28. Katherine
KATHERINE
It’s still early when I return to my room. I need a quick shower before I meet everyone—almost everyone—downstairs for breakfast.
Shon’s standing in front of the mirror, pajama pants hiked to her knees as she models a pair of sling-backs. Alex must have sent over all the bags and boxes while I was with King, as they’re currently littering the floor.
“Girl, they’ve got it so bad for you.” She pivots toward me but looks back at the mirror, admiring the shoes.
She’s not wrong. The kitten heels are sleek and sexy without trying too hard. And she’s right about King and Alex, too. The feeling is so mutual.
“Sorry. I was putting your goodies away and had to try these.”
“Take them with you. I won’t be going into the office for a while.” Though I have the unsettling feeling that I’m going to be visiting with a lot of lawyers in the foreseeable future.
She gives me a one-armed hug, puts the shoes back in their box, and then busies herself putting everything else away.
I don’t bother telling her that my father has people to do that.
Just like I don’t bother to offer to do it myself.
Shon’s a bit of a fashionista, so it’s a good thing that we only share a shoe size.
From the moment we met, she has loved unpacking after our shopping trips. I think she’s having some sort of Princess Diaries fantasy at the moment. And honestly, who hasn’t lusted over Princess Mia’s closet?
“Okay. Into the shower I go.” When I find a giant bottle of super-nourishing conditioner, I make a mental note to give Alex his own morning wake-up call tomorrow.
My movements are quick because I’m starving. And that coffee will only take me so far. With my hair up in a towel and a fluffy robe tied at the waist, I slather on more moisturizer.
Back in the bedroom, Shon’s making a beeline for the closet with a pair of slacks. “How long are you planning on staying out here for?”
I blow out a sigh. “I don’t have the first clue. It’s my first kidnapping.”
Despite her best effort, she huffs out a laugh. “Girl?—”
“Honestly, I’m still going with the laugh so I won’t cry method.”
This earns me another hug. But, as if sensing that tears are closer than I would like, she scoots away and unpacks another bag.
“When did they have time to do this?” She fluffs a skirt and reaches for a hanger.
“Middle of the night, I guess. Knowing Alex, he probably didn’t sleep.”
At some point, he’s going to have to stop worrying about everyone else and let us take care of him.
“King definitely slept,” I add.
“You mean after he came over here and woke us up?”
I huff a laugh. “Yeah. You got him good. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Maybe I should apply as your bodyguard.”
I laugh again. “Maybe you should.”
As soon as the words leave my lips, I remember Roman. How could I forget? Hot shame floods through me, and I look around for my phone, only to remember I never got it back.
“Where’s your phone?” I ask, doing what I can to dry my hair with the towel.
“What’s going on?”
“Roman. I need an update.”
As if understanding my urgency, she meets me at the bathroom door with an outfit. Capris and a chic tunic. “Here. We’ll go find Alex. My phone’s not going to do us any good. I only have Ford and King’s number.”
She’s right, of course.
I hope the man who shot Roman rots in jail and rats eat his toes. Okay, that’s rude to rats. Their little feet are actually kind of cute, as I’ve discovered thanks to King’s late-night doom-scrolling sessions.
“You’re the best,” I agree, dressing like I’m in a race. It feels like I am. Between the anger and shame, my heart is going wild in my chest.
“I know.” She eyes me closely as I exit the bathroom. “You okay?”
“Just feeling a little overwhelmed.”
“You need some food in your system. Not just caffeine.” She wraps an arm around my waist and gives me a reassuring hug. “There’s breakfast downstairs.”
“What about you?” I ask as she backs away.
“I’ll get there after I soak in your tub.”
“Have at it,” I say, waving her toward the bathroom.
I open my bedroom door and startle, a hand flying up to calm my heart. How long until I don’t jump any time I open a door to see someone there?
“You startled me.”
“Sorry.” King pauses from where he was pacing back and forth like a trapped lion. His hair’s damp, his skin pink beneath his tan from the shower. The bruise under his eye gives him an unexpected bad-boy appeal.
