LITMIR.BIZ

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employees as soon as possible.

      And definitely keep a close eye on Alley Cat. Her arrival on the island coincided with this theft, and he wouldn’t put it past her to be up to her old tricks.

      * * *

      CHARLOTTE ROSE EARLY the next morning, her head foggy and her eyes barely able to focus. Sleep had eluded her, so she had given up and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt to run on the beach to clear her head.

      She’d tried several more times to call Allie last night, with no success. She left her sister messages each time. Charlotte finally left a message on Jack’s phone, too, which he also wasn’t answering.

      Charlotte kept a steady pace down the beach. The weather was gorgeous, sunny and not too hot with a constant, gentle breeze. Rhode Island rarely provided mornings like this except for a few weeks in the summer. Definitely not in October.

      Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one with the idea to run on the beach.

      He was coming toward her, still a few hundred feet away. Although she’d met Sam barely twelve hours ago, she recognized him immediately from his body shape and the way his long legs ate up the ground.

      Without warning, both her mind and body recalled the tension in his well-developed, muscular arms, and the expert way his mouth had reduced her to a quivering idiot.

      Should she run past without acknowledging him? Look the other way? Nod at him? Wave?

      Her heart rate increased. She sucked in more air and got a stitch in her side, but no way would she slow to a walk with him approaching her. She fought hard against the urge to stop and double over in pain.

      He wouldn’t see her distress, no matter what.

      His eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, making it impossible to tell if he looked at her as he ran past. His pace was smooth and effortless. He was shirtless and had the sculpted physique to do so.

      No words were spoken by either of them.

      As soon as he passed by, she stopped short and grabbed her side, sucking in oxygen in small bursts. What was wrong with her? She ran at the gym on a regular basis and rarely had endurance problems.

      “Are you okay?” Sam had doubled back. His unexpected question startled her, doing nothing for her already spiked vitals.

      “I’m fine.” Her choked words contradicted her statement.

      “Straighten up.” He came around behind her and pressed a warm hand to her left side.

      “Ouch.” She tried to move away from him, away from his touch. Especially the heat transferring from his body to hers.

      “I’m trying to help.” He pressed again, massaging gently. “Right here?” At her nod, he added, “Take deep breaths from your belly. Slowly. That’s it. Now exhale and take another deep breath.”

      Deep breathing was nearly impossible with him so close.

      The pain slowly subsided and he moved away quickly. She was left standing there with nothing to say but, “Thank you.”

      He nodded.

      “This never happens to me at the gym.” Why was she explaining?

      “It’s easy to overdo it here on the beach. The great scenery makes you forget how far you’ve gone.”

      That was the first friendly thing he’d said to her in their short acquaintance. At least he had no clue that his sudden appearance was what made her pulse and breathing go haywire.

      He glanced at his watch. “I need to get going. Are you okay now, Allie?”

      She swallowed, straightening her back. “I’m fine.” Her words were sharper than she intended, but it bothered her that he still thought of her as Allie. Even if she had decided to be Allie for the week, he wasn’t aware of it.

      He turned to take off again.

      “You really still think I’m Allie?”

      Her words stopped him and he faced her.

      His brow furrowed, but she couldn’t gauge his eyes through his sunglasses. “You’ve given me no reason to believe you’re anyone other than Allie Miller. Can anyone verify your identity? Do you have some ID to prove it?”

      “Of course I have ID, but it’s in my room. I’ll bring it to your office later, if I must.” Telling him to check the hotel computer would only confuse him more. Allie had added Charlotte’s name to the room without removing her own. For all he knew, she could be either one of them.

      “Isn’t there anyone at the conference that will vouch for you? I could ask around.”

      “No!” Charlotte shouted, reaching out to him. She stopped before she actually touched him. “No, please, don’t say anything.”

      He cocked his head at her vehemence. “So if—and I say if—you aren’t really Allie, then why are you here and not her? Are you in advertising, too?”

      She couldn’t answer. After deciding to pretend to be Allie, she should probably let Sam believe that’s who she was. Even if deep down she wanted him to know the real Charlotte.

      He laughed, the same humorless laugh from last night. “You’re losing your touch, Allie. You used to be a much better liar.” He took a step in the direction of the resort.

      She grabbed his arm to stop him, releasing him a second later. “Please...promise you won’t mention this to anyone. Everyone believes I’m Allie and I’ve decided I’d rather keep it that way.”

      He didn’t answer at first. What she wouldn’t give to see those eyes of his behind the dark lenses. “Somehow I’m not surprised you’re still scheming. We’ll see what happens.”

      “What does that mean? You already think I’m Allie. I’m simply asking you to keep thinking that.”

      “You need to prove yourself to me before I can make any promises.” He checked his watch again. “Now I really do need to go.”

      He ran off before she could organize her thoughts and ask how he expected her to prove herself to him.

CHAPTER FOUR

      SAM QUICKLY DRIED off after his shower. Running into Allie this morning had destroyed his concentration. What was it about her that had him physically reacting like a horny teenager? He never should have touched her. Massaging her side stitch away had been excruciating. He’d never been the least turned on by her when they’d met several years ago. What had changed?

      Could she actually be Allie’s long-lost identical twin the way she claimed?

      He laughed. That was preposterous.

      Then he shook his head. If she were Allie’s twin, she had identical genes and was bound to be as untrustworthy. No matter what, she was bad news.

      By the time he made it to the lobby, conference attendees were everywhere. Breakfast was ending and workshops would begin soon. His gaze stopped at Allie, her still-damp hair falling in waves to just below her chin. His mind automatically wandered to what she might have looked like in the shower, his body craving her wet, soapy curves.

      He shook his head. This madness needed to stop.

      Then he saw her name tag. He could barely make it out from where he stood, but it was definitely Allie Miller. If she were truly her twin, then why wasn’t she using her real name? Charlotte something. Wasn’t that the name she’d given him?

      Sam checked his watch. He filled a cup with coffee from the buffet and followed his assistant conference manager down the hall toward his office.

      “Everything going okay?” Sam asked Katie, who remained in his doorway after he entered his office.

      Her head bobbed excitedly, making

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