Kat’s heart kicked into panic mode. She hadn’t seen this yet, and she wasn’t sure she could take it.
But ready or not, Zander’s face popped up on the backstage monitor. It was obvious by his blue sky and white sands surrounding that he was on their private island.
She’d grown rather fond of his beach attire—swim trunks and flip-flops, and it seemed that the audience liked it too; several ladies whistled and screamed when Zander’s flawless chest filled the lens as he fiddled with it. “There,” he said under his breath.
Kat watched as he stepped back toward the seat. He paused there suddenly, and waved an arm toward the deck. “I love you, Princess of the Pillows.”
Now it felt like her heart had stopped completely. She’d forgotten about that.
“I love you, too, Robin of the Hood, champion archer of the west,” she hollered back.
Hot tears pricked the corners of her eyes as Zander turned a wide grin back on the camera.
“Dang, she’s cute.”
Kat pulled in a shallow breath as he introduced the video with a few brief words, preparing herself for what might come.
“My thoughts are this,” he said while looking at the lens. Oh, how she missed looking into those eyes. “Kat Morgan is an incredible woman. And in a matter of days, I’ve fallen in love with her. Undeniably.”
Kat wanted to reach out and press pause on the monitor, not that it was possible. But how desperately she wanted to let those words sink deeply into her heart.
Sure, he’d told her that very thing only moments before that recording, right in that very spot. But Kat had a hard time believing it now.
But this…something about watching Zander with all of the nuances that made him distinctly him while he declared his love for her—it was hard to dismiss.
“…if all goes as I hope it will,” Zander continued, “I’ll be bringing Kat here for our anniversaries for years to come.”
The screen went black. Silence fell over the studio, and then Lisa appeared on the screen once more. “That video was filmed mere minutes before our producers showed up at the scene to discuss our groom’s hidden identity. Come back to hear from Mr. Zander Benton himself after these messages.”
She was free to leave if she wanted; Kat was grateful for that knowledge. It helped her realize that—despite her desperation to get out of there—she wanted to be there. Wanted to hear what Zander had to say for himself. Perhaps now, she was ready after all.
“Psst... Kat.”
Kat stiffened from the sound at her back. Had her father snuck backstage yet again? Would it be Mom this time? She spun to look over her shoulder, expecting to see anyone but the man she saw standing there.
“Zander?”
His blue eyes locked on hers. “You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say my name.”
A wave of goose bumps spread up her arms as she held his gaze.
He stepped closer, infusing her next breath with his heavenly scent. “I just want to tell you, privately, that I’m so sorry for betraying your trust, Kat. But none of this has been an act. It wasn’t then and it’s not now. I hope you know that.”
He came in then, pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, and dashed back behind the curtain. Randall had assured Kat that the Benton twins would enter the stage from the opposite side; she couldn’t help but wonder if Zander would get there in time.
Already Lisa was announcing him. She could hear it now. And even as Kat tuned in to the introduction from her place backstage, she mused she might drift up into the rafters. It was the first burst of hope she’d felt in days, and Kat couldn’t help but grab onto it like the ribbon from a helium balloon.
If she collected enough of them, she’d raise above her troubles enough to see that perhaps things could work out after all.
“…Let’s say hello to the man of the hour, the guy ladies are saying could come to their rescue any day of the week, Mr. Zander Benton.”
The crowd went wild once more.
Kat bit at her lip as she watched him walk onto the stage in all of his brooding, blue-eyed glory. Yes, Zander was so different from Duke, it was plain to see. And she loved the things that set him apart.
You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say my name. Just hearing it back in her head made Kat’s center fill with warmth anew.
“Zander,” Lisa said once he was seated. “When was the last time you saw Kat?”
