Читать книгу The Love Twin - Patty Salier - Страница 9
ОглавлениеTwo
In the small office at the back of his store in Santa Monica, Jarrid anxiously squeezed the phone in his hand. He was so hyped up he couldn’t even think straight. He wondered why Becky was taking so long to come back to his call. Was she thinking of excuses to hang up on him?
Stop being paranoid, he told himself. He was sure she sounded excited when he first called. Or was he just imagining it to convince himself that he could steal back into her heart?
He didn’t even know why he was calling. He had an appointment at a customer’s house in Beverly Hills to deliver a sixty-inch, high-tech television screen. His technician, Pete, was waiting for him in the van out front. But he couldn’t go until he talked to Becky.
“Jarrid, I’m sorry I took so long,” her soft voice suddenly whispered in his ear.
He swallowed. “Becky, I know you don’t want to talk to me.”
“Yes, I do,” she quickly cut in.
He held his breath. “Then why did you pretend you didn’t know me at the pool?”
“Because my mind was all foggy and cluttered,” she rushed on. “Yours would be, too, if your nose and throat were clogged with chlorine.”
He had to smile. “Maybe I was a bit overly sensitive.” He instinctively put the receiver closer to his lips. “Wouldn’t you still be sensitive if you were on my end the night of your prom?”
He felt her hesitate. “Jarrid, I was really immature then,” she began. “I didn’t know what I was saying.”
Jarrid’s hopes rose. “What do you mean, Becky?”
Becky felt a rush of excitement hearing Jarrid’s deep, masculine voice so close to her ear. She nervously glanced at the framed photograph of her and Pam arm in arm hanging on her living room wall. Pam, help! she silently begged.
“Jarrid, I wasn’t very good at communicating my feelings back then,” she disclosed, trying to think of what her sister might say. “I was too abrupt and insensitive. I should’ve told you I was too young to get married. I should’ve been more gentle with you.”
Jarrid was silent for a long moment, and she wondered if she’d said the wrong thing. She didn’t want to mess it up for her sister. Becky knew she shouldn’t have agreed to this and planned to call Pam back and tell her she couldn’t pretend to be her a moment longer just as soon as she hung up with Jarrid.
“I’m confused, Becky,” Jarrid admitted. “Half of me wants to see you again. But the other half—”
“Do you think you might be able to ignore that second half?”
His voice was almost a whisper. “Do you really want me to?”
She could almost feel his warm breath on her cheek. A tingle of pleasure cascaded from her breasts down to her toes. Her heart fluttered wishing it was her he was talking about wanting to see. But remembering her sister’s love for him, she ignored her own response to him.
“Jarrid, can’t we start over? I mean, seven years have gone by, and we’re both so different now.”
“I want to, Becky, but I’ve got to be honest with you.” She heard him hesitate. “My sister-in-law, Marie, is setting up a date for me with her friend.”
Becky suddenly panicked. She had to do something fast before Pam lost Jarrid a second time. Should she ask him to lunch like Pam wanted?
“Jarrid, would you like to, I mean, I was wondering if—”
“Becky,” Jarrid interrupted as a male voice called him in the background. “I’m late for a business appointment. Can we continue this conversation?”
“Yes, definitely! Where? When?” she blurted.
What was happening to her? She was never that bold.
“I could drop by where you work late tomorrow afternoon,” he said.
“Oh, no, not there.” She didn’t dare take that chance. What if someone at the salon said something that might let him know that she wasn’t the same Becky? “How about at your job?”
“Great!” Jarrid said, excitedly. “I’ll show you my home entertainment store.”
“You own a store?” she asked, surprised and impressed at the same time.
“Yeah, it’s kind of small, but it’s mine.”
She was so nervous and excited that she could barely remember writing down the Santa Monica address of his store before she hung up the phone. She knew she should immediately call Pam to tell her that she couldn’t pretend to be her with Jarrid.
Yet she couldn’t back out on her sister now, not when Jarrid was about to meet another woman and Pam wasn’t in Los Angeles to win him back.
Why deny it? She couldn’t wait to be with him again. She couldn’t wait to see his store. She couldn’t wait to continue their talk. She couldn’t wait—
The sound of the phone ringing interrupted her wayward thoughts. She quickly came back to reality when she heard Charlotte’s voice on the line.
“Becky, how about dropping by my office tomorrow after lunch instead of today?” Charlotte suggested.
