Chapter 23
Kat stared at her reflection, nearly surprised there was anything there to see. It seemed more likely, with as hollow as she’d felt over the last few days, that there’d be nothing more than a silhouette or a shadow.
But there she was in a red sequin dress, hair in a loose curl down her back, and makeup done to perfection.
The countdown to the live airing had begun. In less than twenty minutes, she’d step onto a bright stage with a live studio audience and tell Lisa Throw, the host of Married at First Meet, who she’d like to stay with over the next six weeks.
A wry chuckle cracked in her throat. Even she didn’t know the answer to that.
“Did you say something?” the woman doing her makeup asked.
Kat shook her head. “No, sorry. There was something in my throat.”
The gal studied her for a bit before swirling a fluffy brush over a highlighting pallet.
Kat let her eyes drift shut as she smoothed the loaded brush over her forehead, down the bridge of her nose, and the apples of her cheeks.
Just as the soft surface moved toward her chin, the sound of a man’s voice spilled into the room.
“I don’t care if I’m not supposed to be back here. Kat’s my daughter and I have something to say to her.”
Kat shook her head. Bless Dad and his stubborn ways.
“Katrina?” he came again. “You back here?”
“Right here, Dad,” she called.
The makeup artist looked from Kat to her rather tall father as he approached. “I think we’re ready,” she said. “I’ll let you two talk.”
“Thanks.”
Dad huffed out a heavy sigh as he eyed Kat through the mirror. “I know you’re upset with Zander for what he did…”
“Dad,” Kat blurted. “I can’t rehash all of this right now.
I’m already a mess as it is.” For days, Kat had been ripped apart, mourning the loss of something she wasn’t sure she ever really had.
In the process, she’d found a very welcome distraction: anger.
And since she chose to embrace that instead, Kat felt a whole lot stronger.
“Let me at least say this…” Her dad moved around the chair until they were face to face.
The vanity lights reflected off the tan tone of his skin as he squared that I’m-chief-of-this-family look at her.
“You know I can be a stubborn man. Had I not married someone as flexible as your dear mother, we’d have both snapped long ago.
“But Kat, heaven knows we all need forgiveness in this life.”
“He ruined the whole experiment, Dad. I put so much trust in this. I put my whole life on hold to meet the man that science said was right for me, and I haven’t even met him yet.”
“Yeah, but you did meet a man that you thought was right for you,” he countered. “Why are you so quick to dismiss that?”
“Because…” Kat had a list of reasons at the ready, but the intensity in her father’s eyes erased that list in a blink.
This was a losing battle, and she knew it.
So she stuck with the facts instead. The ones that infuriated her most. “Dad, he tricked us. He tricked you, he tricked me…and then he kept the whole lie going. I confided in him about Bradley, about how much his lies hurt me, and still…he didn’t tell me. ”
“Well, how in tarnation did you expect him to tell you after that?” Dad lowered himself onto one knee and reached for her hands.
“Katrina Aponi, this is not about your past. Look at this rationally, will you? What’s his greatest crime?
The guy stepped in for his brother, not knowing what he was in for.
” He chuckled under his breath. “Not knowing he’d have his heart stolen by my beautiful daughter in the process.
He didn’t ask for this anymore than you did. ”
“Yeah, but he knew. I didn’t.”
A massive sigh fell from his lips. Kat could see that she’d pushed him to his edge, but she couldn’t let up. “I’m half you, you know. I can be stubborn too.”
“If you’re not willing to hear him out,” Dad said, “if you’re not even willing to give him a chance, then why are you here?”
Kat’s shoulders dropped in surrender. “Because I have a contract. I could get sued if I don’t hold up my end of the deal. But if I had it my way, I’d hop in a cab and tell the driver to keep on driving until we were far, far away.”
Dad shook his head. “Kat…”
“I know,” she said. “I can’t run away from this. But I’m not ready to hear him out. And I don’t think I should have to simply because…because I don’t have enough money to fight it.”
