Vaguely, Marley was aware that the show was airing now. From inside the box, she couldn’t hear anything, but a small TV was affixed to the ceiling. Trevor Milane was addressing the studio audience. Her heart was racing, her mind whirling with confusion. She couldn’t go on a reality show dressed like her twin—especially not when she’d come here to break a date for her.
“Thirty seconds!”
Marley watched in panic as, on the mounted television, the door of the green box was opened by an attendant. The studio audience went wild, offering whistles and hoots while clapping their hands and stomping their feet. Her heart felt as if it were dropping to her feet. One of the many voices she’d just heard replayed in her mind. Just follow the lead of the other contestants. Knowing she had no other choice, Marley somehow managed to put one foot in front of the other, scarcely believing any of this was really happening. Only the wedding curse could have made her plan to impersonate Edie backfire this drastically, and she could only hope their parents weren’t watching….
“Welcome to Rate the Dates,” Trevor Milane was saying as she and the other women filed past. He really was incredibly good-looking, and Marley could only hope she’d stop noticing such things sometime soon. A smile that didn’t quit and a designer jacket had transformed the gruff man from the hallway into Mr. Charm, one of TV’s prime-time reality-show celebrities. While she’d only seen snippets of the show, and ads for it, she knew Trevor was a regular. Each week, he hosted with a young woman chosen from contestants around the country. Now, he was grinning at a cute, corn-fed blonde beside him, saying, “And now that the women are seated, we’re ready to bring in the lucky males.”
As Marley seated herself, time ground to a halt, and for a fleeting second, she felt it was the world, not Edie’s watch, that had stopped. And then everything started moving again, every sound in the studio impossibly loud.
Everything looked overly bright, too, garish and surreal. Bright blinding lights were in her eyes, so she couldn’t really see the audience, something she hadn’t anticipated. When she saw herself on a large, wall-mounted screen behind the hosts, her heart thudded harder. She really did look like Edie! While Edie wore her blond hair blown out straight, Marley usually kept hers in a disarray of waves. And while Edie favored tailored suits with designer labels, Marley wore ancient, ripped sweatpants and torn T-shirts looking, Edie always said, like a throwback from the movie Flashdance. Even their own mother said Marley’s outfits weren’t fit for the trash. Due to their stylistic differences, strangers never thought Edie and Marley were sisters, much less identical twins. But now…
Marley bit back another rush of panic as the men came closer. Her head was swimming, her tummy tumbling with butterflies. None of this was supposed to be happening. Even worse, if she tried to explain this to Edie, saying she’d meant to interrogate Cash, since she feared Edie couldn’t protect herself, Edie would be even angrier.
Her heart missed a beat. Her throat went dry again. And then the whole world slid sideways. For a second, she could swear she was about to faint. Instead, she managed to exhale another quick breath as Cash paused, almost missing a step, his gaze dropping seductively down the front of her dress, as if he were already playing for the cameras.
It was the wrong time to remember how his eyes had drifted over her in the comedy club. Or how he’d stared at her when she’d met him once more, inside Big Apple Brides, and yet another time when he’d offered her a ride in his truck, which she’d declined. Shaking her head, hoping to clear it of conclusion, she recalled how Edie had begged her to get new clothes for working out with Julia Darden, and Marley had. Lots of little tops and spandex pants, which was what she’d been wearing the last time she’d seen Cash….
Of course he wouldn’t remember that, though. Because he thought she was Edie. He slid beside her, and she actually shuddered when his powerful arm brushed hers, forcing sudden heat into her cheeks, and a strange, undefinable embarrassment at the loss of control, something that only worsened when he casually slipped a large, dry palm beneath hers, threaded his fingers between hers and then closed them, locking their hands.
The touch captured her attention entirely, so only belatedly did she realize he was jeopardizing her manicure. She glanced downward and saw her nails were fine just as he leaned closer, his drawl sounding slow and easy, right next to her ear. “Hey there, Edie, sweetie.”
Edie sweetie? Had her sister’s relationship with Cash really progressed to pet names? Or was he simply playing to the cameras? Either way, his breath sent a shiver down her spine. Vaguely, Marley was aware that Trevor was interviewing the other couples, but she couldn’t concentrate. Cash was better looking than she remembered. So big and muscular. With bunched-up thighs and biceps that said he could easily lift twice her weight in the gym. It was almost enough to make Marley second-guess her motivations. But no…all she’d wanted was to make sure he meant Edie no harm….
But God, he was gorgeous. Oh, just a moment ago, she’d thought she had to go through with this so as not to jeopardize Edie’s relationship with the Dardens and Celebrity Weddings, not to mention her reputation with the American public. But now, she realized she’d better come clean fast. She simply couldn’t spend a week on hot dates with a man this sexy, whom she didn’t trust….
“We know you’re the lucky gal who’s planning the upcoming wedding of hockey star Lorenzo Santini and hotel heiress Julia Darden. Isn’t that right, Edie?”
The blood drained from her face. What if her sister’s meeting with the Dardens was over—and she’d tuned in to the show? This really wasn’t a sixth grade class where she and Edie could trade places as a joke. This was national TV.
“As you mentioned, Trevor,” she found herself responding, her voice shaking just a little in a way she hoped no one noticed, “I’m a wedding planner.” There. She’d just said a sentence to thousands of viewers, maybe millions. Amazing. She felt suddenly breathless. Electrified. Or maybe that was just from the way Cash Champagne was starting to stroke her hand, as if hell-bent on showing the public how hot they were together.
Marley just hated that her palm had begun sweating in Cash’s. His was bone dry, as if he were on TV every night of his life. “I’d also like to talk about my sister,” Marley managed to add, feeling only a twinge of guilt. After all, she might be able to pick up some clients. “Her name’s Marley…and, uh, she’s doing a wonderful job, working as Julia Darden’s personal fitness trainer.”
Now she knew Edie was going to kill her. It was bad enough to impersonate your twin, but she’d just stooped to using the opportunity to promote herself. Brazen hussy, she thought, but forced herself to continue. “Previously, Marley owned a wonderful fitness club called Fancy Abs, and she’s currently shopping for a location for her new venture.” It wasn’t strictly true, since she still didn’t have the money to do so, but maybe someone with an inexpensive rental property would see her on TV and call….
“It’s great of you to give your sister such a glowing recommendation!” exclaimed Trevor. “No sibling rivalry there. You’ve shown just the kind of generosity that endears a contestant to our viewers.”
Great. Really, it was Edie who deserved all the credit. She’d hooked Marley up with the Darden wedding and then introduced her to Emma Goldstein. That had led to Marley’s writing a fitness column for Celebrity Weddings. So far, Marley had written Honed Honeymoon, Sex Muscles and Shapely Mates.
Feeling guilty, Marley hazarded her first glance toward Cash’s dark, smoldering eyes and said, “Uh, look, Trevor…I’m not really sure Cash and I should be on this show.”
Trevor only laughed. A quick glance at Cash showed her that he’d taken the news in stride. As soon as they got out of here, she’d explain everything.
Staring into the camera, Trevor winked knowingly. “We’ve got a female with cold feet. And what’s our studio audience have to say about that?”
Bleeps and horns sounded as the audience pushed buttons on the armrests of their seats. A ding sounded. Then Trevor said, “Go, Edie! You and your date have