Bachelor Swap, Lacey Black [best short novels txt] 📗

in my fancy black leather shoes until I reach the end of the block. There, I wave at a passing taxi and jump in as soon as he stops. Sure, I could head to the valet and find George, but I’m done being Matthew.

From now on, I’m Mason.

Heartbroken rancher from Casper, Montana.

The man who lost his heart to a gorgeous woman with intoxicating hazel eyes on a lie.

And I’ll have to live with what I’ve done for the rest of my life.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kyla

Longest night ever.

My eyelids are heavy and gritty as I indulge on my second cup of coffee of the morning, but when you’re going on only four hours of sleep, desperate times call for desperate measures.

The elevator dinging grabs my attention. I don’t get up, because I know who it is. When Dad left last night, it was with the understanding he’d be back in the morning to talk. I was pretty tight-lipped on my ride home, mostly because I was still trying to process the information I obtained just a short time before.

Matthew…or Mason, as it would happen to be.

What a mess.

Now that I think back, I can see when the swap happened. I may not have seen it before, but from the outside looking in, it’s clear. After that lunch with Amalee, where I worried Matthew and I weren’t connecting, she advised me to kiss him. We had kissed before, but it was so very different than the one we shared that night. Before, it was nice, but somewhat clinical. There was never any...spark, and it never went any farther than a polite kiss.

Gratefully.

Now, the thought of engaging in any sort of sexual anything with the real Matthew is nauseating. Not because he’s not attractive, but because of what I felt with his brother. I already feel dirty enough, but the thought of sleeping with both Wilder brothers would have really put me over the edge.

Before my mind is able to replay everything I shared with Mason, my father joins me in the kitchen. “Good morning,” he greets, coming over to kiss my forehead.

“Hi.”

Dad goes over to the coffee pot and makes himself a cup. “How’d you sleep?”

I shrug but don’t give him an answer.

As he brings his black coffee over to the table, he says, “Edith will probably check on you today. She was concerned about your sudden illness.”

I glance over at where my cell phone is resting on the counter. It’s off, however. I didn’t want the temptation of calling Mason. That’s why I didn’t take it upstairs with me when I finally went to bed. “I’ll be sure to reach out to her soon to let her know I’m fine.”

He sits across from me and takes a sip. “Are you? Fine?”

Again, I shrug. “I will be.”

We didn’t talk much last night, when my father’s driver brought us back to my place, but he understood the gist of it. Matthew and Mason are twins and swapped places three weeks ago. The man I’ve been spending all my time with, getting to know, and steadily falling in love with was, in fact, Mason Wilder.

And I never knew.

Looking back, I should have, but didn’t. There’s a big difference between Matthew and Mason. No, not in appearance, but in personality. Matthew is very by-the-book. A businessman to a fault, with no personal ties to anyone or anything. Mason, on the other hand, is gentler, kinder, and full of personality. It took a bit to get to see it, but it was there.

“Tell me what you need, Kyla.” Dad sips his coffee, keeping his gaze on me.

I’m sure I look a fright too. I showered this morning, but that was as far as it went. No makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail, a hoodie sweatshirt, and sweatpants I had to dig out of the back of the closet. “I guess I just need time. I think I’ve come to terms with the fact they deceived me, but I just can’t understand why. For a business deal? For money?”

He sets his cup down on the table and relaxes into his seat. “Kyla, I’ve always known you haven’t wanted anything to do with the business. Even though a part of me wished I could turn it over to my only child, I learned early on it just wasn’t in your blood the way it was mine.

“Over the years, I’ve built a good foundation. I’ve made contacts all over the world, some of them eventually earning me additional ways to grow my company. I did that a decade ago when I secured government contracts. Those alone are priceless, Ky. Anyone in the industry would kill to get their hands on those deals.”

“That’s why Matthew wanted Evolution so badly,” I conclude, taking my own sip of coffee.

“At first, yes. I think he saw what my company had and wanted it for his own. But something else happened over the last several months, honey. I saw him change. Sure, Matthew Wilder is still a ruthless, cutthroat businessman, but as I was meeting with him, I saw the approval he craved. It’s nothing he’d let the world see, but it was there. He slowly understood why the people of Evolution were so vital to its success.”

He sits up straighter and holds my gaze. “Did you know, he didn’t fight me once when I said my team must stay on during the transition period? Never once balked about having to merge his team and my own, and do you know why?” I shake my head, listening intently. “Because he believed our two companies were stronger together. He didn’t really want a hostile takeover, as I might have suspected in the beginning. He really did want what was best for Evolution. For Dominic and Lizabeth. For the hundreds of employees we employ. That’s why I agreed to sell him the company. Matthew Wilder isn’t the greedy, condescending man he’s portrayed in the media. He’s better than that. He just refuses to let anyone