Then & Now (36 page)

Pantsuits, dresses, costly ball gowns, and other high priced linens lined the walls of the enormous closet.  She only wanted something simple to wear.  But by the looks of it, nothing
Amy owned was simple.

Exiting the closet, she stopped short at the sight of Colin sitting on the corner of the bed facing her, completely shirtless.

“Good morning.” He smiled softly.

All she could do was stand there as her
eyes took in his perfectly shaped chest and abs.  His muscular arms flexed tightly as he turned to set the cell-phone down behind him.  It took her a moment to realize he had said something. Clearing her throat she smiled and looked away.  Her eyes landed on the bra and panties in her hand. Putting her hand filled with blue lace behind her back, Ella prayed he hadn’t noticed.

Colin lifted one corner of his mouth as his eyes roamed over her. 
“A t-shirt and shorts?  I’ll confess I like it better than some of the other outfits you wear to bed.”

Ella bit down on her lip as she looked herself over.  She had found some of Amy’s nighties, but they looked uncomfortable and she saw no point of wearing any of it.  She never thought what Amy would’ve done.  Of course she didn’t think she would be running back into Colin this early in the morning.

Thinking quickly she tried to sound like Amy as best as she could. “I decided to be comfortable.”

His smile got a little wider as he folded his arms in front of his chest.  “Okay. I’ll take that answer.”

Feeling the heat creeping up her neck Ella glanced at her sister’s vanity that sat in the corner of the room. The feel of ratted hair caught her attention. Her obnoxious curls were causing an unruly mess on top of her head.  Not wanting to draw too much attention to her curls, which only blatantly bounced in every other direction, she casually made her way across the bedroom.  Snatching a clip from a beautifully crafted vanity set Ella dropped the underwear on the seat.

“How long will it take you to pack?” His question was low and deep, catching her completely off guard.

“Pack?”  Ella asked trying to sound relaxed, even though every nerve in her body was standing on end.

“I was thinking we could get a room at the Grand American. It sits across from the gallery.” Getting up he walked over to the dresser. “That way we don’t have to drive the three hours home after the opening.”

Ella thought her heart was going to fly right out of her chest. Turning to face him she dropped the clip and let her curls fall down around her shoulders.
A room!
The Grand American was a five star hotel that stood tall and proud over the city sky line. Sharing a room with her sister’s husband, pretending to be his wife nonetheless, in one of the most romantic locations in the tri-state area was ludicrous.   

Making sure her voice was steady she asked softly. “Are you sure?” When he lifted an eyebrow she quickly added. “I mean, three hours isn’t that long of a drive.”

“After a long night?”  He asked as he pulled out a pair of jeans. “No, I think a room would be more suitable.”

“Oh.” Was all she could get past her suddenly dry throat as she watched him remove his pajama
pants. While he pulled the jeans up over his boxers, she turned away. What in the hell was she going to do?  He thought he was going with his wife. She could see it going wrong in so many different ways.

Desperately trying to think of something to say she took the clip back off the vanity and forced her curls up. Even though she had agreed to make Amy look good in front of Colin’s colleagues and to impress some woman from Egypt, if she spent any more time with him than necessary then she would definitely mess it up and Amy would be humiliated.

She needed to hold him off until she got a hold of Amy.  They needed to switch back as soon as possible.  Turning back to him she realized he had he came up next to her.

“I want to leave
within the next hour or so.” He stated simply.

“Why? The exhibit doesn’t open until six.”  Ella breathed as she tried to stay composed. He still wasn’t wearing a shirt and his green eyes seemed to be looking right into her.  Damn, why did he have to be so sexy?

A small smile tugged at the corner of his incredible mouth as if he knew she was reacting to him. Which was absurd. Amy would be acting more annoyed at his change of plans, not wanting to jump his prefect body.

“I need to be there before everything gets going.” Although his words were matter-of-fact the small smile seemed to widen immensely.

Duh
! She mentally smacked herself. Of course he had to be there early. Which meant she needed to move fast if she was to get a hold of Amy before they left.  Glancing at the clock on the night stand she saw that she only had a very small window to achieve such a goal. Maybe she could hold him off until Amy could get there.

“Umm…Okay…”
What to do?
Glancing at the bathroom over Colin’s shoulder she thought quickly. She stepped away from him and smiled graciously as she made her way back to the dresser. “I have a few things I need to do before we leave. I want to look my best for this evening. These curls have got to go.” She laughed timidly without turning back to see his reaction.

She tried busying herself with finding something suitable to wear, even though she was all too aware of the man coming up behind her.  As soon as
she found a pair of jeans and a pale pink sweater she turned to head for the bathroom only to run face first into a perfectly toned chest.

His
strong hands gently took a hold of her shoulders enabling any escape while he slowly bent at the knees leveling their gaze.  “I think you should keep the curls. I like your hair this way.”

He liked her curls? She always found them to be annoying and almost childish. Reaching up she lightly pushed some of the fallen tendrils back behind her ear.

“As for packing, just grab an overnight bag. If you want a new dress for tonight let me take you to any store you wish.” Running his hands lightly up and down her arms Colin voice became huskier. “I want to spend as much time with you as I can before the opening…for appearances.”

Right, Amy had told her about him needing to keep up a good image. If only her pathetic heart would understand. It damn near jumped right up her throat even at the thought of spending
more
time with him. But there was no way she could pull off being Amy for entire day.

Giving herself a mental shake she stepped out of his hold.  “Could you give me a moment, you know…to let me wake up a little?”
After he gave her a small nod she all but ran to the bathroom.

She quickly
changed into the pants that were longer than she had expected, though they fit perfectly around her waist and thighs. The sweater texture was exquisitely soft, forming to her body like a second skin. She hadn’t worn this nice of clothing since she was in high school when Amy tried sprucing up her wardrobe.

