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b i s

[Lat.] : Twice; repeat the relevant action of the passage.

I KNEW QUITE a decent amount about Adelaide Bretton before I even met her. She was featured on the news every now and then and was one of the most prolific businesswomen in the country – shrewd, exacting and ruthless; not too different from her husband and son. When put together, they were the very definition of intimidating and so I was more than relieved when Parker told me that I only needed to meet one of them beforehand.

So, two days after my twentieth birthday, I found myself waiting at the café of Mortezion, a hotel that was located a two-hour drive away from home. I was a ball of nerves, especially since Parker was running late. I had made my way to the hotel on my own, ignoring the pointed looks from the receptionist table when I had arrived dressed in a black leather jacket pulled over a floral print tea dress.

Even though it was simply a hotel, everyone around seemed dressed to the nines, which wasn't much of a surprise since Mortezion was one of those fancy hotels I could never afford to stay a night in. A little more effort in dressing up would've been a wise option, I supposed, but I had just finished classes, taking a half-day off so I could get here in time. I was bloody exhausted and was seriously contemplating napping right here in the café when someone walked over and I glanced up immediately.

"Isla Moore?" I nodded a little hesitantly at the guy who'd asked the question. He looked vaguely familiar, blond curls falling into his laughing bright eyes and a friendly smile on his face, but I couldn't place a finger on where I'd seen him before. "I'm Nolan Mortez, Parker's friend. He told me he was running a little late and got me to prep you up first."

The missing puzzle piece fell into place and I knew at once where I'd seen him. "You're the guy from the chocolate fountain," I blurted, flushing when he raised his eyebrows. The memory was crystal clear and I recalled how he had caught me drowning my food in chocolate before doing exactly the same thing to his own plate of food. "At the charity ball – but that was a long time ago."

"Oh, I definitely remember," he let out a laugh, to my greatest relief. "Normally, these sort of things would slip my mind, but it was the first time someone threatened to kick me out of a party. That someone would be your brother, by the way."

My eyes widened at that, not because of Parker wanting to kick Nolan out of the charity ball, but because it was the first time that an outsider actually knew the relationship between Parker and I. We weren't officially siblings, but we definitely treated each other as such. Nevertheless, we were painfully careful about it, because when it came down to technicalities, Parker was still a Collins and I was still a Moore and our parents weren't together.

"Don't worry about it," Nolan said, when he noticed the tight expression on my face, "Parker's been calling you his sister for years in front of me and Kade. But this stays between us – so when Mrs Bretton comes later, be careful not to slip up, alright?"

I nodded. God forbid that actually happen. The consequences would be disastrous.

"When Kaden's mum comes later, just sit tight and don't say a word – Parker and I will explain everything. If she addresses you directly, maintain proper eye contact and answer as calmly as you can. Don't stammer or she'll think you're not convincing enough for the job. Be as polite as possible, because she doesn't take well to insolence, but be firm and try not to act like you're intimidated by her – which you probably will be. Hell, even I'm intimidated by her," he added, with a sardonic laugh.

I tried to smile but it seemed a little forced. Somehow, I was beginning to second-guess myself and the decision I had made. A part of me felt overwhelmed by the whole thing, another half of me wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into.

"Loosen up," Nolan said, patting me comfortingly on the shoulder. "Don't look so worried – she's not going to eat you up. I, on the other hand, could."

A surprised laugh escaped my lips at that and he chuckled too, until a familiar voice effectively cut us off. "One arm's length away from my sister, Mortez. Don't make me move you, because you know I could."

I glanced up and grinned at Parker, who seemed to have some difficulty keeping a straight face as a smile threatened the corners of his lips. Pushing my chair back, I quickly went over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist in a brief hug before pulling away. "If I remember correctly, I beat you at arm wrestling."

Behind me, Nolan laughed loudly, prompting Parker to scowl in annoyance. "That was once. And if I remember correctly, I was thirteen and I let you use two hands."

"The truth still stands – you got beaten by a girl, mate," Nolan told him, coming over to push the both of us down in our respective seats.

"Isla? You shouldn't think of her as a girl. She's more like...She-Hulk, minus the green skin."

I glared daggers inParker's direction. "You're such an arse – "

"Hardly appropriate language in such places, don't you think?"

The three of us froze and turned quickly to the right. The lady walking over to us looked like the living embodiment of sophistication in every aspect. Her sleek black hair was piled high and perfectly coifed. She was dressed to the nines and walked with the elegance and grace only a person of aristocratic breeding could have.

When she came close enough, she took off her sunglasses and nodded at the two lads. "Mr Collins, Mr Mortez." They mumbled polite greetings in return and then she turned to me, her gaze piercing as she assessed me from head to toe. "And you are?"

