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Sawyer stopped as he opened his mouth to answer. It was one thing for her to confuse him with his brother, but this was different. “No, I am Sawyer Steele. But I think you’re looking for my twin, Finn Steele.”
The woman turned to him with her hands curled up in fists at her sides. “Are you implying that I’m some kind of slut?”
His eyes grew large with surprise. Sawyer was usually pretty good with people, very diplomatic at handling bad situations, but he couldn’t say the right thing to this woman for some reason. Her hair was as fiery as her temper, it seemed. “What? No, of course not.”
“You just told me I don’t know the name of a man I had sex with,” she said, pointing at him accusingly.
“That’s not what I meant.” He held out his hands in surrender and slowly came down the stairs to stand on the brick patio where she was waiting. He hoped that she would take a minute to breathe and calm down. “People get my brother and me mixed up all the time, is all. I’m telling you I’ve never seen you in my life, so that’s the only explanation that makes sense. What is your name?”
“Katherine McIntyre.” She said it with an insulted tone, as though he should know her name. “I go by Kat, if that helps jog your memory.”
Sawyer frowned. To be honest, the name did sound familiar, but he was certain he’d never seen her before, much less had sex with her. He glanced down over the tightly fitting black dress, which clung to her curves and stopped just above the knee to highlight her shapely legs. He was decidedly disappointed that she’d spent the night with his brother and not him. He wasn’t entirely sure that he had a type, but Kat set off all the right bells and whistles. She was a bright red Lamborghini if he’d ever seen one.
When his face didn’t light up with recognition, she continued speaking. “We met at the Charleston’s Best awards at the aquarium about three months ago. We had a lot of champagne, we talked, and when we got tired of looking at fish, we got a hotel room and got…better acquainted.” Kat looked at him with a pointed expression.
Sawyer didn’t remember going to an event at the aquarium. Actually, he was certain he hadn’t, although he remembered something was being held there a while back. That was it—he hadn’t been feeling great that day. He’d gotten a stomach bug, but he was supposed to attend as the Steele family representative to accept their award while his parents were wrapped up in finalizing wedding details. He hadn’t gone. In fact, he’d bribed his twin brother to go to the event in his place. Finn hadn’t wanted to attend, either. Sawyer had been forced to give him his new Jet Ski in exchange for going to the party.
Damn it to hell.
The realization of what really happened washed over him like a wave. Sawyer brought a hand to his face and rubbed furiously at it in frustration. It had been years since Finn had done something like this. Maybe even since college. Back then, he’d liked to meet girls at bars and give them Sawyer’s name instead of his own. He was never sure if his brother just did it for a laugh, or to keep the girls from tracking him down, but Sawyer had earned quite a reputation on campus without doing a single thing to get it. But now they were in their thirties. Thirty-three, to be exact. Way too old for this kind of childish bullshit.
“I think I know what the problem is.”
“The sex was so amazing you blocked it from your memory because you knew you’d never experience anything that good again?”
His jaw dropped open for a moment, then he shook his head. He’d never been so jealous of Finn in his whole life. “Uh, no. I was supposed to attend that event, but my brother went in my place. Apparently he didn’t bother to tell anyone he wasn’t me.”
“He was wearing a name tag that said Sawyer Steele,” she argued.
Sawyer wasn’t surprised. “Yeah. Knowing Finn, he just went with it and pretended to be me so our father wouldn’t know I bailed on the party.”
Kat stopped for a moment, her mind visibly racing to process what he was telling her. “And when he kissed me? When he got a hotel room? Wouldn’t that have been a good time to mention that he wasn’t really you?”
“A perfect time, and I have no idea why he didn’t. Listen, I’m really sorry about all this. My brother is…the trickster of the family. If he were here right now, I’d drag him outside and make him apologize for lying, but he’s actually in Beijing for business. He’ll be there a few weeks more, but I’ll be sure to pass along your message, slap included, when he gets back.”
The redhead’s bravado seemed to deflate as she listened to him talk. With her anger no longer aimed at Sawyer, she seemed smaller somehow. Almost petite compared to a moment ago. “So you’re saying that the man I met was actually Finn Steele? I can’t believe, after everything that happened, that he wouldn’t tell me his real name.”
Sawyer could believe it. Masquerading as his brother gave Finn free license to do what he wanted without consequence. “If you don’t mind me asking, was it just a one-night thing between the two of you?”
She looked at him with conflict in her eyes. “Yes. That was the plan, at least.”
That was his brother’s style. Love ’em and leave ’em, regardless of what name he used. “Then I doubt he would bother to correct you if you thought he was me. In the end, what would it matter? It’s just a one-night stand.”
Kat’s expression softened for a moment as she glanced down at the ground, her eyes hidden beneath her thick auburn lashes. “It does matter, Sawyer. That’s why I’ve crashed this party even though it’s obvious he doesn’t want to see me again. It matters because I’m pregnant with his child.”
