She turned back to the camera guys, speaking quietly. He rubbed the goose bumps on his arms. He couldn’t tear his gaze away, his pulse pounding in his ears. The camera guys were very respectful, listening and nodding to whatever she was saying. He couldn’t hear her from this far away, especially with Ty and Josh trash-talking about the last basketball game.
Claire shifted, crossing toward the center of the group and addressing everyone with a small smile. “How’re you all doing? Enjoying this beautiful day?”
His pulse spiked with adrenaline. He knew that throaty, husky voice. The coloring was different—brown hair, hazel eyes—but that face, that body, that voice. How could this be? Why would Hailey set up Josh with the famous Claire Jordan? What did Claire Jordan want with a bartender? This was why she couldn’t see him anymore. She wasn’t a fugitive or married or a man. It was much worse than any of that (maybe not the man thing)—she was too big a star for a lowly bartender.
He stared at her, willing her to make eye contact, needing to see recognition in her eyes. She finally did and froze, jaw agape, looking first from him and then to Josh sitting next to him. He hadn’t told her one of his brothers was his identical twin. She quickly turned away. She definitely recognized him, though he wasn’t sure she knew which one was Josh and which was him. Not many people could tell them apart on first meeting.
“Claire!” Ty called. “My brothers wanted to meet you.”
She turned back, her expression composed into a smile that seemed forced. “Of course.” She came over and stood next to Ty.
“This is Josh and Jake. Identical, obviously. You can tell them apart, though. Josh smiles more and dresses like a slob.” Ty pointed at Josh.
Josh grinned.
Jake couldn’t speak, still in shock. He couldn’t believe he’d been so hung up on a person that didn’t exist. Was any of what they had real?
“Nice to meet you both,” Claire said with a cheery wave, already backing away. She whirled and strode back to the mansion.
Jake bided his time, waiting for everyone to finish lunch and head back to work. Then he pulled Josh aside. Ty followed them; he wasn’t needed on set for another hour. “Claire is Jenny,” Jake said in a low tone.
“Be serious,” Josh said.
Jake gave him the silent twin look.
Josh’s eyes widened. “Holy shit! Why would she want Hailey to set her up on a blind date?”
“I don’t know why she did it, but it was her.” He did a quick rewind through his time with Jenny. How they’d made love in the dark, how she’d told him not to mark her neck or touch her hair. Probably because she couldn’t play a shy librarian with a love bite on her neck. And that red hair must’ve been a wig. Fucking A. He felt like an idiot. He’d wanted her so bad he hadn’t even questioned her requests. The moment she said he could do anything he wanted besides biting or hair touching, he dove in. And he didn’t even get to do everything he wanted. Now he never would. She was so far out of his league.
Ty stared, disbelieving. “This Claire? The sexiest woman alive? You did not go out with Claire Jordan.”
“He slept with her,” Josh said.
They both gave him impressed looks.
“I can’t believe I didn’t put it together right away,” Jake said. “Her hair and eye color were different when I was with her, red hair and the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.” He smacked his forehead. Contacts. How could he not have realized it? He stared at the mansion, where pseudo Jenny was filming the biggest movie of the year.
He rubbed the back of his neck. Where did this leave him? He thought back to their easy conversation, the chemistry, the passion. That couldn’t be faked. Even if Jenny wasn’t real, and even though he wasn’t Josh, the connection was real. He had a momentary worry over the sexiest-woman-alive label, but then he remembered he was the sexiest bachelor in Silicon Valley. That should count for something! His natural confidence returned. Hell, she said he was awesome in bed. Of course, she thought he was Josh at the time but whatever. He was awesome in bed and he could be more awesome given the chance.
He turned to Ty. “Can you pass along a message for me?”
“To Claire Jordan?” Ty croaked.
“Yeah.”
“Come on,” Ty moaned. “She’s my boss. Not just lead actress. This is under her production company. If I piss her off, she’s going to fire me. This is a big movie. I’m only here on her good graces as a last minute substitute.”
“I’ll owe you,” Jake said. “Whatever you want.”