Nantucket Romance 3-in-1 Bundle (50 page)

“You’ll do great.” Lucas seemed to read her thoughts. “Dr. Phil will probably make you a regular if you’re not careful.”

“I don’t think I’m ready to move to Hollywood.”

Lucas smiled. “Good.”

Kate glanced at her watch. “I should get to my gate.” She pulled her boarding pass and driver’s license from her suit pocket.

“Have a safe flight.” Lucas looked over her shoulder, and Kate knew he was conscious of Dahlia. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss. The gentleness of his touch tugged at her, even with the brevity of it. Would she ever get used to him kissing her? Wasn’t it supposed to become old hat after a while?

Now, as Kate waited for the cameras to roll, she touched her lips, remembering the way they had tingled after the kiss.

Do I have feelings for Lucas? Feelings that go beyond friendship?

Before she could chase the thought, one of the crew gave the signal for taping to begin, and the show was underway. Her couple was up first, thankfully.

Dr Phil started. “Today we have Hope and Ryan. They’ve been married for eight months and are wondering if they’re just too different to make it work. Come on, guys, you’re supposed to be in the deliriously happy newlywed stage, so what gives?”

Hope twined her fingers with Ryan’s. “The delirious stage lasted about two days for us.”

“It was a whirlwind kind of courtship,” Ryan said. “I guess we didn’t know each other very well, didn’t realize how different we were.”

“How long did you all date?” Dr. Phil asked.

They looked at each other; then Hope cringed. “Five weeks.”

The audience groaned.

“Five weeks!” Dr. Phil’s voice rose. “You barely know how he takes his coffee in five weeks.”

“I know, I know,” Hope said. “It was impetuous, and we regret that we didn’t wait longer. I guess I let the whole ‘falling in love’ thing go to my head. I mean, we are in love, and we want to make it work. But we’re so different—we just aren’t sure how to find a middle ground.”

“Well, they say opposites attract,” Dr. Phil said. “Tell us what your hot buttons are. What are the differences that drive you crazy?”

Hope and Ryan eyed each other again. “I guess our spending habits are one of the biggest issues,” Hope admitted. “It’s not like I go on spending sprees or anything, but I like to dress nicely, and Ryan was raised to be more tightfisted—

“Frugal,” Ryan corrected. “I believe in a budget.”

“And I think ‘What’s money for if you can’t spend a little?’” Hope wrinkled her nose.

They went on to discuss their differing views on household duties, their differing social needs, and their differing recreational preferences.

“Well,” Dr. Phil said. “We brought in reinforcements on this one. Dr. Kate, syndicated columnist and author of the newly released
Finding Mr. Right-for-You
is here to see if we can’t help you two make this thing work out.”

Kate smiled as the camera focused on her, and the audience applauded. She could feel prickles of heat singeing the skin under her arms.

“Dr. Kate has something else in common with you two—she’s also a newlywed, so congratulations on that.”

“Thank you.” Kate smiled.

“Now, Dr. Kate,” Dr. Phil said, “We know you advocate investing the time and energy to make a solid match, but what about situations like this? Are they too different to make it work?”

Kate felt a bolt of energy at the opportunity to help Hope and Ryan. How many times had she advised similar couples in her office? At least this couple hadn’t waited until they had years of animosity between them.

“First of all,” Kate began, “Congratulations on your marriage and on your willingness to seek help from the beginning. Every marriage is a merging of two personalities—sometimes more if there are children involved. When you’re blending two sets of ideals and expectations, there’s bound to be conflict. And when you’re opposites, there’s a greater amount of conflict.”
Boy, can I relate to that.

“The key,” she continued, “is to determine which areas need changing and find the middle ground. Pick your battles. Does it really matter that he balls up his socks before he throws them in the hamper? Probably not. Does it matter that you disagree on how much of your income is expendable? Definitely.”

Kate swallowed, hoping nobody could tell how dry her mouth was. “Relationships are constantly negotiated,” she added. “Opposites can make it work if they’re both willing to find the middle ground. And both of you seem willing to make this work.”

“We are,” Hope said. “But every time we have discussions about our differences, we end up arguing.”

Kate jumped in. “It’s important to choose the right timing when you discuss your differing opinions. For instance, the arrival of the Visa bill isn’t a good time to discuss Hope’s spending habits. It’s too late, and that leaves Ryan feeling stressed and out of control.”

“Exactly,” Ryan said. “I’m already angry that she’s spent the money without regard for my budget.”

Dr. Phil spoke up. “And, Hope, did you sit down with Ryan and work out this budget, or was it foisted upon you?”

Hope nodded. “Ryan did the budget on his own. There is no room for good shoes in that budget.”

The audience laughed.

“A woman’s got to have good shoes, Ryan,” Dr. Phil said. “Rule number one.”

He turned toward the camera. “You can read more about how to find a suitable mate in Dr. Kate’s book
Finding Mr. Right-for-You
.” There was a close-up of her book cover, then Dr. Phil continued. “All right, next we have a blended family who can’t seem to blend.” He looked at Hope and Ryan. “And you thought blending two was tough! We’ll be right back.”

After the show, Kate slid into the black limo for her trip to the airport. In the back of the car, her nerves still jangled. It had been an exciting experience, and she felt giddy with energy. She’d already celebrated with Pam, Chloe, and Ronald in the green room, but now that she was away from the moment, she wanted to share it with a friend. Before she would have called Bryan, but who did she call now?

Anna? No, her former assistant was out of town with her new job.

Her dad? She considered it a moment, then took out her cell and dialed. It rang and rang before going over to voice mail, and she hung up.

She had to tell somebody. What good was exciting news if she had no one to share it with?

Well, I know exactly who I could call.