"She's a friend," came Parker's voice from beside me. I shot him a grateful look. "Her name's Isla Moore and I believe she could be the solution to our problems."

"We'll see about that," was Adelaide's cryptic reply. It left an awkward pause in its wake and for once, I saw my smooth-talking brother floundering for something to say.

It was Nolan who cameto his rescue by clearing his throat to ease the tense atmosphere. "Ithink we should get something to drink," he said and signalled a waiterover. "It's on me. What would you like, Mrs Bretton?"

"Such niceties are highly unnecessary, but tea would be lovely, thank you."

Nolan rolled his eyes surreptitiously at her reply and I stifled a laugh. "What about you, Isla? Parker?"

"Coffee, thanks," I told him and Parker lifted two fingers to the waiter as an indication of a duplicate order.

The waiter left and Adelaide turned to me. "I would like to know your reasons for thinking yourself appropriate for this job," she told me crisply. "As with all other job interviews, the applicant must be convincing enough before I hire them. Now convince me."

"Mrs Bretton," Nolan cut in politely, "if you don't mind me pointing out – you've never met Evangeline before. None of us have – "

"I have the files from the Whites. They've given me everything there is to know about their daughter – "

" – yes, but they haven't seen how Evangeline was with Kade either," he argued, "no one has seen them together. Evangeline only mentioned Kade briefly to her parents and that was all there was to it. I don't think it's a matter of convincing – Isla here could convince you but she might blow it within minutes of meeting Kade if she doesn't act the way Evangeline used to."

"I fully agree," Parker added smoothly. Adelaide turned to him with a frown and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table with a thoughtful expression playing on his face. "We're grasping at straws here. I'm sure you and Mr White knew that the chances of failure were high when you came up with it. Even if it fails – which, in all probability, it might – we need accountability. And Isla will not spill a word of it to the media, I can assure you of that."

There was a pause. Adelaide seemed to carefully consider their words and I was just about to heave a sigh of relief when she turned to me, a cold expression in her eyes. "You appear to have two bright young men eager to jump to your defence and I must say, it's rather tiresome. I'd like to hear what you think – if you have any thoughts to begin with."

Parker's eyes narrowed at her words and he was just about to speak when I beat him to it. "Mrs Bretton," my voice was an unexpected tone of calm, "I'm a person who likes to think of the glass as half full instead of half empty. And so I'm hoping that for Kaden's sake, and yours, that the plan does work. Assuming it does and assuming that I would have to break up with him under the guise of Evangeline, I can assure you that I will let him down in the least painful, most gentle way possible."

The waiter returned with our drinks and there was another bout of silence as he laid the cups out in front of us. Adelaide drank her tea strong and sugarless, which somehow seemed fitting for someone of her character. After taking several sips, she put her cup down and turned to me again.

"There are a dozen different ways to break a heart," she said. "You may call it the least painful way possible. But to my son, it may be the most painful thing he will ever have to go through."

"More painful than finding out that Evangeline's dead?" I couldn't help but ask, before blushing when her gaze hardened. Taking a deep breath, I continued, in a softer tone this time. "Kaden Bretton slow danced with me at a party on my sixteenth birthday. You don't forget the first boy who ever asked you to dance, even if it was just for a song that barely spanned three minutes." I met her gaze and noticed her steely expression falter. "Consider this my thank-you gift for your son. I will never hurt him intentionally. You have my word."

It was so silent thereafter you could almost hear a pin drop. Nolan had a tiny, chewed-off smile playing on his lips, while Parker was staring at me intently. I immediately averted my gaze. I could read Parker like an open book but the opposite was also true, and I didn't want him to find out the implications behind what I had just said.

"Well then," Adelaide's voice was marginally gentler than it had been minutes ago. She stood up and slid a sleek brown file across the table to me. "I will be expecting you at three-thirty this Friday afternoon. Mr Collins will update you on the details. Everything else you need to know is in the folder. I'll take my leave first."

She swept off without so much as a goodbye; her half-drunk tea lay on the table as a silent reminder of her foreboding presence. I was still reeling from her sudden change of mind and stared at my cup silently until Nolan reached forward to pat me on the back.

"You did great, Isla. I'd say she was impressed, but that woman has so much work done to her face you can't tell what she's thinking anymore," he added, his words making a tiny smile spread across my face. After glancing at his mobile, Nolan let out an exaggerated sigh and stood up, his chair scrapping loudly against the linoleum floor. "I have to get back to the bloody conference," he grumbled and I stifled the urge to laugh at his melodramatic behaviour, "I'll see you this Friday, Isla. It was great to finally meet you."