“Sure, Charlotte. I’ll be there about 1:30. Thanks so much.”
Suddenly, a rush of anxiety filled Becky’s body. Her twin might be moving to Los Angeles in a few short weeks. So why didn’t she feel as joyous about it as she did before?
Because of Jarrid Browning, that’s why!
Feeling tense, and still having a little time before her first appointment at the salon, Becky grabbed her keys and went out for a walk to quell the uncontrolled feelings she was having about Jarrid.
Under the flower-scented jacaranda trees, Becky followed the hilly sidewalk, breathing in the ocean-filled Mar Vista air. She had to concentrate on getting Jarrid back for Pam. She had to forget her own yearning for him.
As she turned the corner on busy Centinela Avenue, her heartbeat sped up when she spotted a curly brown-haired, muscular guy in shorts jogging across the street. For a second he looked just like Jarrid.
Her skin heated up with desire just thinking about him. She quickly turned away, silently scolding herself for wanting the man her sister was still in love with. She hurried back to her apartment to call Pam in New York. She had to keep her sister’s interest in mind, not her own.
She dialed Pam’s office number desperately needing tips on how to win Jarrid’s heart back for her twin. But it was lunchtime in New York, and she got Pam’s voice mail. So Becky left a message asking her sister’s advice on how she should act with Jarrid when she saw him again.
As she hung up, Becky was determined about one thing. She was going to get Jarrid back for her twin. However, as she grabbed her car keys to drive to the salon, she was a bundle of raw nerves; trying to figure out how she was going to silence her own major attraction to Jarrid Browning.
“Uncle Jarrid, sit next to me!” his nine-year-old niece, Lizzy, squealed as she pulled him to the dinner table at his brother Kenny’s house in West Los Angeles that evening.
Jarrid gently kissed her hand. “Lizzy Browning, I’d be honored to be your dinner partner.” In a princelike manner, he pulled out a chair for her.
How many times had Jarrid wished he had a daughter just like Lizzy and a beautiful wife like his brother had.
“Uncle Jarrid, I heard my mom’s gonna set you up in a few days with her girlfriend,” Lizzy whispered in his ear. “I’ve never met her, but don’t worry, I’ll let you know straight-out if she’s right for you.”
“I’m counting on your opinion,” Jarrid said, warmly hugging his niece, but his insides were churning.
Before Becky reappeared, he had been looking forward to meeting Marie’s friend, who was recently divorced and searching for a relationship like he was. But now, he felt uneasy about it.
All because of Becky.
“Jarrid, how’s your business going?” Kenny asked as he helped his wife set plates of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, cooked baby carrots and salad onto the dinner table.
“I’m still looking for customers who’ll hire me to design video and audio systems for them,” Jarrid replied, relieved to get his mind momentarily off his emotional turmoil about Becky. “Know of any, Kenny?”
“Wish I did,” his brother replied. “I’d send them straight your way.”
“Yeah,” Jarrid said, thoughtfully. “I just need to find a way to get my name out there. Then I’ll be able to open the larger store I keep dreaming about.”
Kenny high-fived him. “I know you’re gonna make it big, bro!”
“By the way, Jarrid,” Marie began as she passed him the meat loaf. “I heard you’re swimming at the gym now. Getting in shape for a new relationship?”
His brother winked at him. “I bet he’s met a couple of cute single women there, right, Jarrid?”
“Ken, stop it!” Marie said. “I don’t want your brother meeting another woman.”
Jarrid avoided Marie’s eyes. “Don’t worry, Marie, I haven’t met anyone new at the gym.” He immediately piled meat loaf onto his plate, not wanting his sister-in-law to know about his confused feelings about Becky and spoil her dating plans.
“Good,” Marie said. “Because I already told my friend, Leah, about you. She’s dying to meet you.”
“Same here,” Jarrid responded, trying to summon his original enthusiasm.
Kenny eyed him for a long moment. Jarrid got the distinct feeling that his brother sensed something was up but was going to keep quiet so as not to ruin things for his wife.
“How do you want to meet Leah?” Marie pursued. “A blind date with just the two of you? A family barbecue here?”
“Family, definitely, barbecue, here with all of you,” Jarrid rushed in a jumble of words. With Becky haunting his mind, he wanted to meet Marie’s friend in a friendly, platonic atmosphere.
