Nantucket Romance 3-in-1 Bundle (49 page)

A bolt of fear struck her thoughts.
What if Stephanie leaks the information to the media? What if she told them Bryan was supposed to be my husband and that I’m nothing but a fraud?

“Bryan, how did things end with you and Stephanie?”

The pause seemed to last a lifetime. “What do you mean?”

“How did things end?” she asked sharply. “Did you break it off? Was she upset?” She grasped the phone tightly, wanting to wring the answer from it.

“I broke it off,” Bryan said. “She was upset. Why, Kate?”

Kate descended the deck steps and crossed the sandy grass toward the shoreline. “What if she goes to the media and tells them everything?” She felt like swearing herself. She didn’t know what kind of a person Stephanie was. Was she the vindictive sort?

“She wouldn’t do that,” Bryan said.

“How do you know?” She wanted proof. Or better yet, a reason Stephanie wouldn’t want the news out that she’d broken up Dr. Kate’s marriage. Maybe she detested being in the spotlight or had a career that would be damaged by the gossip.

“She’s not like that. There would be no reason for her to do it.”

“You said she was upset.”

“Well, she was, but I think she’d—”

“You
think
or you know?” Kate kicked a hill of sand and took a breath.

“I’ll call her if it’ll make you feel better. I’ll do whatever I have to do to protect you, I promise.”

His tone was sincere, but the last promise Bryan had made ended with her at the altar saying “I do” to another man.

Lucas turned off the griddle and scooped the bacon onto a plate. It clanked as he set it too hard on the table. He opened the oven and removed the warming pancakes.

He had no idea how long Kate would be on the phone, but he was going to eat while it was hot. He scooted his chair back and sank into it. Bo, knowing better than to beg for food, settled on the rug beside him.

When Bryan had identified himself, Lucas had wanted to ask what business he had calling
his
home on a Saturday morning and asking to speak to his wife. He might have done it, if Kate hadn’t been standing there with her wide eyes and tousled wet hair.

She’d gone outside for privacy, but he’d heard every word through the open window.

Lucas grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite. He’d been relieved at Kate’s cool tone even though he knew she was only guarding her heart.

When he heard her say, “I’m married, Bryan,” he wondered what had prompted those words. Did Bryan want her back? Is that why he’d called?

The back door opened, and Kate entered. She set the phone in the cradle and joined him at the table. Her face revealed nothing. Was she wishing she’d never married him? Was she wishing it was Bryan at the breakfast table now?

Well, Bryan had left her for another woman. It was Lucas who’d cared enough to follow through. Lucas who’d stuck by her though all those publicity photos. Lucas who got up at the crack of dawn and fixed her eggs over easy, the way she liked them.

Kate picked up her fork, and the diamond on her finger glittered under the kitchen lights. Bryan’s diamond. Lucas wanted to slide it off her finger and toss it into the ocean.

He took a drink of coffee and set the mug down hard. It clattered against the saucer and splattered on the table. Without a word he stood and retrieved a towel, wiping up the mess before settling in his chair.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“Nothing.”
My wife’s ex-fiancé called my home and probably declared his love for her. What could be wrong?
He bit into his eggs.

“Well, something’s wrong.”

Lucas swallowed hard, trying to suppress words he shouldn’t say. “I don’t appreciate your ex-fiancé calling here, is all.” He applauded his calm tone. Across from him, he felt Kate still.

“I didn’t think—I mean—” She cleared her throat. “It’s not like this is a real—”

He looked at her, daring her to say it. Yeah, maybe it wasn’t a real marriage in theory, but there were feelings involved. His. And he’d been hoping hers were a little involved. Had he been wrong?

“I just meant—”

“I know what you meant, Kate.” Lucas stood and took his plate to the trash, dumping a half slice of bacon and the remainder of his sticky pancakes.

