spun her around and continued guiding her to an office. The sign next to the door proclaimed Sam Briton, Resort Manager.

      Resort Dictator would be a more suitable title.

      She should run away, yell for help, but she had to know why he disliked Allie so much. Or did he actually know Charlotte and she didn’t remember him?

      “Sit.” He pointed to the seat closest to the wall and in front of his desk. He closed his office door with more force than necessary. Instead of taking the desk chair, he chose the matching chair next to Charlotte’s. He pulled it several feet away from her and turned it so he could face her.

      Charlotte was pretty sure that if steam could truly come out of one’s ears, then this would be the time she’d witness it.

      For what seemed like several minutes, he didn’t speak, merely stared at her with narrowed eyes. He leaned forward, hands fisted on his thighs.

      “Start talking.” When he finally spoke, his words confused Charlotte.

      She shifted in her seat. “What would you like me to say?”

      He laughed, a choking sound that lacked humor. He stood quickly and pounded a fist on his desk, making everything on it vibrate. Then he leaned in so close to Charlotte that she could differentiate the dark blue rings surrounding his lighter blue irises.

      “We had an agreement.” He spoke slowly through gritted teeth, but his self-control was back.

      “An agreement?” Maybe she could get him to elaborate.

      “Don’t be coy. We both know you’re too conniving to play the innocent.”

      Conniving. No one had ever called Charlotte that. “Maybe you can be more specific.” She kept her tone even, hoping to cajole rather than anger him. For some reason, she refused to blurt out she wasn’t Allie—maybe because the details were really none of his business.

      “Specific?” He straightened to his full height and paced in the small space. He stopped behind his desk. “You want specific? I’ll give you specific. We agreed we’d never lay eyes on each other again in this lifetime.” He flattened both hands on his desk when he leaned over it, his eyes venomous. “Is that specific enough for you?”

      Tears built behind her eyes. She fought them with every bit of self-control she possessed. No one had ever been this angry at her before. Even if Sam thought she was Allie, at this particular moment, his rage was directed at Charlotte.

      “That’s easy to do.” She stood, head held high, smoothed her skirt and turned to leave his office.

      “Sit down!” This time he shouted. “I ought to call Security and have them detain you until I can figure out how to get you off this island.”

      She grabbed at the arms of the chair to steady herself and did as she was told. This was not the vacation she’d expected. Her heart pounded in her chest as she came to a decision. Maybe when he heard the truth, he would calm down. “I’m not who you think I am.”

      He snickered.

      “Really, I’m not Allie Miller.”

      “So I’m supposed to believe you’re not Alley Cat—excuse me, Allie Miller—even though you look and sound exactly like her and you’re at an advertising conference?”

      This wasn’t going well. “She’s my twin sister.”

      “Ha! That’s a good one. Not as good as the scheme you came up with back in Charleston, but certainly worth hearing about.” He sat in his desk chair, leaned back with fingers laced behind his head and spoke to the ceiling. “Go on. This should be interesting.”

      Scheme? What kind of scheme? Nothing Allie had shared with her. Charlotte sat dumbfounded.

      “I’m waiting.” Sam’s tone made it clear he would brook no more deceit.

      Where to begin? “My name is Charlotte, and Allie Miller is my twin sister.”

      “Charlotte? As in ‘rhymes with harlot?’” His words burned her like acid.

      “You’re being unfair, as well as rude.” She spoke as firmly as she was able. “Please let me explain before you pass judgment.”

      He went back to contemplating the ceiling. “Go on.”

      “Allie and I are identical twins who were adopted by two different families as newborns. We met a few months ago.”

      Sam guffawed.

      “It’s true.” Charlotte cleared her throat, needing to sound truthful to both Sam and herself. “Our birth mother delivered us in a prison hospital and her greedy lawyer brokered separate private adoptions. Neither of us knew we had a sister, let alone a twin.” But her mother knew. A stab in her heart from another direction.

      “Nice touch, mother gave birth behind bars.”

      “It’s the truth.” She wasn’t sure why she was telling him all this, since he obviously didn’t want to believe her.

      “Why СКАЧАТЬ