Waiting until she knew Colin had left the room, Ella made a mad dash to her sister’s phone.
Maybe she had enough time to get a hold of Amy and switch back before he wanted to leave.  She dialed the number as she entered the closet.  Closing herself inside she prayed her sister would answer.

Amy answered on the third ring. “So, how’s it going?”

“We need to trade back.”  Ella whispered in a rush. “He wants to get a room at the Grand American!”

There was a long pause before Amy responded with. “That will be fun.  You’ll love the hotel you can see the entire city from the presidential suite.”

“What! No, I can’t go.  You need to get back here.” After another long pause Ella could hear then faint sound of a radio. “Are you in the car?”

“Oh…yeah.
  I’ve just been driving around for a while.”

“Why?”

“Just wanted to see the town.  I’ve never really been up here.”

Ella had a sudden feeling something was off. “Amy, is everything okay?”

Ignoring the question Amy sighed noisily. “Ella, I need you to go. The exhibit isn’t something I will enjoy. In fact I want to yawn just thinking about it.  Besides I want Colin to look good for that woman from Egypt.  I can’t do it, I’ll screw everything up.”

Taking a deep breath Ella closed her eyes. “I can’t be you the whole day. I
will
screw everything up.”

Her sister’s laugh made her jump. “Please!  Colin will be too busy to notice what you are up to. Just do some shopping and get your hair done. He’ll be doing his own thing, trust me.”

“I really don’t know about this…” Tugging on her lip Ella felt a knot forming in her gut.

“Ella go, have fun, see the exhibit. We’ll talk when you get back.”Amy broke the connection before Ella could say another word.

As Ella began to redial the closet door opened with Colin’s questionable look awaiting her. “What are you doing in here?”  He asked glancing around the closet.

“I was…Wondering what to pack.”  She lied as she quickly tucked the phone into her pocket.

“Okay,” Cocking one eyebrow, he eyed her carefully. “So, you’ll be ready to leave soon?”

She nodded slowly. “It looks like it.”

His smile nearly brought her to her knees. “I was hoping you would.”

Amy pulled into Ella’s driveway wondering if she should just go to a hotel.  She wasn’t about to go back to her own home.  There was no way in hell she would mess this up for Ella again.  Staring at the front door, she hoped she hadn’t already.

Oh, man.  She had been out of line to say those things to Matt.  Even though she was pretending to be Ella, she had no right to bring up things she had no business in.  Maybe she could blame it on PMS.  That wouldn’t fly.  Ella’s was to
o kind, even on her worse days.

Taking a deep breath, Amy climbed out of the car and walked slowly to the house.  She had been gone for three hours and by the look of the house she wasn’t sure if he was still home.  Glancing over her shoulder, she eyed Matt’s truck and knew it was only wishful thinking.

She had to face the music.  It was her mess and she needed to clean it up before Ella came back.  Even if it was to say good-bye, Amy couldn’t let her walk into the disaster she created. 

Opening the door, she was hit with a wonderful smell of baked bread, some kinda of meat, and something sweet.  She stood there for a moment making sure she had the right house.

“Ella?”  Matt’s deep voice called as he came into the living room.  “I was hoping you got home before dinner was ready.”

All she could do was stand there and blink as he smiled back at her.

“I made pork-chops and carrots, with homemade biscuits.”  He grinned as he shut the door behind her.

“Why?” When she realized the word came out harshly she quickly asked. “I mean, why did you go to all that trouble?”

He took a deep breath.  “Because you were right.  I’ve been acting out, like a child. I’m sorry.”

The look on his face nearly ripped her in two.  Amy felt her heart sink.  She knew Matt loved Ella,
though he could never compete with Colin.  Not because Colin was richer, or smarter, but because Colin belonged to Ella.  They fit better. From lifestyle to culture, Ella and Colin just made better sense. Staring up into his light blue eyes she knew that deep down Matt knew that too.  He would have to come to grips with it just as she had.

Knowing the pain he was about to go through, Amy smiled gently. “It smells wonderful.”

His shoulders lifted up as he grinned from ear to ear. “I hope they turned out okay. I used a seasoning from a friend.”

“Well, let’s find out.” She giggled as she entered the dining room.  Stopping short her breath caught in her throat.  He had set the table with candles, wine glasses, and a dozen red roses. No one had ever gone to this much trouble for her before.  Not even when she was dating.  It was always nice restaurants, or a quick burger. 

“I hope you like them. I made Cindy pick out the freshest ones.”  Matt pointed to the beautiful arrangement.

“They’re perfect.”  She said trying to fight the tears from spilling down her cheeks.  This wasn’t hers to enjoy, it was Ella’s.  But, God help her, she was enjoying it.  It was the simple things like these that counted.  Sure a trip to Spain was fun, but spending most your time alone when you got there…

A timer went off in the kitchen letting them know the pork-chops were ready.  Hurrying into the kitchen Matt pulled out dinner and began dishing out plates.  As he did so Amy leaned over the table giving the roses a long smell.

“Here let me get your chair.”  He smiled as he set her plate down in front of her.

“Thank you.” She took her seat gracefully while she looked over the food.  The pork was burnt, the carrots were mushy, and the biscuits looked undercooked.  It was the perfect dinner.

Matt took his seat and dove right into his meal. Two bites in
he turned to her with a disgusted look.  “This is bad. Really bad.”

Clearing her throat she shook her head. “No.  It’s okay.”  She grabbed her wine glass and took a big gulp hoping to wash the taste from her mouth.  “It just needs…”  Looking up at him she had to laugh, his face read loud and clear. “Yeah, it is really bad.”