Once again, Jarrid felt Kenny’s eyes on him. His brother was eight years older and twenty years wiser. Even as a kid, Jarrid could never put one past his big brother.
“Terrific!” Marie said, excitedly. “How about next Saturday?”
“Fine with me,” Jarrid replied, his stomach in one tight knot.
He was relieved when dinner ended. Lizzy talked him into a game of Monopoly, and he lost all his play money and properties when he landed on her hotels on Park Place and Boardwalk.
But later, while Marie tucked in Lizzy for the night, Kenny cornered him while he played his brother’s new CD-ROM computer game.
“Come clean, little brother,” Kenny said, egging him on. “You did meet a lady at the gym, didn’t you?”
Jarrid could feel the meat loaf grumbling in his intestines. “An old girlfriend.”
Kenny’s eyes widened. “You only had one old girlfriend, Jarrid. Wasn’t she the high school girl who burned you?”
Jarrid anxiously jerked the computer joy stick and missed the game target on the screen. “Yeah. Becky.”
“I never met her, did I?” Kenny went on. “I think Marie, Lizzy, and I were living in Chicago then. But I remember when you came to visit us, how broken up you were.”
I’m still in pieces! Jarrid wanted to yell out but didn’t. He had to find a place in himself that was emotionally neutral about her.
“Kenny, you’ve got to promise not to tell Marie,” he said. “I don’t want to spoil her plans. I’ll work this out. It won’t affect meeting her friend.”
Kenny’s eyebrow lifted. “You’re still hooked on Becky, aren’t you?”
Jarrid quickly got up from the computer. “I don’t know, Kenny, I don’t know.”
Kenny put a brotherly arm around his shoulders. “I know you well, Jarrid,” he began. “Ever since Mom and Pop died in that car accident when you were seventeen, you’ve been looking for a girl to love. Don’t worry. It’s gonna happen for you. Your future wife is out there. Just trust the process.”
Jarrid nodded, trying to absorb his married brother’s wisdom. He knew that seven years ago he’d held on too tightly to Becky because of his desperate need to love and be loved. He had emotionally paid for his overwhelming need when she eventually broke free of him. He didn’t want to make that same mistake twice.
“Hey, Jarrid, how about a quick one-on-one basketball game before you go?” his brother asked.
“Sure,” he replied, hoping the game would help get Becky out of his mind.
As Jarrid shot for the hoop, Becky’s strawberry hair and green eyes flashed through his head. Suddenly, he made a clear basket. A slow grin crossed his face. He couldn’t help but wonder if that perfect shot was an omen of good luck for him and her.
At the Nouveau Hair Salon in Beverly Hills, Becky quickly stuffed her hair dryer, hair spray, gel and scissors into her bag. She was already a few minutes late for her appointment at the Beverly Hills home of Mrs. Gwen Fuller, who preferred having her hair styled in privacy.
Becky didn’t mind doing house calls. Most of her clients at the salon were upscale, wealthy women who had busy schedules to keep.
As Becky packed her bag, she made sure she also had her swimsuit along. Mrs. Fuller always insisted that Becky swim in her pool. However, when she learned of Becky’s fear of drowning, Mrs. Fuller made sure that Becky relaxed in her Jacuzzi after Becky did her hair. Becky couldn’t refuse because she knew Mrs. Fuller was a widow who enjoyed sharing the lavish home she lived in by herself.
Becky anxiously glanced at the clock on the salon wall. She couldn’t even think straight, knowing she would be seeing Jarrid at his store in several hours. First, she had to go to her meeting with Charlotte about her sister’s job.
She still hadn’t talked to Pam about how she should act with him to be convincing. Her twin had left a message on her home answering machine saying she was overloaded with work and couldn’t call back until later.
However, her sister said she’d sent her diary special delivery, and she’d come up with other super-cool ways to help her get over her shyness with Jarrid.
Becky was so blind with worry that she accidentally knocked over her bag. Her favorite pink satin blouse fell onto the linoleum salon floor—the pretty blouse she wanted to change into before seeing Jarrid.
Sherry quickly picked up her satin blouse and smiled. “Are you going out with Jarrid Browning?”
“Yes, I mean, no. He wants to show me his store.” She wished she could tell Sherry about Pam’s scheme, but she couldn’t break her sister’s confidence.
“How wonderful!” Sherry said. “He’s opening his life to you. That’s a true sign that he cares.”
“Do you really think so?” Becky asked, momentarily forgetting she was going to see Jarrid because of her sister.
