He filled the silence. “When I saw how upset she was, I wanted to fix it for her.” He lifted one shoulder. “Maybe I was a little selfish too. Maybe I thought if she was mine for a year, she’d somehow fall in love with me too.” He shifted, looking away. “I was trying to save her wedding. I know it might seem like I took advantage. She was vulnerable. But I wanted to help her. I came up with the idea and convinced her it was the only solution. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

He went blurry as Kate’s eyes filled. She blinked, not wanting anything blocking her view of Lucas’s face.

The camera cut to Nancy. “In reality, you were only married three months. What was it like?”

“Being married to Kate?” He smiled. “Great. Fun. Challenging.”

“Challenging because . . . ?”

Lucas tugged at his suit coat. “Because I love her. Because I wanted the marriage to be real, and it wasn’t.” He paused, looking down again. “In three months she solved problems that have been in place for years. She’s got this deep well of wisdom . . . I don’t know where it comes from. If something’s broken, she fixes it.”

“Except your heart?”

The camera slowly closed in on Lucas’s face. His jaw clenched, then loosened. “I’m not sure she knows she broke it.”

Nancy smiled. “She does now. It’s fairly common knowledge that Kate left the island shortly after the scandal erupted. Can you give us your thoughts on that?”

Lucas sucked in a breath and blew it out. He shifted.

Kate wanted to brush the hair out of his face, run her palm down his tense jawline and kiss away the frown on his lips.

“I didn’t want her leave. I asked her to stay.”

“But she didn’t.”

“No.”

“Was she still in love with her former fiancé?” Nancy asked.

“I asked her that. She said she wasn’t, and I believed her.”

The camera cut to Nancy as she studied Lucas, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Why are you here today? What do you hope to accomplish?”

“I wanted to tell Kate’s side of the story. I wanted to take responsibility for my part in it . . .” Lucas pulled at his tie.

The camera cut to Nancy. “Anything else?”

Lucas looked down, then met Nancy’s eyes again. “I wanted to tell her what I was afraid to say before she left.”

He swallowed, then looked at the camera, his eyes burning into Kate’s. She locked onto his face, feeling as if he were right in front of her, right now.

Lucas’s chin came up.

Kate watched his lips, waiting.

“I want to tell her I love her,” he said.

Kate put her hand against her chest, squeezed the stiff material of her shirt.

Nancy paused for a full three seconds, letting the words sink in. “On national TV?”