Free Lexie by Kimberly Dean Page B

down, a vein in his temple throbbing. He knew her type. Cocky and hotheaded. Bold with no sense of class or respect for authority. She was everything that Lexie wasn’t, and he hated that she wore the same face, inhabited the same body.
    He glanced at Lexie, hoping to reason with her, but she was paler than she’d been only a moment before. He needed to get her out of here fast.
    “Lexie, you don’t even know this woman. She’s your sister, maybe . You need to get a DNA match to prove it, but right now you know nothing about her other than she looks like you, wears half the clothes and lets anyone driving down the I-67 get a real good look.”
    “I don’t wear that many clothes,” Lexie grumbled. She tilted awkwardly towards the jukebox as she reached for it. “Besides, we have a DNA test scheduled first thing tomorrow.”
    “Hold on.” Cam wrapped his arm around her, steadying her. Her body was almost too pliant. He looked at Roxie. He didn’t like backing down to her, but he knew how to pick his battles—and he sensed a lot more coming. “Fine. You win. Where should I take her?”
    The combat in the other woman’s eyes turned to concern. “My apartment is right upstairs.”
    Lexie leaned more heavily against him. “I think I need to sit down.”
    “You can lie down, hon. You can have my bed.” Roxie started moving across the floor. She glanced back at Cam as he helped Lexie along. “I promise she’ll be fine.”
    “You’re damn right she will be.”
    The barmaid blinked in surprise, her long strides slowing. “Is that trust or a threat?”
    “Neither. I’m staying too.”
    She came to a complete standstill. “You are not staying in my apartment.”
    The smile he gave her was hard. She thought she could outmaneuver him? People paid him big bucks to see all the angles, and he’d found the only compromise that would work for him. “She’s with you? I’m with her. Get used to it. You just got yourself two houseguests.”

Chapter Five
    Lexie didn’t feel so good. The room was starting to tilt, and Cam was the only thing keeping her steady. He was pressed against her side, and he had his arm wrapped around her waist like one of those security bars on a rollercoaster.
    Rollercoaster. Not the thing to think about just now. The room suddenly went into a dive, and she closed her eyes to try to right it.
    The security bar tightened. “Roxie?” Cam growled close to her ear.
    “Fine,” her sister snapped. “You can both stay.”
    He was staying? Lexie’s stomach flipped. Her topsy-turvy day had just been upended completely. She’d found an identical twin and Cameron Rowe had kissed her silly. The world was not right. She peeked at the man at her side. He shouldn’t even be here. But he was. She could feel him from head to toe and, honestly, he was the only thing that felt good right now.
    Roxie went to speak with Charlie behind the bar. “Do you mind if I knock off early tonight?”
    The good-natured owner rolled his eyes. “Get out of here. Your billboard doubled our crowd and you found a sister along the way. Hell, take tomorrow off too.”
    “I’ll take you up on that.” Roxie grabbed Lexie’s purse and suit jacket from where they’d tucked them under the register.
    Lexie reached for the jacket eagerly. From the day Cameron Rowe had started at Underhill, she’d done everything she could to appear professional, polished and competent. Her gaze fell on the bar, and she stopped in her search for an armhole.
    Well, that image had just been blown to bits.
    “Let’s go,” he said with a nudge.
    With regret, she folded the jacket over her arm. It was bunched and backwards, but she didn’t have the wherewithal to figure it out. His shoulder brushed against hers, and awareness danced over her skin.
    “This way,” Roxie said.
    Getting to the door wasn’t as easy as it sounded. The crowd was still jumping, and their main attraction was leaving. The novelty of twins had been a big hit. Roxie