“Absolutely,” her friend said supportively. “When a man wants to show off where he works, you can be sure he’s very interested in you.”
Becky’s stomach was jumping with butterflies as she gathered up her bag and hurried to her car in the parking structure. She felt so jittery and unsure about herself that she wondered if she should call him from Mrs. Fuller’s and postpone seeing him until she got more advice from Pam.
With her mind in a frenzy about what she should do, she drove as if on automatic pilot along Sunset Boulevard and turned onto a street lined with vast estates and palm trees. The gates were open to Mrs. Fuller’s property, and she saw the gardener putting a lawnmower into his pickup truck, getting ready to leave.
As she parked her car, she was in such a rush that she barely saw a van parked at the far end of the driveway. She grabbed her hair supply bag and ran through the side entrance which took her straight to Mrs. Fuller’s private bathroom.
As Jarrid adjusted the wires behind the projection television screen in Mrs. Fuller’s spacious living room, he felt excited about Becky’s meeting him at his store.
He couldn’t wait to show her the business he’d started. He wanted her to see the work space he was renting and meet Pete, his competent and loyal technician.
He planned to show her the high-tech audio/visual equipment he was selling. But most of all, he wanted to show her the sketches of home theater systems he’d designed in the hopes of getting future customers interested in the work he really wanted to do.
As he fine-tuned the picture on the television screen, his shoulders and back suddenly started to ache with tension. Doubts about re-entering Becky’s life rose up in him with tornado force. Would he start wanting her so much again that he would set himself up for another rejection from her?
“Jarrid, could you do me a favor?” Mrs. Fuller said from behind him. She was wearing a hair salon smock and had rollers in her hair.
“What would you like me to do for you, Mrs. Fuller?” he asked, packing up his tools.
He had met Mrs. Fuller a few years ago when he worked for another store. She’d remained a loyal customer when he got his own place of business and called him periodically to upgrade her equipment so that she could entertain her married children and grandchildren when they visited her.
“Could you check out the television sets in the three bedrooms in the guest house?” she asked. “The remote doesn’t work on any of them.”
“Sure, no problem,” he gladly replied, thankful to have her as a steady customer.
“By the way,” she added. “After you finish, feel free to take a swim in the pool before you go. My housekeeper will leave swim trunks for you in the guest house.”
He was about to politely decline since Pete would be waiting for him at the store, but he didn’t want to hurt Mrs. Fuller’s feelings. Besides, a few laps in the pool would be just what he needed to relax his tense body.
“I might take you up on it, Mrs. Fuller,” he replied with a smile.
“Terrific,” she said. “My hairdresser is finishing my hair. Then I’ll be leaving, so I’ll say goodbye for now.”
As Jarrid headed outside toward the guest house, which was a short distance from the main house, he noticed the shimmering blue water of the oblong swimming pool and the swirling foam of the hot tub.
He could feel the tension in his shoulder and back muscles already easing knowing he’d be taking a short swim and maybe even hop into the Jacuzzi.
He wanted to feel comfortable when he was with Becky. He wanted to show her that he didn’t need her love as desperately as he did when he first knew her. He wanted to start a gradual friendship with her. Nothing too heavy. In that way he wouldn’t set himself up to be hurt again.
Becky spread the floral-scented gel into Mrs. Fuller’s sleekly cut short hair. Mrs. Fuller mentioned something about a technician working in the guest house, but she was too wound up to completely listen.
She had made her decision. She was going to call Jarrid after she took a Jacuzzi and postpone stopping by his store, at least until she received her sister’s diary.
“Do you like this new style, Mrs. Fuller?” Becky asked, hoping to please her one hundred and fifty percent. She handed Mrs. Fuller a mirror and twirled the seat around giving her a back view of her hairstyle.
“Becky, it’s beautiful!” Mrs. Fuller said, happily. “You make me look so young.” She paid her generously for the cut and added a twenty-dollar tip.
“Oh, no, Mrs. Fuller,” Becky began. “You’ve paid me way too much already.”
Mrs. Fuller gently pushed the money back into Becky’s hand. “Now put on your swimsuit and jump into the hot tub. You look tense.” Mrs. Fuller picked up her purse. “I’ll see you next week.”
Becky knew Mrs. Fuller was right. She was wired to the max about calling Jarrid. Maybe a quick Jacuzzi soak would settle her down a bit and then she’d know what to say to him.
