The Ceo’s Accidental Bride

Nine

Zach found Kaitlin in the portrait gallery, gazing at a painting of his grandmother when she had been in her twenties.

“Hey,” he said, coming up behind her. He didn’t ask and didn’t wait for permission before wrapping his arms around her waist, nestling her into the cradle of his body.

“Do you think she was happy?” Kaitlin asked.

“Yes.”

“Did she love your grandfather?”

“As far as I could tell.” He hadn’t spent much time looking at the portraits over the past years, and his memory of his grandmother was that of an old woman. He’d forgotten how lovely she was. No wonder his grandfather had married her so young.

“Ginny says she felt trapped sometimes.”

“I love Ginny dearly,” Zach began, a warning in his tone.

There was a thread of laughter in Kaitlin’s voice when she interrupted him. “She doesn’t seem too crazy about you.”

“But you know she’s not all there, right?”

“She’s a blast,” Kaitlin responded. “And her memory seems very sharp.”

“Well, it had to be a pretty big cage. They went to Europe at least twice a year, and spent half their time in Manhattan. You should have seen the garden parties. The governor, theatre stars, foreign diplomats.”

“Okay, so it was a big cage,” Kaitlin conceded.

“Come here. Let me show you something.” Zach shifted his arm around her shoulders, guiding her down the gallery toward the staircase.

“Your room?” she asked.

“No. But I like the way you’re thinking.” He steered her down to the first floor then back through the hallways to Sadie’s parlor.

“What are we doing?”

“I want to show you that she was happy.”

He sat Kaitlin on the settee and retrieved an old photo album from Sadie’s bookcase. Sitting next to her, he flipped through the pages until he came to one of the Harpers’ famous garden parties. The pictures were black and white, slightly faded, but they showed the gardens in their glory, and the sharp-dressed upper crust of New York nibbling finger sandwiches and chatting away the afternoon.

“That’s her.” Zach pointed to his grandmother in a flowing dress and a silk flower-brimmed hat. Her smile was bright, and Zach’s grandfather Milton had a hand tucked against the small of her back.

“She does look happy,” Kaitlin was forced to admit.

“And that’s a hedge, not prison bars,” said Zach.

Kaitlin elbowed him in the ribs. “The bars are metaphorical.”

“The hedge is real. So were the trips to Europe.”

Kaitlin flipped the page, coming to more party photos, people laughing, drinking punch, playing croquet and wandering through the rose garden. There was a band in the gazebo, and a few couples were dancing on the patio. Some of the pictures showed children playing.

“That’s my father,” said Zack, smiling to himself as he pointed out the five-year-old boy in shorts, a white shirt and suspenders standing next to the duck pond. He had a rock in his hand, and one of his shoes was missing. He looked as if he was seconds away from wading after the ducks.

Kaitlin chuckled softly. “Were you anything like that as a child?”

Zach rose to retrieve another album.

“Here.” He let her open it and page her way through the pictures of him as a young child.

“You were adorable,” she cooed, moving from his toddler pictures to preschool to Zach at five years old, digging up flower bulbs, dirt smeared across his face and clothes.

“Yeah, let’s go with adorable.”

“Did you get into trouble for that?”

“I would guess I did. Probably from Grandma Sadie. Those gardens were her pride and joy.”

“I never had a garden,” said Kaitlin, and Zach immediately felt guilty for showing her the album. He’d done it again, parading out his past and his relatives without giving a thought to the contrast with her life.

“I bet you stayed cleaner than I did,” he said, making a weak attempt at a joke.

“Once I realized-” She paused, gripping the edge of the album. “Hoo. I’m not going to do that.” She turned another page.

“Do what?”

“Nothing.” Her attention was focused on a series of shots of the beach and a picnic.

“Katie?”

“Nothing.”

He gently removed the album from her hands. “I upset you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Liar.”

She straightened her shoulders. “It was hard, okay.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

“You’re right. I don’t.” He folded the book closed and set it on the table beside him. “I’m sorry I showed you the photos. It was thoughtless.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“What were you going to say?”

She pasted him with a look of impatience.

“I’ve got all night to wait,” he warned her, sitting back and making a show of getting comfortable.

She clenched her jaw, looking mulish, and he prepared himself for a contest of wills.

