The Billionaire's Twin Secret Read online

  The Billionaire’s Twin Secret

  A BWWM Romance

  By

  Imani King

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  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, businesses and incidents are from the author’s imagination or they are used fictitiously and are definitely fictionalized. Any trademarks or pictures herein are not authorized by the trademark owners and do not in any way mean the work is sponsored by or associated with the trademark owners. Any trademarks or pictures used are specifically in a descriptive capacity. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons living or dead, is coincidental.

  © January, 2019. Imani King

  BOOK DESCRIPTION

  Their daughters give them a bond they never expected ... but will past traumas and malicious interference steal away their second chance?

  Nine years ago, Candace fled her home town and her best friend, Aric ...

  ... and Aric married the woman he thought was carrying his child.

  Candace has never gotten over the only man she ever really wanted, but she's built a new life around her daughter and done her best to forget him.

  All that changes the day she sees Aric at Lyric's school. Now a widower, he has a daughter the same age as hers ... and the two girls could be sisters.

  Candace and Aric quickly realize they still have feelings for each other, but rekindling their relationship won't be a simple matter. No matter how much they want each other -- no matter how close their daughters have grown -- they haven't accounted for the schemes of an evil twin.

  Will a sinister plot destroy their trust in each other and any chance at a happy future?

  Chapter One

  “Come on, Kenny, you don’t have a twin sister,” Aric said to his daughter, struggling hard to keep a straight face. “And I should know – I am your dad, remember?”

  “Don’t be silly, daddy.” His daughter rolled her green eyes at him even as she slapped his hand away. She was wrestling with her school bag, trying to get her arms through the tangled straps.

  He tried to help her, but she wouldn’t have any of it. She was a ‘big girl’ now and could do a lot of things by herself – she had been telling him those words since her sixth birthday. Not that it ever stopped him anyway. Even now, he still grabbed the straps and untangled them for her.

  Right now, his honey bear was impatient with him and he struggled even harder not to laugh.

  She glared at him. “That’s a metaphor! A metaphor!” she glared at him looking like the picture of the warrior princess emblazoned on her school bag.

  He guessed Mrs. Smith had just taught them metaphor in school. Hmm. Come to think of it, he had been the one to teach her the word – the imp!

  Aric’s mouth twitched as he grabbed his car keys from off the vanity table in his room. It was a Thursday morning and he was about to take Kenny to school. However, she didn’t seem ready to let up on the subject she had started since Monday. They’d recently moved to Chicago and Kenny just started at a new school, but she was already convinced that some girl in her class was her twin sister. Well, she hadn’t really said so, he admitted to himself ruefully. She had only said that they looked alike and everyone thought they must be twins.

  Now, his daughter wanted to have a sleepover at the other girl’s house this weekend. She hadn’t even spent a full week in the school. But then, she had been so serious and passionate about the whole ‘we look just alike’ thing that he hadn’t been able to resist teasing her a bit. He knew how his daughter hated to be teased.

  “All right, honey bear, I hear you loud and clear,” he said. “This girl looks just like you, right?”

  His baby girl sighed. “Yes, daddyyyy!”

  His lips twitched again. His daughter was fast losing her patience with him – not that Kennedy Simmons was ever a patient one. His little lady was as impatient as she was independent. At eight, she was already fierce, bold and beautiful and his heart burst with much love and pride whenever she was with him. It was a good thing she looked so much like him, too.

  He walked ahead of her out of the room. She was beside him in a second, bouncing on her toes.

  “So am I going to her house for the sleep over or not?” she asked in her candid way.

  As if she would ever take ‘No’ for an answer.

  They were out of the house now and Aric locked the door. Kenny stood by the door looking up at him.

  “Well…” he began.

  “Don’t say no, dad.” She folded her arms and pouted.

  It was Aric’s turn to sigh. All his evasive tactics weren’t going to work, he knew. Kennedy was far too smart and just a little bit too pushy for her own good. She would employ all the tricks in the book just to convince him. He chuckled as he imagined just what an Amazon she would grow up to be. He had his hands full already and she was just eight.

  He sighed again. “Okay, tell me about this girl again,” he yielded. “Beatrice? That’s her name, isn’t it?”

  She looked so fierce, he wouldn’t be surprised if she growled.

  “It is Lyric!”

  While Aric was trying hard not to laugh, he wondered what kind of woman named her child Lyric. Like lyrics of a song, or what? He hadn’t forgotten the name though – he only wanted the exact reaction he got from Kenny.

  “All right, honey bear, tell me about Lyric.”

  He escorted her to the car and helped her to settle in the back seat. He reached out to strap her in – but she quickly grasped the seatbelt and strapped it on smartly for herself. Since her mother had died, she wanted to sit with him in the front passenger seat, but that was one thing about which he wouldn’t budge. In the back seat she would stay, no matter what.

  “Told you that I can do this too, dad!” She rolled her eyes.

