“You’re going on a date, Silken,” she said slowly, carefully, as if speaking to a toddler. “You don’t bring your sister along on a date.”
For a long while Silken just sat there, staring at Suave. Finally, she gave a hrumph and hopped off the bed. “Fine. If you’re not going then I’m not going either. I’ll call Max and tell him right now.” Holding her head straight, not giving Suave another glance, she flounced past her and out of the room.
Suave gasped then ran after her. “Silken, are you crazy? You can’t cancel your date because of me. You have to go.”
Silken stopped and turned then she shrugged. “No, I don’t. I’ll just tell Max something came up,” then her eyes narrowed, “or that I have to stay home with my sister.”
Suave narrowed her eyes back at Silken. “Then he’d hate me for ruining his plan. You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
Suave began to pout then her shoulders slumped and she expelled her breath in a soft whoosh, a sure sign that she was accepting defeat. Smart girl.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll go with you,” she stuck a finger in Silken’s face, “but we’re going in separate cars. When I’m ready to leave, I’m leaving. You’re not going to have me stuck there till all hours of the night when I want to get to bed.”
“Fine.” Silken turned and set off toward her own room. She didn’t want Suave to see her triumphant grin. “Wear the black dress with the bow at the back. You look cute in that.”
That got her another hrumph from Suave but it didn’t matter. She’d already won this battle. Suave, the consummate homebody, would not be home alone - at least not tonight.
***
When Silken pulled into the driveway of Max’s home, Suave’s car was nowhere to be seen. No surprise there. Her sister, ever the careful one, was probably plodding along the highway well within the speed limit. Silken, on the other hand, never drove at less than ten miles above. Anything less and she felt like she was driving backwards. Settling deeper into her seat she leaned back to wait. It would be another five, maybe six minutes before she’d see the Volvo pull up beside her. But no worries. They were early so she’d pass the time catching up on some good music on KISS FM.
But when she flipped on the music Silken did not hear a single note. Instead, her mind flashed to Max. So much had happened between them in the last two weeks, since that day they’d gone out to lunch.
It had taken a while to get over the humiliation of his reprimand but eventually she'd relaxed enough to actually enjoy the afternoon at Shiraito Restaurant. After a meal of Sushi, Miso Soup and Teriyaki Chicken they lingered over coffee and dessert and soon she found herself so caught up in the conversation that she was shocked when he tapped his watch.
“Time to get you home,” he said, “before your sister sends out the troops.”
That was when she checked the time on her cell phone and realized that it was almost eight o’clock. She couldn’t believe they’d been sitting in the restaurant for almost four hours. And not just sitting. Talking.
Who could have known that Maximillian Davidoff would be such a funny, down-to-earth kind of guy? There was not an ounce of snob about him, no matter that he was the richest man she’d ever had lunch with. And he was rich, no doubt about that. The owner of Davidoff Cosmetics would be worth billions. But just looking at him, lounging in his chair across from her, you’d never tell.
Which brought her to her next question. Why had he asked her out? And he’d even gone and kissed her. Her. The woman who had embarrassed him in public, not once but twice.
As she sat in the car waiting for Suave she shook her head, still baffled by what must be the mystery of the ages…at least as far as her life was concerned. Because why would a man like him be interested in a woman like her?
And he was interested. There was no doubt in her mind about that. A man who’d been acting like he had these past couple of weeks – calls every few days, lengthy conversations over the phone, one of which had lasted almost an hour, and now this – an invitation to his house to meet his brothers.
She'd been blown away but she'd acted calmly and demurely accepted his invitation. Suave would have been so proud.
The lights of the Volvo flashed in her rear-view mirror and she blinked, suddenly realizing she’d just spent all her wait time daydreaming about Max. She would have laughed if it wasn’t just a little bit scary. Was she going soft on Max? She shook her head, knocking the thought loose and dashing it out of her head, then she got out of the car and waved Suave over. She wasn’t going to think about any of that, not tonight. Tonight she would get to know his family and just have fun.
When Silken and Suave walked in, Max introduced them to Duke, the brother who followed him, the one who had encouraged him to set up his latest business in Cupertino. He was tall, almost as tall as Max, with the same jet-black hair, square chin and long nose.
“So these are the twins,” he said, looking from one to the other. “Now let me see if I can figure out who’s who.” He wrinkled his brows and tilted his head. “Based on what I’ve heard, Silken is the impulsive, saucy one. I can see the fire in your eyes. That’s got to be you.” He nodded his head toward Silken. Then he turned to Suave and his lips widened in a smile. “And you must be Suave, as serene and silky-smooth as your name.”
Ooh, he's a charmer, this one. Silken let her glance slide away from his face and across to her sister who had turned a softly glowing shade of pink. Oh, beeswax. Now he’s gone and embarrassed Suave. Silken could only pray that she wouldn’t get cold feet and decide to take flight.
“Great job,” she said with a laugh, trying to defuse the tension of the moment. “It usually takes people at least a few hours before they can figure us out, maybe even days.” Then she shook her head. “But don’t listen to Max. I’m not saucy…” she paused when Max gave her a pointed look, “…at least not all the time.”
Duke laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Hey, it’s good that the two of you are different. At least this way we can tell you apart.”