Chapter 24
Kat peeked through the crack in the massive drapes as Lisa Throw introduced the live episode. Amidst the introduction, the popular host promised loads of action, drama, and surprises that no one would see coming.
All of it set Kat’s growing anxiety into train-wreck speed. As soon as the woman introduced her, Kat would walk out and face not only the audience but Zander too.
An ache pinched at her heart at the idea of seeing him again.
“Kat,” someone hissed from behind.
Kat stiffened at the sound of her name. She spun to look over her shoulder, certain she’d see Randall and his shiny face filled with worry, ready to shoo her onto the stage. She didn’t.
“Dad?” Forget train-wreck speed, her pulse was racing up there with jet airplanes by now. “You can’t be back stage like this.”
“It’s fine. Your mom’s saving my seat.” He brought his hands to her shoulders and squared a look at her. “I found a way out.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean an acquaintance of mine just offered to pay your legal fees if you want to get out of your contract.”
Excitement hit Kat like a splash of icy water. “You’re kidding,” she breathed. “Wait, it better not be you, Dad. You guys don’t have—”
“It’s not me,” he interrupted. “It’s someone who can afford it. And they’ve offered to help.”
“Wow.” The word slipped off her lips. “So I can say no to all of this? Even the show?”
Her dad tipped his head. “Yes. But I really hope you’ll at least hear Zander out before you choose. I just wanted you to know that, at least now, you have a choice. But before you make it, search your heart, Kat, and think about what it really is that you want.”
Search your heart. Those words cycled through her mind as her father hurried toward a small set of steps backstage. She set her eyes back on the monitor as Lisa spoke up once more, her British accent in full form.
“We’ve told you about the shocking discovery viewers are calling the twin swap, since Duke’s very own twin, Zander, stepped into his place in time for the nuptials while Duke was away.
“What resulted was a love story no one could’ve predicted. And even still, we’re not sure how it will end. Let’s first welcome to the stage the man every woman secretly dreams about, the same man who skipped town in time for his own wedding, Mr. Duke Benton.”
Duke waved charismatically as he strode onto the stage. The manner was so entirely different from Zander’s that, had Kat paid attention to the twins sooner, she might have picked up on the differences herself.
“As you know, Duke,” Lisa said once they were seated. “We’ll be giving Kat a choice. She’ll spend the duration of her filming contract with either you or your twin, Zander. How would you feel if she decided to stay with you?”
A wide grin spread over his face. As the camera zoomed in on him, a familiar ache sank deep into Kat’s gut.
It was that same, sick longing she felt when going to kid’s camp for three whole weeks in her youth.
She was homesick. Homesick for the man who, somehow, became home to her in a matter of days.
“As much as I’d like having Kat to myself for a while—what man wouldn’t—I’d be…nervous.”
Lisa’s eyebrows shot up. “Nervous? That’s not what I expected you to say. Why nervous?”
“First off, I’d be scared that Zander would kick my face in the dirt if I dared even look at her.”
The crowd laughed, and Lisa did too.
“So you’re talking about a little sibling rivalry, are you?” Lisa prodded.
“I guess you could call it that. When Zander and I were younger, we fell for the same chicks all the time. I was usually the first one to make a move,” Duke admitted, “and I was always quick to tell the ladies that—with me—they were getting the better twin of the two.”
“Ah…” Lisa tipped her head back. “Is that what you plan to tell Kat when she joins us on stage?”
Duke’s lips pinched closed as he shot a look into the lens. “You’ll have to wait and find out.”
Kat could see it now, more of the nuances that set Duke and his brother apart. It made her long for Zander even more. Made her miss the way he’d lift one brow and give her that knowing half grin.
“Before we bring out the man who came to the show’s rescue, so to speak, let’s watch the last video diary he recorded, just moments before our producers so rudely interrupted their fun.”
Kat’s heart kicked into panic mode. She hadn’t seen this yet, and she wasn’t sure she could take it.
But ready or not, Zander’s face popped up on the backstage monitor. It was obvious by his blue sky and white sands surrounding that he was on their private island.
She’d grown rather fond of his beach attire—swim trunks and flip-flops, and it seemed that the audience liked it too; several ladies whistled and screamed when Zander’s flawless chest filled the lens as he fiddled with it. “There,” he said under his breath.
Kat watched as he stepped back toward the seat. He paused there suddenly, and waved an arm toward the deck. “I love you, Princess of the Pillows.”
Now it felt like her heart had stopped completely. She’d forgotten about that.
“I love you, too, Robin of the Hood, champion archer of the west,” she hollered back.
Hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes as Zander turned a wide grin back on the camera.
“Dang, she’s cute.”
Kat pulled in a shallow breath as he introduced the video with a few brief words, preparing herself for what might come.
“My thoughts are this,” he said while looking at the lens. Oh, how she missed looking into those eyes. “Kat Morgan is an incredible woman. And in a matter of days, I’ve fallen in love with her. Undeniably.”
