Party Crashers

then she squinted. "Have we met before?"
    Jolie's heart skipped a beat, then resumed. "No. Like he said, I'm new in town."
    "Linda is an attorney," Carlotta and Beck said in unison.
    Everyone stared. Carlotta cleared her throat and added, "She lives in Vinings."
    Sammy turned back to Jolie. "It's just that...you remind me of somebody...I can't put my finger on it."
    Carlotta couldn't know that Sammy was her former boss, but Jolie suspected that her friend could see the panic on her face.
    "Oh, you know what they say," Carlotta said with a laugh. "Everyone has a twin somewhere."
    Next to her, Roger LeMon's head jerked toward Carlotta. Jolie winced inwardly when she realized that Carlotta had inadvertently echoed LeMon's response from two nights ago when she'd said she recognized him from a photo with Gary. Had he just made the connection?
    His head pivoted back to her and Jolie saw suspicion flash through his eyes. She maintained a wide-eyed expression for his sake and for Sammy's. Then Sammy glanced down at Jolie's shoes and she snapped her fingers. "Did you get those shoes at Neiman's?"
    Jolie felt her smile waver, but she managed a nod.
    "Were you shopping there this week? Monday maybe?"
    Jolie managed another nod.
    "I'll bet that's it," Sammy said with a big smile. "I probably saw you in the shoe department."
    Beck's burst of dry laughter got everyone's attention. He lifted his big shoulders in a casual shrug. "Eventually, you see everyone in Atlanta in the shoe department at Neiman's."
    "So true," Carlotta said, jumping on the "save Jolie" bandwagon. Everyone laughed politely, but Roger LeMon kept staring at her. Jolie squirmed and her mind raced for a reason to excuse herself as the sudden lull in the conversation dragged on.
    "Linda," Carlotta sang, "I hate to be a damp rag, but we did promise Hannah that we would meet her."
    "Right," Jolie agreed in relief.
    "It was nice to meet everyone," Carlotta said, backing away and bowing, leaving Jolie to wonder if bowing was still in vogue in England.
    Afraid that Sammy would recognize her voice if she spoke again, Jolie nodded her agreement, sending a smile all around. Kyle Coffee waved good-naturedly and Sammy had refocused her fawning self on Beck Underwood, pressing a cream-colored postcard into his hand. Roger LeMon continued to watch Jolie through narrowed eyes with such dark intensity that if he were somehow involved in this mess, she could understand why Gary had sounded so terrified. She tried to smile, but LeMon's face remained immobile.
    Her numb feet weren't responding well—she stumbled past Beck Underwood and he reached out to steady her with his arm. The warmth and strength of his fingers against her bare skin sent a jolt of awareness through her. When she looked into his brown eyes, she saw questions there. She was grateful that despite his obvious bewilderment, he hadn't given them away.
    "Thank you," she murmured.
    "You're welcome," he said, holding her arm a few seconds longer than necessary before releasing her.
    She blamed her heightened senses on the constant stream of adrenaline her body had been pumping throughout the evening, and turned to walk away as fast as her deadened feet would take her. Next to her, she could sense that Carlotta was ready to burst out of her skin. They had barely gotten out of earshot when Carlotta squealed. "Oh, my God, that was so exciting!"
    Jolie exhaled. "That isn't a word I would've used."
    "Did you find out anything from Roger LeMon?"
    "Maybe...I don't know." She touched her thumping head. "This entire thing could be a dead end. Maybe I'm looking for a bigger connection than what's there."
    "Are you going to call him?"
    "I don't know. I'm not sure, but I think he recognized us toward the end."
    Carlotta touched her temple. "Because of what I said about having a twin? I'm so sorry. That just popped out." She winced. "If I've blown our cover, I'll never forgive myself."
    Jolie decided not to make her feel worse by telling her about the phone conversation she'd overheard the other night, and that if LeMon thought they were trying to pull one over on him, he might be incensed—to the point of being dangerous.
    "It's okay," Jolie said. "I could be wrong about him recognizing us."
    "Beck Underwood saw right through us." Carlotta elbowed Jolie. "But then again, the man seems to have radar where you're concerned."
    Jolie's cheeks warmed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
    "He has a thing for you."
    "No, he