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  “Damn it, Amanda—”

  She turned and marched toward the door. He grabbed her arm and swung her back around. His lips were pressed flat as a blade to keep from swearing again, but his eyes glittered with anger.

  Through clenched teeth he said, “I don’t want to lose you. I’ll wait...if I have to. But I think you’re being...”

  She knew he was looking for the least offensive word he could find. But she got the gist of it. “I may be a fool, but this is who I am, Rabb. I can’t change how I feel. I wouldn’t think much of myself if I broke an engagement to one man and jumped into bed with another.”

  He lifted a brow.

  She flushed when she realized what she’d admitted. She did want to sleep with him. All right, no more euphemisms. She wanted to have down and dirty, naked sweaty sex with Rabb, even the thought of which made her blush hotter.

  She saw the smile teasing his lips and glared at him. “This isn’t funny. Going to bed— Having sex,” she forced herself to say, “is a big step for me.”

  “So you and Jake haven’t—”

  She shook her head. “No. I could never...I never wanted...” She shut her mouth and stared at her feet.

  Rabb lifted her chin, and she forced herself to meet his gaze. “I’m glad, Mandy. So very glad.”

  Her heart swelled with emotion, and she managed a smile for him. “I’m glad you’re glad. For the record, I’m going to be nervous. I haven’t done this for a very long time.” She’d implied to Jake that she was a virgin to hold him off. But she’d had that single encounter with a teenage boy in high school.

  Rabb leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see. I hope you don’t make us wait too long.”

  She opened her mouth to protest, but he took her in his arms and kissed her again, and she decided arguing could wait.

  When he finally released her, she realized her knees were weak. She held on to his arms to keep from falling, but put some space between them. “I have a date with Jake tonight. We were planning to talk. I guess I’ll have a little more to say.”

  “Would you rather I talked to him?” Rabb asked.

  “No. If I’m going to break up with him, especially this close to the wedding, I owe it to him to do it in person.”

  “What about canceling the wedding? How are you planning to handle that?”

  Amanda made a face. “I’ll wait and see what Jake wants to do. It won’t be easy. The gossip—”

  He took her hands in his and squeezed them. “The gossip will die down before you know it. People are understanding about this sort of thing.”

  “I dread being the object of speculation,” Amanda said.

  At that moment, the doorbell chimed. Amanda jerked free and turned to stare at the door. She looked at Rabb and said, “Are you expecting someone?”

  He shrugged. “Could be a delivery. Could be someone in the family dropping by to visit. They know I usually take weekends off from work.”

  Amanda tensed as he crossed to answer the door. She would feel awkward accepting more good wishes on her marriage to Jake if it was someone in his family. She prayed it was the postman or some delivery service.

  “Hey, Rabb. How’s it going?”

  Amanda didn’t recognize the male voice. She took a step closer to see who it was. She didn’t recognize the man, either, but she was stunned to see who was with him.

  Rabb shot her a surprised look before he reached out a hand to the stranger. “Hello yourself, Kane,” Rabb said as he backed away from the door to give the two visitors room to enter.

  “This is my cousin Kane Longstreet,” Rabb said as he introduced the young man to Amanda. “He went off to military school. That’s why you haven’t met him before now. Kane, this is Amanda Carter.”

  “Oh, Jake’s fiancée,” Kane said. “So nice to meet you, Miss Carter.”

  “Please, call me Amanda.”

  “Welcome to the family, Amanda,” Kane said as he gave her a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  Amanda felt the blush rising on her cheeks. She shot an admonishing look at Rabb and said, “Thank you, Kane.”

  Rabb nodded to the woman with Kane and said, “What brings you here, Hope?”

  The woman laughed and said, “My name isn’t Hope. It’s Charity. Charity Burnette.”

