her.
“We’re waiting for our sister,” Rory explained.
“She won’t mind,” Natalie said as she settled herself in the empty chair.
“Now, wait just a minute,” Rory began. “You can’t just…”
“Wait.” Sierra cut off her sister by squeezing her hand. In the space of five beats, Natalie saw the recognition seep into her youngest sister’s eyes.
Three seconds later, Rory said, “Who in the hell are you supposed to be?”
“The name is Calli, and I’m a wannabe supermodel.”
“Okay,” Rory said, intrigued now. “I can buy that. The question is why? ”
Natalie sighed and signaled a waiter. “It’s a long story, and I need a drink.”
“What’ll it be, ladies?”
“A martini, dry with an olive,” Natalie said.
“Make that three,” Rory said not taking her eyes off of Natalie. “And we’ll have the appetizer sampler.” The moment the waiter hurried off, she said, “Whatever the story is, I vote you wear that outfit every time we come here. We’ve never gotten service this fast before.”
“What I want to know is what happened to our dear cousin Rachel?” Sierra asked. “Didn’t the disguise work?”
“Oh, it worked. Maybe too well.” Then Natalie leaned forward and told them everything, pausing only when the waiter served their drinks. Once she’d finished, Rory drained the last of her martini and said, “You were getting bored with your job. This man has offered you the kind of assignment you’ve always secretly dreamed of having. On top of all that, you’re attracted to him. What’s the problem?”
Natalie shifted her gaze from Rory to Sierra.
Sierra shook her head. “Don’t look at me. I think Rory summed the situation up nicely.
Unless you don’t think you can pull it off.”
Natalie shook her head. “The job isn’t the problem. I can do it. It’s Chance. He’s the problem.”
“So?” Sierra asked. “Is he going to be any less of a problem if you change your mind and tell him Rachel doesn’t want to turn herself into Calli and fly to Florida tomorrow?”
Natalie thought for a minute. “No, but…”
“You’ll only regret it if you let this opportunity slip by,” Sierra said.
“And you won’t just be saying goodbye to the job. You’ll be kissing off the guy, too,” Rory pointed out. “Are you ready to do that yet?”
Natalie sipped her martini, then set her glass down. That was the real problem. She wasn’t ready to cut Chance adrift. Not yet.
“I thought spending another night with him would get him out of my system,” she said.
“That’s one of the problems with our society,” Sierra said. “We want quick fixes, and sometimes that’s just not possible.”
Narrowing her eyes, Natalie glanced from to Sierra to Rory. “I wanted the two of you to talk some sense into me.”
Rory shot her a bland look. “I thought that’s exactly what we were doing.”
“We think you ought to go,” Sierra said.
Natalie ran her finger around the rim of the martini she’d hardly touched. “I should probably tell him that I’m Natalie.”
“Why? It’s Rachel he invited along,” Sierra pointed out.
Rory grinned at her. “Do you really want to go back to being Natalie yet?”
“No.” She wasn’t ready to give up being Rachel Cade yet. “But I’ve never tried to be two people at once before.”
Rory rolled her eyes. “You can’t have forgotten that Halloween when you were Wonder Woman and you kept slipping away from us so you could reappear and terrorize us as Jason from Friday the Thirteenth. You did it three times before we figured out it was just you.”
Natalie laughed. “I had forgotten that. Still, this is a little different.”
“Do you still want Chance Mitchell?” Sierra asked.
“Yes, but…”
“That’s Natalie talking,” Sierra pointed out. “How does Rachel feel about it?”
Natalie grimaced. “She’s the one who said ‘yes.’”
“What about Calli?” Rory asked.
“ She’s got her bags
“We’re waiting for our sister,” Rory explained.
“She won’t mind,” Natalie said as she settled herself in the empty chair.
“Now, wait just a minute,” Rory began. “You can’t just…”
“Wait.” Sierra cut off her sister by squeezing her hand. In the space of five beats, Natalie saw the recognition seep into her youngest sister’s eyes.
Three seconds later, Rory said, “Who in the hell are you supposed to be?”
“The name is Calli, and I’m a wannabe supermodel.”
“Okay,” Rory said, intrigued now. “I can buy that. The question is why? ”
Natalie sighed and signaled a waiter. “It’s a long story, and I need a drink.”
“What’ll it be, ladies?”
“A martini, dry with an olive,” Natalie said.
“Make that three,” Rory said not taking her eyes off of Natalie. “And we’ll have the appetizer sampler.” The moment the waiter hurried off, she said, “Whatever the story is, I vote you wear that outfit every time we come here. We’ve never gotten service this fast before.”
“What I want to know is what happened to our dear cousin Rachel?” Sierra asked. “Didn’t the disguise work?”
“Oh, it worked. Maybe too well.” Then Natalie leaned forward and told them everything, pausing only when the waiter served their drinks. Once she’d finished, Rory drained the last of her martini and said, “You were getting bored with your job. This man has offered you the kind of assignment you’ve always secretly dreamed of having. On top of all that, you’re attracted to him. What’s the problem?”
Natalie shifted her gaze from Rory to Sierra.
Sierra shook her head. “Don’t look at me. I think Rory summed the situation up nicely.
Unless you don’t think you can pull it off.”
Natalie shook her head. “The job isn’t the problem. I can do it. It’s Chance. He’s the problem.”
“So?” Sierra asked. “Is he going to be any less of a problem if you change your mind and tell him Rachel doesn’t want to turn herself into Calli and fly to Florida tomorrow?”
Natalie thought for a minute. “No, but…”
“You’ll only regret it if you let this opportunity slip by,” Sierra said.
“And you won’t just be saying goodbye to the job. You’ll be kissing off the guy, too,” Rory pointed out. “Are you ready to do that yet?”
Natalie sipped her martini, then set her glass down. That was the real problem. She wasn’t ready to cut Chance adrift. Not yet.
“I thought spending another night with him would get him out of my system,” she said.
“That’s one of the problems with our society,” Sierra said. “We want quick fixes, and sometimes that’s just not possible.”
Narrowing her eyes, Natalie glanced from to Sierra to Rory. “I wanted the two of you to talk some sense into me.”
Rory shot her a bland look. “I thought that’s exactly what we were doing.”
“We think you ought to go,” Sierra said.
Natalie ran her finger around the rim of the martini she’d hardly touched. “I should probably tell him that I’m Natalie.”
“Why? It’s Rachel he invited along,” Sierra pointed out.
Rory grinned at her. “Do you really want to go back to being Natalie yet?”
“No.” She wasn’t ready to give up being Rachel Cade yet. “But I’ve never tried to be two people at once before.”
Rory rolled her eyes. “You can’t have forgotten that Halloween when you were Wonder Woman and you kept slipping away from us so you could reappear and terrorize us as Jason from Friday the Thirteenth. You did it three times before we figured out it was just you.”
Natalie laughed. “I had forgotten that. Still, this is a little different.”
“Do you still want Chance Mitchell?” Sierra asked.
“Yes, but…”
“That’s Natalie talking,” Sierra pointed out. “How does Rachel feel about it?”
Natalie grimaced. “She’s the one who said ‘yes.’”
“What about Calli?” Rory asked.
“ She’s got her bags
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