Finn was pressed back so far in his chair, Sawyer thought he might tumble backward. He was smart enough not to say anything else at this point. Even Finn knew when to shut up and just listen.
“That is your child, and you’re going to marry its mother. Steeles don’t walk away from their mistakes.”
“Only when we can’t erase them and pretend like they never happened,” Finn said.
Sawyer’s eyes widened as he looked at his brother in shock. Maybe Finn wasn’t as smart as he thought.
“What did you say?” Trevor asked in a biting, sarcastic tone.
“I’m talking about Morgan and how your guiding hand completely destroyed her life. You paid off River and just swept her marriage and her baby under the rug, but you can’t do that with me, so you’re bullying me into doing what you want instead.”
Sawyer was afraid to take a breath. He sat still, waiting for the blowback. He’d never heard Finn—or anyone for that matter—speak to their father that way. He could see the anger twitching the muscles in his father’s jaw as he considered his words.
“You’re right,” Trevor said at last, in a cold, calm voice. “I thought at nineteen that Morgan was too young and immature to make her own decisions and I was wrong. But this time, I’m right, and you’ve just proved you’re still too immature to make your own decisions.”
Finn didn’t have anything to say to that. Neither did Sawyer. What could he say? This was what Kat wanted, although she probably would’ve preferred it not be a shotgun wedding.
“Tomorrow night, we’ll have a nice family dinner to welcome you home. We will invite Kat. And there, in front of everyone, you’re going to present her with an engagement ring and ask her to be your wife. Do you understand me?”
Finn swallowed hard and nodded.
“Very good. Now give your travel paperwork and receipts to your assistant to file and go get some rest. You’re dismissed.” Both brothers stood up, but Trevor’s gaze shot to Sawyer. “Not you.”
Finn basically ran from the office, leaving Sawyer behind. He sighed and sat back in the chair, awaiting whatever tongue-lashing he’d earned lately. His father probably knew about him sneaking around with Kat. The man seemed to know everything that happened in this family.
“What am I going to do with him?” Trevor asked with a heavy sigh.
“If you make him marry her, he’s going to be miserable. And he’ll make everyone else miserable, including Kat.”
“I know. But at some point, he needs to take responsibility.”
“Let me marry her instead.” The words slipped from Sawyer’s lips before he’d fully thought them through. He didn’t regret them, though.
Trevor snapped his gaze over to his son. “That’s a generous offer. Would you care to tell me why you’d like to marry Kat in your brother’s place?”
“It’s the best solution,” Sawyer argued. “Finn doesn’t want to do it, but I will, and the problem will be solved. Genetically, legally, it will be my child as much as Finn’s. She will look just like me. No one ever needs to know the truth.”
His father considered his words for a moment and shook his head. “That’s very pragmatic of you. I can always count on you to do what needs to be done, although I’m sure in this case there’s more to your motivations than I really want to know. But I can’t let you do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because this isn’t about you. If you want to help, then I need you to back off and let Finn step up. Let things play out between the two of them. If he proposes and Kat turns him down to choose you instead, let that be her choice. If she has any damn sense, she would laugh in his face, but Finn has to make the effort or he never will.”
Sawyer sighed. His father was right. This was Kat’s decision. They could sit in this office and make all the plans in the world, but in the end, only what she wanted mattered. And as far as Sawyer knew, she wanted Finn. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes. That protest over the holiday. It was all over the news this weekend. That’s blowback from your real estate deal, isn’t it?”
Sawyer had hoped maybe word hadn’t gotten to his father about that yet, but clearly he wasn’t that lucky. “Yes.”
“It’s one thing to try to make money on a property deal, but I’ll not have you dragging the family or the company through the mud to do it. Find out a way to make those people happy. Sometimes compromise is key, in business and in romance.”
Oddly, this was a little bit of both for Sawyer. But his father was right. There had to be a middle ground that would keep protests off the front pages. The new building could be amazing, but it wouldn’t matter if no one was willing to cross a picket line to see it. “Yes, sir.”
“One last thing and you can go. Take your brother to the jewelry store. Make sure he picks something nice. Nothing gaudy or cheap. I don’t want her turning him down just because he got her the Tuesday cubic zirconia special from Big Eddie on King Street.”
Sawyer stood up and nodded. Helping his brother pick out an engagement ring for Kat was one of the last things he wanted to do, but he would to make sure she got something she would love. She deserved that much.
After stepping out into the hall, he headed back toward his office. There, he found Finn sitting on the edge of their assistant’s desk, flirting mercilessly as though that wasn’t a lawsuit waiting to happen.
“Come on, Finn, we need to go engagement ring shopping so you can propose tomorrow night.”
Their assistant, Melody May, sat up at attention and pulled back from Finn. The smile faded from her face and she snatched the travel receipts from his hand without another word.
Finn matched her frown and followed Sawyer into his office. “You really think I should do this? Are you as crazy as Dad?”
“Shut the door,” Sawyer said as he leaned against his desk. “And sit down.”
“I just got one ass chewing. You don’t get to boss me around, too.”
