Reilly's Wildcard (Blackwater)

Reilly crossed his arms over his chest and forced himself not to reach for her and stop her. “Slow,” he reminded himself. Then another thought struck him. “I’m going to be a dad.” He wondered if she would have twins. His knees nearly buckled, and he was forced to take the chair Lucy had vacated. What the hell did he know about raising kids? Holy shit.

Chapter Five

Lucy had shown up fifteen minutes early at the restaurant, and Reilly was nowhere in sight. It was just as well, considering how utterly frightened she was about singing for him. Her hands shook, and her stomach hadn’t stopped rumbling all day. For the fourth time, she gave her outfit the once-over, hoping the pale yellow skirt and cream-colored blouse weren’t too dressy. She hadn’t known what to wear for the audition or the dinner afterward. Jeans seemed too casual, but she hadn’t wanted to go the little-black-dress route either. Summer had just begun, and the light, cotton fabric was cool against her skin. Of course, if she sang like a frog, the outfit wouldn’t matter, would it? Oh God, there went the butterflies again.

“Hi, beautiful.”

Lucy had been so deep in thought that she hadn’t even heard anyone coming through the front door. She did recognize the voice, though, but the endearment confused her. She’d heard Reilly call her sweetheart, but never beautiful.

She turned and faced him. Lucy remembered the feel of his ever-messy, shaggy, dark hair beneath her fingers. His pale green eyes, which were trained on her now, would rob any woman of her breath. The fitted black T-shirt he wore allowed Lucy to get a good eyeful of the ridges and planes of Reilly’s muscled chest beneath. Damn he was built. His pectorals were solid rock and his abs didn’t possess an ounce of fat. She knew firsthand.

Lucy quickly forced her gaze back to the relative safety of his face. Her heart tripped with excitement at the delicious sight of him. Well, didn’t that just stink? “I got here a bit early, and Eddie let me in. I hope that’s okay.”

A smile lit Reilly’s eyes, but there was something different about him. Lucy didn’t get that zing of pleasure that Reilly usually gave her. She looked him over, noting the tight fit of the faded blue jeans. He looked good enough to eat.

“Fine by me,” he replied as his gaze journeyed down, then back up again. “Definitely fine.”

Yeah, he was definitely acting strange. “Are you feeling okay?”

“How about we put off the audition and take this somewhere more private?” he asked as he wrapped his fingers around her upper arm.

Immediately, Lucy knew something was off, because his touch inspired…nothing. No spike in temperature, no rapid heartbeat. Nada. Could this be pregnancy hormones messing with her? “What’s going on here?”

“River,” another male voice, one awfully similar to Reilly’s, barked.

She turned and very nearly fell on her ass. Reilly stood in the doorway to the restaurant. Lucy looked back at the man standing next to her, and the pieces finally fell into place. “You’re River?”

He winked. “The one and only,” he murmured.

Lucy smothered a laugh as her gaze went from one man to the other. “Wow. I mean, I knew you two were identical twins, but it didn’t occur to me that I could be tricked.”

She’d seen them in high school, knew how much they looked alike, but up close and personal it was quite a shock. They both sported the same shaggy, dark hair, same cocky smile, same confident stance. However, the longer she looked, the more the differences began to show through. Reilly’s gaze was softer, while River’s had a steely edge.

Reilly crossed the room until he stood on the opposite side of her. He glared at River and bit out, “That was very bad-mannered.”

River wasn’t at all repentant when he said, “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“Damn it, River,” Reilly growled, “this isn’t high school. Grow up.”

River laughed and waved his brother’s warning away as if swatting at a fly. “Take it easy, bro, I just like yanking your chain.” He extended his hand and said, “River Jennings, the better-looking twin. You must be Lucy Rice.”

Lucy didn’t quite know what to think. She took River’s hand and shook it. “Uh, it’s nice to meet you, but how do you know my name?”

“My brother filled me in about the audition today.” He looked down at her stomach, and his smile vanished. “And about the baby. I guess congratulations are in order, huh?”

Lucy’s face flamed. “I need to sit down,” she replied as she slowly lowered herself onto a stool.

Reilly cupped her chin and nudged her face upward until their gazes locked. “Are you okay?”

Lucy swatted his hand away. “Of course. It’s just a lot to take in. I wasn’t expecting the both of you here tonight. And man you two sure are identical.” She bit her lower lip. “That sounds dumb, doesn’t it?”

Reilly shrugged. “Actually, even our closest friends sometimes have a tough time telling us apart.”

Lucy wriggled until Reilly grudgingly dropped his hand. “The resemblance is amazing, really.”

River’s smile broadened. “You see? She thinks we’re amazing.”