“Bryan was supposed to be my husband. Things ended very quickly and there was no time for closure—”

“I was there, remember?” He rinsed his plate in the sink, washing the yellowed yolk with the scrub brush.

“Of course you were.”

She said it so quietly, he almost didn’t hear over the running water.

“If you hadn’t married me, I’d—I don’t know what I would’ve done. I appreciate what you did. I hope you know that.”

Did her voice shake on those last words?

Lucas had too many emotions storming through him. He was still angry, and yet, from her point of view, it wasn’t justified. It couldn’t be unless she knew how he felt, and it was too soon for Kate to learn that.

“What did he want, if you don’t mind my asking?” He shut off the water and leaned on the sink ledge, keeping his back to her. His thumbs curled around the sink’s corners.

“Of course not.”

He heard her pick up her coffee cup and take a sip. It settled into the saucer with a quiet click.

“He had some unsettling news about the woman he was with. Apparently he broke it off with her and she’s somewhat upset.”

Lucas steeled himself at her words. What was to keep Kate from going back to him? Her career? Her book? Would she let those things stand in the way if she still loved Bryan?

“I’m concerned that she’s going to leak the news to the media,” Kate said. “If she’s angry enough, it would be a one heck of a way to retaliate.”

Lucas heard a scuffle on the deck. Bo? Then he remembered Bo was lying on the rug under the table. That meant . . .

Oh, shoot!
He leaned forward and peered out the window far enough to see Jamie running from the house.

“Jamie,” he called out the window, but she didn’t stop. He rushed after her, opening the door and taking the steps in one leap. Had she heard everything they’d said? “Jamie, wait!”

He caught up with her on the grassy knoll and took hold of her arm.

She jerked her arm from his grip. “Let go of me!” Her chest heaved.

“What were you doing snooping outside my house?”

“I wasn’t snooping. I came to talk to Kate and I heard you fighting.” She crossed her arms.

“We weren’t fighting.”

“It’s not my fault the window was open.”

Lucas stuffed his hands in his shorts pockets and thought back to what Jamie might have heard. They’d said enough. “It’s complicated, Jamie.”

His sister glared at him. “You lied to us.”

Lucas swallowed around the lump of pancakes that seemed to have congealed in his throat. He looked back at the house to where Kate stood on the deck, one foot in front of the other, as if torn about whether to stay or come. He waved her back. It would be better to handle Jamie alone.

“I don’t know how much you heard but—”

“I heard enough to know it’s all a big lie.”

“That’s enough. It’s not a lie. Kate was in a fix. Her career was on the line, and I stepped in to help her.”

“How could you just pretend to love each other? We all thought she was part of our family, and now you’re telling me it’s fake.”

Lucas turned toward the ocean. He remembered being out there with Kate the week before, remembered the feel of her in his arms when she’d been sick. There’d been nothing fake about that.

“I’m telling Mom and Dad the truth.” Jamie turned to go.

Lucas grabbed her wrist. “Don’t, Jamie.” If their mom knew the marriage wasn’t real, there would be no holding back the resentment. She’d scare Kate away for good.

His sister whirled around. “Why shouldn’t I? You should’ve been honest to begin with instead of making us think your marriage was real.”

“It
is
real.”

“I’m not a baby, Lucas. I know your marriage is real on paper, but it’s not real in here.” She tapped her heart. “And that’s the only thing that counts.”

All those romance novels had gone to his sister’s head. Sometimes reality couldn’t live up to the happily-ever-afters in her books.

“Can you keep a secret?” Lucas asked.

Jamie stared at him, her green eyes squinting against the glare of the sun. She crossed her arms. “You know I don’t like secrets.”

She was growing up. He remembered a time when she’d collected secrets like seashells.

“This is personal. Like your feelings for Aaron. I’d never tell anyone about that.”

He could see her acquiescence in the way she tucked in the corners of her mouth. “What is it?”

