Free Going All Out by Jeanie London

impressed,” was all Lucas said.
    Captain Dampier had sailed a two-masted schooner because the shallow draft had let him easily navigate shoal waters. He could hide in the coves while outrunning navy frigates and sloops to bring his merchandise into New Orleans during the war.
    Josie had mentioned the krewe’s new float, but seeing the pirate ship coming together under the bright fluorescent lights brought back a feeling of long-forgotten excitement. Memories of Gator Bait, the winking captain and a youth filled with Mardi Gras celebrations sharpened the edges of a mood that had started with a late-night intruder and hadn’t subsided since.
    “Real rigging, too,” Lucas said. “Josie wasn’t kidding. This is first-class.”
    Bree’s gaze traveled over the fiberglass pieces littered at odd angles around the warehouse—a section of faux-wood hull, a bowsprit, the crow’s nest. “Maybe when it’s all together.”
    “Hey, Bree, about time,” a feminine voice called out, so familiar that Lucas actually blinked when he saw Bree’s twin circling the ship’s hull and heading toward them. “I thought you were going to skip. John just got here with the doubloons.”
    “Be still my heart.” Bree winked. “Lucas, this is my sister, Tally. Tally, Josie’s brother.”
    Lucas extended his hand, his gaze zeroing in on this beautiful doppelgänger. The dark eyes. The wide smile. The refined features and cloud of shiny hair made them almost impossible to tell apart at first glance.
    But Lucas had made his career analyzing details. There were differences, subtle but definitely there.
    Tally’s face was more symmetrical, a classical oval, while Bree’s smile angled into a dainty chin and made herface heart-shaped. Both had high cheekbones, dark eyes and arched eyebrows, but as he stared into Bree’s eyes, he noticed starbursts of deep golden-brown. Her left eyebrow arched in an expression all her own.
    Their mannerisms were as individual as two women could be. Tally struck him as all intensity and boldness as she shook his hand and eyed him with open interest. Bree was quieter, more contemplative as she folded her arms over her chest and watched them thoughtfully. He’d already encountered her dry wit.
    “I’m impressed, Lucas,” she said. “Not even one comment about how we’re so alike we could switch places?”
    “Get that a lot, do you?”
    Tally rolled her eyes. “You’d be surprised. For some reason people think identical twins have nothing better to do all day than impersonate each other.”
    “I can see the novelty,” he admitted. “If someone isn’t able to tell you apart.”
    “Meaning you can?” Tally asked.
    He nodded.
    “Really?” Bree arched that doubtful eyebrow. “So you don’t think we could fool you?”
    Lucas reached out and caught her hand. Bringing it to his lips, he brushed a kiss across her knuckles, smiled when her eyes widened. Inclining his head toward Tally, he said, “She doesn’t make my heart pound.”
    That was the biggest difference of all. Tally Addison might look like the woman who sped his pulse into over-drive, but she was just that woman’s sister. Her sweater might be just as clingy, her jeans fitting perfectly curvy hips and sleek thighs. They had no chemistry.
    “I am so not believing this,” Tally said in a gush. “When did you two meet, and how come I haven’t heard about it?”
    “Long story that’ll have to wait until later.” Bree gave a dismissive wave when Lucas released her hand.
    The awareness lingered, though, a sensation that filtered through him until all his nerves were back in over-drive.
    Tally eyed Bree with an accusing gaze, and something in Bree’s tone suggested she wasn’t all that eager to rehash the night’s events. Lucas wondered if Tally would get the unabridged version of Bree’s visit to his yard. He was pretty sure he hadn’t gotten the whole story.
    “I thought you said John brought the doubloons?” Bree said. “Where