Katherine McIntyre had never seen a man’s face blanch to a ghostly white so quickly. Even at night, with the patio light behind him, she could see the blood drain from his face and his attractive tan fade. If he hadn’t seemed so steady on his feet until now, she might worry that he was about to pass out.
She wasn’t sure why he was so upset about the news. He wasn’t the father. He wasn’t pregnant. He hadn’t just found out he’d slept with a lying cheat. She was the one having a terrible night. Sure, he’d been slapped by mistake and would have a lot of explaining to do when he saw his date again, but this was hardly his problem.
The valet brought her car around at last. “I’m sorry. It took a few times for it to turn over,” he said.
Kat glanced to where the valet was waiting and then back at the dumbstruck Steele heir. “I’d better go.”
He reached out to her, almost appearing to surprise himself as he did it. “Wait. Come back inside and we can talk some more.”
She was tempted to say yes. There was a kindness in his eyes that beckoned her to climb the steps and chat with him. It was different than what she’d seen in those familiar eyes before, so his story seemed to hold up. While identical in appearance, the Steele twins were very different men. But talking made no sense when Sawyer wasn’t the one she needed to talk to. At least about the baby.
A white Rolls Royce started up the driveway and the front doors of the house opened. People started pouring out onto the stairs. It must be time for the bride and groom to make their exit. Kat wasn’t going to stay around for that. Even if her old Jeep wasn’t in the way.
“I can’t,” she said. “But Saw—I mean Finn—should know how to reach me when he gets back to the States. Please have him call me.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. She’d given Finn one before, but it had likely ended up in the trash the next morning.
Sawyer glanced over his shoulder at all the people coming toward them and his jaw flexed with what looked like irritation as he reached to take the card from her hand. He sighed and nodded as he glanced down at it. “I’ll make sure he calls you before he gets back. I’m actually going to phone and wake him up right now. He deserves it.”
Kat nodded and walked around her Jeep to get inside. She told herself not to look in the rearview mirror as she pulled away, but she did it anyway. She watched Sawyer Steele as his gaze followed her into the distance. He was still watching as she turned out of the driveway and the big house disappeared from sight.
With a groan, she wrapped her fingers tightly around the steering wheel and pressed down the gas pedal. This was not how she had envisioned this night playing out. She’d just wanted to pin Sawyer—Finn—down to talk, the same as that first night. Pregnancy was not what she had been going for back then. Far from it. But now that it was done, she wanted to do the right thing and tell the father. If he wasn’t going to return her calls, she had to find another way to reach him.
The idea was to locate him, pull him aside to talk, and take things from there. Slapping the father of her child hadn’t been a part of her plan, but when she saw him dancing with that beautiful blonde, she couldn’t help it. Between morning sickness and pure exhaustion, she’d been uncomfortable for the last few weeks. He could be uncomfortable for a moment or two himself.
Then she’d found out she’d hit the wrong guy and everything just unraveled. China. Her baby’s father was in China and that was the least of her troubles. Her baby’s father was also a “trickster” in his own brother’s words, one who had no problem seducing a woman using his brother’s name. That was not the kind of man she wanted in her child’s life, but it was too late now. It was done and she would have to find a way to deal with the aftermath.
Kat slowly pulled into her narrow driveway and turned off the Jeep’s engine. She looked over at the historic Charleston-style house she called home. Located in the heart of the Peninsula, it had always been enough for her. The twelve-hundred-square-foot structure was the perfect space for a free-spirited artist. It had plenty of light, the traditional piazza patio allowed her to work outside sometimes and, best of all…the place was paid for.
She climbed from her Jeep and went inside. Her little abode was no Steele mansion, but what was? To be honest, she really hadn’t understood what kind of family she’d gotten involved with until she pulled into that driveway and got her first view of the house. The Corinthian columns, the whitewashed stone, the lane of old live oak trees dripping Spanish moss on the long drive to the house…it was like something out of a Southern gothic novel. In this day and age it was the kind of place that was usually a museum, or rented out for weddings and events. But no, the Steeles actually lived there.
Kat wasn’t a stranger to money. Both her parents had been successful, her father a famous mystery writer and her mother a celebrated painter. They’d done well for themselves, and when they were both killed in a car accident, their estates and life insurance policies had supported Kat through art school and allowed her to be an artist herself without worrying about starving or working a day job. Yes, she needed a new car. And yes, the house probably needed a new coat of paint, but she didn’t want for much.
She tossed her purse onto the couch beside a box of woodworking tools and wood scraps. It would go with her Monday morning when she went down to the District to work. The old warehouse-turned-artist-community was where she spent most of her days. She rented a studio in the building even though she had room at the house to work. Woodworking was messy, but being there was more about community and exposure than anything else. If she wasn’t working there or selling pieces to folks strolling by, she was hanging out with the other artists, who had become her family since her parents died.
