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“Don’t,” he commanded for my ears alone. He even gave me a little squeeze and bent to set his lips near my ear. “Announce you’ve been kidnapped again, and you’ll regret it.”
He…I… Oh! I fumed up at him, silent.
“Good girl,” he muttered.
The condescension cured me of every last bit of fluster, and I snapped, “Bad boy.”
He double blinked, as if surprised.
“Callen,” a handsome man called, striding our way. He had rich brown hair, eyes a shade darker, and a mischievous grin that failed to evince the same reverential fear projected by the others. “Have you come to help meconsole the mourning females, or is that my solo mission?”
“What if I’m the one in need of consoling?” Mr. Bruce asked, his voice dry.
Handsome snorted. “You’re on your own.”
The two hugged and slapped each other on the shoulder in a bro friendship fashion I’d always found endearing. Until this moment. Wait. Callen. Finally, my companion had a first name.
“Isobel,” Callen said, any hint of affection leached from his tone. “You know Jamison Stewart.”
“Do I?” Surely this Jamison guy would spot the real me.
Handsome lost his smile and glanced my way. He presented a clipped nod of greeting. “Isobel.”
I wilted. He didn’t see me, either, only the redhead. Talk about a roundhouse kick to the face.
Maybe we’d all been drugged? Except…
Unease surged anew, a suspicion I’d avoided now as probable as it was incredible.We’re going to trade, you and I.
As wild as it sounded, what if Isobel and I had actually…switched bodies?
I stood there, wide eyed, my mouth floundering. We couldn’t have switched. But what if we did? But we couldn’t have; it was impossible. Yet here I stood.
Deep breath in, out. My gaze shot to Callen, as if he possessed the key to truth. How silly. He might be one of my bigger problems. Whatever had happened to me, I was trapped in a situation I knew nothing about with total strangers and a supposed husband who wasn’t my biggest fan.
“She’s overcome by her good fortune,” he said, resurrecting his driest tone. “We’d best greet the other guests. The sooner I get her home, the better.”
Jamison inclined his head in understanding.
Too dazed to protest, I let my new husband lead me toward a group of partygoers.
“Why did you threaten to kill me earlier?” I croaked. What had I done wrong, and how could I avoid doing it again?
He stiffened. “For the last time, I didn’t?—”
“Please,” I interjected. “Just tell me.”
He rubbed a hand over his face. “You hinted at—” His lips compressed into a thin line. “Your words veered toward a subject that isn’t to be mentioned, ever. There are some rules even I canna break.”
So he hadn’t implied his intention to end my life. Had only meant I verged on breaking a rule punishable by death, all because I’d spoken of a subject that shouldn’t be named. Which was…what? Not being the real Isobel? I swallowed. In order for a subject to receive a not-to-be-discussed designation, it had to be discussed at least once before. Had this kind of travesty happened to someone else?
But maybe I was wrong and misunderstood his point. Maybe Isobel hadn’t switched bodies with me.Please, be wrong. In a few hours, the drugs might wear off, ending a mass hallucination.
The crowd congratulated us on our nuptials. While Callen smiled and enchanted one and all, I stood silent, mostly ignored by the attendees, desperate to stroke a coin no longer in my possession, expecting someone, anyone, to clock my true identity and make the madness go away. But one hour bled into another, and all I got was dirtier, sorer feet. People noticed my black cherry-tipped toenails, the focus of many surprised glances and frowns. Absolutely everyone referred to me as ‘Isobel’ or ‘Mrs. Bruce.’ Worse,my reflection remained unaltered. A tall, disheveled redhead with freckles.
We’re going to trade, you and I.
A sense of doom swirled in my mind. This was real, wasn’t it? No matter how farfetched, there was no denying it anymore. Somehow, Isobel Campbell—now Isobel Bruce—had truly traded bodies with me. Callen believed I was his brand-new wife, someone he apparently disdained with every fiber of his being. The rest of Scotland concurred.