  “Forgive me,” he murmured playfully. He tweaked her nose and strutted over to the driver’s side, got into his seat and switched on the ignition. “So, tell me about Lyric,” he invited.

  His daughter’s eyes warmed over and her face became animated. “She is the most brilliant girl in class – Mrs. Smith said so. She answers all the questions correctly and there is nobody who doesn’t like her.” His daughter’s eyes danced as she spoke about her classmate which she obviously admired. “And she is really nice – she came to say hello during lunch on Monday, I told you that already. I’m really glad she did ‘cause I really like her. Do you know that we are the same age?”

  “Well, that isn’t surprising honey bear, you are in the same class. That tends to happen a lot.”

  His teasing remark did nothing to deter his daughter’s rapid flow of words.

  “Her birthday is May 10th and mine is March 10th. Isn’t that amazing, daddy?”

  “Yes, it is,” he allowed.

  “And she looks just like me!”

  Aric sighed. There we go again. “You keep saying that honey bear,” he said carefully.

  While Aric was glad his daughter had quickly made a friend in her first week at her new school, he wanted to be careful about this too. It wasn’t quite a month since her mother died and even though Shawna hadn’t been the best mom in the world – in fact, quite the opposite - he worried that Kennedy might still be a bit affected by the whole sordid circumstances surrounding her mother’s death. The girl hadn’t acted like she missed her mom, but then, she had never been close to her. He and his honey bear had bonded from day one and he always felt a little guilty about that; in fact, he suspected it was one of the reasons Shawna detested him so much.

  He shook off his melancholy though
ts and concentrated on his daughter.

  “That’s because it is true,” Kenny insisted. “Okay, I’ll tell you just how much we look alike. We both have dark brown hair—”

  “—so do a million girls in the States,” he interrupted, tongue in cheek.

  “We both have green eyes—”

  “As with a million other girls, too,” he cut in again laughingly, but added this time around, “but I bet hers isn’t near as beautiful as yours.”

  “We have the same tiny mole on our left cheek!” Kenny said, totally ignoring his last remark.

  Kennedy said the last with a bit of victory in her voice. And rightly so, too. Aric blamed himself for the gloating look on her face. He had spent the last eight years telling his daughter that the black mole on her left cheek was a unique feature that made the Simmons family beautiful. Now, the imp was using his own words against him.

  “That is one big coincidence,” he said slowly.

  Kennedy gave him a look that clearly said, “I told you so.”

  Aric recognized a lost battle when he saw one. They were nearing her school already and he knew that Kennedy Leila Simmons was not going to get out of the car before she got a satisfactory answer from him. Aric thought quickly; he knew he couldn’t fob off just any answer on the smart little lady either. She could spot a lie ten miles off; moreover, they never told each other lies. He’d taught his honey bear not to lie and to detest lies right from the cradle.

  About twenty minutes later, he parked the car. After switching off the engine, he turned to her with a serious look. Kenny stared at him gravely and he marveled again at how much she looked like him. His heart soared with love for her.

  “You know what, Kenny?” he began, this time not using her pet name.

  Her gaze turned expectant. “Yes, daddy?”

  “I will let you know if you can have that sleepover right after I have a talk with this Lyric’s mother.”

  Kenny released the seatbelt and in quick time she rushed at him, not mindful of the fact that he was still in the driver’s seat while she was in the back and grabbed him around his neck in a bear hug. “Oh daddy, I love you sooooo much.” She planted several wet kisses on his neck, his face, his ears, damn near anywhere she could reach without choking him to death. Finally, she released him. “I am sure Lyric’s mom is really cool. She is going to ask her mom to let me come over just like I am asking you. Now, I can tell her that you’d like to meet.”

  And before he could open his mouth to say a word, his daughter reached over and kissed his cheek, yet again. She, then, opened the car door and all but leapt outside. “I love you, daddy,” she said as she slammed the door.

  “I love you too, honey bear!” he said right back at her, but he doubted she heard him.

  With a smile and a rueful shake of his head, he watched her as she bounced right up to the front doors of the school. Always so full of energy, his Kennedy. He continued to stare at the doors long after Kennedy disappeared behind them. Many school children of different sizes, ages and ethnicities opened and closed them as they entered the school building. Many of them walked in pairs and small groups and chattered non-stop. He observed the scene as if from a distance, his mind wandering far away.

  He was in an entirely new city, far away from the home he had known most of his life, the home where he had raised his daughter, too. But it was a necessary move. Back in New Orleans, he had left many bad memories – although there were some good ones too, he admitted.

  The best of which was his Candy.

  Aric shook his head at the name. Candace hated when he called her that. He smiled at the thought. It was a long time since they’d last seen each other, he wondered if he would ever see her again. It was if she’d literally dropped off the face of the earth after his marriage. He hadn’t tried to look for her either. Kennedy had come into his life and she became his number one priority. She remained his number one priority up to this day, which was the reason why, he reminded himself as he shook the lingering memories off, he was skeptical about this sleepover she wanted so badly.

