Max slanted his gaze at me. "I'm ten miles over the speed limit. If I get a ticket, it will only slow us down."
The Sea Siren wasn’t open, but when we arrived, there were a couple of cars in the parking lot indicating that staff was there. Kate’s car was there as well. Good. I didn’t want to drive out to her condo.
When I tried to open the door, it was locked. I pounded on the door. "Open up, Kate."
Max got out of the car and leaned against it. "Maybe don't go barging in like her brother did. We don't want her calling the cops."
I was so unbelievably angry. I hadn't been this angry in five years. Not since I learned the truth about Sandra and Chelsea. But I had been able to do what Kate was incapable of, and that was listen, understand and sympathize, and eventually, forgive.
The door opened, and an irritated looking Dana poked her head out. "We’re not open—"
I pushed the door open and strode in.
"Hey. We’re not open."
"I'm not here for a drink. Where is she?" I scanned the bar and restaurant area.
Kate stepped out of her office into the hallway, her eyes wide as she saw me.
"I'm going to call the cops." Dana pulled out her cell phone.
"That gives Kate about five minutes to explain why she wasn't going to tell me I’m going to be a father."
CHAPTERTWENTY-EIGHT
Kate
I had been both dreading and hoping for Sam to walk into my club or come to my home ever since I arrived home late Thursday night. I had figured if he had stuck to our travel plans, he wouldn't have gotten home until late last night. So today would be the first day he could show up, and here he was.
I had expected him to be angry, but the fury I saw on his face made my breath catch. But then I realized it wasn't because I had left. It was because I hadn't told him about the baby. How did he find out? It had to be Lucy or Ethan. Probably Ethan.
Pulling myself together, I lifted my chin, letting him know he wouldn’t intimidate me. "Let's go out back to talk."
"Why? You want to continue to have your staff believe I'm an asshole, when you were the one who lied, the one who was going to keep my child from me?"
I glared at him. "If you really think I would do that, then you don't know me at all."
His eyes flared with wild heat. "As it turns out, I don't know you. You were right all along, Kate. You're not the same person you were back then. My heart saw you through the lens of what we once had, but I see clearly now."
Each word felt like a stab in my heart. I didn't want this. I didn't want him angry and believing the worst in me. How ironic that for the last couple of months, he'd been trying to have me change how I saw him. And he had. I’d just been too afraid to tell him. Now it was probably too late, assuming I ever had the guts to tell him the truth.
I brushed past him, heading toward the back of the restaurant, planning to exit and go to the beach. "I'll be outside if you actually want to talk."
"That's really rich, Kate. All I’ve wanted to do since I saw you was talk." He followed me out.
I walked through the outdoor patio and onto the beach. The day was clear and the morning air cool but not cold. It was rarely cold in southern California.
"Was that part of your plan, as well? Break my heart and steal my child? That last one is a pretty heavy penalty, don't you think?"
I whirled around on him. "I was going to tell you. I was going to tell you on Thanksgiving."
He arched a brow, his expression telling me didn't believe me. "So you ran off instead?"
I huffed out a breath. "You know why I left."
"I do know why. It's because you only believe whatever stupid story you tell yourself about me instead of asking for the truth. Fucking A, Kate. You wouldn't even let me tell you the truth."
I understood that this was my part of the problem. Ethan had been right. My fear, my need to keep my heart and soul locked up tight, had failed to keep me safe. Instead, it was causing me more pain. For the last few days, I’d tried to tell myself I’d done the right thing, but my guilt and yearning for him contradicted that.