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Kate couldn’t reply.
But the words replayed in her head like an echo of a truth she wasn’t sure she was prepared to listen to when she had a pregnancy to deal with.
Was Beth right?
Was Kate so afraid of letting him in that she was running away, not from being hurt by him, but from loving him?
Oh, God. And now what was she going to do about Miami?
Nine
Kate was turning out to be one of those pregnant women who had nausea every morning, and it wasn’t fun at all. But at
least by Thursday evening at Molly and Julian’s rehearsal dinner at the Gage mansion, she felt better. The wedding was to be held this upcoming Saturday at noon, and the gardens had been bursting with activity all day as contractors had started delivering tables, chairs...the works. Through the windows on the other side of the living room, Kate could see the beautiful white trellis that would serve as the chapel, halfway to being fully erected.
It was going to be a beautiful wedding.
Her heart soared as she watched Molly and Julian laugh while talking to the minister. Julian towered behind Molly, who seemed to be leaning back against him as if he were a pillar. His arms were loosely around her, his chin resting on the top of her head.
There was no doubt in Kate’s mind when she saw them that they belonged together. Molly had always loved Julian, but Kate hadn’t realized that Julian had loved her sister back until a couple of months ago.
She’d always believed in having one soul mate...until, at eighteen, she’d realized that the man she thought might be her soul mate didn’t seem to agree. He’d never openly touched her like Julian had touched Molly, but now she kept remembering the way he’d made love to her.
Did he care about her? Or was this all about her leaving?
“There you are!” Kate heard the booming voice of Eleanor Gage from nearby, and in the same instant, spotted the person she was speaking to as he came into the room.
Dressed in a black suit and gleaming silver tie, Garrett made such a striking figure that the atmosphere altered dramatically with him near. His beautiful face looked thoughtful and intense as he kissed his mother on the cheek, then lifted his head and seemed to be scanning the area for something. His gaze stopped roaming when he saw her, and she couldn’t breathe.
With an expression almost of relief, he came over. He had such purpose in his step, and her heart almost stopped when she saw the way his eyes glimmered with...happiness?
Oh, God, she was going to die when she had to tell him.
“We should’ve driven over together.”
His liquid black eyes raked her figure, and her pulse skyrocketed as though he could suddenly see with some sort of X-ray vision the little baby growing inside her. For a moment she thought he knew. He knew her secret and it would all be out in the open.
Drawing in a deep breath, she blew a loose strand of hair out of her face. “I hitched a ride with Beth and Landon.” The thought of being alone with him in the close confinement of his car again both terrified and excited her.
The more distance she kept from him, the smoother her plans would run.
He seized her elbow and pulled her along the room, leading her to the terrace doors. “Come with me outside.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to talk to you, Kate.”
She let him lead her to the exact spot they’d visited on his birthday, when he’d found out she was leaving. Rather than release her, his hand stayed on her elbow as he smiled and took in her dress with the thirsty eyes of a man who intimately knew her.
The situation worsened when he bent his head and his voice caressed her ear, its texture a seductive black velvet. “So what have you been up to? Besides avoiding me?”
She ducked, not wanting him to know he still made her knees weak, her insides mushy. She wished—goodness, she wished—that Garrett wasn’t considering marriage to another woman, so that Kate wouldn’t dread the moment she’d have to mention a child was on the way so much.
“Working and...packing.”
“Packing,” he repeated without any inflection whatsoever.
The fact that his hand was on her elbow, causing all sorts of ripples of want inside her, made her drop her gaze to take in the contrast of his tan skin with her fair complexion. As though that were an instruction for him to let go, he dropped his hold.