We meet in the middle of the hallway.
“You could have knocked,” I tell him.
Now that I have permission to touch, it’s like I can’t stop. My hands instinctively slide up his chest as his arms close around my waist.
“I—yeah—I know—I was just thinking.”
“About?”
There’s a hint of a pause. “Everything.”
Boy, do I know the feeling. But he’s not as anxious as I thought he’d be.
His sneaking into my bedroom wasn’t much of a surprise, except for the entrance point.
So much for enjoying the fresh air. I doubt they’ll ever let me leave my window open at night again. At least without a team waiting below.
“Come on. Breakfast will help.” I link my arm through his, certain that Shon is correct in this. Food will fix some of the problems.
“I was thinking about taking something over to Gabe. Maybe some coffee will fix him.”
I press a kiss to his shoulder, even though my heart aches. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll walk you out.”
In front of the house is the usual black SUV I’ve come to associate with Alex and his team. There’s a fresh crew waiting, and I give King a quick kiss before he hops into the back.
“Roman? Have you heard anything?” I ask the man holding the back door.
He nods. “Surgery went well. He’s resting in his room until he’s discharged.”
I sag with relief and shoot him a smile of thanks. “That’s good to hear. I’ve been so worried.”
He looks like he doesn’t know what to say to that, so I take a hasty step back.
“Thanks.” I wave to King. “See you later.”
I’m so tempted to add ‘hot stuff’ because I know it’ll make him happy. For as down-to-earth as Kingston Saint is, he’s also a bit vain.
But I’m still not used to having anyone else see our relationship this way.
Dad and Ford are on the back terrace beneath an umbrella. “Hi, honey. Want some breakfast?”
“Absolutely.”
It feels a little weird to be sitting down to breakfast with my dad and brother. It was a ritual when I was a kid, but now there’s more silver in my father’s hair, and my brother is a man. And so much has changed. Some of which is my fault for letting time and my mother come between us.
But as Marissa hustles forward with a plate for me, the banter continues. I spear a piece of cantaloupe and try to convince myself that the ache in my chest is indigestion rather than wishing I were close to either one of my parents.
“I’m surprised King’s not out here eating all the bacon,” Ford says.
“King’s taking breakfast to Gabe. He’s still overseeing some renovations at his house.” That sounds nicer than ‘running away from commitments.’
“Right. Ford said he bought at the other end of the lane.”
“Yeah.” Now that I think of it, it’s literally the last house on the road.
Dad glances toward the pool house. “Is Alex up?”
I fight a blush. Seriously, why is my mind in the gutter right now?
“I’m pretty sure Alex has already eaten.”
Unfortunately, he turns his full attention my way. “How are you feeling?”
“Better than yesterday.” I try for a reassuring smile. The truth is, I’m taking it a literal moment at a time. Which probably explains why I feel a bit like a spinning top. Grace and focusing on what’s happening in the next minute are the only things I can see to move forward.
I’m terrified I’m going to have a breakdown and become overwhelmed with everything that happened and just lose it.
I don’t want to lose it.
I want out of the nightmare and into my fairy tale.
Dad looks like he wants to say something but can’t decide on the words. Instead, he taps the edge of his spoon against a hard-boiled egg, cracking the shell.
“Enough about me.” I’m honestly sick of being in my own head. Mired in my own life. I just want to live. “Where’s Sutton?”
“At brunch with Bertie,” Ford answers.
Ahh. His sister. He and Ford call her everything but her given name, Beatrice, because it drives her crazy. Aren’t brothers fun?
The phone next to my father’s right hand vibrates on the tabletop. After a quick glance, he presses a button and flips the phone over.
“I’m sorry you were both dragged into this mess.”
I know it’s only going to get worse. I don’t need to look at the news to know that. And I’ll wager every cent in my bank account that I don’t have a job to go back to.
My father’s fork pauses halfway to his mouth, and he gives me a funny look, lowering the bite of eggs to his plate. “It’s not your fault, Katherine.”
