One

"Sister, I have found the man for you…"

Sydney Westbrook laughed at Tee's joyful words as she swiveled her chair away from her desk to see her boss standing behind her at the entrance of her cubicle. They weren't really sisters, as was evidenced by the fact that Tee was Vietnamese-American, while Syd was Portuguese, Italian, and English—an odd genetic combination that gave her a strangely exotic look. One that hadn't been bad until Angelina Jolie had stepped onto the Hollywood scene.

Try being an undercover agent with a very famous lookalike. There were times when she absolutely hated a woman she'd never even met.

But if she had to be the twin of what she often referred to as "that woman," she wished that she'd been given the body to match. Unfortunately, nature hadn't been quite that kind to her, and she was cursed with not only being short, but with big hips to match. Not to mention, she hadn't been the dress size of her famous counterpart since elementary school.

"You've got a man for me, huh?"

Tee nodded. "Yes, ma'am, and he's just what the doctor ordered." Tee handed her a folder. "Joshua Daniel Steele the second. Likes to scuba dive, restore vintage motorcycles, and play with firearms. He's six-two, dark-haired, dark-eyed. Ex-army. He's absolutely perfect for you."

As she scanned the folder's contents, she saw exactly why he was ex-Army, and it wasn't comforting in the least. "He's doing time?"

Tee shrugged. "A slight bump in the road, but we can go around it if you're interested."

Hmm… She paused to consider that. Convicts tended to come with a lot of emotional baggage, and the last thing she needed was a crybaby or a loon. Syd had never liked playing wet nurse to anyone. What she needed was a man with no issues who could do what she wanted without complaint or question—something that seemed to be impossible to find.

What was it with all these men who wanted to do things their way? Ugh!

But as Syd skimmed his dossier, she had to admit this man had some serious potential. "He's impressive."

And as she flipped to the pictures of him that were attached to the back of the folder, she amended that thought to very impressive.

The guy was definitely built for sin. His body was lean and hard from hours of Army training. He had dark, seductive eyes and a smile that should grace the cover of GQ. It was all she could do not whistle at the package he presented.

No man should be that ripped and tanned.

At least, not unless he was in her bed a night or two…

Squelching that line of thought, she closed the folder, then handed it back to Tee. "I have to be honest, I wasn't really looking for a pretty boy."

Before Tee could respond, a male voice rang out. "Oh, sheez, what's Syd Vicious doing back in town?"

Syd expelled an exasperated breath as the handsome, albeit stupid, Hunter Thornton-Payne paused outside her cube, just behind Tee. It was a pity the man was such a pompous jerk. He had the kind of smooth, sexy looks that were almost impossible to resist—until he opened his mouth. Then he was more repellent than a wildebeest in heat.

She arched a brow at him. "How'd the testicle retrieval go, Payne? You still limping?"

He narrowed his eyes at her before he continued on his way to his desk.

"Thought so," Syd said in a loud voice. "I got the thank-you card from Planned Parenthood last week. Seems they want to honor me for saving the gene pool."

She heard a chorus of laughter from the other federal agents in the office.

Copyright © 2005 by Sherrilyn Kenyon