  Amanda’s jaw dropped and she exchanged an astonished look with Rabb. The woman who’d walked through Rabb’s door could have been Hope Butler’s twin. But this girl had both hands, so she wasn’t Faith. Charity Burnette was the same height, had the same black hair, the same dark brown eyes, the same creamy skin as Hope. Their features were identical. But how was that possible? If this girl was related to Hope and Faith, the girls would have to be triplets!

  “I’ve been trying to get Charity up here to visit since I met her in August,” Kane said, wrapping an arm around Charity’s slender waist and drawing her forward. “She wouldn’t come with me to the family’s Labor Day picnic. And she said her mother would miss her too much at Thanksgiving. She finally took mercy on me when I begged her not to make me attend Jake’s wedding all alone.”

  “I’m glad to meet you,” Rabb said.

  Charity Burnette extended her hand and Rabb shook it, his brow furrowed as he eyed her up and down.

  Charity looked down at her navy wool dress and said, “Did I spill something at breakfast?”

  Rabb said, “You look exactly—and I mean exactly—like someone we know.”

  “You look exactly like twins we know,” Amanda elaborated.

  Charity laughed. “Sorry. I’m an only child.”

  “The resemblance is amazing,” Rabb said.

  “Amazing,” Amanda echoed. “Any chance you have a sibling out there you might not know about?”

  Kane pulled Charity’s arm through his and said, “Hard to believe there could be another woman like her in the world. Charity’s one of a kind.”

  Charity had frowned, provoking Amanda to ask, “Is there a sibling somewhere out there?”

  “I suppose it’s possible,” Charity said. “I was adopted.”

  “Oh, my God,” Amanda said, putting a hand to her mouth. She exchanged another look with Rabb. “Do you suppose—?”

  “The Butler girls were six or seven when their father moved here to manage one of the big ranches, so I don’t know whether they were born as twins or triplets. But it wouldn’t make sense for parents to keep two girls and give one away,” Rabb said. “Would it?”

  Amanda saw the pain in Charity’s dark eyes and said, “Of course not. I can’t imagine Hope and Faith’s parents doing any such thing.” She focused her gaze on Charity and said, “They say everyone has a doppelganger somewhere in the world. You simply have a pair of twins who resemble you.”

  “Exactly resemble you,” Rabb muttered.

  Amanda elbowed him and said, “There’s an easy way to settle this. We’ll introduce Charity to the Butler twins. Once we get them together, we’ll see they aren’t the same at all.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Kane said. “I can’t wait to meet two girls as beautiful as the one I’m trying to convince to become my wife.”

  Charity laughed uneasily. “Don’t put me on the spot, Kane. I promised to consider your proposal. That’s all.”

  Kane pulled her close and said, “Rabb is family, Charity. And once she marries Jake, Amanda will be, too.” He turned to Amanda and said, “I’ve asked Charity to marry me, but she’s still making up her mind whether to have me or not. I’m hoping she’ll see you and Jake at the altar and decide to make me the happiest of men.”

  Amanda shared an uneasy glance with Rabb, then said, “Good luck to both of you.”

  “Charity and I are having dinner with my folks tonight,” Kane said. “When would be a g
ood time to meet these twins you say look so much like my girl?”

  “Hope’s spending the week at Jake’s ranch baby-sitting,” Amanda said.

  “How about if we meet you there tomorrow after church?” Kane said. “I promised Jake I’d come by to say hello before the wedding. And I want him to meet Charity.”

  “I don’t know what plans Faith might have,” Amanda said. “But I’ll call her and see if she can join us.”

  “Give us a call at my father’s ranch if it doesn’t work out,” Kane said. “Otherwise, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Amanda crossed her arms as Rabb closed the door behind Kane and his new girlfriend. “You realize that now I can’t possibly say anything to Jake tonight.”

  “Why not?”

  “It would make things too awkward tomorrow.”

  “I’ll call Kane and explain—”

  “What? That there won’t be a wedding because you’re stealing your brother’s fiancée out from under his nose? Then what?” Amanda shook her head. “No. It won’t make much difference if I wait another day.”

