Page 71 of Switching Places

“What did you see?” Logan asked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pants.

“We drove to San Francisco, then up to the wine country and on to Lake Tahoe. Lily says I should come in winter and try skiing.”

She could have been a stranger for all the inflection in her voice.

The doorbell rang before Logan could respond.

“Excuse me.”

Emma circled around him, heading for the door.

“Hello sweetheart.”

Damien Carter’s booming voice filled the room. In seconds he walked in, his arm around Emma’s shoulders.

“Do you know Lily’s neighbor, Logan Beckett?” Emma asked her father politely.

“We met once before, I believe.” The older man nodded to Logan. “Are you joining us tonight?”

“No,” Emma. said quickly. “It’s just you, me and Lily.”

He laughed.

“Did this minx tell you about fooling me? We had lunch a couple of weeks ago and I thought she was Lily. Alike as two peas in a pod.”

Emma smiled at the words, her father hadn’t forgotten.

“She fooled me, too,” Logan said slowly, his eyes on her.

The repentant woman of eleven days ago was gone. She glowed as she smiled at her father.

“I’ve heard of twins doing that. Did you two do it as kids when we all lived together?” Damien asked, studying his daughter.

“A time or two in Mrs. Savalack’s second grade class. Usually Lily would pretend she was me to escape punishment for something she’d done. I remember missing recess one day for her note passing.”

“Hi, Dad.”

Lily joined them, carrying a small container. She handed it to Logan and went to kiss her father. He studied her, then Emma.

Logan felt a bit surprised Damien didn’t appear to be at all upset about his daughter’s impersonation. He seemed to be almost proud of the fact.

“What children do is a bit different from grown women,” he snapped.

“No one got hurt, so what’s the harm?” Damien replied jovially.

For a split second Logan thought he caught a glimpse of pain in Emma’s eyes, but then she flashed a smile as wide as her sister’s.

“Right, no harm done. Think how often we might have done this if we had grown up together.”

“I shudder to think. Ready, my dears?”

Logan moved, gesturing with the plastic container.

“Thanks, Lily.”

He hesitated a moment, then walked past. There was nothing else to say. He’d seen everything he needed to see.

The morning sunshine streamed into the bedroom window as Emma turned this way and that in front of the mirrors.

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