Honestly, losing that place would be like losing her parents all over again. And that was what she was facing. That was why she’d gotten all dressed up and gone downtown to that stupid awards ceremony the night she’d met Finn. Because she was going to lose it all to the wheels of progress and commerce.
Four months ago, the owner of the District passed away and his children sold the building to a developer. The place would be gutted and renovated. It would remain an artist community—at least that’s what the letters they all received said—but it would be more about selling than creating, by necessity. The rent would be tripling to cover the costs of the renovations and bring the place more in line with the new owner’s vision.
Kat had the money to pay the rent at the new building, but most artists weren’t so lucky. When the District reopened as a fancy, funky downtown venue for people to shop and be seen, most of the people she knew and loved would be long gone.
Walking up the stairs to her bedroom, she unzipped her dress and let it slip to the floor on the landing. Kat stepped out of it and turned sideways to admire her slightly rounding tummy in the hallway mirror. She’d just started to show in the last week or so. Her normally flat belly had begun to curve out, making her favorite jeans uncomfortably tight at the waistband. She’d told Sawyer the truth when she said this was the only dress she had that fit. Most formals weren’t made of particularly forgiving fabrics.
Life didn’t always turn out the way she expected it to. This baby was evidence enough of that. Kat had gone to that award ceremony to try and talk some sense into the District’s new owner, Sawyer Steele. Instead, she was having his brother’s baby.
Two (#u0751974e-7ad6-5f69-b7fa-2145ffebc595)
“You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”
“What?”
As always, Finn’s voice didn’t betray even the slightest bit of guilt for what he might have done. There was only an edge of sleepiness, which was to be expected given the hour in China. At least where Finn was concerned. The average Beijing citizen was likely preparing to eat lunch by now, but his brother had still been asleep after a late Saturday night of high jinks that probably involved beautiful Chinese women and too much baiju to drink.
“Sawyer, you know I’m half asleep and half hungover. Why don’t you just tell me what you think I’ve done wrong instead of making me guess. Then we can move straight on to you yelling, and I can take some ibuprofen and go back to sleep.”
“You’re not going back to sleep, Finn. And I don’t think I know what you did, I’m certain of it. And it’s a big one this time.”
“I doubt that. You’re prone to overreaction, like Father.”
Sawyer swallowed an insult. He wasn’t going to let his brother bait him. Finn knew how much he hated being compared to their father. Yes, they shared an affinity for keeping the peace and avoiding drama, but that was about it. “You know, when I gave you that Jet Ski for going in my place to the Charleston’s Best awards, it was because I wanted the night to go smoothly.”
“As I recall it did go smoothly,” Finn replied. “I picked up a nice plaque for the company awards case, Dad didn’t figure out you skipped, and I got a new Jet Ski. Win-win.”
“Yes, well, that was because everyone at the party thought you were me. I thought we were past the childish identical-twin games, Finn.”
There was a moment of silence on the line, but Sawyer knew it wasn’t out of guilt. Knowing Finn, he was trying to figure out how to weasel out of getting into trouble.
“Okay, who told on me? There’s no way you could know that I let everyone think I was you,” he said at last. “It’s been months since that party and there hasn’t been a peep about it since then.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true. Apparently the redhead you seduced that night while you were pretending to be me has been trying to get in touch with you. Me. Us.”
Finn groaned and audibly flopped back against the pillows. “The redhead. Yeah. That was a hell of a night, but I wasn’t really interested in seeing her again. She’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but she’s not my usual type. She’s too artsy and academic. She’s more your type, I think.”
That was true enough, but Sawyer wasn’t interested in walking into the hot mess his brother had left behind. “Well, to be honest, I don’t think she was wanting to see you again, either, but she doesn’t have a choice.”
Finn chuckled. “And why is that? She can’t get enough of me? She wouldn’t be the first.”
“No, because she’s having your baby, you thoughtless idiot. How could you not take precautions for a one-night stand? You know better than that.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Finn said, suddenly sounding very awake on the other end of the call. “My baby? The redhead is pregnant? Well, it can’t be mine.”
“Her name is Kat,” Sawyer corrected with an irritated tone. For some reason it grated on him that Finn was starting a family with a woman whose name he couldn’t remember. “And she says it’s yours. Actually, she thought it was mine until I figured out what you did and got her straightened out.”
“No, it’s not my baby,” Finn insisted. “Listen, you may think I’m stupid, but that is one area where I don’t take chances. In all these years, I’ve never even had a scare. Nothing was different about my night with her. She’s mistaken. It’s someone else’s baby.”