But then her toughness disappeared, and she swallowed. Then she closed her eyes for a second. “I was going to say…”

Part of him wanted to retract the question. But another part of him wanted to know, needed to know what she’d gone through as a child.

“I was going to say,” she repeated, sounding small and fragile, “once I realized people could give me away.” Her voice cracked. “I tried to be very, very good.”

Zach honestly thought his heart was going to break.

He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close. She felt so tiny in his arms, so vulnerable. He hated that she’d been alone as a child.

“I’m sorry, Katie,” he whispered against her hair.

She shook her head back and forth. “It’s not your fault.”

He drew a deep breath. “You’ve been alone for a very long time.”

“I’m used to it.”

But she wasn’t. She couldn’t be. Nobody should have to get used to not having a family. Zach had lost his parents when he was twenty, and that had been devastating enough. He’d still had his grandmother, and he’d always had the Gilbys. And he’d had Aunt Ginny, who usually liked him very much.

“Look,” said Kaitlin, pulling back and wiping a single tear from her cheek. “There’s a full moon outside.”

He twisted his head to look out the window. “Yeah?”

“You want to go skinny-dipping?” she asked.

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

The salt water was chilly against Kaitlin’s skin, but Zach’s body felt deliciously warm. He held her flush against himself, her feet dangling just above the sandy bottom. Over his left shoulder, she could see the distant lights of the Gilby house. And when she turned her head the other way, she could see the Harper castle in all its glory.

The gardens were smaller than they were in the pictures, but they were still lit up at night. And an illuminated path wound its way from the edge of the garden to the sandy beach, where she and Zach had stripped off their clothes before plunging into the surf.

“Lindsay is talking about staying a few more days,” Zach offered.

Kaitlin drew back to look at him. “With Dylan?” Lindsay hadn’t said anything to her. Then again, she had spent most of her time at the Gilby house.

Zach’s teeth flashed white under the moonlight. “I think they have worked out their differences.”

“You mean Lindsay won,” Kaitlin corrected. “Where’s my ten dollars, by the way?”

“Dylan thinks he’s the one who won.”

“He totally caved.”

“I don’t think he cares.”

“By the way, if Ginny asks, they’re not having sex.”

“Ohhh-kay,” Zach slowly agreed.

“She’ll probably ask,” Kaitlin warned. “She’s obsessed with Dylan’s love life.”

“I won’t answer,” Zach pledged.

“Good.”

Neither Kaitlin nor Zach spoke for a few minutes. The cool waves bobbed their bodies, while the sound of the surf rushed up on the sand, punctuating the breeze that whispered through the bushes along the shoreline.

“You want to stay, too?” Zach asked softly, rocking her back and forth in his arms.

Kaitlin stilled against him, not sure what he was asking.

“With Lindsay?” he elaborated. “For a few days? You could work right from here?”

“What about you?” she asked, still wondering what he meant by the invitation. Was he asking her to stay on the island, or to stay with him?

“If you’re staying?” A slow, sultry smiled curved his mouth, darkening his eyes to slate. “I’m sure not leaving.”

Kaitlin’s smile grew in return. “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

He spun her in a circle, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands gripping his shoulders for balance. His hold was tight under her bottom as she knifed through the water.

The moon glistened high in the sky, surrounded by layers of stars. They were the same stars that Lyndall had used to navigate his way to the island hundreds of years ago. The same stars that Sadie had gazed at as a girl and as a woman, a mother.

Zach slowed and stopped, the waves now the only motion around them. Kaitlin gazed at the lighted gardens that Sadie had so clearly loved. The woman had been the guardian of the castle, the keeper of the family’s heritage. And because of her decisions, Kaitlin had been trusted with the Harper office building.

Zach nuzzled her neck.

The office building was much newer, of course. But Kaitlin couldn’t help but believe the renovations would matter to Sadie. Maybe Zach was right. Maybe wholesale change wasn’t such a great thing. Maybe Kaitlin had some kind of responsibility to his family.

Maybe she needed to rethink her approach.

“Zach?” she ventured.

“Hmm?” he asked, the vibration of his lips tickling the sensitized skin of her neck.

“Could you get me a copy of the Hugo Rosche plans?”

He drew back, brows going up. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Sure.” He nodded, the nod growing faster. “Of course I could.”

“I’m not making any promises,” she warned him.

