Page 117 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

Kat pulled in a shallow breath as he introduced the video with a few brief words, preparing herself for what might come.

“My thoughts are this,” he said while looking at the lens. Oh, how she missed looking into those eyes. “Kat Morgan is an incredible woman. And in a matter of days, I’ve fallen in love with her. Undeniably.”

Kat wanted to reach out and press pause on the monitor, not that it was possible. But how desperately she wanted to let those words sink deeply into her heart.

Sure, he’d told her that very thing only moments before that recording, right in that very spot. But Kat had a hard time believing it now.

But this…something about watching Zander with all of the nuances that made him distinctly him while he declared his love for her—it was hard to dismiss.

“…if all goes as I hope it will,” Zander continued, “I’ll be bringing Kat here for our anniversaries for years to come.”

The screen went black. Silence fell over the studio, and then Lisa appeared on the screen once more. “That video was filmed mere minutes before our producers showed up at the scene to discuss our groom’s hidden identity. Come back to hear from Mr. Zander Benton himself after these messages.”

She was free to leave if she wanted; Kat was grateful for that knowledge. It helped her realize that—despite her desperation to get out of there—she wanted to be there. Wanted to hear what Zander had to say for himself. Perhaps now, she was ready after all.

“Psst... Kat.”

Kat stiffened from the sound at her back. Had her father snuck backstage yet again? Would it be Mom this time? She spun to look over her shoulder, expecting to see anyone but the man she saw standing there.

“Zander?”

His blue eyes locked on hers. “You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say my name.”

A wave of goose bumps spread up her arms as she held his gaze.

He stepped closer, infusing her next breath with his heavenly scent. “I just want to tell you, privately, that I’m so sorry for betraying your trust, Kat. But none of this has been an act. It wasn’t then and it’s not now. I hope you know that.”

He came in then, pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, and dashed back behind the curtain. Randall had assured Kat that the Benton twins would enter the stage from the opposite side; she couldn’t help but wonder if Zander would get there in time.

Already Lisa was announcing him. She could hear it now. And even as Kat tuned in to the introduction from her place backstage, she mused she might drift up into the rafters. It wasthe first burst of hope she’d felt in days, and Kat couldn’t help but grab onto it like the ribbon from a helium balloon.

If she collected enough of them, she’d raise above her troubles enough to see that perhaps things could work out after all.

“…Let’s say hello to the man of the hour, the guy ladies are saying could come to their rescue any day of the week, Mr. Zander Benton.”

The crowd went wild once more.

Kat bit at her lip as she watched him walk onto the stage in all of his brooding, blue-eyed glory. Yes, Zander was so different from Duke, it was plain to see. And she loved the things that set him apart.

You don’t know how good it feels to hear you say my name. Just hearing it back in her head made Kat’s center fill with warmth anew.

“Zander,” Lisa said once he was seated. “When was the last time you saw Kat?”

He shot a look at the camera, seeming to acknowledge Kat and their little inside secret. “Umm…it’s been days.”

“Tell us what it’s been like for you. There you were, declaring your love for this woman one minute, and then watching her sail right out of your life the next.”

“It’s been the worst few days of my life,” he said. “It was one thing to lose my dad, my granddad, and Winston too. But those losses were out of my control. But this one…to know that I might have lost Kat forever, all because I hadn’t come clean to her about who I really was…it’s awful.”

“Our audience has been kind of torn on this one, Zander. Some viewers say they’d never forgive you. Others say there wasn’t much to forgive. Soon, we’ll find out which camp Kat’s in, but first let me ask you something.” Lisa propped a hand beneath her chin and channeled her thoughtful face.

“As per Kat’s participation in the experiment, she’ll need to spend the remainder of her contract under one roof with either you or Duke. You might be confident that she’ll choose you, but let’s take a look at this montage and see if you still feel that way.”

Dread poured in as Kat waited for the promised footage to play. It started with a clip from her interview. “What interests me most in this experiment is the fact that the formula picks the guy, not me.”

Another clip came in. “I’m a chemist. Science doesn’t lie.”

And then another. “Science never fails.”