“Why not just return it to the dealership, and I’ll get a rental car?”
“I got too good a deal on it. If you don’t want it, fine, but someone is getting a new Lexus. There’s no sense paying for a rental car, too, when it’s sitting there in your driveway.”
“Okay,” Kat said reluctantly. “Is this why you crept out of my bed at dawn?”
“I hardly crept out at dawn. It was eight thirty and you were out like a light. I hated to wake you up, so I let you sleep.”
That made Kat feel a little better, although as she looked down at the key fobs in her hand, she couldn’t help but think that Sawyer would get his way where the car was concerned. Where everything was concerned, actually. No matter how much time they spent together, she never seemed to be able to pin him down to talk about the District. There were parties and family members and new cars to distract her, and she was running out of time.
“I’m going to talk to the guy about your Jeep and I’ll give you a call back later, okay?”
“All right.”
“Oh, and before I forget, do you have plans for the Fourth of July?”
Kat didn’t need to look at her calendar to know she didn’t. She figured she’d be working at the District, like she always was. They got higher than average foot traffic on holidays. Still, she liked the idea of seeing Sawyer again that soon. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh, good. Grandmother wanted me to invite you to the family Fourth of July party.”
Kat tried to swallow her disappointment that it was Ingrid, not Sawyer, who wanted to see her again. At least she hadn’t embarrassed herself too badly with the family if they’d invited her to another gathering. “Another party?” Kat asked. Her toes still hurt from the last one.
“This one is different. Just the immediate family cruising the harbor to watch fireworks from our yacht.”
Kat cringed at the way Sawyer could talk about the family yacht as though that’s what everyone did on a summer holiday. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
“I’ll tell Grandmother Ingrid you said yes, then.”
Before Kat could argue, the call ended and she found herself staring at her phone, dumbfounded. She certainly hadn’t intended to get this involved with the Steele family, but now that she was, they were turning into a handful.
It was a nice change of pace from being alone.
* * *
“Come on back, Mr. Steele. Ms. McIntyre is already in the exam room, but the doctor is still with another patient.”
Sawyer smiled and nodded to the nurse as she knocked gently on the door and then opened it to let him inside.
“Guess who’s here?” the nurse said brightly. “Daddy was able to make the appointment, after all!”
Sawyer saw Kat whip her head around to where he was standing in the doorway. Her jaw clenched, but she didn’t bother to argue with the nurse, or have him tossed and cause a scene.
“Great,” she said flatly.
Once the nurse slipped back out the door, Kat’s smile faded. “What exactly do you think you’re doing, crashing my prenatal appointment?”
Sawyer shrugged and settled into the guest chair. “My brother told me to keep an eye on things. I’m sure he would want to be at this appointment if he were here, so I thought I’d pop in and pass any news along to him.”
“So you just told them you were the father and they let you in?”
&
nbsp; “Yes and no,” he admitted. “I was waiting patiently in the lobby for you to finish. They approached and asked if I was the father and if I wanted to come back to see the ultrasound and get the lab results, so I said yes. It’s not like they’ll ever know me from Finn, anyway.”
“I’ll know.” Kat fidgeted with her uncomfortable-looking paper gown.
“It’s a little late to act shy around me,” Sawyer said. “I’ve seen all this, and recently.”
“This is different.” Kat crossed her arms over her chest and twisted her lips in irritation.