Andrew closed the door and answered automatically, “Opal and sapphire.” Her question sank in and he spun to face her. “You noticed a ring in that picture?”
“Of course. And you can bet every other woman who looked at it noticed it as well.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Bitsy sighed dramatically. “How can you seemingly sophisticated men be so incredibly naive sometimes? No, I’m not kidding.”
Andrew sought confirmation from Edward, who shrugged off the unvoiced query. “Don’t look at me. The workings of the female mind remain a mystery.”
Bitsy ignored his comment. “Dad’s furious. Livid. Enraged. Beside himself.”
“Now that’s a surprise. When did you talk to A.W.?”
“Puh-leeze. Give me a little credit. After you called last night we screened our calls. We let him leave a message on our machine. Don’t tell me he didn’t call you as well.”
“Sure he did. Left a message much the same as yours, I suspect. Who was the girl and what the hell was I doing?”
“That’s it in a nutshell. What’re you going to do about it?”
“I’ll talk to him later today, and then it’s what you’re going to do about it. It’ll be quite interesting when the rival paper runs the story tomorrow that the mystery woman in the photograph is actually my wife. Of course, this will be leaked by an anonymous but reliable source.” Andrew decided she deserved teasing for her earlier body-double comment. “And I can’t think of anyone better suited to leak gossip than you, Bitsy.”
Bitsy swatted at him and then rubbed her hands together in glee. “Do you want me to call now?”
“Why don’t you wait until after the fact,” suggested Edward, “since neither the bride nor the justice of the peace has shown up yet.”
“Okay. Speaking of the bride, did you bring in the camera?”
“No, it’s in the car.”
Andrew held up a hand. “No cameras. No photos.”
Bitsy shook her head in disgust and continued toward the door. “Maybe you don’t care about any photos, but one day your child will want to see her mother and father’s wedding photos. Juliana loves looking at ours.”
Andrew didn’t offer a rebuttal. He knew he’d make a lousy parent-he didn’t have time in his life for anything other than his work-but he’d never deliberately do anything to hurt the child he and Kat would create. Not even something as trivial as denying her, or him, wedding photos.
Quite the contrary, in fact. He waited until the door clicked behind his sister to turn to Edward. “The stipulation’s the way I wanted it? Even though I waive parental rights, I retain the right to name this child as my heir?”
Edward nodded an affirmative.
“How’d you get Hamilton to sign off since it’s not what Kat wanted?”
“Hamilton’s no fool. Even though their family has enough money tied up in trust funds to take care of the kid, he felt it was in both the child’s and Kat’s best interests not to waive rights to Winthrop money.”
“Excellent.”
The front door slammed, heralding Bitsy with camera in tow. “I’m going to check on Juliana and make a cup of coffee. Either one of you want anything?”
“No thanks.” Unless she could serve him up his partnership and he could forgo this farcical foray into matrimony.
“Nothing for me.” Edward lowered his voice even though Bitsy moved onto the kitchen. “Yeah, well it’s not going to be so ‘excellent’ when Kat finds out. She’s going to be plenty angry with all of us.”
A twinge of doubt surfaced before he dismissed it. She’d left no room to negotiate the point. Andrew stared out the window, unseeing. “I can handle one woman’s anger, but I will not sign away a Winthrop’s birthright.”
“Hell hath no fury like a woman deceived.” Eddie misquoted in final warning.
Outside, a car sputtered to a stop, backfired once and died.
Andrew squared his shoulders at the surge of adrenaline rushing through him. He stood one matrimonial step away from getting what he’d worked for all these years-his partnership.
“I believe my blushing bride just arrived.”
KAT PARKED BETWEEN the gurgling fountain gracing the circular driveway and the front walkway. She checked her rearview mirror to make sure Jackson pulled in behind her. She’d driven by the house when she’d investigated Andrew, but it was set far back from the quiet residential street and she’d never seen it this close. They’d met at his beach house.
An impeccable lawn gave way to impeccable evergreen shrubs. Everything was unmitigatingly serene, unrepentantly verdant. Kat shuddered at the uniformity.
She snapped a retractable leash onto Toto’s collar-she didn’t know how understanding her groom would be of Toto’s incontinence today-and waited for Jackson to join her at the brick-paved walkway. Toto darted about, intent on introducing himself to every shrub.
“Nice house.” Jackson surveyed the whitewashed stucco with the red-tiled roof.
Kat shrugged at the rectangular structure, smiled at her brother and led the way to the front door. “I’m not particularly interested in his house, just his sperm.” She needed to remember that was all she was interested in. Last night had proved their physical compatibility. She’d just have to keep it in check.
Jackson seemed decidedly unamused by her attempt at humor. “Are you sure you want to do this? You and Andrew haven’t signed these documents yet.” He lifted his briefcase. “Or made any binding legal commitment. You can still change your mind.”
“That binding legal commitment is known as marriage, and no, I don’t want to change my mind.”
“If you’re marrying him because of this-” Jackson indicated the section of newspaper folded against his briefcase “-don’t worry about one racy photograph…and it is racy. The fickle public will forget soon enough.”
Kat patted his cheek. “Don’t worry so, Jackson. You know I’m not marrying him because of that photo. I’m past ready to have a baby. It may have moved the schedule up a little, but the deal was already put to bed.” She glanced at the photo and laughed. “Don’t take that literally. Although Andrew is one heck of a kisser.”
Jackson scowled and straightened his already straight tie. “That definitely falls into the category of more than I wanted to know.”
As he reached for the doorbell, Kat stopped him. “Jackie, you and Eddie settled all the details in the contract?”
He tensed beneath her fingertips. Apparently he still didn’t approve of her marrying Andrew. “Of course we did.”
Bored with marking his territory, Toto plopped onto her foot.
“Okay, I just had to check.” Kat squeezed Jackson’s arm and released it. “You know you’re my favorite brother.”
“I’m your only brother.”
She reached around him and pressed the doorbell. “Yeah, well, if I had another one, you’d still be my favorite.”
The door opened and Kat found herself poised on the threshold of her new, temporary home, face-to-face with her groom. For the next few months, possibly the next year, she’d see this man across the breakfast table. Despite the fact they qualified as polar opposites, it wasn’t a dismaying prospect. A quiver of anticipation arrowed through her. He appeared as immaculately groomed as his lawn, but far more arresting.
A low heat began to simmer inside at the look in his eyes as they swept over her. Kat was glad she’d chosen the sleeveless linen dress. She’d told herself it was because it was elegant, cool and comfortable and it matched the stones in her engagement ring, but she also knew the sapphire blue complemented her eyes. She’d left her legs bare-she didn’t wear panty hose, not even for her own wedding-but she had rushed out this morning and bought a pair of strappy sandals, right after she’d purchased Andrew’s wedding ring. She’d also conceded to vanity and brushed on a light coral lipstick.