He startled me by suddenly leaning down to press a swift kiss to my cheek. I let out a muffled sound of surprise, cheeks flushing bright red.

Parkershot Nolan his most deadly look. "One arm's length away, you wanker,"my brother growled but there was a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Or what? You'll throw me out of my own hotel?" Nolan tossed back, with a rich chuckle. Parker glared. "I'd like to see you try. I'll see you tomorrow to finalise the details. Don't bother picking up the tab for the drinks and feel free to order whatever you want – it's on the house."

With that, Nolan left us, heading swiftly for the exit of the café. I watched him leave, an amused smile glossing my lips. It was a refreshing sight to see my brother interact with his friend. Parker was playing the overprotective brother down to a tee and Nolan seemed to thrive on annoying him as much as possible – which only made me wonder how the two of them were like when Kaden was thrown into the mix. I had no doubt that the trio was a lethal combination.

Opposite me, Parker let out an audible yawn and loosened his tie by tugging on one of its ends. The sharp, shrewd expression in his eyes made me brace myself for his interrogation. So I wasn't surprised when he cleared his throat and broke the silence. "You want to tell me what all that was about earlier?"

My eyebrows knitted together. "Was it that obvious?"

"Not to Nolan – that boy's thick as anything. But I've known you for years and I've never heard you speak so passionately about a stranger before. What – did you form some sort of teenage crush on Kade after dancing with him at the party?" The blush that spread across my cheeks told him everything he needed to know and he let out a sound of utter disbelief. "Are you serious?"

I bit my lip and glanced away.

He swore under his breath before pausing to take a deep breath. I could almost see the cogs turning in his head as he considered the situation carefully. "It's not too late. You can back out of this. I'll call Kade's mum – she'll be livid, probably – but you cannot go through with this. They'll find someone – "

"Parker," the tone in my voice was calm enough to stop him. I stared at him with caution in my eyes. "Are you suggesting that I pull out when I just agreed several minutes ago? Because I'm not going to. I want to do this."

He stared at me like I had suddenly sprouted three heads. "You are aware of how ridiculous this plan is, right?"

"I think you made that pretty clear two nights ago."

"And we both agree on it – except that it's the only possible way to prevent Kade from finding out the truth about Evangeline. When you agreed to it, I thought that you had adopted a professional mind-set going in, which was why I believed you were perfect for the role. But now there's your feelings to be considered – " he trailed off, shaking his head in frustration. Seconds ticked by as he watched me intently before his gaze softened. "How long has this been going on for?"

I traced the rim of my coffee cup. "Too long."

"Honestly, it was never my intention when I asked Kade to rescue you from Nolan and the other lads," Parker admitted, with a dry laugh. My eyes flew to his and he smirked at my shocked expression. "I wasn't trying to match-make the both of you, I swear. I just saw you across the room looking uneasy because Nolan was being a bother, but I was busy chatting to important people so I got Kade to lend a helping hand."

"You got him to dance with me?" I asked, wondering if this was all an illusion made to shatter. Call me a hopeless romantic – and maybe I was the most hopeless of all hopeless romantics – but it made a world of difference if Kaden had been forced to dance with me.

"Of course not," Parker scoffed. "I'm not that imaginative. That was all the bloody charmer's idea. If I'd known it would've worked so well, I would've properly introduced you to him a long time ago."

"I thought youwere supposed to be against the whole younger-sister-dating-my-best-friendcliché."

"Oh, I am. And I still kind of want to throw up at the whole idea, but Kade's a good sort. Better him than Nolan anyway," he added with a grimace and we both laughed. But then Parker's grin faded, a mask of utter seriousness slipping over his features perfectly. "But let's get back to the issue at hand. I'm all for you playing the part because frankly, I don't think anyone else would be more trustworthy and less likely to hurt Kade than you. But now there's the possibility of you getting hurt, and I don't want to see that happen."

His words settled into the soft silence that stretched between us for moments after that. I couldn't quite fathom why I had chosen to do this or what the future had in store for us. All I could think of, at that moment, was a fresh-eyed sixteen-year old girl who clung on to any remnant vestiges of her childhood. And that dance with Kaden Bretton, the boy who had the world at his feet, was the pinnacle of every single hope and dream she had ever fashioned out of romantic notions.

"In many ways, this plan is a lot like slow dancing," I said quietly, my gaze distant and unfocused. "It's simple and sweet, with fleeting romantic thoughts, the briefest of contacts and the blatant lie that we're deeply, madly in love. Sometimes, I'll stand so close that maybe I might forget that it was never real to begin with. But I will always remember that it's a dance that must end eventually."