“I understand.”

“I’m just going to look.” She had no idea what she was going to do now. She still needed her career, which meant she needed a fantastic project for the Harper building. But maybe there was a compromise of some kind. She just didn’t know.

A smile curved Zach’s mouth. “No problem.”

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“Oh, Katie.” He planted a long, warm kiss on her damp mouth. He drew back, his grin wide as he smoothed her hair. “My hopes have been up for quite some time now.”

She gave in to her desire for him, tipping her head and giving her lashes a few flirtatious blinks. “And what exactly are you hoping for?”

“You. Naked.”

She made a show of glancing at their bodies. “I’m liking your chances.”

“In my pirate’s lair.” He kissed her neck once more, then her jawline, her cheek, working his way to the corner of her mouth.

“Piece of advice, Zach?”

“Speed things up?” he asked hopefully, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“For future reference, that line will probably be a lot more successful if you refer to it as a castle instead of a lair.”

His hand closed over her breast, peaked and sensitized in the cool, damp air.

She gasped at the sensation.

“Lair,” he repeated on a growl.

“Fine. Yes. Whatever.”

Three days later, Dylan’s parents arrived, back from their business meetings in Chicago. And, as usual, they brought company.

Zach was happy to see them. David and Darcie were two of his favorite people in the world. After his parents died, they’d become even more important in his life. David was a brilliant businessman, while Darcie was the most loving and compassionate honorary aunt Zach could have wished for.

Still, he knew this meant the end of his interlude with Kaitlin. Dylan would never have a woman stay at the house with his parents there, and it was past time for Zach to get back to Manhattan.

“You weren’t kidding about them having a few friends over,” Kaitlin observed as they drove the golf cart the last quarter mile to the Gilbys’ house. Music wafted from the open windows, and it was easy to see groups of people circulating on the deck.

“What are the Gilbys like?”

“David’s savvy, hardworking, a great guy to go to for advice. Darcie’s friendly, gregarious. You’ll like her.”

“What will she think of me…?” Kaitlin’s voice trailed off on the half-finished question.

He put his hand over hers. “We can let her think whatever you like.” He paused, but Kaitlin didn’t step in and offer a suggestion. “How about a business associate and a friend?” he asked.

Kaitlin accepted with a smile.

Zach fought a shot of disappointment, but he let it slide. He didn’t want people to think Kaitlin was his business associate. He wanted them to think… He paused. What? That she was his lover? His girlfriend? His wife? His hands gripped tighter on the steering wheel. He was going to have to figure it out. Not right this minute, of course. But soon.

“Lindsay will probably stay at my place for the night,” he told Kaitlin. “When it’s only Ginny, well, she’d never notice. But with his parents, Dylan doesn’t…”

“I understand,” Kaitlin said, nodding easily.

Zach hoped Lindsay would react the same way.

Then again, that was Dylan’s problem. Zach’s problem was figuring out where things were left with him and Kaitlin.

Would they continue seeing each other in Manhattan? He had quickly grown used to waking up with her every morning. He liked having her around for breakfast, reconnecting over dinner. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he wanted to sign the damn divorce papers anymore.

Of course, that was ridiculous.

Luckily, that decision was months away.

He glanced at Kaitlin’s profile, taking in her pert nose, those gorgeous green eyes, the spray of freckles that had come out in the sun. And, of course, her wild, coconut-scented auburn hair that he buried his face into every chance he got.

At the top of the driveway, he pressed the button to open the garage door, pulling the golf cart inside, unable to shake the feeling that something precious had just ended.

He stepped out and rounded the vehicle. Then he took Kaitlin’s hand, leading her to the three steps and the doorway that would take them into the house and the party.

Unable to help himself, he stopped her there, cradled her face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly.

She responded, like she always did, soft lips parted, a light touch of her tongue meshing with his. Her breasts pressed up against his chest, and she came up on her toes to meet him partway. He loved that about her.

His arms tightened around her slender waist.

This wasn’t goodbye, he told himself. She worked for him, with him. They’d both be in Manhattan. They would see each other at the office every day.

Hell, they were married. She couldn’t just run off and disappear from his life. He’d find a way to keep her with him for a long time to come.

She pulled back. “You keep this up, and they’re never going to believe we’re business colleagues.”