Sawyer would’ve liked to believe that his brother took anything seriously, especially something like this. But he’d seen the pained look in those big green eyes. She believed her story, and he wanted to believe her. But belief and trust were two different things. “Are you sure? There were no rips, no slipups?”
“No, I’m telling you, I know how to use one properly.”
“Fine.” There had to be another explanation for why it failed. “Did you bring the condoms or did she?”
There was a pause as Finn lay in bed, likely sorting through his romantic memory bank. “Usually I do, but I remember I didn’t have any on me that night. It was supposed to be a boring party, which is why I pretended to be you, to spice things up. She had the condoms.”
That made Sawyer’s stomach ache with worry. If Finn wasn’t in control of them at all times, anything could happen. “That means she could’ve sabotaged them if she wanted to. Maybe poked holes in one.”
“You think she got pregnant on purpose?”
Sawyer sighed and sat back in the leather wingback chair of the family library. He didn’t know. Their father had raised them to be suspicious of women’s motives. Getting pregnant was an easy way to weasel into the family, and more importantly, into their fortune. “I don’t know. You know her better than I do.”
“Hardly,” Finn scoffed. “We flirted and looked at fish in the aquarium. I don’t really know anything about…”
“Kat,” Sawyer repeated. “Please remember the name of the woman who’s carrying your child.”
“Might be carrying my child,” Finn corrected. “I’m not as convinced as you are.”
“Yeah, well, until we know otherwise, you need to handle this situation as though it were true.”
“Handle it how, Sawyer? I’m in Beijing. I couldn’t even come back for Morgan’s wedding. I can’t just fly home in the middle of constructing the new manufacturing plant and deal with… Kat. Dad placed a lot of trust in me when he gave me this project. I can’t screw it up or I won’t get a second chance.”
“And if Dad finds out that you’ve knocked up some stranger and walked away from the situation, it will be even worse.”
Finn groaned aloud. “Please don’t tell him until I have some time to think on this.”
“You’d better think fast. He’ll find out soon. She made quite a scene at the wedding tonight. Everyone will want to know what it was about.”
“A scene?”
“Yeah.” Sawyer’s cheek still stung from the slap Kat had given him. “When you get back to Charleston, I’ll pass her message along.” He intended to hit his brother harder than Kat ever could.
“Does anyone else know?” Finn asked.
“No. I thought I’d tell you first, since she’s been unsuccessful in telling you personally.”
“Okay, good. Can we keep it that way for a while until I can figure out what I’m going to do?”
“I’ll hold out as long as I can, but I’m not going to lie for you, Finn.”
“That’s fair enough. I’ll give my attorney a call and see what he recommends, then take it from there. Knowing him, he’ll tell me to make a big opening offer, something she can’t refuse, then she’ll be happy and hopefully things won’t escalate. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Fine. But one last thing before you go, Finn.”
“What’s that?”
Sawyer considered his words before he said them, speaking with slow, deliberate intention. “If you ever, ever pretend to be me again, I’m going to mess up your face so badly no one will be able to confuse us. Am I clear?”
There was a long silence before Finn answered. “Crystal.”
The line disconnected and Sawyer slipped his phone into his coat pocket. By the time he stepped out of the library and into the grand foyer, he was surprised to find that the wedding appeared to be over. Once the happy couple left, things must have wrapped up. The guests were gone, the orchestra was breaking down and the caterers were bussing the tables. He glanced around for a blonde in a pale blue gown, but Serena was nowhere to be found.
Looking at his watch, he winced when he realized how late it was. So much for telling Serena he’d be right back. She’d probably given up on him long ago. And for good. For all she knew, he’d abandoned her on the dance floor and run off with some redhead. Serena deserved someone who couldn’t get thoughts of her out of his mind.
Kind of like the feisty and mysterious Kat was on Sawyer’s mind right now.
He strolled into the abandoned ballroom, heading toward the wedding cake, or what was left of it. A few pieces were still sitting on china plates, waiting to be eaten, even as the caterers worked to disassemble and pack up the remaining tiers. He picked up a slice and carried it with him into the kitchen. After brewing a cup of coffee and slowly savoring his prize, he remembered the business card he’d thoughtlessly tucked into his breast coat pocket.
When he fished it out and looked down at it at last, a piece of the fluffy white cake caught in his throat. Sawyer coughed for a moment, fighting to breathe again. Then he picked up the card and reread the words that had surprised him so much the first time.
Katherine McIntyre, Artist.
The District, Floor 2, Studio 210
Suddenly he remembered why her name had sounded familiar. He hadn’t lied when he said they hadn’t met. He’d never laid eyes on her before. But she had emailed him, written him and called his office so many times in the last four months that his assistant had asked for a raise.
Kat was the voice of the District’s resistance group. They were not happy about his plans for the building he’d purchased, and no amount of talking was budging either side of the argument. So far.
