Kat stared at her reflection, nearly surprised there was anything there to see. It seemed more likely, with as hollow as she’d felt over the last few days, that there’d be nothing more than a silhouette or a shadow.
But there she was in a red sequin dress, hair in a loose curl down her back, and makeup done to perfection.
The countdown to the live airing had begun. In less than twenty minutes, she’d step onto a bright stage with a live studio audience and tell Lisa Throw, the host of Married at First Meet, who she’d like to stay with over the next six weeks.
A wry chuckle cracked in her throat. Even she didn’t know the answer to that.
“Did you say something?” the woman doing her makeup asked.
Kat shook her head. “No, sorry. There was something in my throat.”
The gal studied her for a bit before swirling a fluffy brush over a highlighting pallet. Kat let her eyes drift shut as she smoothed the loaded brush over her forehead, down the bridge of her nose, and the apples of her cheeks. Just as the soft surface moved toward her chin, the sound of a man’s voice spilled into the room.
“I don’t care if I’m not supposed to be back here. Kat’s my daughter and I have something to say to her.”
Kat shook her head. Bless Dad and his stubborn ways.
“Katrina?” he came again. “You back here?”
“Right here, Dad,” she called.
The makeup artist looked from Kat to her rather tall father as he approached. “I think we’re ready,” she said. “I’ll let you two talk.”
“Thanks.”
Dad huffed out a heavy sigh as he eyed Kat through the mirror. “I know you’re upset with Zander for what he did…”
“Dad,” Kat blurted. “I can’t rehash all of this right now. I’m already a mess as it is.” For days, Kat had been ripped apart, mourning the loss of something she wasn’t sure she ever really had. In the process, she’d found a very welcome distraction: anger. And since she chose to embrace that instead, Kat felt a whole lot stronger.
“Let me at least say this…” Her dad moved around the chair until they were face to face. The vanity lights reflected off the tan tone of his skin as he squared that I’m-chief-of-this-family look at her. “You know I can be a stubborn man. Had I not married someone as flexible as your dear mother, we’d have both snapped long ago.
“But Kat, heaven knows we all need forgiveness in this life.”
“He ruined the whole experiment, Dad. I put so much trust in this. I put my whole life on hold to meet the man that science said was right for me, and I haven’t even met him yet.”
“Yeah, but you did meet a man that you thought was right for you,” he countered. “Why are you so quick to dismiss that?”
“Because…” Kat had a list of reasons at the ready, but the intensity in her father’s eyes erased that list in a blink. This was a losing battle, and she knew it. So she stuck with the facts instead. The ones that infuriated her most. “Dad, he tricked us. He tricked you, he tricked me…and then he kept the whole lie going. I confided in him about Bradley, about how much his lies hurt me, and still…he didn’t tell me.”
“Well, how in tarnation did you expect him to tell you after that?” Dad lowered himself onto one knee and reached for her hands. “Katrina Aponi, this is not about your past. Look at this rationally, will you? What’s his greatest crime? The guy stepped in for his brother, not knowing what he was in for.” He chuckled under his breath. “Not knowing he’d have his heart stolen by my beautiful daughter in the process. He didn’t ask for this anymore than you did.”
“Yeah, but he knew. I didn’t.”
A massive sigh fell from his lips. Kat could see that she’d pushed him to his edge, but she couldn’t let up. “I’m half you, you know. I can be stubborn too.”
“If you’re not willing to hear him out,” Dad said, “if you’re not even willing to give him a chance, then why are you here?”
Kat’s shoulders dropped in surrender. “Because I have a contract. I could get sued if I don’t hold up my end of the deal. But if I had it my way, I’d hop in a cab and tell the driver to keep on driving until we were far, far away.”
Dad shook his head. “Kat…”
“I know,” she said. “I can’t run away from this. But I’m not ready to hear him out. And I don’t think I should have to simply because…because I don’t have enough money to fight it.”
“Is that what you really want? To get out of your contract?”
“Yes! I’m legally obligated to stay under the same roof as the man they picked for me until the duration of the show. And while I can choose which of the men it will be, I’d rather just walk away from all of it.”
Her dad came to his feet, grunting as he shifted his weight, and motioned for her to stand.
