Faking It Read Free Page A

wet clothing and all. Of course he was perfectly dry, not one blond curl out of place and his typical Men in Black suit spotless. “You look like a wet cat. I told you to run.”
    “You try running in heels.”
    “Maybe I have. But that’s classified information.”
    He glanced up as the bell over the door rang again. That cool, easy Aaron smile slid across his lips. Not for the first time, Stephanie envied him his casual composure.
    Especially now, when he stepped past her and said, “Derek. I was starting to think you wouldn’t make it.”
    Stephanie closed her eyes and prayed. Prayed that for once, she wasn’t about to end up completely embarrassed. It was a different Derek. It was a common enough name, right? Right. So her brother’s friend hadn’t just seen her making a complete ass of herself out in the rain. When she turned around, it would be a completely different man standing there.
    “I was a little delayed,” Derek Rory said. Stephanie cringed and glanced over her shoulder, watching her brother clasp Derek’s hand with easy familiarity. Past her brother’s tousled head, Derek caught her eye with that wry not-smile. “Apparently by rescuing your sister.”
    Oh.
    Well.
    Crap.

Chapter Two
    Aaron, Derek thought, had the look of a man who was plotting something. And Derek was fairly sure he wouldn’t like what it was. The last time Aaron had had that look, Derek had ended up in Madrid. Naked. Covered in mud. He was still trying to get the photos off Aaron’s Facebook account. Thus far, his relentless untagging campaign had been unsuccessful.
    That look meant trouble. And Derek was fairly sure it involved Aaron’s sister.
    Across the table, Stephanie reached out and squeezed Aaron’s shoulder, her dark gray eyes alight with laughter. She had an easy playfulness to her that was engaging, until he almost forgot himself and laughed with her for no reason other than the sake of laughing. Even Aaron was a little bit lighter around her, his familiar quiet charm turning open and his laughter flowing freely every time he managed to make his sister sputter.
    He’d had no idea who she was when he’d seen her standing in the rain, her dark hair laying in wet ribbons against her throat. He’d never have guessed she was Aaron’s sister. They were nothing alike. They didn’t even look alike, Aaron’s light blond hair and tanned skin and green eyes a distinct contrast to the pale sweetness of Stephanie’s complexion, framed by that lustrous—and still sodden—mahogany hair.
    Aaron had always been self-contained, withdrawn in a way that Derek understood. A way that had made it easy for the two of them to be friends and formed the basis of a bond that had begun in college and continued throughout their lives. Stephanie was her brother’s polar opposite, her personality shining out from the moment she opened her mouth, bright and sweet and just a little bit clumsy. She couldn’t hide her emotions behind a mask.
    And she blushed like a cherry. She was blushing right now, as she caught his eye and ducked her head with a self-conscious little flick of her hair.
    “So then,” Stephanie continued, “Aaron just said ‘get the garbage bags’ with his face screwed up all serious, like he was this tiny MacGyver.”
    Aaron lofted a brow. “It worked.”
    “Until Dad grounded you for a month.”
    “You were grounded, too.”
    “ I ,” she said archly, “was just your accomplice. Not the mad genius who thought a pickup truck would make a perfect swimming pool.”
    Aaron chuckled and lifted his drink in a toast. “Mad genius. I wonder if I can get that added to my badge.” He took a sip, watching Derek over the rim of his glass. “You’re quiet over there.”
    “I don’t want to intrude.”
    “You’re an uptight pain in my ass and always have been.” Aaron snorted. “Steph, you want to see trouble, get a few beers in this guy. I remember this one time we stole the Dean’s—”
    “I’m sure Miss