His tone is firmer than I’ve heard it from him in a long time, not in anger, but in earnestness.
“Oh, I know. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any less arduous.”
His expression doesn’t even change. He’s just… steadfast. “And we’ll get through it. We’ll help you through it and do our best to shield you?—”
“Think that job’s taken,” Ford mutters. His brilliant blue eyes are extra bright in the morning sun.
“Right. About that—” Dad’s words trail off.
Oh god. I knew this was going to come up. I take a breath, sip my mimosa, and focus on the fact that he didn’t lose his marbles when I showed up with three men in tow.
I don’t want any more lies or caginess. I don’t want a parent in my life who doesn’t love me for me, no matter how bad my skin is, or how red my hair is, or who I choose as partners.
Yesterday’s events gave me crystal clear clarity and for the first time, maybe ever, I feel like I don’t need to hide.
The shackles of shame fall away. My spine straightens, and I lift my chin as I look at my father.
“We’re together. The four of us.”
“The four of you?”
I nod. “It’s unconventional, but it works for us.”
At least I hope it does. Because if I come away from the best weeks of my life with a broken heart, there’s not a punching bag on the planet that will survive me.
I can tell he’s working on the phrasing of his questions. Which is… refreshing.
He takes two more bites. I’m not sure if he’s buying time?—
“They make you happy?”
The fact that my dad considers my feelings and the impact of his words makes my mother’s faults all the more glaring.
“They do. We’re… a family.”
He nods, and Ford is uncharacteristically quiet. Aren’t they going to burst my bubble? Tell me that a Montgomery can’t possibly take up with three men at the same time? Remind me that one scandal is plenty?
Maybe they feel sorry for me after yesterday. Maybe they’re just biding their time until the shock has worn off.
“That’s all I ever wanted. I think that’s what most parents want for their children.”
Most parents.
Not all. Not my mother.
My stomach turns, but I refuse to waste another second feeling sick over that woman.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
The way he doesn’t even hesitate!
I don’t know how to ask what I want to know. The thought races through my brain, reorganizing the words over and over.
“Just say it, honey.”
“When you and Mother split up…” My words fall off, but my mind finishes the question: why did you let me go so easily?
“I thought you needed her more than me. My marriage to your mother showed me what I did and didn’t want in life. I never would have let you stay if I’d known this is how it would turn out for you.”
Years ago, I would have agreed with him.
Even with all the browbeating, I thought, no, I was sure I was doing the right thing.
It’d been too easy to brainwash myself into believing that my grandfather was proud of his Harvard-bound granddaughter, and that my mother couldn’t wait for me to join her at the helm of the family business.
I suppose I should be grateful that it didn’t take me forty or fifty years to learn these lessons. But still…
“Yeah, but if I hadn’t, I might not have found King or Alex or Gabe.”
He nods. “That’s a possibility.”
I glance across the beautiful backyard toward the pool house. “In that case, I think all her crazy was worth it.”
“Really?” Ford asks.
I mean, the kidnapping was beyond extreme.
But I’m incredibly aware that even though I suffered mentally, especially during my teen years, I still had it good.
Excellent schools, a safe home, money and then some.
And until yesterday, I’d never felt like she was a danger to anything but my peace of mind.
Was all of that worth the mischievous smile on Gabe’s lips? The way he makes me want to be at the top of my game? The light and joy and laughter King brings? The peace and security I feel when I’m with Alex?
“Absolutely.” They’re worth it. I’m not even sure how I’m so certain. It’s just a feeling. A deep, strong, unwavering knowledge that they complete me and I complete them. We’ll be far happier together.
“That’s good then,” Dad says.
“It’s going to be rough. She’s going to hire the shadiest lawyer and try to turn this all around on me.”
“We’re not going to let her do that.”
“Oh, I know we aren’t.” Like I told her last week, I know where she’s buried her skeletons. “I’m no longer willing to play ball with her. She used up my goodwill a while ago.”