“I’m older by two minutes. Now shut the damn door,” he barked, pointing to the entrance, “and listen to me.”
Finn reluctantly complied and flopped down into the guest chair. “What?”
“A lot has happened while you’ve been gone. We’ve all gotten to know Kat very well. Better than you know her. And like Dad said, we like her. The only thing wrong with her is that for some crazy reason, she seems to think that marrying you is the right thing to do. Personally, I think she could do better, but she hasn’t asked my opinion.”
“What’s your point?” Finn said, crossing his arms defiantly over his chest.
Sawyer leaned in to his brother with his stoniest gaze. “My point is that Katherine McIntyre is the single greatest woman to ever walk into your life. She is smart, funny, talented, beautiful...and she’s having your child. You don’t deserve her in your bed and you don’t deserve her as your wife. Not even close. But right now she’s there for the taking. And if you let her walk out of your life, you’re an even bigger fool than I thought.”
* * *
“Good evening, Miss McIntyre,” Lena said, as she opened the door to the Steele mansion. “Please come in. The family is in the library.”
Kat stepped in cautiously and waited for Lena to close the door behind her before she started making her way toward the voices in the east wing of the house.
“Kat!” A woman’s voice boomed across the entryway.
She turned to see Morgan rushing over to her from the stairs. “Hey.”
Without a word, she grabbed Kat’s hand and dragged her away from the library toward the powder room. She tugged her inside and shut the door.
“What is going on?” Kat asked, awkwardly pressed against the pedestal sink.
“Finn is proposing to you at dinner tonight,” Morgan blurted in excitement.
Kat’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? I haven’t even s
een him since he got back from China. We’ve spoken a handful of times on the phone. Proposing tonight? Really?”
Morgan nodded, a conspiratorial look on her face. “I’ve seen the ring. Sawyer took him shopping yesterday and it’s ah-mazing.”
She was stunned. This was just supposed to be a welcome-home dinner with the family. Her chance to see and talk to Finn in person for the first time since the night they’d gotten themselves into this mess. And he was proposing? In the moment, she wasn’t sure what to say. Thank goodness Morgan had given her a heads-up or she might’ve appeared like a very ungrateful recipient when Finn popped the question. After all, this was what she wanted.
Right?
“Anyway, I thought you should know. It ruins the surprise, but personally, I’d rather be prepared. If he does it in front of the whole family, it could be nerve-racking. Plus, I wanted to squeal a little with you about it ahead of time. This is just what you said you wanted the other night on the ship! I’m so happy for you!”
Morgan scooped Kat into a hug and she returned the embrace. Why was her future sister-in-law more excited about this than she was? She pinched her eyes shut and tried to push the image of Sawyer out of her mind. That was over and done. He was stepping aside so Kat could have the family she wanted. It was all coming together.
“Okay, I’d better get back before someone wonders where I’ve been. See you in there in a minute.” Morgan opened the door and dashed out of the bathroom.
Kat took a moment to compose herself. She checked her makeup and smoothed her hair. She wanted to look perfect for the moment. Finn should be proud of his bride, whether he’d intended for this to happen or not. After stepping out of the room, she turned and very nearly collided with Sawyer as he hung his coat in the nearby closet.
“Kat? I didn’t know you were here already. Are you hiding in the bathroom?”
“Of course not. I was just putting on some fresh lipstick.”
He nodded, trying and failing to look disinterested in her appearance tonight. “Have you seen Finn yet?”
“No. I saw Morgan briefly, but that’s it so far.”
He nodded again. There was a stiffness about Sawyer tonight. If he took Finn shopping, then he knew what was about to happen. He didn’t seem to like the idea very much. Lately, neither did she. It made her want to ask the hard questions while she still had the chance.
“Can I ask you something before we go in there with your family?”
“Sure,” he said, pasting on a polite smile.
Kat tried to think of how best to ask the question. “Can you give me any reason why I shouldn’t marry Finn?”
She wanted to give him his chance. His moment. Not to do the honorable thing, but to tell the truth about how he felt about her, even if it turned the whole night upside down. Her eyes searched his face, pleading with him to be honest. Marrying Finn had seemed like a good idea until Sawyer showed up in her life. Now, she wasn’t sure what she wanted, but knowing if he loved her the way she loved him would help her decide.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” he said, looking away. Without making additional eye contact, Sawyer turned and walked across the hall, leaving her there alone and brokenhearted.
The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, like she was walking through a dream. Kat was distracted and wallowing in her emotional turmoil. They gathered in the library for drinks and mingling before moving into the dining room.
As they migrated down the hall, Finn pulled Kat aside to chat in person at last. It was weird seeing him again after all this time, knowing he was her baby’s father, looking so much like the man she loved but not like him at all. Later, as they were eating, she realized she couldn’t really remember anything about their conversation. It had mostly been about himself and his work in China. Not once had he asked about her, the pregnancy or the baby. It made the news of his pending return to Beijing in a few weeks a little easier to swallow.
