Too chipper, to tell the truth. Sawyer looked at him with mistrust, going past the couch to toss his laptop bag onto the desk. “It’s too early for you to be up.”
“I’m still on Beijing time. I figure since I’m just going back in a few weeks, I shouldn’t bother fighting the time difference and the jet lag.”
“I figured you were out all night celebrating your pending nuptials.”
Finn’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Nuptials? You mean you haven’t heard?”
Sawyer sighed and leaned against his desk. “Haven’t heard what, Finn? It’s too early for guessing games.”
“You haven’t looked at your phone!” Finn got up from the couch and walked over to him. “Hold out your hand,” he said.
When Sawyer complied, Finn dropped the ring box into his palm. He opened it, expecting it to be empty, with the ring on Kat’s finger, but it was still safely nestled in its velvet bed. “Tell me you didn’t chicken out on her!” he said, gripping the ring box in his fist and slamming the lid shut. He would punch Finn in the face right now if he’d changed his mind and broken Kat’s heart.
“No way!” Finn said, as he ducked out of arm’s reach. “I did my part. Pretty well, too. I didn’t want to hear about it from Dad later, so I had a very nice, heartfelt proposal prepared. But she turned me down. Flat.”
Sawyer froze for a moment. A part of him was waiting for Finn to say he was joking, but the relieved smile on his face said it all. Kat hadn’t accepted his proposal and Finn was thrilled, because there was nothing their father could do about it.
“She said no?”
“She said no. With Dad and everyone else there to witness it. And while I’m relieved... I also have to say that I’m a bit concerned about why she changed her mind.”
“Concerned?”
“Yes. Concerned that while I was out of the country, my twin brother may have swooped in and snatched Kat right out from under me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Come on, man. I saw you two looking at each other all evening. I asked you to handle the situation until I got back. I didn’t mean sleep with her. What if I’d wanted to marry her? What if I’d really liked the idea of us starting our family together? You would’ve screwed it all up for everyone.”
“Like that would’ve ever happened. You were only proposing because Dad was making you. And besides that, you never would’ve been in this situation if you hadn’t gone to that party pretending to be me. She went there looking for me, not you. So don’t try to act all innocent and put out. If anyone swooped in and stole anything, you tried to snatch Kat away from me.”
“Yeah, well, now you have your shot. I’m off the hook with Dad and she’s all yours.”
Sawyer narrowed his gaze at his brother with contempt. “No matter what you do, you always seem to get away with it.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that I’ve never met someone so reckless, so irresponsible, and yet you never get what’s coming to you. You never pay the price for your actions. Somehow you always get off the hook. You don’t have to marry the mother of your child. You didn’t have to pay when you wrecked Tom’s motorcycle. Dad smoothed things over when you got in trouble in school. No matter what happens, you never have to clean up your messes. You always get one of us to handle everything for you, and then you have the audacity to get irritable with me because I happened to fall in love with the girl you’re supposed to be with?”
Finn opened his mouth, but stopped short of answering. His angry retort seemed to deflate inside him. He looked at his brother for a moment and shook his head. “Are you serious? You’re in love with her?”
Sawyer clenched his jaw in irritation with himself for letting that slip. He and Finn didn’t have the kind of relationship many twins had. They didn’t share intimate details of their lives. Sawyer didn’t want to hear about Finn’s shenanigans and Finn was bored by most of what Sawyer did with his time. So this was a big moment for them both. An awkward one, too.
“Yes, I am,” he said, turning away and putting the engagement ring box on the edge of his desk.
“And what the hell were you going to do if she accepted my proposal? Mope until the end of time?”
“I’m sure your marriage wouldn’t have lasted that long,” Sawyer quipped.
“Very funny,” Finn said. “I’m being serious.”
Sawyer shrugged. He hadn’t really thought that far ahead. “Maybe moping. Maybe working myself into a bout of middle-aged hypertension. If she accepted your proposal, maybe I would’ve asked to take over in Beijing, and disappeared for a while. I thought she wanted to marry you. I wasn’t going to interfere, no matter how I felt.”
“Why not? You’re always interfering in my life when you think I’m doing the wrong thing.”
“Because...nothing was going to change the reality of the situation, and that was that Kat is having your child. Whether I loved her, whether she hated you. That’s still your baby and I couldn’t get in the way of that.”
Finn dropped down into the guest chair and considered his brother’s confession for a few minutes. “Does she love you?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Sawyer followed suit and flopped down into his own desk chair with a heavy sigh. “We never really talked about it.”
“But you said that she did want to marry me.”
“I thought so. That’s what she told Jade and Morgan on the Fourth of July.”
“And yet, just a few short days later, she turned me down and made me look like an idiot in front of the whole family. I’d say she did some hard thinking since then. She’s got to be in love with you. That’s the only reason I could fathom.”
“Because there’s no way a woman wouldn’t want to marry you otherwise?”
“I’m a catch, damn it. And so are you. I say she’s in love with you.”
Sawyer sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Even if she is...what about your daughter?”
Finn paused and looked at his brother with surprise. His mouth dropped open as he scrambled for words. “She’s... Kat’s... We’re having a girl?”
