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.”
Ten
The next afternoon, Kaitlin struggled to forget the entire weekend. If she chalked up her experience on Serenity Island to yet another childish fantasy where she found a family and lived happily ever after, she could cope with the way Zach had systematically and deliberately ripped her heart out.
It wasn’t real.
It had never been real.
Working from her apartment, she’d gone back to her original renovation designs, ignoring the twinges of guilt when she thought about Ginny and Sadie and what they might think of what she was doing to the Harpers’ Manhattan building.
This wasn’t about Sadie, nor was it about the Harper and Gilby families. This was about Kaitlin, and her career, and her ability to stand on her own two feet and take care of herself every second of every day for the rest of her life.
So despite the knowledge that Sadie was unlikely to approve of the three extra floors, the five-story lobby, the saltwater aquarium and the palm trees, those features were staying, every single one of them. And she’d added a helipad. Who knew when Dylan would want to drop in?