For now, she didn’t have the answers she wanted. Hopefully after today, she would.
* * *
Zander dabbed the freshly cooked bacon strips with a paper towel, wondering if it would look too obvious if he disappeared from sight suddenly.
Sure, Marsha and the crew were busy filming Kat’s morning interview, but with all the glass walls in the bungalow, it’d be easy to see that Zander had snuck off.
Who cared? An entire day and a half had gone by with no sign of Duke. What there had been signs of was a chemistry more promising than Zander had ever known. It was like torture, having a glimpse into something that he’d never be able to have.
With another quick glance at the setup on the dock, Zander washed up, dried his hands, and bolted into their room. He was quick to rush over to the bedside, duck behind the massive bed, and grab the phone. He dialed, waited, and felt his muscles clench once Duke answered with a sleepy voice.
“Hello?”
“Please tell me that you are on your way. Or already here.”
Duke grunted, then yawned. “I’m not.”
“Why?” Zander clenched a tight fist as lava-like heat exploded in his chest.
“I was thinking about it,” Duke said. “And I don’t want to be married to some chick you have the hots for. Or one who has the hots for you. It’s awkward now.”
Zander felt his eyes double in size. His mouth dropped open, but shock stopped even one word from forming. So he repeated one of Duke’s instead. “Awkward?”
“Yes, awkward. It’s obvious that you’re into her, Zan. Don’t pretend otherwise. You should have heard yourself on that message.”
The message—the one he’d left after Kat flittered into the room in a bath robe. Zander had been pretty desperate when he’d made that plea.
“Just…get it out of your system,” Duke continued. “If you want to kiss her and see if there’s some connection, go for it. I don’t have any claim on her.”
Zander tipped his head. “You’re married to her.”
“That’s…c’mon, Zander. I haven’t even met her. I’m trying to do the right thing here.”
“So am I.” His mind was a disrupted hive of bees, buzzing crazily with possibilities he’d never imagined. But could he really accept his brother’s offer to test out the relationship?
“Then don’t hold back while you’re there. Not for my sake, anyway. Like I really want to be married to someone that you’re secretly pining away for.”
Zander’s jaw dropped anew. He wanted to accept Duke’s offer, but he couldn’t get over the idea that it would come at a cost. “Are you going to be mad at me now?”
“Tsk, I don’t know yet.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I mean, I’m pissed,” Duke admitted. “But I don’t see how I can blame you for it. It’s mostly my fault.”
Mostly? Zander resisted the urge to say it was all Duke’s fault, mainly because he felt guilty for liking Kat. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” he said, more to himself than to Duke.
“Well, believe it. You better go before you get busted.”
“What are we supposed to do about the whole swap thing? And Kat? If I’m really pursuing her, I should tell her who I am.”
“No, don’t. That…that freaks me out.”
A vision of Kat floated to his mind. “I know. Me too.”
“I mean, I guess you can tell her,” Duke said, “but don’t do it unless you think she’s like, falling in love with you. Seriously.”
The idea of Kat falling in love with him caused the center of his chest to ache and thump. “Right,” Zander mumbled in reply. A nervous laugh sounded in his throat. “My mind is blown right now. I didn’t even think this was an option.”