“We’re husband and wife,” he said gruffly.

She grinned and playfully swiped her index finger across the tip of his nose. “We’re pretty much faking everything here, aren’t we, Zach?”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she turned away, skipping up the stairs, opening the door and ending the moment.

He quickly trapped the door with his hand before it could swing shut. Music chimed from the sound system, while chattering voices spilled from the deck into the great room. All the staff members were working, impeccably dressed and serving drinks or circulating with appetizers.

Zach knew the kitchen would be a hive of activity. He also knew Ginny would be in her element, visiting with guests into the evening until she gave in to exhaustion. He saw Kaitlin heading toward Lindsay on the deck and started after her.

“Zach,” came David’s booming voice. “Great to see you at home, son.”

“Welcome back, sir.” Zach shook his hand.

“You remember Kevin O’Connor.” David gestured to a fiftyish gentleman with a three-olive martini in his hand.

“Swiss International Bank,” Zach acknowledged, shaking again, checking for Kaitlin out the corner of his eye.

“Kevin has a client,” David began. “He’s out of Hong Kong, and he’s got mining interests in Canada and South America.”

“I see,” Zach said, dutifully focusing his attention. Mining companies were massive shippers; ore was both heavy and voluminous. And a Hong Kong client likely had access to the mainland China market. Zach’s personal life would have to go on hold for a moment.

The moment turned into half an hour. A drink was put into Zach’s hand, and a third man joined them, a friend of Kevin’s with an interest in manufacturing.

By the time the conversation wound down, Kaitlin was nowhere to be found. Neither was Lindsay.

He managed to track down Dylan, who was with Ginny, then he was rewarded when he heard Kaitlin’s voice from behind him.

“You must be enjoying the party,” she offered breezily to Ginny, who was decked out in chiffon and diamonds, a folded, lace fan in her hand and her dogs at her feet in rhinestone collars.

“And who is this young lady?” Ginny asked in an imperious tone. She leaned toward Kaitlin. “Are you here with my grandson? He’s a catch, you know.”

Zach turned in time to see Kaitlin’s surprise morph into obvious disappointment.

“I’d stay away from this one,” said Ginny, tapping Zach’s arm with the fan. “He’s a reprobate and a heartbreaker.”

Kaitlin’s eyes clouded to jade.

“Auntie-” Dylan stepped in “-this is Kaitlin Saville and Lindsay Rubin.”

“Pretty,” Ginny acknowledged with a gracious sweep of her fan.

“Kaitlin is my architect,” said Zach.

Ginny looked at him, eyes clouding with puzzlement. “Are you changing the castle? Does Sadie know?”

There was an instant and awkward silence.

Zack had been through this before, about a dozen times so far, but it never got any easier.

He gently took Ginny’s hand and lowered his tone. “Aunt Ginny, do you remember that Sadie passed away?”

Ginny drew back warily. Then she gave herself a little shake. “Of course I remember. I meant…” Her voice trailed off.

Dylan stepped in again. “Auntie, would you like to dance?”

Ginny snapped him with her fan, seeming to recover. “I’m too old to dance. People my age are dropping like flies.” Her attention turned to Lindsay. “You should dance with my grandson. He has a lot of money.”

Darcie joined the circle, and Zach took the opportunity to whisk Kaitlin away.

“You okay?” he asked as they made their way out onto the deck. The sun had set, and the lights were coming on all over the grounds. The music seemed to swell louder, and the conversation grew more animated as the guests consumed martinis, wine and single malt.

“She didn’t remember me at all.” Sadness was clear in Kaitlin’s tone as they came to the rail.

“She will,” Zach promised, not sure if he was lying or not. Ginny’s early memories were her best. Recent events often escaped her.

“She taught me to bake pie.” Kaitlin’s voice was stilted. She leaned her arms on the railing and stared out at the ocean. “Nobody ever taught me to bake before. I was starting to think…” She paused, then tried a lukewarm smile. “I’m being silly. She’s old. Of course she forgets things. You were great.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“How many times have you had to tell her about your grandmother?”

“A few,” Zach admitted. And he was sure that previous one wouldn’t be the last. He stared at the lights at his place, wishing they were down there right now.

“Kaitlin?” Ginny’s voice surprised Zach. “There you are, dear.” She sidled up to Kaitlin, glancing warily around them, her voice becoming conspiratorial. “I’ve changed my mind.”

