From Seduction To Secrets

“You’re not going back to sleep, Finn. And I don’t think I know what you did, I’m certain of it. And it’s a big one this time.”

“I doubt that. You’re prone to overreaction, like Father.”

Sawyer swallowed an insult. He wasn’t going to let his brother bait him. Finn knew how much he hated being compared to their father. Yes, they shared an affinity for keeping the peace and avoiding drama, but that was about it. “You know, when I gave you that Jet Ski for going in my place to the Charleston’s Best awards, it was because I wanted the night to go smoothly.”

“As I recall it did go smoothly,” Finn replied. “I picked up a nice plaque for the company awards case, Dad didn’t figure out you skipped, and I got a new Jet Ski. Win-win.”

“Yes, well, that was because everyone at the party thought you were me. I thought we were past the childish identical-twin games, Finn.”

There was a moment of silence on the line, but Sawyer knew it wasn’t out of guilt. Knowing Finn, he was trying to figure out how to weasel out of getting into trouble.

“Okay, who told on me? There’s no way you could know that I let everyone think I was you,” he said at last. “It’s been months since that party and there hasn’t been a peep about it since then.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true. Apparently the redhead you seduced that night while you were pretending to be me has been trying to get in touch with you. Me. Us.”

Finn groaned and audibly flopped back against the pillows. “The redhead. Yeah. That was a hell of a night, but I wasn’t really interested in seeing her again. She’s gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but she’s not my usual type. She’s too artsy and academic. She’s more your type, I think.”

That was true enough, but Sawyer wasn’t interested in walking into the hot mess his brother had left behind. “Well, to be honest, I don’t think she was wanting to see you again, either, but she doesn’t have a choice.”

Finn chuckled. “And why is that? She can’t get enough of me? She wouldn’t be the first.”

“No, because she’s having your baby, you thoughtless idiot. How could you not take precautions for a one-night stand? You know better than that.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Finn said, suddenly sounding very awake on the other end of the call. “My baby? The redhead is pregnant? Well, it can’t be mine.”

“Her name is Kat,” Sawyer corrected with an irritated tone. For some reason it grated on him that Finn was starting a family with a woman whose name he couldn’t remember. “And she says it’s yours. Actually, she thought it was mine until I figured out what you did and got her straightened out.”

“No, it’s not my baby,” Finn insisted. “Listen, you may think I’m stupid, but that is one area where I don’t take chances. In all these years, I’ve never even had a scare. Nothing was different about my night with her. She’s mistaken. It’s someone else’s baby.”

Sawyer would’ve liked to believe that his brother took anything seriously, especially something like this. But he’d seen the pained look in those big green eyes. She believed her story, and he wanted to believe her. But belief and trust were two different things. “Are you sure? There were no rips, no slipups?”

“No, I’m telling you, I know how to use one properly.”

“Fine.” There had to be another explanation for why it failed. “Did you bring the condoms or did she?”

There was a pause as Finn lay in bed, likely sorting through his romantic memory bank. “Usually I do, but I remember I didn’t have any on me that night. It was supposed to be a boring party, which is why I pretended to be you, to spice things up. She had the condoms.”

That made Sawyer’s stomach ache with worry. If Finn wasn’t in control of them at all times, anything could happen. “That means she could’ve sabotaged them if she wanted to. Maybe poked holes in one.”

“You think she got pregnant on purpose?”

Sawyer sighed and sat back in the leather wingback chair of the family library. He didn’t know. Their father had raised them to be suspicious of women’s motives. Getting pregnant was an easy way to weasel into the family, and more importantly, into their fortune. “I don’t know. You know her better than I do.”

“Hardly,” Finn scoffed. “We flirted and looked at fish in the aquarium. I don’t really know anything about…”

“Kat,” Sawyer repeated. “Please remember the name of the woman who’s carrying your child.”

“Might be carrying my child,” Finn corrected. “I’m not as convinced as you are.”

“Yeah, well, until we know otherwise, you need to handle this situation as though it were true.”

“Handle it how, Sawyer? I’m in Beijing. I couldn’t even come back for Morgan’s wedding. I can’t just fly home in the middle of constructing the new manufacturing plant and deal with… Kat. Dad placed a lot of trust in me when he gave me this project. I can’t screw it up or I won’t get a second chance.”

“And if Dad finds out that you’ve knocked up some stranger and walked away from the situation, it will be even worse.”

Finn groaned aloud. “Please don’t tell him until I have some time to think on this.”

“You’d better think fast. He’ll find out soon. She made quite a scene at the wedding tonight. Everyone will want to know what it was about.”

“A scene?”

“Yeah.” Sawyer’s cheek still stung from the slap Kat had given him. “When you get back to Charleston, I’ll pass her message along.” He intended to hit his brother harder than Kat ever could.

“Does anyone else know?” Finn asked.

“No. I thought I’d tell you first, since she’s been unsuccessful in telling you personally.”

“Okay, good. Can we keep it that way for a while until I can figure out what I’m going to do?”

“I’ll hold out as long as I can, but I’m not going to lie for you, Finn.”

“That’s fair enough. I’ll give my attorney a call and see what he recommends, then take it from there. Knowing him, he’ll tell me to make a big opening offer, something she can’t refuse, then she’ll be happy and hopefully things won’t escalate. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Fine. But one last thing before you go, Finn.”

“What’s that?”

Sawyer considered his words before he said them, speaking with slow, deliberate intention. “If you ever, ever pretend to be me again, I’m going to mess up your face so badly no one will be able to confuse us. Am I clear?”

There was a long silence before Finn answered. “Crystal.”

The line disconnected and Sawyer slipped his phone into his coat pocket. By the time he stepped out of the library and into the grand foyer, he was surprised to find that the wedding appeared to be over. Once the happy couple left, things must have wrapped up. The guests were gone, the orchestra was breaking down and the caterers were bussing the tables. He glanced around for a blonde in a pale blue gown, but Serena was nowhere to be found.

Looking at his watch, he winced when he realized how late it was. So much for telling Serena he’d be right back. She’d probably given up on him long ago. And for good. For all she knew, he’d abandoned her on the dance floor and run off with some redhead. Serena deserved someone who couldn’t get thoughts of her out of his mind.

Kind of like the feisty and mysterious Kat was on Sawyer’s mind right now.

He strolled into the abandoned ballroom, heading toward the wedding cake, or what was left of it. A few pieces were still sitting on china plates, waiting to be eaten, even as the caterers worked to disassemble and pack up the remaining tiers. He picked up a slice and carried it with him into the kitchen. After brewing a cup of coffee and slowly savoring his prize, he remembered the business card he’d thoughtlessly tucked into his breast coat pocket.

When he fished it out and looked down at it at last, a piece of the fluffy white cake caught in his throat. Sawyer coughed for a moment, fighting to breathe again. Then he picked up the card and reread the words that had surprised him so much the first time.

Katherine McIntyre, Artist.

The District, Floor 2, Studio 210

Suddenly he remembered why her name had sounded familiar. He hadn’t lied when he said they hadn’t met. He’d never laid eyes on her before. But she had emailed him, written him and called his office so many times in the last four months that his assistant had asked for a raise.

Kat was the voice of the District’s resistance group. They were not happy about his plans for the building he’d purchased, and no amount of talking was budging either side of the argument. So far.