Besides that, it was hard to focus with Sawyer scowling at them. In the library, he’d pretended to be listening to what Grandma Ingrid had to say, but every time Kat glanced in his direction, he’d been looking at her as if he regretted not taking his chance when he had it.
Dinner wasn’t much better. She was seated beside Finn, of course, but somehow ended up across from Sawyer. While she tried to engage Finn and River, to her right, in conversation as they ate, she could feel Sawyer’s gaze on her.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to get through tonight. When the moment came, and Finn got down on one knee, how could she say yes with Sawyer watching? It seemed the thing she’d once hoped for had become an impossible feat.
As Lena cleared the dinner dishes in preparation for dessert, Finn pushed back his chair to make a toast. Kat froze in her seat, finally forcing herself to reach out and raise her glass of sparkling water.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight and welcoming me home from China. It was an amazing trip and I look forward to returning and continuing to assist in Steele Tools’ new venture there. It’s such a fast-paced and colorful culture in some aspects, and then so peaceful and quiet in other areas. I was able to find something for each one of you on my trip. The bag of goodies is in the library and I’ll hand them out after dessert. But right now, I have one special gift for Kat. I—”
Sawyer abruptly pushed his chair back from the dinner table. “You’ll have to excuse me,” he said, as he rounded the long table and practically ran into the hall.
Everyone sat in stunned silence for a moment before Finn recovered. “I hope he’s feeling okay. Anyway, I wanted to thank all of you for welcoming Kat so warmly into the family while I was gone. I have heard nothing but glowing stories about what a talented and lovely woman she is. And although we haven’t known each other for long, I look forward to having the opportunity to know her very well in the upcoming years.”
As Finn reached into his suit coat pocket, Kat’s heart started pounding in her chest. For a moment, all she could hear was its deep bass rhythm and the rushing of blood in her ears. She thought she might even faint. She closed her eyes, hoping the swimming in her head would pass before she made a fool of herself in front of these lovely people who had welcomed her into their family.
When she opened her eyes, she realized that Finn was down on his knee beside her. He had a small jewelry box in one hand, opened to display one of the most beautiful rings she’d ever seen in her life. The diamond in the center was a large and colorless oval stone, but what really caught her eye was the platinum band itself. The diamond was in a bezel setting with a knife edge designed band. There were three diamonds on each side that tapered in size to a double milgrain design. She could tell the intricate filigree etching had been hand done by an artisan who loved to work with metal and jewelry design as much as she enjoyed working with wood.
“Katherine McIntyre, I know that we are only at the start of our journey together. Tonight I offer you this ring in the hopes that it will be a long, happy one. Will you marry me?”
She didn’t know what to say.
It was the moment she’d been waiting for. This might have started off by accident, but Finn was stepping up and helping her achieve her dream of having a real family for her daughter. Mother, wife, father, husband, child, family...it was all coming together. There was only one thing missing from the picture.
Love.
Kat had told herself she didn’t need it. What the baby needed was more important. She’d told herself that if Finn would marry her, she would make a good life with him and maybe love would come in time.
The moment was right. The ring was perfect. The proposal was heartfelt and well-spoken. She was surrounded by her new family, who were nearly bursting at the seams, waiting for her to say yes so they could spend the rest of the evening celebrating the new couple. It was everything she’d thought she wanted.
It was just the wrong
brother down on one knee.
Eleven
Sawyer could step aside because his father told him to. He could even take his brother shopping to pick out the ring he knew she would love. But he just couldn’t sit at that table and watch Finn propose to the woman Sawyer loved.
Realizing that he loved Kat mere seconds before his brother stood up to make his big speech was Sawyer’s typical poor timing. Before that, he’d known he cared about Kat and the baby. He liked spending time with her. If marrying her made her feel better about raising her daughter, he was willing to do it, and spare Finn from a fate he saw as worse than death. Sawyer knew he didn’t like the idea of his brother with Kat. But until that moment, none of it had added up in his mind to love.
When he realized the truth, it was too much for him to take. He’d been in love before, so he should’ve realized it sooner. But he was stubborn. He knew Kat was never meant to be his, so he hadn’t recognized the signs. How stupid could he be, to fall in love with the woman having his brother’s child? Even after he knew she wanted to marry Finn for the child’s sake, he couldn’t stay away. The whole situation was doomed from their first kiss that day at the District.
So he left. Simple as that. His parents would probably be annoyed. He’d have to explain that he realized he’d forgotten an appointment or something. Left the iron on at home. He certainly couldn’t tell them he was in love with Kat and didn’t want to watch her get engaged to Finn.
His phone rang several times on his drive home that night, but he didn’t answer. He put it on Silent and shoved it into the glove box of his Audi. He didn’t want to hear about how it went. He didn’t want to see a picture of the blissful couple. He just wanted to go home, drink a beer and reevaluate his damn life.
What he certainly didn’t expect was to find his brother sitting in his office the next morning. When he opened the door, Finn was reclining casually on the leather sofa he kept near the window for visits and late afternoon naps.
From Seduction To Secrets (Switched! Book 3) Page 12