Kaitlin’s smile was bright as she blinked away the telltale sheen in her eyes. “You have?”

“That nice girl, Lindsay?”

Kaitlin nodded, and Zach smiled in relief.

“I think she should sleep with Dylan.”

“What?”

Ginny placed a hand on Kaitlin’s arm. “Hear me out.” Then she turned and gave Zach a censorious look. “Excuse us please, Zachary. The women would like to talk.”

Zach held his palms up in surrender and backed away.

He circulated through the party a little, and then Dylan caught up with him outside David’s study and herded him inside to where they were alone.

Dylan seemed agitated. He crossed to the small bar and poured himself a scotch. “You okay to take Lindsay down with you tonight?”

“No problem.”

Dylan waggled a second, empty glass, raising his brow to Zach in question.

“Sure,” Zach answered, walking farther into the room, the noise of the party fading behind him through the open door.

“I haven’t told her yet,” Dylan confessed, handing Zach a crystal tumbler of single malt then taking a sip from his own.

“You need my help?”

Dylan shook his head, moving to the bay window. “She’ll be disappointed. At least, I hope she’ll be disappointed. But she’s a trouper. She really is, Zach. She’s quite the little trouper.” He took another sip.

Zach moved closer. “Are you okay?”

“Sure. Fine. Why?”

Zach had never seen Dylan act this way, not over a woman, not over anything. “Something going on between you and Lindsay? I mean, other than the obvious?”

“What’s the obvious?”

Treading on unfamiliar ground, Zach chose his words carefully. “A physical…connection?”

“Oh, yeah. That.”

“But there’s more,” Zach guessed.

Dylan shot him a look that questioned his sanity, but Zach had no idea how to interpret it. Was there something serious going on between Dylan and Lindsay? Had he made her angry again?

“I should warn you,” said Zach, stepping into the silence. “Aunt Ginny is out there advising Lindsay to sleep with you.” Dylan stilled. “What?”

“I assume it’s to trap you into marriage. You might want to watch your back.”

“I don’t think it’s my back that needs watching,” Dylan muttered.

“You don’t seem too worried.”

Dylan shrugged.

Zach watched his friend’s expression carefully. “Seriously, Dylan. Is there something going on between you two?”

Dylan frowned. “I’m not saying there is.”

“Are you saying there’s not?”

Dylan compressed his lips. “What about you and Kaitlin?” he asked, turning the tables.

“Nothing,” Zach lied, perching on the arm of an overstuffed leather chair. He wasn’t ready to talk to anybody about his relationship with Kaitlin. He didn’t even have it straight in his own mind yet.

“You’re sleeping with her,” said Dylan.

Zach shot him a pointed look. “That’s just…” In fact, Zach wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Somehow his physical attraction to Kaitlin, their renovation battle and their mock marriage had all meshed together in a way that was well past confusing.

“Sex?” Dylan asked bluntly.

“It’s not relevant,” said Zach.

“What about the renovation? Is that relevant? You haven’t forgotten why she’s here, have you?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten why she’s here.”

Dylan took another drink. “So, the plan’s working?”

“It’s going great,” Zach admitted, trying to inject some enthusiasm for how well things were working out for him on that front. “She asked for the Hugo Rosche plans. She’s been using them for the past few days. And, well, I think she’s getting that Grandma Sadie wasn’t progressive and flamboyant. And she’s figuring it out for herself, which is exactly what we wanted.”

“So, your devious little scheme is coming together in spades,” Dylan summed up.

“It was your devious little scheme.”

“You approved it,” Dylan noted. “You implemented it. And it looks like you’ll save yourself a bundle.”

“I did,” Zach agreed. Too bad saving a bundle didn’t seem so important anymore. Too bad he’d started to wish he could give Kaitlin her dream project, unlimited funds, unfettered imagination.

“I think we’ve heard just about enough,” Lindsay’s lawyer voice cut in.

Zach whirled, nearly spilling his drink.

In the study’s open doorway stood Kaitlin, her face completely pale.

Lindsay’s face was beet-red.

Dylan had turned to a statue.

“You-” Lindsay pointed to Dylan, anger quaking deep in her voice “-scheming little pirate-boy. You take us back to Manhattan, right this minute.”