chapter 1

"Please, Eva. Just this once. I need you to go." Ava leaned against the doorframe, eyes pleading she clasped her hands together. "It'll be easy, just like always.”

Eva stared at her twin sister, her belly twisting. "I don't know, Ava," she muttered. "This... it's getting out of hand. He still doesn't know it's me, and every time I go, I feel like I'm lying to him.”

Ava waved a hand dismissively. "You really are worrying too much. Shawn's practically into me already, there's no risk. Besides," she added, grinning, "you've been having fun, haven't you? Getting out of the house, meeting people, finally enjoying yourself a bit?"

“It's not that simple," Eva said, refusing to look at her sister. Fun? Each date with Shawn had left her exhilarated, yet guilty, a feeling she could not tease apart. She knew she was enjoying his company far too much, more than she could admit to herself. But what was also more difficult was pretending to be Ava night after night. "What if he finds out?”

"He won't," Ava insisted, exasperated, her eyes rolling. "Come on, Eva-you're overthinking it again. Just… help me out one more time. I'll figure out how to end things with him soon, I promise. It's just… he's too important to the business right now." This last part she said with a flicker of a frown, as if acknowledging something she couldn't quite share.

The thought sent Eva's heart plummeting. She knew just how hard Ava labored for their father's company, how every alliance and every deal rested in her sharp mind and charismatic flair. And if Shawn was an asset to their family's success, she knew why Ava was reluctant to let him go.

Still, it didn't make lying any easier.

"You really don't think that he would, you know, actually get hurt?" Eva implored for a different answer.

"No," Ava tossed off smoothly, with a reassuring touch to Eva's shoulder. "He'll move on, believe me, he's a businessman." She smoothed Eva's shoulder. "Besides, he is always telling me how brilliant I am, how much he admires me and our company. That's why he keeps coming back, so just keep making him enjoy your company a little longer."

As the resolution disintegrated, Eva let out a bitter sigh. She did not want to disappoint Ava, but neither did she want to walk away from Shawn. She wanted to be around him, even if he thought she was another woman.

"All right," she whispered finally. "I'll go."

*********

Later that evening, she was sitting across Shawn at her favorite Italian restaurant, the look in his eyes had been warm and filled with that old friendliness. Her heart flip-flopped in her tummy from a mixed feeling of excitement and dread as she forced a smile, wondering whether tonight would be any different.

"You're beautiful, as always, Ava." Shawn's voice was low while his hand reached across the table for hers.

Eva swallowed; the touch was a bittersweet reminder of the lie she lived. "Thanks," she said, looking away.

"Something on your mind?" he asked, leaning in, a curious smile on his face.

"No, no, just… " Eva visibly floundered, biting her lip. "I was just thinking about the last time we were here. You were telling me about your family's lake house.”

He laughed. "Yeah, I remember. And you laughed so hard, when I told you how I fell off that boat as a kid. I guess you're not used to seeing me as anything less than composed."

"Well, it was funny," she said, the memory bringing a real smile onto her face. "I just… I don't know, I couldn't picture you being anything but perfect."

He laughed-eyes glinting. "Perfect? Ava Wadsley thinks I'm perfect?"

Eva's heart was racing while she laughed along with him-desperately wishing he knew her, not her sister. She wanted him looking at her with adoration like that accorded to "Ava."

“Come on, Ava," he teased. “I'm not that perfect, I'm just like every other human being. You are also like that too, professional in the business world and you're sweeter and free when things get personal. I just admire the fact that you treat your business and personal life with different approaches.”

"Maybe I just need the right company," she said before she could catch herself, her face reddening.

Shawn's grin grew wide and he raised his glass in a toast. "To me, being the good company, then.”

Eva clinked her glass against his; her fingers shook a little. They talked through the night, laughed, and shared stories that made her heart swell. With every smile, with every joke, she forgot at this magnitude a lie lay between them.

"I have to say, though," he said suddenly, hunching forward with a conspiratorial grin. "I just can't get over the fact that you've got a twin sister, who looks exactly like you, the same, blue eyes, long dark hair, fair complexion, and complete opposite of you; a timid, stuck-in-the-headlights introvert, who remains behind the scenes when you're out here running this place and dazzling everyone.”

Eva smiled uneasily, her guilt pin pricking at her like needles. "Oh… you have no idea." She tried to sound light-hearted, as if this were not a dead weight secret she was carrying around. “I bet you wouldn't be able to tell us apart if we are together.”

Shawn chuckled. "You think so? I would definitely know who my heart beats for. Good thing I'm dating the fun one huh?”

Those words hit something in Eva, but she forced a chuckle. Her heart ached. If only he knew the truth. If only he loved her, instead of this creation of Ava, that he had wrapped in his mind.

"Talking about which," Shawn's voice turned serious; his hand closed tighter over hers. "I… I've been thinking a lot about us lately, Ava."

Eva's tummy somersaulted with a surge of panic and a spark of hope. "Oh?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat, as if the words were somewhere around him and he was searching for them. "I've never met anyone like you. You're driven, full of life, beautiful…" His voice trailed off as his eyes softened toward her. "And being with you-it feels like…like I found someone I want to spend my life with."

Eva's breath caught. Her heart pounded painful throbs as she stared at him, unsure if she was terrified or thrilled.

"That's why I wanted to do this tonight," he said, reaching into his pocket, and for one terrifying, exhilarating moment, Eva's mind went blank.

In that split second, before she could make out what was going on, he took her hand; his eyes with that earnest, vulnerable gaze, and said, "Ava Wadsley., will you marry me?”