Kat wanted to reach out and press pause on the monitor, not that it was possible. But how desperately she wanted to let those words sink deeply into her heart.
Sure, he’d told her that very thing only moments before that recording, right in that very spot. But Kat had a hard time believing it now.
But this…something about watching Zander with all of the nuances that made him distinctly him while he declared his love for her—it was hard to dismiss.
“…if all goes as I hope it will,” Zander continued, “I’ll be bringing Kat here for our anniversaries for years to come.”
The screen went black. Silence fell over the studio, and then Lisa appeared on the screen once more. “That video was filmed mere minutes before our producers showed up at the scene to discuss our groom’s hidden identity. Come back to hear from Mr. Zander Benton himself after these messages.”
She was free to leave if she wanted; Kat was grateful for that knowledge. It helped her realize that—despite her desperation to get out of there—she wanted to be there. Wanted to hear what Zander had to say for himself. Perhaps now, she was ready after all.
“Psst... Kat.”
Kat stiffened from the sound at her back. Had her father snuck backstage yet again? Would it be Mom this time? She spun to look over her shoulder, expecting to see anyone but the man she saw standing there.
“Zander?”
His blue eyes locked on hers. “You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say my name.”
A wave of goose bumps spread up her arms as she held his gaze.
He stepped closer, infusing her next breath with his heavenly scent. “I just want to tell you, privately, that I’m so sorry for betraying your trust, Kat. But none of this has been an act. It wasn’t then and it’s not now. I hope you know that.”
He came in then, pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, and dashed back behind the curtain. Randall had assured Kat that the Benton twins would enter the stage from the opposite side; she couldn’t help but wonder if Zander would get there in time.
Already Lisa was announcing him. She could hear it now.
And even as Kat tuned in to the introduction from her place backstage, she mused she might drift up into the rafters.
It was the first burst of hope she’d felt in days, and Kat couldn’t help but grab onto it like the ribbon from a helium balloon.
If she collected enough of them, she’d raise above her troubles enough to see that perhaps things could work out after all.
“…Let’s say hello to the man of the hour, the guy ladies are saying could come to their rescue any day of the week, Mr. Zander Benton.”
The crowd went wild once more.
Kat bit at her lip as she watched him walk onto the stage in all of his brooding, blue-eyed glory. Yes, Zander was so different from Duke, it was plain to see. And she loved the things that set him apart.
You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say my name. Just hearing it back in her head made Kat’s center fill with warmth anew.
“Zander,” Lisa said once he was seated. “When was the last time you saw Kat?”
He shot a look at the camera, seeming to acknowledge Kat and their little inside secret. “Umm…it’s been days.”
“Tell us what it’s been like for you. There you were, declaring your love for this woman one minute, and then watching her sail right out of your life the next.”
“It’s been the worst few days of my life,” he said. “It was one thing to lose my dad, my granddad, and Winston too. But those losses were out of my control. But this one…to know that I might have lost Kat forever, all because I hadn’t come clean to her about who I really was…it’s awful.”
“Our audience has been kind of torn on this one, Zander. Some viewers say they’d never forgive you. Others say there wasn’t much to forgive. Soon, we’ll find out which camp Kat’s in, but first let me ask you something.” Lisa propped a hand beneath her chin and channeled her thoughtful face.
“As per Kat’s participation in the experiment, she’ll need to spend the remainder of her contract under one roof with either you or Duke. You might be confident that she’ll choose you, but let’s take a look at this montage and see if you still feel that way.”
Dread poured in as Kat waited for the promised footage to play. It started with a clip from her interview. “What interests me most in this experiment is the fact that the formula picks the guy, not me.”
Another clip came in. “I’m a chemist. Science doesn’t lie.”
And then another. “Science never fails.”
“I just love that we’ve got these experts using this incredible formula to line people up.”
“… incredible formula,” they played back in slow mo. “It’s all about the formula.”
It shot to an interview she’d done with Marsha on the dock.
“You put a lot of faith into this process,” Marsha said from behind the lens. “It’s one of the reasons our specialists had you at the top of their list.”
“…because of how much faith I had in the process?” Kat said back. “I thought the only consideration was the level of compatibility in the matches.”
They repeated the last line in slow motion once more. “…level of compatibility in the matches.”
Lastly, it went to a clip from Kat’s very first introductory video. “I don’t want to go off feelings anymore. I’m looking for something that works.”
Silence sank over the stage and the audience too as the clip ended.
“Well,” Lisa finally said, breaking into the quiet. “If that’s any indication, I think you might be in trouble.” She pointed a finger at Zander. “It seems that you have gained access to her feelings, strong ones at that. But…” She moved that pointed finger to Duke next.
“This man…he’s the one who matched up with her in the formula. So while this might seem like a choice between one twin or the other, what it really comes down to is feelings or formula. Let’s find out which it will be after one quick break.”
Kat couldn’t have said it more clearly herself. Push was coming to shove now, all on live TV. She clung onto that one ribbon of hope, and prayed it would be enough to get her through this.