Page 65 of Switching Places

“Clothes, nothing. Well, maybe they gild the lily. You wear very bland colors. Our coloring is strong enough for bold tones. But that’s not what makes a person pretty. It’s facial features, and what you do with them. I bet you smiled at Logan and he was a goner.”

“Hardly.”

“He probably did think you were me. We’ve known each other a long time, but there’s never been anything like that between us,” Lily said. “Wonder what he thought changed.”

“He thought I’d changed or rather that you had changed. He kept asking me that. Even dressed up in your clothes, I wasn’t the same. You have a lot more experience in life than I do.”

“You read all the time, don’t you? I remember that from when we were kids. You thought reading was the most fun you could have.”

Emma nodded, twisting the cup around and around.

“I still like to read. So all my experience is secondhand, from books. I wanted to do something different while I was here, while I was on vacation. I felt like I was exciting for the first timein my life. Like I could be free and enjoy things and not have to worry about tomorrow and all the mundane things about life.”

“What happened to David?” Lily asked.

Her sister glanced up.

“One look at Logan Beckett and I knew I could never settle for David,” she answered honestly. “I called him the next day and told him I couldn’t marry him. Not that I had a chance of a marriage with Logan. But he made me see that settling for David wasn’t enough. If nothing else, I’ll always be grateful I didn’t make that mistake.”

“Give the man a break. Let him cool off, then go talk to him.”

Blinking back tears, Emma shook her head.

“He won’t want to see me again. Oh, Lily, I’ve made such a mess of things. I’m in love with a man who never wants to see me again.”

The tears spilled over and this time Emma made no attempt to stop them.

Logan drove his car as if the demons chased him. Mercedes were built for speed, aerodynamically sound on turns and straightaways. And he pushed the car to its limit. Anger fueled his driving. He’d stormed out of his house moments after slamming the door on Emma.

Furious, he’d gotten behind the wheel and took off. Driving up the coast usually soothed him when stress and complications from work built up. He’d thought he’d find the same kind of relief today.

But the anger that had boiled over had merely turned to a slow simmer. He’d like to throttle Emma Carter. She’d played him for a fool, smiling her innocent smile and lying through her teeth.

He couldn’t decide if he were more angry with her, or with himself for falling for her. There had been a dozen signs, he realized, if he had only followed up on them.

She’d asked him what to wear to dinner that first night. Lily would never trust a man’s judgment about fashion.

Emma had enjoyed sitting quietly on the beach, Lily was one for bright lights and action.

Suddenly he remembered her comment about Virginia Beach. Was that where she was from?

A glimmer of perverse admiration peeked out. She’d pulled off the charade perfectly.

He’d thought Lily had changed a little or he himself had. For not knowing her way around Malibu, she’d done all right. Even fooled Lily’s friends at Garcia’s that first night.

Not that it changed anything.

She had lied.

Hehatedthat. Hated that he had come to care for another liar. Hadn’t Crystal been enough? Was he destined to fall for beautiful women with black hearts?

He should swear off women for good and forget finding someone to build a life with. Take what they had to offer and be done with it. Maybe there was part of his father in him. Maybe he couldn’t stay with someone throughout a lifetime. Would that lead him to deliberately take up with women he knew wouldn’t stay the course?

The sun beat down on the road, heat waves shimmered as he roared up the coast highway. One eye on the rearview mirror for cops, he sped along, weaving around slower cars, longing for the peace he usually found on this stretch of road. The hills to the east rose and fell with irregular beauty. The ocean glittered beneath the sun, looking like a sparkling carpet that stretched to the horizon.

He was almost in Santa Barbara before he could think clearly. Slowing as he approached the outskirts, he began to look for a place to eat. He was still angry, but hunger pangs were beginning to make themselves felt.

Finding a small café near the beach, he parked the car and walked back. There were no cliffs here, the road was practically on the white sand. Pausing a moment, Logan stared out to sea, letting the pristine setting calm him.

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