Becky slipped on her powder blue, one-piece spandex swimsuit in Mrs. Fuller’s bathroom and then grabbed a towel. As she walked out of the back patio glass doors, Becky suddenly froze.
There was Jarrid emerging from Mrs. Fuller’s pool!
Her breath caught at how handsome he was. He was wearing grass green swim trunks, and his skin glistened from the dripping water and sunlight. As he wiped down his muscled arms and legs with a towel, she gazed at his wide shoulders and broad bare chest.
Her eyes traveled down to his ample manhood pressing against the thin wet fabric of his swim trunks. Her skin burned hot. She’d never blatantly stared at a man with such sultry thoughts in her entire life!
Just as Jarrid stepped into the Jacuzzi, he turned, and his eyes met hers.
“Becky!” A gleaming smile flashed on his face. “Are you Mrs. Fuller’s hair stylist?”
She quickly nodded. “I work at the Nouveau Hair Salon in Beverly Hills,” she replied, trying to keep a calm voice when she was dying inside seeing him again. “Are you the technician she was talking about?”
“Yeah!” he replied, his eyes twinkling as though he was thrilled to see her. “I just installed a new television set for her. She talked me into taking a swim. You, too, huh?”
“Just a dip in the Jacuzzi.” She became very aware of standing half-naked in front of him.
“Come on and join me,” he offered.
She caught his gaze slowly travel down her swimsuited body. His eyes lingered on her breasts. She felt her nipples growing hard from his visual caress.
Becky hesitated. She couldn’t get into that small Jacuzzi with Jarrid, not when he was bringing out sensual feelings she’d never felt before, not even when she was with her ex-boyfriend, Darryl.
I’m here with Jarrid for Pam! she silently reminded herself. Knowing how forward Pam was, she was sure that her twin would want her to take a Jacuzzi with him. She had to act a little bolder like her sister to be convincing.
Becky slowly walked toward the bubbling hot tub, trying to contain her excitement at being with him, trying not to feel her undeniable magnetic attraction to him.
As the warm water swirled around him, Jarrid watched Becky walk toward him. The elastic fabric of her blue swimsuit hugged the roundness of her abundant breasts. Her shapely bare legs looked soft and golden in the sun. He immediately fantasized about touching the warm skin of her inner thighs.
Just then Jarrid noticed Becky nervously clasping and unclasping her hands as she reached the hot tub, as though she didn’t know what to say or do. He was momentarily surprised. The Becky he used to know was impetuous and impulsive. She said and did whatever came to her head, unaware of what anyone thought about her.
Steam from the Jacuzzi swirled between them. He held out his hand, and she hesitantly slipped her fingers through his. He guided her into the white foam. She sat down across from him, looking a bit unsure. He wanted to draw her into his arms, but he held back.
His gaze locked on her shimmering eyes. Her cheeks were flushed. Her lips powder pink.
“You look beautiful, Becky, more beautiful than I remember.” The words rushed out before he could control himself. “I’ve been thinking about you all morning.”
Her face reddened. “Me, too, about you.”
“You have?” he asked, wanting very badly to believe he still had a chance with her.
“Oh, yes,” she responded.
Her rosebud lips parted a little. Her sweetness, her vulnerability, all of it made him ache to kiss her.
“What have you been thinking?” he asked.
“How excited I am at seeing you again,” she said in a shaky voice.
“Not as excited as I feel.”
“Wanna bet?” she added in a teasing tone.
His gaze traveled down her swimsuit. Her nipples protruded through the wet material as though she was naked in front of him.
He swallowed, wanting to touch her, caress her. He could feel his maleness responding under the swirling water.
Slow down, Browning, slow down! he told himself.
But he didn’t listen. Being near her brought out a longing within him that was more powerful than he’d ever felt for her. He impulsively leaned closer to her and gently touched her warm cheek with his palm.
“It’s crazy, Becky, but I almost feel like we’re meeting for the very first time.”
“We are,” she replied and then quickly added, “I mean, in seven years, we’ve both changed a lot.”
“You definitely have.” He traced her full lips with his thumb. “You’re an incredible woman now.”
Then he trailed his finger down her neck to the soft cleavage of her breasts, across the swollen hills, with his eyes steady on hers. He felt her tremble under his touch, as if he’d never caressed her before.
As his mouth closed over hers, he heard a voice call out, “Mr. Browning, you have a phone call.”
