Free Winter Magic: 4 (The Hawks Mountain Series) by Elizabeth Sinclair Page B

beneath her, and she was left scrambling for a handhold. “I know that, but perpetuating this masquerade is crazy. I barely got through the other day. That I didn’t flub it was nothing short of a miracle. What if I’m not as lucky this time?”
    “Oh, for goodness sake, Andi. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if the sky falls tomorrow? You’re always so cautious. That’s why you never have any fun.”
    Andi couldn’t argue with her sister on that front. Since childhood Andi had always been the more cautious of the twins. “I don’t know,” she said, running true to form.
    An impatient sigh issued from Miranda. “You’re my older sister. You’re supposed to look out for me.”
    “Older?” Laughing, Andi leaned against the wall and stared down at her sister. “Give it a rest, Miranda. Don’t you think you’ve worn that five minute jump I have on your arrival a bit thin?”
    Miranda’s full lips formed into a rebellious pout, the same pout that had gotten her what she wanted for most of her life, either from their parents, from Andi, or from the current man in her life. The only one it had never worked on was straight-laced Aunt Laureene, but then nothing ever made the slightest impression on her, unless, of course, it was Biddy or Gussy, whose wishes were her aunt’s command. Well, this time it wasn’t going to work on Andi, either. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life being Miranda’s savior.
    But hadn’t she wanted an adventure, something far removed from her humdrum teaching life? Hadn’t she always wanted to be more like Miranda, less pragmatic and more live-for-the-moment? This was her chance for all of that, if she was brave enough to throw her fears to the wind and go for it. But could she?
    And what about Miranda?
    What about Miranda indeed? Wasn’t it past time that Andi stopped holding Miranda’s hand when her latest venture failed, and started living her own life? Andi had spent half her life picking up the pieces for her sister. The time her aerobics class bombed because she knew nothing about physical fitness. The time she failed to get her real estate license because she didn’t know the difference between a hip roof and a fiduciary responsibility.
    But even though Andi wanted her adventure, this pretense Miranda wanted to perpetrate against Jonathan Prince had catastrophe written all over it in gigantic, capital letters.
    “Miranda, be reasonable. I don’t know anything about party planning. That I sounded knowledgeable the last time was nothing short of miraculous and only thanks to Nancy’s coaching.” Uneasiness lay in a heavy ball in the pit of Andi’s stomach.
    Miranda had been born with the soul of an adventurer and with beauty that intoxicated. Andi had been born with the brains and common sense. Even though her features were an exact duplicate of Miranda’s, Andi knew hers came across as no more than comfortably attractive. The proof in that lay in all the men who had walked over Andi’s heart to get to her sister.
    How could two people be so alike in some ways, yet so different in others? And how could her sister expect her to go through such a complete metamorphosis and sustain it long enough to fool Jonathan?
    “It’ll be a breeze.” Her sister had read Andi’s silence as assent and went on quickly. “As soon as you get some theme ideas, Nancy will lay out everything for you, just like before. We’ll make sure we cover all the bases.”
    “Miranda!” Did she have any idea the agony Andi had gone through for an entire day just trying to set up a theme and develop it for her sister? Sure, finding a theme hadn’t been part of their deal, but Miranda had looked so terrible the last time Andi had seen her, she hadn’t the heart to burden Miranda with the task. As always, Andi automatically took on the responsibility of bailing her sister out. So why was she doubting herself? The agony she was still going through because she’d have to call