Kat nodded, but her face scrunched up a bit as she squinted over at him. “I thought Zander was the serious one.”
A spark of fear lit hot in his chest. “What was that?” Too comfortable. He’d gotten far too comfortable around her.
“I don’t know a ton about your family,” she admitted. “But I knew enough that—when it came down to approaching you or one of your siblings, I feared facing Zander the most.”
He felt his own face scrunch up next. “And who did you fear the least?”
She grinned, then bumped him with her elbow. “You.”
Irritation shot through him. “You feared Duke less than Betzy?”
“You’re talking about yourself in third person now?” Kat asked, making him realize what he’d just said. “And yes. Everyone knows Betzy’s nice, but she can be tough. I figured that, with you, I’d be able to…” She stopped there, and Zander couldn’t help but fill in the blank.
“Flirt? Use your good looks to help me see reason?”
“No,” she said plainly. “I just figured you’d be more easily swayed than the others might. That’s all.”
When she put it that way, she was probably right. Still, he didn’t like where the conversation had taken them. “And you don’t think Zander listened to you?” He should let it drop, but he couldn’t.
“I’m not sure,” she said thoughtfully. “I guess we’ll find out when we see what he does with Milton and Brewster.”
Zander nodded. How in the world would things go over when he finally told her who he was?
“He did send me flowers though,” Kat added. “It was a beautiful bouquet, actually.”
“He did?” Zander prodded.
“Yeah. It was nice. I was pretty flattered, actually.”
This surprised him yet again. “You were?”
She shrugged. “I never said he wasn’t attractive.” She turned to face him once more. “Honestly…” Her voice dropped to a whisper as she reached out and traced the outline of his jaw with one finger. “A face this nice…it’s no wonder God decided there should be two of them. It’s—hands down—the most handsome face I’ve ever seen.”
Zander reached up, slipped his fingers around hers, and brought her silky palm to his lips. While gazing at her through his lashes, he pressed a warm kiss to her skin. “You, Kat, are beautiful. I really lucked out with this whole wedding thing.” He considered the live filming of the show, the millions of people who’d likely tuned in to watch.
“I’m no doubt the envy of every available man who watched that.”
A dose of pink warmed her cheeks. “I wonder if your ex saw it. Monica?”
Just hearing Kat say her name aloud made him realize something else. As soon as their honeymoon was over, they’d have access to the internet again. Kat would easily find—with a simple search alone—that Monica was tied to him, not Duke.
The acknowledgment seemed to put a seal on things. He’d have to tell Kat who he really was. Not just before the eight weeks were up, but before their time at the magical islands were through.
A recollection of Duke’s warning came back to him then, wreaking havoc in his head. Don’t do it unless you think she’s falling in love with you.
His heart had been soaring like a hawk just moments ago. Now it felt as if it was sinking somewhere deep beneath the earth’s core. Taking his hopes for making this work along with it. Now he’d have to tell Kat who he was whether the feelings were mutual or not. The trouble was, telling her too soon might ruin it for him entirely.
Chapter 16
“This makes me feel like we’re really married,” Kat said as she shaped a crab cake with her hands. She glanced over at the gorgeous creature beside her, reminding herself that he was, in fact, her husband.
“The whole cooking together thing?” His hair might be shorter than it was when he could fit it into a man bun, but it was still long enough to fall into his eye-line while he worked. She grinned as she watched him flick his head back to get the dark strand out of his way. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and his fingers were caked with the mixture as he shaped a cake of his own.
“Yeah.” Gently, Kat placed the small patty into the pan. The shallow layer of grease sizzled and popped. The tempting aroma wafted through the air.
Duke stepped over, holding one in each hand. “You ready for these?”
“Yep.”
