and Lindsay had started to giggle about half an hour back, but now she found herself fighting tears.
It didn’t seem to matter that Zach had played her for a fool. She’d fallen in love with him, and no matter how many times she told herself it was all a lie, she couldn’t stop wanting the man she’d known on Serenity Island.
She dried her face and ran a comb through her hair, gathering her frayed emotions. Much as she wished she could drink herself into oblivion today, it was time to stop wallowing in self-pity and get her equilibrium back.
Her career in New York was over. Truthfully, she might as well walk away from the Harper project altogether. What Sadie and Zach would want wouldn’t do a thing to save Kaitlin’s career.
At least most of her boxes were still packed.
Another tear leaked out, and she impatiently swiped it away. She told herself she was tough, and she was strong, and she was independent. And she would salvage her life or die trying.
She left the bathroom at a determined pace, rounding the bedroom door into the living room. There, her steps staggered to a stop.
Zach stood in the middle of her apartment, large as life and twice as sexy.
She was too stunned to shriek, too stunned to cry, too stunned to do anything, but let her jaw drop open.
“Hello, Kaitlin.”
She still didn’t have her bearings. “Huh?”
“I came to apologize.”
She glanced swiftly around the apartment. “Where’s Lindsay? How did you-?”
“Lindsay left with Dylan.”
Kaitlin gave her head a little shake, but she wasn’t delusional. That really was Zach standing there. “Why would she do that?”
“He kidnapped her,” said Zach. “I wouldn’t expect to see her for a few days.”
“He can’t do that.”
“That’s what I said,” Zach agreed. “But I don’t think those two have ever cared much about the rules.”
“Lindsay’s a lawyer.” Of course she cared about the rules. She was passionate about the rules.
Zach seemed to ponder that fact for a few moments. “Yeah,” he conceded. “Dylan may have a bit of a problem with that when he brings her back.”
“Is that a joke?” Was Lindsay about to jump out of the closet?
Instead of answering, Zach took a few steps forward. Her heart rate increased. Her chest went tight. And a low buzz started in the base of her belly.
She knew she should fight the reaction, but she had no idea how to turn it off.
“He took my yacht,” said Zach, moving closer still, his gaze locked with hers every step of the way.
“So you’re an accessory to kidnapping?” Her shock at the sight of him was starting to wear off, replaced by amazement that he was actually standing here in front of her. She could feel herself sink reluctantly back into the fantasy.
“Dylan told me she wanted a pirate, so she was getting a pirate.”
“Is that why you’re here?” she asked. “To help Dylan?”
“No.”
“Then why?”
“Because I have something for you.”
She forced herself to go cold and demanding. “I hope it’s a big check.” She knew she’d given up, abandoned the renovation, but Zach didn’t need to know that yet.
“As a matter of fact, it is.”
“Good.” She gave a decisive nod, marveling at her own ability to hold her composure. The urge to throw herself into Zach’s arms grew more powerful by the second.
“Seventy-five million dollars,” he told her.
It took a few seconds for his words to sink in.
“What?” She took a reflexive step back.
“I sold a ship.”
“I’m giving you seventy-five million dollars for the renovation.”
Kaitlin blinked at him.
“But that’s not the real reason I’m here.”
For a split second, hope flared within her. But she squelched it. Zach couldn’t be trusted. She’d learned that the hard way half a dozen times over.
He handed her an envelope. “I’m here to give you this. It’s not much.”
Watching him warily, Kaitlin lifted the flap. She slid out a laminated picture. It showed a twentysomething couple with a young, blonde girl at the beach. The caption was
She didn’t understand.
“Phillipe and Aimee Saville,” Zach said softly, and it felt as if Kaitlin’s heart stopped.
“It was the best I could do,” he continued. “There was a house fire in 1983. None of their possessions were saved. But the private investigators found this in the archives of a New Jersey newspaper. The little girl is your mother.”
Kaitlin was completely speechless.
Her grandparents?
Zach had found grandparents?
Zach had
Her fingers reflexively tightened on the photograph, and she felt herself sway to one side.
Zach’s hand closed around her shoulder, steadying her.
“I’ve had three margaritas,” she told him, embarrassed. She ought to be completely sober for a moment like this.
“That explains why Lindsay went so quietly.”
Kaitlin fought against the sensation of his touch, even as she struggled to make sense of his gesture. “How? Where?”
“I had some people start looking last week. After you told me.” His hand tightened on her shoulder. “And I couldn’t stand to see the pain in your eyes.”
Her throat closed tighter, and her chest burned with emotion. She had to blink back tears at his thoughtfulness. Her voice dropped to a pained whisper. “How am I supposed to hate you?”
He drew a deep breath. Then he closed his eyes for a long second. He reached out and gently smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “You’re not.”
His hand stayed there, resting against her hair. Her nerves tingled where he touched. Her body begged her to sway forward against him, even as her mind ordered her to hold still.
She couldn’t trust him. She didn’t trust him. Oh, my, how she wanted to trust him.
He stroked his way to her cheek, cupping her face, tilting his head at an angle she’d come to recognize, to love.
He was going to kiss her, just like he’d done a hundred times, maybe a thousand. His lips dipped closer, and she moistened her own. She inhaled his scent, and her body relaxed into the exquisite moment.
“You’re not supposed to hate me,” he repeated on a whisper. “You’re supposed to love me.”
Then, he paused with his lips just barely brushing hers. “Because I love you, Katie. I love you so much.”
His mouth captured hers, sending joy cascading through her body. His kiss was deep, sweet and long. His arms wrapped fully around her, hauling her close, pulling her safely into the circle of his embrace.
She clung to him, molding against him, passion and joy making her feel weightless.
After long minutes, he finally drew back. “Renovate anything you want,” he rasped. “I’ll sell half the damn fleet if I have to. Just don’t leave me again. Not ever.”
“I gave up the new design,” she told him.
He drew back. “What? Why?”
“Sadie wouldn’t like it.”
Zach stilled. “Sadie doesn’t matter. The past doesn’t matter. Only the future, Kaitlin. And you’re the future.
