“In her mind,” Marsha continued, “this—the trust—is shot. Gone. It doesn’t exist anymore. She trusted him and he lied. She trusted the show and we failed her. She trusted her own feelings and now thinks they’re false too. Meanwhile, she hasn’t even met the man we selected for her. And I think there’s a part of her that’s…unsettled about that fact.”
“So what are we supposed to do?” Michael blurted. “Let those two go to dinner and see if they hit it off?”
“Michael,” Claudia scolded. “Shh.”
A hint of amusement pulled at the corner of Marsha’s lips. “Actually…we are going to give her the choice of who she’d like to stay with during the remainder of the eight-week trial period. Zander or Duke.”
“What makes you think she’ll choose either of those?” Duke asked with a laugh.
“The fact that Kat doesn’t have billions of dollars to defend herself against a lawsuit,” Grandma Lo chimed.
Another sharp twist of pain pricked Zander’s core.
“And there she does it again,” Marsha said. “Why haven’t you and I put our great minds together, Ms. Benton? We’d make an impressive team.”
“Can we get on with this?” Michael urged. “I’m in desperate need of a bathroom break.”
Marsha cleared her throat. “This is our offer to Kat. A way for her to stay true to the contract and avoid repercussion.”
“I don’t want to come between her and Zander,” Duke said. “They’re freaking in love with each other. That’s whack.”
“Then hopefully she won’t choose that option, Duke. But you have obligations of your own. Either you or Zander step in for the remainder of your commitment, or we explore how deep the Benton bank really goes.”
Zander straightened up as the options sank in. “So you’re saying that she has to spend the next six weeks with either me or Duke?”
“Yes, which she would have done anyway had this whole thing not blown up,” Marsha said.
“And either one of those options will satisfy her contract?” Zander asked.
“Correct.”
“You catch on quick,” Duke said under his breath.
Zander shot a look at him, irritation replacing the hurt. “You can just shut up,” he snapped. “This whole thing is your fault.”
“So what?” Duke’s voice rose as he shot to his feet. “What are you complaining about? You stepped in for me—boo hoo. It’s what led you to the love of your freaking life. Meanwhile, I’m the schmuck who probably lost his chance at the one good thing that might have happened to him in life.”
It wasn’t nighttime by any means, but Zander could’ve sworn that crickets started chirping in the silence that followed.
He shot to his feet and squared a look at his twin. “Well, you might actually get that chance now. Kat’s so obsessed with the formula behind the experiment, she’s probably dying to figure out what you’re like.”
“I already told you I don’t want to do that since you guys are already falling all over each other,” Duke said.
“So what are you going to do if she chooses Duke?” Michael asked. “Swap again?”
Groans filled the space. Zander shot a glare at him across the room. “Yeah. That’s exactly what we’ll do.” Guilt, hot and heavy, pressed at him from every angle. If he didn’t get out of there now, get some fresh blood pumping through his veins, Zander would combust.
“Great,” he said, hurrying toward the door. “Why don’t you fill us in on which one she picks.” He reached for the doorknob as Marsha piped up.
“You’ll be there to hear her answer for yourself,” she assured. “We’re airing a live special. Tonight.”
Zander clenched his eyes shut.
Several gasps sounded over the room.
And one desperate plea lifted from none other than Grandma Lo. “Lord, help us.”
Chapter 23