  Rabb stood before her and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eye. “Only one more day? Are you sure?”

  She nodded solemnly.

  He leaned down and kissed her softly on the mouth, and she felt her insides churn with feeling. How could he make her feel so much? Why this brother and not the other?

  “I’ll tell him Monday,” she murmured. “I promise.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  HOPE

  HOPE STARED INTO THE BATHROOM mirror on Sunday morning and saw the ravages of the past miserable night. The eyes that stared back at her were deeply wounded. Profoundly sad. Crushed and confounded.

  It had been painful to watch Jake leave the house for his date with Miss Carter on Saturday evening. His hair was still wet from the shower, and his face was fresh-shaved. He was wearing a crisply ironed white shirt, jeans with a sharp crease and highly polished black boots. He’d seemed agitated and impatient as he gave her last-minute instructions for taking care of his niece and nephew.

  “Everything will be fine,” she assured him.

  He arched a black brow and said, “That’s what I assumed when I left this morning and look what happened.”

  “Becky’s fine. Huck’s fine. I’m fine.”

  He snorted and said, “You look like hell.”

  It might have been the truth, but it hurt to have him point it out. She was feeling a stunning remorse for her decision to make love with Jake that afternoon. She’d given him something she’d been saving for a very long time, something precious, something intended for the man with whom she would spend the rest of her life.

  At the time, it had seemed like the right thing to do. She couldn’t deny she’d enjoyed what they’d done. She’d never felt so close to another person. Being held in Jake’s arms, taking his body inside her own, had been a transforming experience she would never forget.

  Hope hadn’t understood beforehand how devastated she would be if Jake took the physical gift she’d offered...and rejected her love. She’d always believed that if she gave him her virginity, he would marry her. She couldn’t say he hadn’t offered marriage. But she wanted more. She wanted his love. She’d never imagined he’d refuse to say the words. But he had.

  Hope winced at the thought.

  “Are you all right?” Jake asked.

  “Fine and dandy,” she replied, lifting her chin a notch. She might be devastated, but she’d never let Jake know it.

  He’d walked out the door for his date with Miss Carter without a backward look.

  And hadn’t returned all night.

  She’d finally stomped off to bed at 4:00 a.m. and cried herself to sleep. This morning she looked like death warmed over.

  “You have to get your act together, Hope,” she said to her reflected image. “He doesn’t love you. He can’t love you. And you know you can’t—won’t—settle for less. It’s over. Time to get on with your life.”

  “Hope? Are you in there?”

  The sound of Jake’s voice outside the bathroom door made her heart beat faster. She looked at herself in the mirror and watched tears well in her eyes. She scrubbed them away, cleared her throat and said, “I’m in here. What do you want, Jake?”

  “One of my cousins is coming over after church with someone he wants you to meet. Amanda’s coming, too, and she’s invited your sister Faith.”

  Hope jerked the bathroom door open and said, “What’s this all about?”

  “What the hell happened to you?” Jake asked.

  “Answer the question,” Hope retorted.

  He eyed her skeptically and said, “Amanda wouldn’t tell me. She said it’s a surprise.”

  Hope frowned, then shut the door in his face and returned to the mirror to stare at herself. She couldn’t face Miss Carter looking like this. And she didn’t want Faith seeing her so wan and drawn. Her sister would worry.

  The knock on the door was insistent, but she said, “Go away, Jake.”

  “I want to talk to you.”

  “We did our talking yesterday. And a lot more besides,” she muttered.

  “I have something to say to you, Hope. Open the damned door!”

  Was he ready to admit he loved her? Hope couldn’t believe he’d changed his mind over the past twelve hours.

  But curiosity—and hope—made her reach for the door. She opened it an inch and peered out. “What is it?”

  Jake shoved the door open and braced it with his booted foot. “I have no intention of talking to you through a crack in the door.”

