Marry Me, Kate

After saying goodbye to her sister, she added to her list of things to do a call to Victoria Herring, a longtime friend who was an attorney. And Susan. She deserved to hear the good news, too. Maggie and Kate loved their new sister, but they found her as stubborn as either of them. She refused any offers of money to help her raise her siblings.

And without a debt overhead, Kate could offer real profit. She turned to the most entertaining of her plans, new menus. Catering offerings. What she’d tasted at the party at the museum last night wouldn’t be hard to beat. She’d need an entrée, of course, to society, someone to lend her support.

She almost slipped in the shower as she realized the added benefit to marrying William Hardison. Of course! He would be her entrée. She’d been concentrating on the financial aspects of their agreement, but there was more to be gained from their liaison.

Frowning, she remembered his hope that she would keep him from the necessity of social engagements. Fine. That’s what she would do. She would be working, anyway, if her ideas worked out. No one would expect her husband to accompany her on catering jobs.

Having nicely set him aside from her plans, Kate dressed and headed for the diner’s kitchen, ready to start her day, hope riding high.

When Will reached his office the next morning, his secretary handed him a stack of messages from his mother. He’d turned off the ringer on his phone when he’d gotten home last night. He knew his mother would call and he didn’t want to talk with her until he could present her with a fait accompli.

“She’s already called three times, Mr. Hardison. I assured her you would be in shortly.”

“And I am. But I don’t want to talk to her just yet. If she calls again, tell her I’ll be in touch by this evening, but whatever you do, don’t put her through. And get Charles Wilson on the phone for me.”

He’d barely sat down at his desk when his secretary buzzed him to pick up the phone.

After his greeting, his attorney asked, “Will? What’s up, guy? I hear you caused a ruckus at last night’s party.”

“Maybe. Listen, I need some fast work. Can you clear your morning and get right over here?”

“Problem?”

Charles was not only a friend, but also an efficient, knowledgeable lawyer. He didn’t waste time with protests.

“Not really. More of an agreement that will free me from problems, but it’s...personal.”

Knowing his words would intrigue the other man, Will smiled as Charles gave him his assurance he’d be right over and hung up the phone.

Then he pulled the legal-size pad from his briefcase. Last night, when he’d been unable to go to sleep right away, he’d made a list of his requirements for the agreement. Now he wanted to review them. It wouldn’t do to be careless. If he left a loophole, Miss Kate O’Connor could take him to the cleaners for a healthy reward.

She wouldn’t do that. He dismissed that unbidden thought with a cynicism borne of living with a greedy woman—his mother. She had dared many things he would have thought beyond a woman who loved her husband, as she’d always professed to do.

Better to concentrate on the legalities. If he didn’t leave any options for Miss O’Connor, then he wouldn’t have to rely on a generous heart that he wasn’t sure existed.

Charles stared at him.

“You want to do what?”

“Weren’t you listening? I just explained it, Charles. It’s not that complicated for a legal mind like yours.”

“Complicated? No. Stupid, yes.”

“Why? I thought you’d be pleased. I’ve covered every eventuality.”

“What does this woman look like?”

Charles’s unexpected question shook Will. “Why?”

“I heard she was a knockout. A redheaded bombshell.” Charles’s gaze remained fixed on Will.

How could he deny Charles’s description? Even thinking about the way Kate had looked last night, the response from the other men, hell, from him, made denial impossible. “You heard right,” he admitted tersely.

“And you want to put in the contract that if you have sex, even consensual sex, she gets half of everything?” Charles’s voice rose higher with each word.

“Don’t you have any faith in my self-control?” Will asked, glaring at his friend.

“Not unless you’re no longer male. Proximity, legality and sex appeal don’t promote abstinence when they’re combined. It would be too easy to let yourself believe she cares about you when your hormones are in overdrive.”

“Well, maybe I’ll hang a copy of our agreement over my bed so I can’t forget.” Or a picture of his mother. Either one would be a reminder that women are out for what they can get...and nothing more.

“Man, you are crazy,” Charles returned. “Don’t you want to take some time to think about this—this contract?”

“Nope. She might change her mind.” Will was afraid Kate might decide he wasn’t offering enough and up her demands. “Can you have the contract ready by four this afternoon?”

“Four?” Charles exploded. “You’ve got to be kidding! This kind of contract is new to me. I’ve got to check out precedents, confirm legal opinions, word it exactly so as not to—”

“Just write it in plain English, Charles. Not that gobbledygook you lawyers use.”

“That gobbledygook, as you call it, is what protects you from lawsuits. We won that suit filed by the last small businessman you sponsored because of it.”

“This contract is personal. And I’m going to abide by my part of it, so we don’t have to worry about that clause coming into play.”

“You’ve taken up monkdom? Become a eunuch?”

“No, but I’m not an animal. If I have an itch, I’ll find another way to scratch it, okay? She’s not the only beautiful woman in the world.”

“So you want me to make it clear that fidelity is not a requirement?”

“Man, does that sound crass or what? Surely we don’t have to spell that kind of thing out?”

“The more we spell out, the less likely you’ll find yourself in court trying to hang on to your company. And be sure she has legal representation present. We don’t want her claiming we misled her.”

Charles’s stern look didn’t impress Will all that much, but the thought of losing the company he’d inherited from his father and nourished and pushed into a large corporation did.

“Okay, put in whatever you have to. Then meet me at The Lucky Charm Diner on Wornall Avenue at four o’clock, multiple copies in hand.”

Without protesting again, Charles strode from the office, muttering under his breath. Will figured he was already writing his opening paragraph of the agreement in his mind. Charles was nothing if not efficient.

Only occasionally did the hard, cold reality of all the aspects of her agreement impose on Kate’s active brain that day. She let her spirits soar as she thought about the new decor of the diner, the new equipment, the opportunity to expand her culinary repertoire beyond chili, bacon and eggs, and hamburgers.

And maybe the opportunity to provide for her family, as Pop would have done.

She was so lost in her dreams, it was a shock to answer the phone and hear William Hardison’s voice on the line.

“My lawyer is going to meet me at the diner at four o’clock with the agreement ready for signing.”

She checked her watch. “But it’s three o’clock now.”

“Yes, and you’ll need a lawyer present.”

Nothing else. No apology for the short notice, no offer to meet at another time. The man was a definite autocrat.

“Okay.” She could be as terse as he.

“I’ll see you then.”

He left no time for her response. As she opened her mouth, the dial tone sounded in her ear. She slammed the receiver down in irritation. If he thought he was going to steamroll her, he had another think coming. She...and her lawyer...would read every word, study every comma, before she signed any legal document.

Since she’d already talked to Tori, she only had to let her know the time of the meeting, and listen to her complaints about short notice. But she knew Tori would be there.

Forty-five minutes later, her friend rushed through the door of the diner. “I’m here, but I left a disaster at the office. This had better be a good deal for you.”

Kate hugged her friend. “Thanks. You know it is. I’m going to achieve my dream.”

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