Lucas glanced over his shoulder toward the house. Kate had gone inside. “Kate loved Bryan.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “She probably still loves him, for all I know. She married me because she was backed into a corner and I was her only way out.”

Jamie’s eyes softened, and her squared shoulders relaxed.

Lucas turned his face into the wind and let the salty breeze push his hair off his face. “But I had different reasons.” Lucas met Jamie’s gaze, then took his hand from his pocket and touched his heart. His eyes clung to Jamie’s, and he saw hers glaze over.

“It’s not a fake marriage.” His voice deepened with emotion. “I love her. I’d lay down my life for her if necessary. Do you know how rare that kind of love is?”

Jamie blinked rapidly. “But she doesn’t love you?”

Lucas gave her a half smile. “I chose to love her. Whatever she does with that is her decision.”

Jamie sniffed. “That’s so sad.”

Great, now she pities me.
“Hey, she’s got to come around eventually, right?” He tapped her nose and struck a ridiculous pose. “I mean, what’s not to like about this?”

Jamie pushed him, but she smiled around her tears.

“Are we okay now?” Lucas asked. He couldn’t stand to have Jamie mad at him.

Jamie nodded.

“I can count on you to keep my secret?”

Jamie kicked his ankle with her flip-flop. “You know you can.”

Lucas pulled her toward him and held her there, his hand on her head. He realized it felt good to admit how he felt about Kate. A relief to release it.

Then he heard Jamie’s muffled voice. “And to think I was coming to
you
for love advice.”

If trust is the foundation of a relationship,
honesty is the mortar that holds it in place.

—Excerpt from
Finding Mr. Right-for-You
by Dr. Kate

Chapter Sixteen

Kate clutched her hands in her lap, feeling her palms grow hot and sweaty. Dr. Phil’s set looked exactly as it did on TV. She’d already been coached by Pam and Chloe, her publicist and her editor. Her agent, Ronald, had also met her at the studio for emotional support. But now she was on her own. When she’d left the green room, Dr. Phil had welcomed her graciously and congratulated her on her new book.

But now, as the cameras were ready to roll, Kate felt as if her nervous system was on overload. The newlyweds she was to advise sat on stage with Dr. Phil. The crew was placing mikes on their lapels and giving them last-minute instructions. Hope was a cute blonde with a pixie face and good taste in shoes. Ryan had dark hair, well trimmed, and repeatedly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his finger.

Kate was grateful to be on the first row of the audience rather than under the bright lights of the stage. Beside her was a child psychologist who was there to advise a family in crisis. She’d brought her husband, and they whispered back and forth. On Kate’s other side were the parents of the couple Kate was to advise.

Kate straightened her suit coat, making sure the mike was well placed, then twisted the earrings Lucas had gotten her.

Be still, Kate. It’s not live, only tape. And they can edit if anything goes wrong.

Oh, please, don’t let anything go wrong!

She wished she had someone beside her to tell her everything was going to be okay. At that thought, Lucas’s image flared in her mind like a Fourth of July firework. And just as quickly she reared back in surprise.
What is with me? I’m an independent woman.
She was accustomed to being on her own, and no one needed to tell her she didn’t need a man to be happy. She’d been dispensing that advice for years.

But her thoughts returned to her last few moments with Lucas at the airport the day before. He’d managed to get her there on time and had insisted on walking her to the counter where she checked in. Then he walked her to security. Among the people being herded through security, Kate recognized Dahlia Stevens from the Chamber of Commerce, setting her bag and laptop in a gray tub. She waved at Kate and Lucas.

“Our first night apart,” Lucas teased, setting her bag down.

“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep without your snoring.”

“I don’t snore.”

“Hah!” she said, and he grinned.

There was an awkward moment when they realized it was time to say good-bye. Kate was about to leave Lucas for the first time since their wedding. She was excited about the show, but also nervous. She wasn’t used to hiding personal secrets and certainly not from the country at large. Now she would be on national TV, and what if something went wrong?