  Undoubtedly, his daughter made fast friends and she was the type to always have little girls over at their house – not the other way round. Kennedy had been having girls in her class come for a sleepover since she was five and Aric never had a problem with it. He was always around with her nanny to make sure t the girls were comfortable and had a nice time. And to keep Shawna away from them, too, he could admit now. He never wanted Kenny’s alcoholic mother anywhere near his daughter and her friends.

  He didn’t know who this girl or her mother was. What kind of a woman was she? Apparently, the kind who called her child Lyric, he decided none-too-nicely. During the week, when Kenny talked about her new friend, she had said that like her, Lyric did not have a second parent – that the girl’s father had died before she got to know him. The thought had been sobering because the way Kenny said it, it was like her own mother had died a long time ago, as well, instead of just barely a month. He hated to think what that meant to his little girl. He wanted to protect her, dammit.

  And when Kenny started talking about a sleepover, he had started to worry.

  For one, he didn’t know if the girl’s mother had high morals and values. What if she drank heavily? What if she snapped at her daughter? What if she flirted with any and every man without thinking about if her daughter saw her or not? What if she was the type who didn’t care about anything or anyone, except her own self?

  Aric knew that his vision was clouded by past incidences with his wife, but he couldn’t help it. He had spent so much time, so much effort, especially in light of recent events, trying to do right by his daughter that he wasn’t willing to let one sleepover mess it all up.

  He would have to make good on his words and meet with the woman. He hadn’t even asked for Lyric’s surname. He could have done a little bit of background check while they arranged to meet. Making a mental note to ask his daughter for Lyric’s full name when he came back to pick her from school, he put his car in reverse to pull out of the lot.

  It was time to get to work.

  He was due to be in an important meeting in another—he glanced quickly at the clock on the dashboard— nine minutes. He swore. The drive to his office would take a bit longer than that. Apparently, he had spent much too long woolgathering than he should have.

  The meeting was with a potential client who wanted to retail his wares on a big scale. He had met the man two months ago at one of those social events he hated to go to since it meant he was away from Kenny for an extended period of time. But those kinds of functions were necessary by virtue of his businesses and connections. There, he had met Lyon Stone, an old but filthy rich sports aficionado who told him of how long he had wanted to do business with him. It had sounded like a serious deal. They had kept in touch and three weeks ago, just after Shawna’s death, the man said he was ready to start something. Thankfully, Aric was in the process of opening his new chain of stores in Chicago and moving there. Mr. Stone had said he would be in Chicago pretty soon, too.

  Today, he was running late. Mr. Stone didn’t seem like the type who came late to a meeting. He wasn’t either.

  Thinking fast, he grabbed his mobile phone to call his office.

  Jessica, his personal assistant, picked up on the first ring.

  “Is Mr. Stone there?” he asked immediately.

  “He walked in about five minutes ago.

  Shit.

  “Thanks Jess,” he said and ended the call.

  He called the man himself. “Hi, Lyon, I’m running late. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

  “Take your time, Aric. Jessica already told me you drop off your daughter at school every morning. Reminds me of a time I did the same thing for fifteen years without fail.” He chuckled. “She is all grown up and married now, though, and pretends I never kissed her off at the school gate right until she left for college.”

  Aric laughed gratefully.

 
He was about to drive out of the school car parking lot when he noticed a silver car pulling out in front of him. Perhaps, it was another parent dropping off their kid. He had to wait for the driver to finish turning. Just like his, the windows of the car were pulled up but he could have sworn he knew the driver.

  Could it be Candace Parker behind the wheel?

  The driver was definitely a woman judging from the physique visible from where he sat but she had made the turning so fast he couldn’t really be certain. All he saw was the woman’s profile. Why then had he thought it could be Candace?

  “Must be because I just thought of her,” he muttered.

  He watched the car leave and followed, frowning. He was really thinking of her too much these days. He needed to stop before he thought every woman with black hair was her.

  He dragged his mind back to the meeting ahead, thinking of ways to engage Lyon Stone in a business deal that benefitted them both handsomely. Upon approaching the red traffic light, eased his car to a stop and noticed that the silver car was right beside him. Soft music drifted to his ears and this time, the driver’s window was down. He couldn’t stop himself from taking a look.

  He would recognize the smooth dark brown skin anywhere. He could never forget those high cheekbones and stubborn jaw.

  She wasn’t looking his way but was staring straight ahead as if impatient for the traffic light to turn green. He couldn’t believe his eyes. All these years, he had wondered where she could have been and here she was, right beside him. He only needed to look into her eyes to assure himself that he wasn’t dreaming her up. One look and he could be sure.

  “Candy.”

  He said the name softly and didn’t expect her to hear him since music was coming from her radio, but she turned and looked his way. He held his breath.

  Her eyes were the color of his favorite coffee. It was Candace Parker all right.

  She looked the same after all these years; no, she was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her eyes widened as she saw him, making their color look like tempered chocolate. Her full lips formed a perfect ‘O’ and she blinked rapidly as if trying to wake up from a very bad dream.