“Kate? Are you all right? I saw the interview.” A long pause followed. “I’m just—Call me, okay?” There was another long pause, like he wanted to say something else, before the click came.

Kate exited voice mail. It wasn’t lost on her that Lucas was the only one of her messages that sounded remotely sympathetic. He, who had more personally at stake than anyone.

She still had a while before they reached the airport. She checked her watch and punched in their home number. Lucas answered quickly.

“It’s me,” she said.

“Kate.” He breathed her name like he’d been holding his breath waiting for her call. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” So much for honesty. “Well. Fine as I can be given that my whole career came crashing down around my feet this morning. On national television.” Her throat stopped up and her eyes burned. Not now. Buck up until you’re home at least. She still had to face a two-hour wait at the airport, and it wouldn’t help matters if she were seen crying in public.

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. It’s gonna be okay.” He was only trying to help—she knew that—but they were trite words. Trite and untrue.

“It’s not going to be okay, Lucas. The jobs of my editor and publicist are in jeopardy because of me, Rosewood is going to drop me like a rotten apple, and my readers are going to turn on me. What’s okay about that?”

Kate rubbed her temple, frustration choking further words.

“I’m sorry, honey.”

Now she felt like a slug. It wasn’t his fault. He was a victim in this nutty escapade—her short trip down Insanity Boulevard. He wasn’t guilty of anything but trying to help her.

She sighed. “It’s not your fault. It’s all mine.” She beat the back of her head against the seat. “How could I have done something so stupid? I don’t do foolish, impetuous things, like marry a man last minute.”

“You were backed into a corner. Give yourself a break, Katie. We’ll get through this.”

His soft tone broke her. Kate felt tears welling, and she blinked them away. “Why is God letting this happen?” Her words wobbled. She had to get off the phone before she lost it. She cleared her throat. “I have to go. I’ll talk to you when I get home, okay?”

By the time she hung up, they were nearly to the airport. She’d have to call her agent, Ronald, while she waited for her flight. And her dad.

Lucas’s words echoed in her head. “We’ll get through this.” But there was no “we” now. No need for them to remain together. No reason for their marriage. Because come tonight, everyone would know their marriage—and Kate herself—was nothing but a fraud.

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Three