“Is that what you really want? To get out of your contract?”
“Yes! I’m legally obligated to stay under the same roof as the man they picked for me until the duration of the show. And while I can choose which of the men it will be, I’d rather just walk away from all of it.”
Her dad came to his feet, grunting as he shifted his weight, and motioned for her to stand.
She did, and Dad tossed his arms around her. “I’m sorry I can’t afford to buy you that luxury, sweetheart. But perhaps if you really had the choice, you’d find you wanted to give him a second chance after all.”
Kat breathed in the familiar scent of her father’s cologne and sighed as a memory of Zander came to mind.
The heavenly smell of his aftershave. The way he, on their last day at the beach house, winked at her after patting it onto his neck and cheeks.
She couldn’t exactly agree with her dad, but there was no denying that she missed Zander. Terribly.
“Maybe,” she finally said. “But I guess we’ll never know.”
Ten feet. That’s what separated Zander from Kat and her father. That, and the heavy curtain that divided the long stretch of dressing rooms.
Less than four hours prior, Zander had learned about tonight’s live show. And now, just seconds ago, he’d heard something that made him want to surrender.
Kat was right—this wasn’t fair for her at all. The show should let her out of her contract completely. Heck, Marsha said herself that she’d been onto him the day of the wedding. Yet she’d let him take Duke’s place just the same. That had to mean something.
The sound of a closing door planted an idea in Zander’s head. Quickly, he darted toward his own exit, tugged it open, and peeked his head down the hall to see Kat’s dad.
“Psst,” he hissed through his teeth.
The man stopped, seeming to test his ears for a bit before taking another step.
Zander tried again. “Mr. Morgan,” he whispered.
This time he spun to look over his shoulder. “Zander?” he asked, scurrying back down the hallway.
“Yes,” he said. “Can I speak with you for a minute?” he motioned to a hidden foyer across the hall. An array of fresh fruit, granola bars, and bottled juice rested on a counter along the wall. Zander pointed to a far corner before leading the way.
“I overheard you speaking to Kat,” he admitted. “Just parts, and I wanted to make you an offer.”
The man’s dark brows knitted together. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Kat should be able to fight the contract if she wants to. And if money’s the only thing keeping her from doing that…I’ll pay her attorney fees. Anonymously, of course.”
The man’s eyes widened. His lips parted, but no words came.
Zander ignored the ache that ripped through him. This could cost him the chance to make things right with her. Heck, she might skip the live production entirely. But if Kat wasn’t willing to listen, perhaps she wasn’t in love with him after all.
“Just tell her that…I don’t know, you got an offer from an anonymous donor. And that if she wants out, she can get out without facing the backlash.” It felt as if his chest might collapse after he’d said it, the fear of losing her like a body-sized vice.
A hint of moisture welled in her dad’s eyes as he stared at a spot on the floor. At last he nodded and met eyes with Zander once more.
“You’re really in love with her?”
He nodded. “Deeply.”
“Yet you’re willing to let her go?”
Zander gave him the subtle nod of his head. “If that’s what she wants.”
The man scratched his jaw. “Well, I’ll be…” He reached out then, slapped a hand to Zander’s back, and pulled him in for a mighty grizzly-style hug. “That a boy.”
New emotions stirred within him. Zander had lost his own father years ago, but he’d be danged if this man’s warm embrace didn’t reach into that inner child of his, and he couldn’t help but bask in his approval.
“Kat’s a lucky woman,” her dad said, giving him one last pat. “I’ll do what you said. And I hope she makes the right choice.” He pulled back then, smeared his sleeve over his face, and headed back toward the hallway. But two steps into it he stopped short.
“You know what her middle name means?” he asked without looking back.
The image popped into Zander’s mind in a blink. Aponi—butterfly. “Yes, sir.”
He nodded, then sniffed. “Thank you, for loving her enough to give her wings. Now let’s see how she’s going to use them.”