The CEO's Accidental Bride

“Mail them.”

“You don’t want to see her in person?”

Zach bristled. “To do what? To say what? To let her yell at me again?” Truth was, he’d give anything to see Kaitlin again, even if it was only to hear her yell. But what was the point? He’d chewed up her trust and spit it out, over and over again.

“You could tell her you sold the ship.”

“Big deal.” So Zach had come up with seventy-five million dollars. It wasn’t as if he had a choice. Kaitlin would be full steam ahead on the renovation again, and the only way he was going to get his company back was to give her the carte blanche she’d demanded. The only way to do that was to sell an asset. So he’d sold an asset. She wouldn’t give him brownie points for doing that. “You think an old newspaper photo and money I had to give her all along are going to make a difference?”

“You gotta try, Zach.”

“No, I don’t.”

“You’re in love with her.”

“No, I’m not.”

Dylan coughed out a cold laugh and came to his feet. “You sorry son-of-a—”

“I am not in love with Kaitlin.”

He liked Kaitlin. Sure, he liked Kaitlin. What was not to like?

And, yeah, he’d have stayed with her for the foreseeable future. He’d have woken up next to her for as long as she’d let him. And maybe for a few days there he’d entertained fantasies about what could happen between them long term.

But those were just fantasies. They had nothing to do with the real world.

In the real world, he and Kaitlin were adversaries. She’d wanted to save her career, and he’d wanted to keep his company intact. She’d won. He’d lost. Nothing to be done about it now but mop up after the fallout.

“I saw your face when she walked out,” Dylan offered. “I’ve known you your whole life, Zach.”

Zach turned on him. “You know nothing.”

“You’re going to lie to me? That’s your next big plan?”

“I don’t have a next big plan.”

“Well, you’d better come up with one. Or you’re going to lose Kaitlin forever.”

The words felt like a stake in Zach’s heart.

He didn’t love Kaitlin. He couldn’t love Kaitlin. It would be a disaster to love Kaitlin.

He swallowed.

“What about you?” he asked Dylan.

“I already have a plan,” Dylan stated with smug satisfaction. “And I don’t even love Lindsay. I’m just not ready to let her go yet.”

“That’s how it starts,” said Zach.

Dylan’s brows shot up. “And you know this because…?”

“What’s your plan?” Zach countered.

Okay, maybe he did love Kaitlin just a little bit. But he’d get over it.

“I’m kidnapping Lindsay. She wanted a pirate, she’s getting a pirate. Can I borrow your yacht?”

“You can’t kidnap her.”

“Watch me.”

Zach took in the determination in Dylan’s eyes. And for a second there, he wished he could simply kidnap Kaitlin. If he could get her on board his yacht, he could probably keep her there for a few days, maybe even a few weeks. By the end of it, like Lyndall, he might be able to win her over.

On the other hand, she might have him arrested. Or she might throw him overboard. Or she might decide the Harper building needed to be a hundred stories high and truly bankrupt him.

Kidnapping was not a real option.

Instead, he’d give her the money. He’d give her the news clipping and the photo. Then, like the gentleman he’d once been, he’d step out of her life forever.

Three margaritas later, Kaitlin splashed cold water on her face in the small bathroom of her apartment. She 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.”

“What?”

“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 Holiday Travelers Enjoy Fourth of July Celebrations.

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 looked for her grandparents?

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?” Why had he done this?

“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?”