He turned and saw the housekeeper standing at the sliding glass door. “Okay, thanks,” he responded. “I’ll be right there.”
When he turned back to Becky, she was already out of the Jacuzzi with a towel wrapped around her body.
“Jarrid, I need to get back to the salon,” she said, her voice quivering a little.
“Will I see you later at my store?”
“I—I was wondering if we could do it another day,” she hesitantly asked. “I’m running late, and I might have to squeeze a couple of appointments in tonight.”
Disappointment filled him. “Sure, I understand. We’ll do it later.” But deep down, he felt her drawing away from him.
As she hurried back to the main building, Jarrid felt the impulse to call her back. He needed to tell her that he hadn’t meant to move so quickly. He didn’t mean to put any pressure on her. All he’d wanted was to get close to her.
Becky raced into Mrs. Fuller’s bathroom. Her skin was still flaming from Jarrid’s touch. She didn’t dare go to his store now. She’d gotten so turned on by him that she would’ve blended into his kiss with no holding back if the housekeeper hadn’t shown up.
Under the cool shower, Becky could still feel Jarrid’s warm finger caressing the tops of her breasts and his mouth touching hers. She ached to feel his strong hands cupping her breasts, pressing his palms against her nipples.
She abruptly turned off the shower water. What am I thinking? I’m with Jarrid for Pam, not myself!
Jarrid didn’t say she was beautiful. He wasn’t touching her lips. He wasn’t about to kiss her. In his mind, he was with Pam.
As Becky frantically dried herself, she glanced at her watch. Her appointment with Charlotte! She’d totally forgotten about the meeting about her sister’s job. She was so caught up in Jarrid that nothing existed for her except him.
How could she have put her own attraction to Jarrid ahead of getting her sister that L.A. job?
Becky yanked on her clothes feeling upset with herself. As she hurried out of the house, she glanced down the driveway looking for Jarrid’s van, but it was gone. She should’ve felt relieved, but instead, she missed seeing him.
Her head started to ache as she quickly got into her car. She prayed that Charlotte would tell her Pam’s job would be available sooner than she thought. She had to get her sister moved to Los Angeles right away. Because she couldn’t be in Jarrid’s presence without thinking about her own need for him!
Jarrid made a pit stop at his West Los Angeles apartment for a quick bite to eat before responding to the phone call he had received at Mrs. Fuller’s house from Pete. Pete told him that he had heard from a friend that Lyle Industries in Santa Monica wanted remote video monitors installed in each of their ten executive offices for video-conferencing purposes.
Jarrid wanted to go over to Lyle Industries in person and convince Mr. Lyle that he was the man to design their video system.
He grabbed a cold piece of leftover chicken from the refrigerator. He tried to concentrate on what he would say to Mr. Lyle, but his mind was whirling with conflicts about Becky.
In the Jacuzzi, Becky was so open to him. Her eyes held a warm caring that momentarily melted away the long-ago memories of her refusing to marry him. She looked at him like he was a new man to her, like she was getting to know him all over again.
Yet she’d acted so cool to him afterward. She wouldn’t even go to his store like they’d planned.
Jarrid hurled the bare chicken bone into the trash can. Move on with your life, he silently told himself.
In a few days he would be meeting Marie’s friend. She could be the woman who would accept him completely. The woman who would want to share her heart and soul with him.
Yet why did the idea of dating a woman other than Becky feel so wrong to him? If Becky wasn’t going to get seriously involved with him again, why didn’t he feel enthusiastic about Saturday night at Kenny’s?
Jarrid grabbed his van keys so he wouldn’t delay getting to Lyle Industries to discuss his video conferencing ideas.
Just as he opened the door to leave, he found a delivery man dressed in brown shorts and brown shirt standing there ready to ring his doorbell. He was holding a special delivery letter and a clipboard for his signature.
Jarrid quickly signed the receipt form and hurried to his van with the letter in his hand.
At a red light, he glanced at the envelope to see who it was from. There was no return address. He drove into the subterranean parking structure of the office building in Santa Monica, turning into the first empty parking spot he saw.
Jarrid couldn’t stop himself from taking a few short moments to open the envelope. He immediately spotted the typewritten name at the bottom of the letter. It was from Becky.
His heart hammered against his ribs. He wondered if she was going to tell him that she didn’t want to see him anymore. He focused on the typed words.
