“You’re upset now, but you’ll thank me one day. This is for your own good. Trust me, son, I know you better than you know yourself. You
Andrew wanted to tell him to go to hell then and there, but he couldn’t. God help him but he didn’t trust his feelings for Kat enough. He couldn’t throw away the partnership he’d courted for so long. Instead he walked silently out of the polished mahogany door.
The intercom on the secretary’s desk buzzed. A.W.’s disembodied voice filled the room. “Sheila, put Andrew on my schedule for next Monday at the same time. And go ahead and begin the renovation on the office next to mine.”
KAT JUMPED TO HER FEET when she sighted her brother heading toward her table at Mama Leone’s and toed the shopping bag further under the table. Jackie definitely didn’t need to know about the stock of edible underwear she’d purchased earlier. Andrew, it seemed, was very fond of cherries.
They exchanged a brief hug.
“I’m glad you could make lunch today. How was the christening?” she asked.
“It was fine. The little guy’s cute. How was the soiree? What’d I miss?” quizzed Jackson.
Kat relayed an abbreviated version but still included the fish eggs sliding between Claudia’s cleavage. She and Jackson shared a conspiratorial smile. “You’re hell at a party, aren’t you, sis?”
Pulling apart a garlic roll, Kat shrugged as she popped a piece into her mouth. “I’m a weird magnet. I think it’s something to do with my natural force field.”
“Careful, Kat girl, you’re starting to sound like Mom.”
“Speaking of the weekend, she and Vince stopped by last night.”
“And?”
“Just the usual. His ’n’ her crystal pendants as a wedding gift. Our numbers update. They spent the night on the sofa because they were so enchanted with the karma there.”
“I’m sure Andrew thinks he’s surrounded by loonies.”
“Undoubtedly.” She grinned foolishly. She felt like singing. “I think he likes it.”
Jackson sliced her with his best interrogating-attorney look.
Kat continued. “I made a big mistake with Andrew. No, not that kind of mistake. He’s just not what I thought he’d be. Beneath that cool, starched shirt, he’s warm and caring and considerate. What am I going to do?”
“Exactly what are you saying?”
“This just sucks, but I think I’m in love. I’ve been listening to my behavior tapes several times a day now and it’s just not helping.”
“Have you mentioned this to Andrew? Maybe he feels the same way.”
“No. I know he cares about me, but that’s not the same thing as love. And I don’t want him to feel obligated to keep a wife and child he doesn’t want.”
“Kat girl, maybe I’m not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he did marry you, and it was specifically so you could make a baby.”
“Exactly. Making a baby and keeping a baby-there’s just a tad of a difference between the two. Remember the contract you helped draft? Both Andrew and I were so up-front about everything up until now. I feel I’m not holding up my end of the bargain. I feel deceitful.”
“Are you pregnant?”
“Too soon to tell.”
Jackson passed a weary hand over his eyes. “Perhaps he’s not as eager to give up this child as you think.”
“What makes you say that?” It wasn’t as if Andrew and Jackson were confidants.
“Just talk to Andrew about it.” Guilt washed his face.
Suspicion unfurled and spread through her. “No, I think you and I will talk right now.”
“What the hell. I knew this day would come, I just thought it’d be a lot later than sooner.”
Kat had the same queasiness in the pit of her stomach coupled with calm dread that she’d experienced when the FBI had raided her home looking for Nick.
“Spit it out, Jackson.”
“There’s a clause in your contract that gives Andrew the right to name the baby as his heir. You know how Andrew feels about family heritage. I thought it was in your and the baby’s best interest.”
Betrayal slapped her in the face.
“Are men genetically incapable of trustworthiness? Or have I just managed to surround myself with jerks? Since you obviously have all the answers, maybe you can tell me.”
“Kat-”
“It doesn’t matter.” She yanked money out of her purse and threw it on the table. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
She jumped up, cutting him off. If she could just reach the sanctuary of her car before the threatening tears flooded.
“Kat, let’s talk about this-” Jackson trailed her out of the restaurant.
“I don’t want to talk to you, Jackson. Not for a long time.” She threw off his restraining hand. “But I can’t wait to get my hands on that low-down, conniving, back-stabbing husband of mine.”
She slammed the door and threw the car into reverse. Jackson jumped out of the way.
Andrew, the vegetarian, would be dead meat when she got through with him.
ANDREW TURNED INTO his driveway. After his meeting with A.W., he’d instructed Gloria to clear his calendar for the rest of the day. A drive out to the beach house and miles of walking the shoreline of the gray Atlantic hadn’t come close to clearing his head.
Logically, there should be no choice. He either went with a lifelong goal-his heritage-or a woman he’d known for the span of less than a month.
He parked Gertrude in the garage-hell, he was even calling his car by that ridiculous name these days-and noticed Kat’s station wagon packed with boxes. Probably that summer art program she’d been planning.
He let himself into the house. Something felt different. His in-laws had left. Perhaps that accounted for the odd atmosphere he sensed.
He started down the tiled hallway, loosening his tie, and called out, “Kat?”
A noise in the den caught his attention. Sheer instinct guided him to duck to the right as something flew past his head. Glass crashed against the wall behind him. “What the…?”
Another Waterford tumbler sailed past his head. Thank God she had terrible aim.
“Kat? What’s wrong?”
She looked like absolute hell. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she could have doubled for Rudolph in a Christmas play. She’d either indulged in a crying jag or developed a severe allergy.
“You double-crossing, belly-crawling snake.” His allergy theory flew past with another piece of crystal.
“Can you stop throwing glass long enough to talk?” Surely today would go down in his personal history as the worst day of his life.
“Talk? You want to talk?” Kat stalked around him like a prizefighter biding time on a punch. “That would be an exercise in futility, considering I can’t believe a word that comes out of your mouth.”
Andrew slumped onto the sofa, tasting bitter regret. His day of reckoning had arrived. How she’d found out didn’t matter. “The contract. I’m sorry, Kat. I wanted to talk to you about it. I’d planned to last night.”
Stubborn hurt etched her face as she sneered, “How convenient my mother and stepfather dropped in. But what about before? I trusted you. I thought if there was one thing this ridiculous marriage had going for it, it was that we’d been totally honest with each other. I can’t believe that, once again, I’ve allowed myself to be played for a fool.”
“It was never my intent to play you for a fool. I’m sorry. And I don’t think our marriage is ridiculous. We can work through this.”
“There’s nothing to work through. And don’t worry, I know you’re still waiting on your partnership. I’ll uphold my end of the bargain until it comes through. We should know within a week whether I’m pregnant. If I am, I’ll
