Lucas grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite. He’d been relieved at Kate’s cool tone even though he knew she was only guarding her heart.

When he heard her say, “I’m married, Bryan,” he wondered what had prompted those words. Did Bryan want her back? Is that why he’d called?

The back door opened, and Kate entered. She set the phone in the cradle and joined him at the table. Her face revealed nothing. Was she wishing she’d never married him? Was she wishing it was Bryan at the breakfast table now?

Well, Bryan had left her for another woman. It was Lucas who’d cared enough to follow through. Lucas who’d stuck by her though all those publicity photos. Lucas who got up at the crack of dawn and fixed her eggs over easy, the way she liked them.

Kate picked up her fork, and the diamond on her finger glittered under the kitchen lights. Bryan’s diamond. Lucas wanted to slide it off her finger and toss it into the ocean.

He took a drink of coffee and set the mug down hard. It clattered against the saucer and splattered on the table. Without a word he stood and retrieved a towel, wiping up the mess before settling in his chair.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“Nothing.” My wife’s ex-fiancé called my home and probably declared his love for her. What could be wrong? He bit into his eggs.

“Well, something’s wrong.”

Lucas swallowed hard, trying to suppress words he shouldn’t say. “Don’t appreciate your ex-fiancé calling here, is all.” He applauded his calm tone. Across from him, he felt Kate still.

“I didn’t think—I mean—” She cleared her throat. “It’s not like this is a real—”

He looked at her, daring her to say it. Yeah, maybe it wasn’t a real marriage in theory, but there were feelings involved. His. And he’d been hoping hers were a little involved. Had he been wrong?

“I just meant—”

“I know what you meant, Kate.” Lucas stood and took his plate to the trash, dumping a half-slice of bacon and the remainder of his sticky pancakes.

“Bryan was supposed to be my husband. Things ended very quickly and there was no time for closure—”

“I was there, remember?” He rinsed his plate in the sink, washing the yellowed yolk with the scrub brush.

“Of course you were.”

She said it so quietly, he almost didn’t hear over the running water.

“If you hadn’t married me, I’d—I don’t know what I would’ve done. I appreciate what you did. I hope you know that.”

Did her voice shake on those last words?