Therewas a pause. And then Parker let out a heavy sigh, the sound of it immediatelysnapping me out of the trance I'd fallen into. I glanced at him and there was alook of unspoken understanding in his eyes, a look that told me he still didn'tapprove of my decision but supported it nonetheless.

"Don't forget the endgame," he told me gently, but there was an unambiguous undertone of clarity in his words and I remembered, at once, the words he had spoken two days before:

The girl who played Evangeline was to disappear completely off the grid in the aftermath, so that he would never find out that he had been lied to, or that Evangeline had been dead this whole time.

Just the thought of that made my heart clench. I'd spent years holding on to the memory of slow dancing with Kaden, and a part of me had always entertained the notion of meeting him again, as ludicrous as the idea might have been.

But now the fantasy was becoming a reality, only in the most painful way possible.

"I won't," I murmured and met Parker's gaze evenly. "When the song ends, I'll take a step back and never see him again."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

The song opened with its first notes on Friday. The drive down to the beach took over an hour. I was a bundle of nerves but thankfully, Parker was there to ease all my doubts with his reassuring smiles and teasing words.

The mere sight of the Brettons' beach-house made my eyes widen at its utter extravagance. Feeling a little awed, I headed inside, comforted by warmth from Parker's arm draped across my shoulder. And then I smiled when I saw Nolan who was, by all means, a pleasant sight for sore eyes.

"Isla!" He immediately walked over to us and attempted to kiss my cheek again, only to have Parker plant a palm right smack into his face. I giggled as Nolan scowled at my brother. "Don't be so bloody jealous, you know I'd kiss you too."

"Overmy dead body," Parker shot back, before exchanging a quick half-hug withNolan, the kind guys generally did with each other. "Where's Kade?"

"Upstairs," Nolan tossed back casually as I tried to act like the mere mention of Kaden's name didn't send an unusual flutter through my chest. "He went out this morning, you know, to catch some fresh air and hobble round the beach. I thought I'd have some fun, with him being blind and all. So when the next big wave came I pushed him right into it."

I laughed and Parker shook his head at Nolan's antics. "Let me guess – his bodyguards threw you in instead?"

"No, worse. He somehow managed to flip me over and pushed me into the sea. It's like he's got eyes at the back of his head. I can't believe I got tripped by the wanker."

Parker snorted. "Serves you right."

Nolan opened his mouth to argue, but we fell silent at the sound of sharp heels clicking against the marble-tiled floor. Adelaide Bretton descended the stairs and headed towards us. She wore her reading glasses this time, but her make-up and hair all seemed perfect.

"Mr Collins, thank you for coming today," she nodded at my brother, before turning to me. I felt positively tiny – and it wasn't just because I was a lot shorter than she was in my scruffy ankle boots. "Come with me, Isla. Both of you – stay," she added, as Parker and Nolan made to come with me.

"That's a command meant for dogs," muttered Nolan under his breath and I bit my lip hard to keep from laughing.

Throwing a reassuring smile over my shoulder at Parker, who was watching me with faint concern, I hitched my bag further up my shoulder and followed her. We made our way up two flights of stairs until we came to a room that was guarded by a man in formal attire who looked like he was in his early fifties.

Adelaide paused in front of the doors and turned to me. There was an indecipherable expression in her eyes, something painful, something bittersweet. I didn't know what it was.

"Sometimes," she said, "the best of lies are meant to hide the most painful of truths. Do anything it takes to convince him."

I barely had the chance to nod before she gripped the handles firmly and pushed the doors open. I was momentarily dazzled by brightness of the room. The rest of the house seemed cloaked in shadows, but this room had every bit of sunlight streaking through the windows.

And then my eyes landed on the guy lounging in the window-seat, his figure illuminated by the fierce rays of sunlight streaming in. His face was turned away from us, as if he were looking out the window, but the traitorous piece of gauze that was wrapped around his head gave away the fact that he was blind.

"Kaden," there was a slight tremor to Adelaide's voice and I glanced over at her, but the expression on her face was still impassive.

At her words, the guy turned in our direction and shifted, his tanned forearms pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Yeah?" His voice was unusually scratchy, like it hadn't been used in awhile. But it was still the same key I heard when I was sixteen and remembered from that moment on.

Adelaide cast a brief look at me. And, in that moment, I saw her fear and hesitation etched into her every feature. But it lasted for a fleeting second, because her features soon rearranged themselves into the emotionless mask she seemed to know and love so well.

Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth and spun a beautiful lie to hide the painful truth. "Evangeline's here."