“Oh.” Sawyer sat up straight, alarmed at letting that slip. “I didn’t realize she hadn’t told you yet. I’m sorry. The whole family knows. Morgan turned the yacht pink when we sailed on the Fourth.”
Finn shook his head. “We didn’t really get to chat about much, with everyone there. A daughter...wow. A daughter is exciting news. Perhaps a little bit of karma for me.”
“Perhaps.”
“And despite what you might think, I plan to be a part of my daughter’s life. I might be a shameless flirt with commitment issues, but I’m not a deadbeat dad. Kat and I can work out the details, but I’ll be involved with the baby. As for the mother...” His voice trailed off. “She obviously wants you. She should be with you.”
Finn cupped the ring box on the edge of the desk and slid it across the smooth wood to Sawyer, who reached out and caught it before it could fall to the floor. “Take that,” Finn said. “Give it to her. Hell, you’re the one that picked it out, anyway. You knew what she would like. I’m sure she’d appreciate it a lot more coming from you.”
“No, you should return it.”
“Nah,” Finn said. “There’s no way I can walk back in there with a ring that expensive and tell the man at the counter that the woman said no. You take it or I’ll stash it in a drawer somewhere and forget about it until some girl staying over finds it hidden away and thinks I’m about to propose. No thanks.”
“It was expensive.”
“So was that Jet Ski,” Finn admitted. “And since I made you give it to me to go to that party for you, like a jerk, why don’t we call it an even trade?”
Sawyer couldn’t believe his ears. He’d dropped nearly twenty grand on that Jet Ski and yet it di
dn’t come close to the price of Kat’s ring. But he realized this was Finn’s way of saying he was sorry. His pride wouldn’t let him voice the words, not even to Sawyer. But he meant it in his way.
Getting up from his chair, Sawyer walked around the desk and stood in front of his brother with the velvet box in his hand. “You’re sure?”
“Take it. Give it to her. Live happily ever after with the mother of my child,” Finn said, as he rose to his feet. “Yes, you’ll be my daughter’s stepdad/uncle and I’ll be her dad/uncle, but who cares about labels? We’ll all raise our daughter together in whatever weird way makes sense for us, and it’s nobody’s damn business but ours.”
Sawyer looked at Finn with amazement, and for the first time in a long time, felt the urge to give him a hug. He actually couldn’t remember the last time he’d hugged his brother. But before he could do so, Finn surprised him and reached out to him instead. He wrapped his arms around Sawyer and patted him firmly on the back.
“Be good to them,” he said. Then he turned and walked out of Sawyer’s office without another word.
* * *
Kat had a million things to do before the District shut down in a few days. She hadn’t done a single thing in preparation for the baby. She needed to clean house and buy groceries. So naturally, she was sitting on her piazza drinking tea and reading a book. It was a bestselling self-help title she’d picked up from the library. The author promised to help her identify her own self-sabotaging habits and live her best life.
So far it was stupid. But it was easier to read than think about what kind of disaster her life had turned into lately.
Some people would say things weren’t that bad. She’d chosen not to marry a man who was all wrong for her. She supposed that was for the best, even if she did have to turn down Finn in front of his family. Despite that hurdle, her relationship with Finn may have actually become better for the rejection. He’d obviously been pressured to make the proposal and seemed relieved when she turned him down.
They’d had lunch together a few days later and finally got the opportunity to talk without anyone else around. Without interfering fathers and overprotective attorneys, they’d hammered out a plan to co-raise their daughter that made them both happy. Finn agreed to pay for private schools, and would be buying a place closer to Kat, with a bedroom for nights he had custody. Kat hadn’t really wanted or needed his money, but would accept the child support payments he insisted on, given that he reduce the monthly amount in favor of setting up a trust fund for the baby that she would get when she turned twenty-one.
It was all very civilized.
And if Kat had heard from Sawyer since he’d walked out of that family dinner, she might feel better about how it was all turning out. But she hadn’t.
Perhaps she had read the whole situation wrong. Sawyer had told her he didn’t have any reason why she shouldn’t marry Finn. Maybe he’d been telling the truth. Maybe he wanted her only because he knew he couldn’t have her. She was a forbidden temptation. And now she was just a single, pregnant lady. Not very tempting at all.
The sound of the doorbell caused Kat to sit up and set the book aside. Glancing out, she noticed a black Rolls Royce parked on the street. She went to the door and opened it, finding none other than Ingrid Steele standing on her stoop.
“Mrs. Steele? I mean, Ingrid?” She corrected herself. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m paying a call on my future granddaughter-in-law,” she said. “May I come in?”
Startled, Kat took a step back and welcomed the older woman inside. “Would you like to sit on the piazza or in the house? I’ll get us both a glass of tea.”
“The piazza and tea sound lovely.”
Kat rushed into the house to get some tea and returned to find Ingrid sitting patiently on one of her patio chairs. She handed her the glass and wished she had some kind of cookies or treats in the house to offer. Unfortunately, all she’d bothered to get at the grocery store of late were saltine crackers, cereal and granola bars. She wasn’t sure if it was morning sickness carrying into the second trimester or if she was just nauseated by how awful things had become. Either way, chopped-up chocolate chip granola bars on a platter wouldn’t quite cut it for the Steele matriarch.
