“Little is known about the terms of the arrangement or Dr. Kate’s feelings on the matter, but NewsWire has gained an exclusive interview with the man who found himself at the altar with marriage expert Dr. Kate.” Nancy smiled and turned as the camera cut to Lucas. “Welcome to the show, Mr. Wright.”

Kate honed in on Lucas. He’d shaved, and his hair was combed neatly off his face as it had been at their wedding. He wore a dress shirt and tie she’d never seen. He thanked Nancy.

“Can you tell us how you knew Dr. Kate and for how long before the wedding?”

Lucas shifted subtly. He was uncomfortable. Good.

“Kate had been on the island for three years,” Lucas began. “She was born there, but her family left when she was young. I didn’t know her then. When she moved back, she wanted to open an office in town. She rented the space over my shop.”

“Can you tell us what happened on the day of her wedding?”

He nodded slowly. “I was working in my shop that morning. Actually I was putting the finishing touches on the gazebo she’d asked me to make.”

“For her wedding with Bryan Montgomery?”

“Yes. She’d hired me to build it months earlier. Kate came to the shop to check on it because I was supposed to have delivered it already. When she was there, she got a call from her fiancé.”

“Mr. Montgomery?”

“Yes. I only heard her end of the conversation, but it was enough to tell me he wasn’t going through with the wedding.”

“What was Kate’s state of mind after the phone call?”

Lucas tilted back, and he shook his head. “She was devastated. She was trembling.” He gave a sad smile. “You’d have to know Kate to know how unlike herself she was after that phone call. She’s the most calm, capable individual I’ve ever met. She’s the kind of person you want during a crisis because she—She just takes care of things. But it was five hours before her wedding, and her groom just left her at the altar, and with the publicity surrounding the release of the book . . . who wouldn’t panic?”

“How did you come to be part of the solution?” Nancy asked.

“It was my idea. It might seem impulsive and foolish, but it seemed like the only solution at the time. She needed a groom, and I wanted to help her.”

“That’s some help. Why would you agree to step in and save her wedding?”

Lucas looked down at his lap and paused a moment. “The reason I gave Kate was that I needed her help on a personal project.”

“But that wasn’t the real reason, I take it,” Nancy said.

“No.”

“What?” Kate whispered, staring at the screen.