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Chapter One

Carrie Rodgers headed on unsteady heels across the floor of her Atlanta apartment to answer the door As an elementary school teacher, she spentfootas the fact she was replacing her twin sister on a date without the retCathie talk her into the date or the heels

With a flutter of her heart and her hands tre, Carrie reached for the door knob This date was a bad idea on several levels, yet she’d agreed to help Cathie out of a jam She wouldn’t let her down Never had and wouldn’t start now That’s what sisters did Or at least that hat her mother had told her over and over when Cathie had been so sick Besides, it was too late to back out

Taking a deep breath, Carrie let it out slowly She didn’t know this guy Hadn’t even laid eyes on him and was expected to act as if they were acquainted The chiain Apparently, Rick Marshall was an i question was how perceptive was he? Would he realize she wasn’t Cathie?

For most of their lives, Carrie had been the level-headed, studious sister who stayed in the background while Cathie had been the fashion plate, flighty, look-at-me one

Much of that started when Cathie developed childhood asthma After she was hospitalized a couple of times, their parents’ worries focused on Cathie From then on Carrie heard, “be careful with Cathie, don’t let her run too much, watch out for her” Carrie became more self-sufficient and dependable, always the person who took care of her sister As they grew older Cathie continued turning to Carrie to fix things

She didn’t mind She loved Cathie And Cathie loved the attention She was so fond of it she ht even into adulthood

They ht have been different in personalities but they were siotten Cathie out of a scrap by pretending she was her Now Carrie had been pulled into doing it again

“Cath, I’h school is long gone We’ve out grown the changing places game”

Her sister put on her puppy-dog pleading look, dropped a shoulder and said in a whinny tone, “Aw, coo aith hi for this forever”

“You do know the right thing to do is to tell Rock you can’t go or as least be up front with the other guy” Carrie couldn’t believe her twin’s rudeness

“I can’t break the date Rick is est client It’s too late for that”

At least she was showing souy Yet, this idea was so Cathie She liked getting her ith no concern for how it o in the first place?”

Cathie shrugged “What’s not fun about dressing up and going to a party?”

“Cathie, what if this guy really likes you?” Carrie couldn’t believe how callous Cathie was about sos

“He’s an alright guy, but he’s not Rock You don’t want to stand in the way of true love, do you?”

Carrie didn’t even try to stop the roll of her eyes Like she understood love After what had happened between her and Brian, Carrie wasn’t sure she’d ever really known anything about it In any case, she and Cathie had different ideas about love At least Cathie had a love life Carrie didn’t Her sister went out regularly but rarely with the sa out for Mr Right For a tiht the same

?

??Coia Governor’s Mansion is to raise ht up your alley”

It was Cathie knew all the right buttons to push Being employed in a private disabilities school, Carrie was easily persuaded where children were concerned Still she balked “I don’t have any money to donate So what difference would it make if I went or not?”

“If this guy doesn’t have a date, hebucks so the hospital could miss out on his contribution, you wouldn’t want that, would you?” Cathie gave her the ‘look’ The one that always ree to what Cathie wanted

This argu more twisted by the minute Carrie stood

“Co ain” She’d taken Carrie’s hands, looking earnestly into her eyes “Please For once in your life take a risk Live a little, all while helping out your sister” Her s a deal

Carrie couldn’t resist Cathie Helping her out was too ingrained in her Maybe Carrie had been too careful in life After all, Brian had broken up with her because he said she wasn’t bold enough, too set in her ways This was a chance to have an adventure, to prove to herself that Brian rong She could let go It would only be for a couple of hours What could go wrong? She’d go, have a good tiet what she wanted: her weekend with Rock and Carrie would have an adventure “Okay, but I want your word that you’ll never ask ain”

Cathie hugged her tight “Great Now let’s get you dressed to kill”

Each time Carrie had taken Cathie’s place she’d put away her simple classic style to take on the ht, was no exception She wore eyefalse eyelashes that had her working to lift her eyelids Her hair, normally worn in a simple ponytail or doas pulled back into an up do where it was teased in front, gathered, and pulled to the side so that a long curl fell over her shoulder

Carrie ht admire a dress her sister had chosen but would never dare wear it Cathie had insisted she did It was made of aqua chiffon and dipped in a V almost as far down in the front as it did in the back Carrie couldn’t re more exposed At the waist, it was pleated so it flowed around her legs and skimmed the floor

So here she stood dressed for a fancy party with her nerves strung tight as a child’s rope during a tug-of-war Surely she could be Cinderella for a perfect stranger, for a few hours, couldn’t she?

Opening the door, Carrie had to control the urge to gasp The sketchy facts Cathie had given her about her date flew out of her head Before Carrie stood the most handsome man she had ever seen

Her mouth went dry So this was uh…Rick Marshall

Why in the world would Cathie want to spend the weekend with thatwith this guy?

Rick’s short, black hair was cut into the latest fashion He had high cheekbones and a closely shorn beard covering a strong jaw that gave him a devilish look A twinkle of a dare shown in his brown eyes A shiver ran down her spine She ht be in over her head