“I didn’t expect to see you today,” Kat began. “Or for a while, considering how dinner ended the other night.”
“Pish posh. You’re family now, dear. The other night doesn’t change that.”
All things considered, Kat appreciated the sentiment. The Steeles weren’t the average American family, but they were the closest thing she had. “She will be your great-granddaughter, of course,” Kat said, rubbing her belly. It seemed to be growing a bit more every morning of late. “But I’m just...me.”
“Well, maybe I’m old and sentimental, but I still think you’ll be my granddaughter-in-law someday.”
“You know that Finn and I aren’t going to marry, right? He never really wanted to marry me. I think he only proposed because Trevor put him up to it.”
Ingrid chuckled and shook her head. “Of course Trevor made him do it. But I’m not talking about Finn, dear. I’m talking about you and Sawyer.”
Kat looked up from her tea in surprise. As far as she was aware, no one knew about what had happened between her and Sawyer. She forced the mouthful of tea down her throat without choking and asked, “What would make you say that?”
“I may be old, but I’m not blind, dear. There’s been something simmering between you two this whole time. I saw that much at my garden party and during the Fourth of July gathering. It didn’t matter that you rarely spoke and never touched. You were always stealing glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking. I could feel the sexual tension in the air. If you were trying to hide how you feel, you were doing a terrible job, both of you.”
Kat didn’t bother to argue with her. There was no sense in lying about it now that things with Finn were settled. “Well, I honestly don’t know how Sawyer feels about me. He never said anything.”
“That doesn’t mean much. Men are always stubborn about their feelings, especially in this family. I shouldn’t say so, but Sawyer is my favorite grandchild. Even as a baby he was more serious and thoughtful. He would quietly sit in the grass and study a butterfly, while his brother ran through the yard, terrorizing everything in his path. He is my quiet grandchild, but still waters run deep in him. Just because he doesn’t say it doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel it. How did he treat you?”
“When we weren’t arguing...like gold.”
“That sounds about right. Did you ever tell him how you felt?”
She gave a guilty shake of her head. “No. I was afraid to. And I kept telling myself that I should be with Finn, even though I knew it felt wrong. I thought it was best for the baby.”
“What’s best for the baby is what will make you happy, dear. Babies don’t know anything about DNA or legitimacy. They just want to be surrounded by love and warmth. Don’t you think Sawyer could give her that?”
“Absolutely. But he’s not here. I haven’t seen him since he ran out on dinner that night.”
“I’m sure he’s sitting at home wrestling with the situation, just like you are. He didn’t bolt from the room in the middle of your brother’s proposal because he had food poisoning. He couldn’t bear to sit there and watch the woman he loved get engaged to someone else. I guarantee it.”
“Yes, well, it’s been days and I’m sure he’s heard how it turned out by now. If he was trying to be a gentleman and let Finn have his chance first, it’s done. He hasn’t even texted to ask how I am.”
Ingrid sipped her tea and then set it aside. “Sawyer is a lot like his grandfather in many ways. Maybe that’s why I’ve always had such a soft spot in my heart for him. They’re both perfectionists. Strategists. The two of them would play a single chess match for hours in the library. They
didn’t like to make a decision or move on a project until everything was just so. That might make them seem like they’re slow to act, but once they’ve made a decision, they’re absolutely certain they’re making the right choice.”
“So he’s sitting at home trying to decide if he really wants me?”
“No, no. More than likely, he’s plotting and planning how to woo you properly.”
Kat wasn’t sure she’d ever been wooed. But whatever he was planning—if anything—she wished he would go ahead and do it. She didn’t like being in limbo.
“I wish I were as confident as you are,” she said. “I asked him if he could tell me a reason why I shouldn’t marry Finn, and he said he couldn’t.”
“Of course he couldn’t. He wouldn’t interfere if he thought that was what you wanted. It doesn’t mean he didn’t want to give you a reason. He probably could’ve named five reasons why you shouldn’t marry Finn, without trying very hard. But he didn’t believe it was the right thing to do.”
“You think so?”
“I’ve seen my grandchildren grow from headstrong toddlers to corporate leaders and entrepreneurs. I know how they think. And I know,” Ingrid said, as she reached out to cup Kat’s cheek, “that he cares for you. Just give him time. I have faith that if you want to be a Steele, you will be before too long.”
Ingrid looked down at her watch. “Well, dear, this was a lovely visit, but I’ve got to get going. I have an appointment to see my jeweler.” She got up and slipped her purse over her arm.
Kat stood and followed her to the door. “Thank you for stopping by. I feel better about everything.”
“I’m glad, dear. I’ll be awaiting news.”
Kat watched Ingrid go down her walkway and over to where a man was waiting to open the door to the Rolls. Once she’d settled inside, he shut the door and got in to drive her to her jeweler, or wherever her agenda was taking her next.
As the car disappeared around the next block, Kat let the piazza door close and returned to her spot on the sofa. She shoved the book to the other side of the cushions and thought over everything Ingrid had told her.
From Seduction to Secrets Page 13