  She took a step back, crossed her arms over the T-shirt she’d worn to sleep in, and waited. She saw his gaze caress her long legs, then slide up to her chest, where her nipples had peaked under the soft cotton. She returned his stare, her eyes focusing on the bulge behind the zipper of his jeans, then moving to his flushed face.

  His mouth twisted in chagrin. “I haven’t said anything to Amanda about...what happened between us. It would only hurt her. And it isn’t going to happen again.”

  Hope lifted a brow. She wondered if Jake realized he was eating her with his eyes. Did he really believe the attraction between them wouldn’t flare whenever they got near one another? He was lying to himself.

  Hope realized she would be a fool to give up Jake without a fight. She still believed they belonged together. Hopeless as the situation was. Despite the fact he didn’t love her. Or maybe he did love her. Maybe he just didn’t want to admit it. Maybe he needed a little more encouragement. Or a little more incentive to say the words.

  She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and stripped it off in a move so quick and startling that Jake didn’t have a chance to stop her. She tossed the T-shirt on the ground and pressed her naked body against Jake’s fully clothed one.

  She heard a harsh animal sound issue from his throat before he gathered her up in his arms and claimed her mouth with his. He took her deep and fast and she felt a surge of triumph.

  Which ended when he tore his mouth from hers and stared down at her with angry eyes. “This isn’t going to solve anything, Hope. Nothing’s changed since last night. I’m marrying—”

  Hope yanked herself free and leaned down to grab her T-shirt, pulling it over her head in jerky movements that expressed her own anger and disappointment. “You want me, not Miss Carter,” she accused as she turned to face him.

  “I’ve never denied it. But marriage is more than sexual attraction.”

  “Sexual attraction is important,” Hope said.

  “I never said it isn’t,” he shot back. “But it’s not enough. Not nearly enough!”

  Hope bit her lip, unsure where to take the argument from there. The sound of little feet pattering down the stairs brought an
abrupt end to any chance of resolving the matter. “I have to get dressed,” she said, backing away from him.

  “I’ll fix the kids some breakfast. Are you coming to church with us?”

  Hope wasn’t averse to praying for a miracle. “Sure. Why not?”

  “Unca Jake? Where are you?” Huck called.

  “I’m coming,” Jake answered.

  Hope closed the bathroom door on his retreating back and once more observed herself in the mirror. Her skin held a flush that hadn’t been there before, and her dark eyes sparkled, the result of Jake’s kiss.

  God, what a fool she was! She should let him go and get on with her life.

  But she hadn’t given up in three years. She wasn’t going to quit now. She would simply have to try harder. There must be some way to break through Jake’s reserve. There must be some way to convince him that if he gave her his heart, she would take tender care of it for the rest of her life.

  Once she’d finished her ablutions, Hope returned to her bedroom, opened the closet, and stared at the only dress she’d packed, wishing she’d thought more carefully about the image she wanted to present to Jake. The sleeveless dress was red, with a V-neck that showed a hint of cleavage and a belted waist that emphasized her hourglass figure. It was cut at least four inches above her knees. She grimaced as she stepped into the three-inch heels that made her five feet ten inches tall.

  There was no getting around it. She looked like a potential bedmate, not a respectable rancher’s wife. But it was either this dress or jeans. At least in the dress, she would provide some competition for the staid Miss Carter.

  Hope hadn’t realized how self-conscious she would feel when every eye turned to stare as she walked down the aisle at church, Becky over her shoulder, Jake at her side holding Huck by the hand. To her consternation, Miss Carter was already seated in one of the pews reserved for Jake’s large family. There was barely enough room on the same bench for her and Jake and Huck and Becky.

  Miss Carter seemed startled to see Hope, although Hope couldn’t imagine why. Miss Carter scooted down the padded bench to make room for them. Jake ushered Hope and the kids into the row first, then crossed past them to sit between Hope and Miss Carter. To Hope’s consternation, Jake took Miss Carter’s hand and held it on and off throughout the service, when he wasn’t holding Huck in his lap entertaining him or sharing a hymnal with Miss Carter.