Dear Jarrid:
I guess I’ve gotten a bit shy over the years. It’s so hard for me to say how I feel about you when I’m with you. Will you forgive me for hurting you on my prom night? I think about you a lot. I see your face in my mind when I’m working. I see your sexy eyes. And when I’m lying in bed at night—
“Hey, buddy, you’re parked in a reserved spot!” Jarrid heard the parking attendant call out.
“Sorry!” he quickly yelled back, his stomach churning over Becky’s revealing letter.
Jarrid quickly shoved Becky’s red-hot letter back into the envelope, slipped it in his pocket and drove to the spot the attendant pointed to. She was bold in her letter, like the Becky he knew. Yet, in person, she presented a softer, shier side that appealed to him even more.
When Jarrid entered the gray-carpeted, lamplit reception area, he was told to wait a few minutes. Becky’s inviting words filled his head. Having a couple of minutes, he took out her letter and quickly read the rest.
Becky couldn’t relax sitting in the plush floral chair in Charlotte Swanson’s advertising office in Beverly Hills. Somehow, she had to get her sister to L.A. sooner than Charlotte had in mind for that job. She couldn’t go on another second pretending to be her twin when she wanted so badly to be with Jarrid herself.
She had stopped by her apartment before going to Charlotte’s office to see if Pam’s diary had been delivered, but there was no mail waiting for her. Her message machine was blinking with a call, but she was a couple of minutes late for her appointment with Charlotte and didn’t take the time to listen to it.
She saw Charlotte glance up from her three-way conference call on her videophone and motion that she would be with her in a moment.
Becky politely nodded, feeling the tension growing inside of her. She picked up the framed family photograph on her friend’s desktop of Charlotte, her husband and three children.
She admired the closeness between Charlotte and her husband. For a split second she imagined her and Jarrid in the photo as husband and wife with his protective arm around her waist, gazing at her with those brown eyes of his filled with more love than she could ever dream of.
“Becky, about your sister,” Charlotte began, flicking off the videophone screen.
“Yes, of course, my sister.”
Becky quickly set the photograph back on the desk. Every time her thoughts drifted to Jarrid, she forgot about Pam. Her fantasies about him were growing steadily out of control.
“I hope you don’t mind, Becky,” Charlotte said, “but I called your sister in New York early this morning. I offered her a very desirable salary and benefits package.”
“Oh, Charlotte, thank you so much,” she said. “How soon can Pam come to Los Angeles?”
“Actually, there might be a slight delay.”
“A delay?” Becky repeated uneasily.
“The account exec who is leaving the position your sister will fill told me that she is still negotiating a contract with her new employer,” Charlotte explained. “She asked to remain at her job for a while longer until the signed document is in her hand.”
Becky anxiously straightened in the chair. “How long will that take?”
“We’re looking at possibly another four to five weeks, because her new employer is out of town.”
Four to five more weeks with Jarrid!
Becky’s forehead started to pound. She could barely hear Charlotte say that she had already informed Pam of the delay, and her sister seemed fine about it.
Charlotte’s videophone buzzed, and she glanced at the caller I.D. number. “Unfortunately, Becky, I’m going to be on this call for a while. I’ll let you and Pam know the second my employee gives me her final date.”
Becky stood up, fidgeting with her purse, her mind in major discord. “Charlotte, thanks a trillion for your help.” She warmly shook her hand.
As Becky drove back to the hair salon, she barely noticed driving past the glitzy department stores and the prestigious international bank buildings on Wilshire Boulevard.
Her brain was in total chaos thinking about Pam’s move to Los Angeles being pushed farther away. Instead of being upset about having to pretend to be her sister even longer, she suddenly felt exhilarated knowing she had several more weeks with Jarrid!
She made a sharp turn into the parking structure for her last few hair appointments for the evening. She yanked open the door of the salon, verbally drilling into her skull the mantra, Jarrid belongs to Pam. Jarrid belongs to Pam!
Yet no matter how many times she said those words, she couldn’t wait to be with Jarrid—for herself.
“Thank you so much for this order,” Jarrid said, vigorously shaking Mr. Lyle’s hand. “You’ll be very pleased with the system my company will install.”
Minutes later Jarrid was back in his van hurrying to make a few more customer calls. But he had only one thing in mind. He had to see Becky. He couldn’t believe the rest of the words she had written in her special delivery letter. He needed to find out if she really meant what she had said.
