Chapter Five

Malia pulled back from the handshake, her knees feeling very weak. This must be some kind of sick joke because there was no way this was happening to her right now. It was him, there was no mistaking. The man her husband just introduced as his twin brother was the very same one that spilled her cola on her at the coffee shop. It was the same sapphire blue eyes, it was the same long blond hair. Even his outfit was the same, the blue button-up shirt with one button undone, black pants, and dress shoes. As if reading her thoughts, he tilted his head to the side and his eyes lit up with recognition.

"It's you." He said, a smile coming upon his face.

Malia nodded, unsure of what to do with herself at that moment. "Yes, it would appear to be so. What a coincidence." Ah yes, a coincidence indeed.

Andrew laughed. "Who would have thought I'd ever see you again? I'm so sorry about today, accept my apology."

"It's alright, I got it fixed anyway."

"Wait a minute you two," Grant said, cutting into the conversation. He looked at Malia with unreadable eyes. "Do you two know each other from somewhere? Or am I just imagining it?"

"Not really," Malia said, she didn't know how Grant would take it, that she had met his twin earlier and by some sort of miracle of omission, she wasn't able to piece together that the handsome stranger looked exactly like her husband. But Andrew also has something to say on the matter.

"Yes," Andrew said matter-of-factly. Malia turned to him and raised her brows, a confused look on her face. Andrew made a motion for her to go ahead and explain.

Malia cleared her throat and turned to face her husband. "Not really, we met today at a coffee shop. He spilled my cola all over my dress by accident."

Grant's eyebrows lifted. "Ah," He said. "And I was wondering why you changed clothes before you came home."

For a moment, Malia was too stunned to speak.

"What?" She asked, her voice a low whisper. She was shocked that he took note of what she wore out, even though he had barely seen her for thirty seconds and hadn't even said a word to her. Malia smiled to herself subtly, wondering if this meant a good thing.

Grant didn't reply to her immediately. "Where is Cassie?" He asked Malia.

Malia blinked out of her daydream. "She...she should be here anytime soon."

Cassie was their chef. Grant had hand-picked her himself, she was his chef years before he got married. Right on cue, the front door clicked open and Cassie walked in. Cassie was a middle-aged woman that Malia knew, but she didn't look her age. She was tall with black hair styled into a bob and bright green eyes. Malia had often joked that she could be a very successful actress with her killer looks but Cassie, oh so humbly, always deflected the praise and said cooking was her pride and joy. Well, she was a wonderful chef for that matter so Malia didn't complain.

Cassie scanned the room, her signature soft smile on her face. "Good evening sir, madam." She bowed to Grant and Malia. She spotted Andrew and paused for a bit before bowing again. "good evening sir,"

"Wonderful timing, Cassie," Grant said. "I was just wondering where you ran off to."

It wasn't a question so Cassie just smiled. "I'll get dinner started right away, sir."

"Cassie, meet my brother, Andrew. Andrew, this is Cassie, my chef."

Andrew went in for a handshake but Cassie deflected it with a bow. Andrew drew back, a bit stunned.

"She doesn't like being touched," Grant said, his eyes focused on Malia.

"Nice to meet you, Cassie," Andrew said.

"The pleasure is all mine," Cassie replied.

Malia watched the exchange with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. She felt Grant's hand snake around her waist from behind.

"Is anything the problem?" She asked him, turning her head to the side to glance at him. But he wasn't looking at her. His eyes were dead focused on his brother. And Malia felt a chill run down her spine. The look in Grant's eyes could be best described as cold hatred. It was very unsettling to see him glaring at his brother with so much hostility. Weren't twin brothers supposed to get along very well? What was she missing here? Why did she feel like the atmosphere was so heavy and dark? Grant noticed her staring and turned to her, most of the hatred was gone in a flash, all that was left was the ice.

"My darling wife, why would anything be the problem?" He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Malia resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"If you have any allergies or you're on a kind of special diet, do let Cassie know. She'll make it work." Grant said to Andrew, although he was still looking at Malia.

"Nothing of the sort," Andrew replied.

"Good," Grant said. "Excuse us." His hand was firm on her lower back as he led her away from the living room. Malia turned and glanced at Andrew. He was looking at Cassie, telling her something she couldn't hear. Cassie turned and looked at Malia, and for a moment there was a flash of pity in her bright green eyes directed at her mistress, then she turned and vanished into the kitchen leaving Andrew in the living room.

Grant led Malia to her room and ushered her in gently. Malia dumped the shopping bags at the foot of her bed, she stretched her shoulders. She longed for a long hot soak in the bath before the next day showed up. Behind her, she felt Grant walk up to her, his arms caging around her midriff. She stiffened as she felt him push her hair aside and his lips pressing kisses into her exposed neck.

"Grant..." Malia said, caution in her voice.

"Yes, Malia?" He replied calmly but his hand was already creeping under her hem and up her thighs. Malia drew in a sharp breath and tried to stop him.

"We have a guest, your brother is in the house."

"So? You'll be quiet won't you?" His fingers pushed past her panties and straight to her core. Malia gasped and tried to move away from him. He held her tightly and refused to let her move. "Oh, you're wet already."

Malia felt her face burn with shame. How would she explain to her husband that his brother turned her on? What would Grant even do? He could nullify the marriage! She lowered her head and bit her lip hard.

She cleared her throat. "T-that's Amanda's fault." She said, her voice breathy.

Grant hummed. "You fucked your sister?"

"No!" Malia shouted and brought her hands up to her face to cover her red cheeks. "I didn't! She....we....it's a long story."

"Oh really." Grant pulled his hand out of her skirt. "After dinner then."

Malia turned to him and nodded, grateful that the interrogation was over. "That's okay."

Grant gave her a long look, she noticed that his eyes were a darker blue than Andrew's. She kicked herself mentally, catching herself thinking about Andrew again.

"Good." He said after a moment of intense eye contact. He turned and walked out. Malia exhaled a lungful of breath she didn't know she was holding.

She sat on her bed, running her hands through her hair. She wondered how dinner was going to go.