Well, then, Kate, just do it.

She dialed Lucas’s shop, and when Ethan answered, she asked for Lucas. As she waited, she second-guessed herself. Would he find it odd that she’d phoned him when she’d see him at the airport in several hours? Why should he even care how the show had gone? It was her career, her book. In a matter of months, she’d be nothing to him but a name on the divorce papers.

Shoot, why did I call him? Maybe I should hang up.
Kate pulled the phone from her ear.

“Hello?”

She put the phone back. “Hi, it’s Kate.”

“Hey!” He sounded happy to hear from her. “How’d it go?”

Kate relaxed a bit. He didn’t seem confused by her call. “It went very well. Quick, but good.”

“All your worries were for nothing. I knew you’d do great.”

“Easy for you to say. You weren’t the one on national TV.”

He chuckled, and she realized she missed the warmth of his laugh. “That’s why I make furniture and you give interviews.”

She sighed, the excitement of the morning giving way to something calmer.

“Where are you now?”

“In the back of a limousine.” The driver turned onto the freeway and accelerated.

“Aren’t you special. How was the hotel?”

“Gorgeous, accommodating, and pristine. You could have eaten off the floors.”

“Hope you didn’t get too accustomed to that.”

“Don’t worry—I’m already anticipating the condition of the house.”

He chuckled again, and Kate let a comfortable silence fall as she settled back into the leather seats.

“My flight’s running on time. The question is, will you be?” she joked.

“Only time will tell,” he retorted.

“Is that supposed to be a pun? It might help if you wore a watch, you know.”

“What fun would that be?”

Kate chuckled. He was hopeless. “I guess I’ll meet you outside baggage claim. Do you have my flight number?”

“Uh, let’s see.” She heard crackling, like he was holding the phone between his ear and shoulder. He was probably riffling through his cluttered wallet.

Some things never changed. “Here, let me give it to you again.” Kate consulted her ticket and rattled off the flight number and arrival time.

When they hung up, Kate tucked the ticket into her suit coat and looked out the window, watching palm trees and tall buildings go by. In two weeks, the show would be broadcast, and the sales of her book, already good, from what Rosewood told her, might just skyrocket. Would it hit the
New York Times
bestseller list? She could only keep her fingers crossed. It couldn’t hurt to have Dr. Phil announcing her title on the air.

But she couldn’t quell the niggling fear that national attention would expose her to personal scrutiny. And now that she’d gone so public, what was to stop someone from digging around and finding out the truth? The answer was as close as Bryan and his family. Or, more likely, Stephanie.

Now that she was in the public eye, reporters would jump at the chance to smear her reputation. And, for the first time, she realized it wouldn’t only be her reputation that got ruined. What would the exposure do to Lucas and his family? Jamie might already know the truth, but the rest of his family would feel betrayed, and Lucas would suffer the scrutiny and distrust of his own hometown.

What am I doing?

It felt as though she’d been asking herself that question every day for the past month. And she still didn’t know the answer.

There’s chemistry, and then there’s chemistry.
Don’t be blinded by mere sexual attraction.

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

Chapter Seventeen

“Ready?” Kate heard Lucas call from the shop downstairs.

She saved her article and grabbed her purse. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, Lucas was waiting, keys in hand.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Taking you home to watch the show.”

“Oh.” The realization that he wanted to see it sent warmth through Kate. She avoided his gaze as she slid past. “Well, come on, then. It starts in fifteen.”

After a quick trip home, Kate flipped on the TV, and Lucas made a pot of coffee. Kate’s fingers fluttered like a ship’s sails as she waited.

A tap sounded at the front door. Roy peeked around the edge.

“Hello! We’re not late, are we?” He entered, followed by Susan, Brody, and Jamie.

“Oh, my goodness, you all came.” Kate hadn’t expected it to be a family affair.

“We wouldn’t miss this for the world, would we, dear?” Roy said. “It’s your national debut.”

The group of them congregated on and around the sofa.

“Are you nervous?” Jamie asked.

“A little,” Kate said. “Which is silly since it’s taped.”

“I’m sure you did fabulously,” Roy said. “I’ll bet your book is going to make that bestseller list yet. We have a real celebrity in the family!”

Kate glanced at Jamie, feeling awkward at the mention of family. Jamie withdrew a romance novel from her bag and propped it open on the arm of the couch.

“Coffee, anyone?” Lucas asked from the kitchen.

“Sure.” Roy grabbed the remote and turned up the volume.

“Turn it down, Roy; that’s too loud,” Susan said.

Brody checked his watch. “You better hurry. Two minutes and counting.”

Kate sank into the armchair.

“When is your segment on?” Brody asked.

“It’s first—if they air it in the order they taped it.”

Moments later, Lucas handed Kate and Roy their mugs, then retrieved his own cup and sat on the arm of Kate’s chair. Bo settled on the rug beside Jamie and she scratched behind his ears.

“Hey, his icky yellow beard is gone.”

Kate had donned rubber gloves the day before and scrubbed the mutt’s chin. “I cleaned him up and put cornstarch in the fur under his mouth.”

The corner of Lucas lips twitched. “Cornstarch?”

“It’s amazing what you can learn when you Google something.”

The
Dr. Phil
theme song began. “Be quiet; it’s on.” Roy increased the volume until Susan glared at him.

Jamie closed her book and leaned forward.

As they watched the opening, Kate’s hands grew cold. Lucas’s family’s attention was rapt on the TV. She was the only reason they’d come. How easily they’d accepted her into their family, counting her as one of their own. Even Susan seemed to be giving her a chance. They couldn’t be more supportive if it were Lucas on the show.

I’m a horrible, horrible person.

Dr. Phil introduced Kate, and her face appeared on screen.