Her throaty command woke him. What the fuck? Had some idiot-switch flipped on in his brain? He should already be there. On her. In her. Wasting not another second, he found himself standing before her with no memory of the steps that had gotten him there.

"Drop your pants, cowboy," she said with a sly smile and sultry lick of her lips. "I want to see all of you in the light of day."

In a flash, his jeans pooled around his feet. He stepped out of them, kicked the heap off to the side. Kat brazenly admired his entire body, came to rest with evident approval on the undeniable proof of his desire. Her expression turned wanton, then lifted to his hard, determined stare.

"Oh, this is going to be fun." Then she pulled him down to the bed.

Kyle had Kat in tears with the stories of his travel mishaps during his latest business trip abroad for JAMESCO. His fluency in four languages did not guarantee the absence of cultural blunders or embarrassing mishaps with customs. And he delighted in regaling her with each and every real or imagined trauma he suffered, with his signature dramatic flair and chatty hands.

Oh, she loved her brother. Adored him. Her eyes tracked his handsome, smiling face around her living room as he prepared her for the punch line from his recent adventure. His throaty laughter put her world in balance again and reconnected her to a gene pool where she so often felt cold and unfamiliar. A part of her felt bad for having shooed him away the night before. The other part-her naughty parts-not so much.

After the laughter subsided and the happy tears had been wiped away, Kat asked a double-edged question. "How's Margo these days? I haven't seen her at Pilates for quite a while. I always use to run in to her there."

Kyle's good humor faded. His focus dropped down to his lap as his thumb swept nervously across the pads of his fingers. Not a good sign. He pushed to his feet with a defeated sigh and moved to rest his shoulder against a wall. The building across the street apparently held his interest.

"We're not together anymore. It happened while I was away. I should've waited until I got back home to talk to her in person, but ..." He rubbed at his forehead. "I've been gone so much lately and she just kept pushing to set a date, and I wasn't ready to. Then one thing led to another and it erupted into a huge fight and," his hands swept in front of him, then dropped, "it's over. It's just over." He slid his hands into his pockets, his soulful brown eyes dropping to the streetscape below.

Kat sighed in relief. She knew Margo wasn't right for her brother, and she'd hoped he wouldn't cave to the pressure from his fiancee, or their families.

"Well, at least now I'm not the only disappointment in the James family." She wished the tease would put a smile back on his face. "We can keep each other company at those family dinners-at that godawful long table." She chuckled, then paused, not sure whether to speak the truth she'd known for so long. But something compelled her-maybe his tortured expression, or the torment swimming in his eyes.

She wanted to ease it. Erase it for him.

"I always thought Eric was a better match for you anyway."

Kyle appeared to stop breathing. He searched her eyes for confirmation, acceptance. Then he moved back to the sofa and plopped down next to Kat, his face a canvas of relief and amazement.

"How long have you known?" His tone was hushed, awed.

"About Eric?" He nodded. "Since college." She smiled softly, raked her fingers through his wavy, dark hair, and drew him into a hug.

With only thirteen months between them, she and Kyle had always had a special connection. She just got him. She always had. The subtleties and nuances others missed had never been lost on her. In fact, she couldn't remember not knowing this about him. She suspected he'd always known too but had tried his best to conform over the years to fit the role mapped by their family, and society.

Kyle pulled her against his chest, took her with him as he settled back into the corner of the sofa. They relaxed in their silent embrace for a few minutes, savoring their connection and the lingering aroma of the remaining scraps of Chinese takeout he'd brought with him.

"I can't do it anymore, Kat. I can't pretend. I tried. I really did, but I'm exhausted." He rubbed his chin against her hair. "I have a couple of job offers on the West Coast. I'm going to take one of them."

Kat pushed up and away, blinked back the tears stinging at her eyes. "You're leaving me? You're running away?" She shook her head in disappointment. "You don't need to do that, Kyle. I'll be there with you when you tell them, if you want. I'll support you any way I can. You know that." She paused, stroked his cheek. "There must be jobs here in New York you could take." She pleaded with her eyes.

Kyle gently tugged a lock of her hair, regarding her like a child about to hear Santa Claus never existed.

"I think leaving would be best for me-and Eric. He's coming too. It would be a fresh start for both of us. More than anything, I want a fresh start, Kat. You understand?"

"I do, but I don't want to," she said, trying to regain her composure. "How long before you leave?" She tried to conceal her desperation.

"It'll probably be in the next few months. Once I've decided which offer to accept, I'll tell Father and Mother about the new job-and about Eric. I think the distance will help them ease into it, eventually ... maybe ..." His somber face lit up with mischief. "I think I'll tell them after they meet Tucker." He bit back a grin.

"Going to let me grease the rails for you, huh?"

"You've been doing that for a long time," he said, admiration obvious in his eyes. "I've always wished I could be more like you. You just live your life-much to our family's frustration."

"Oh God, I know. I tell you, I'm so sick of hearing about marriage and kids. And the one that really burns me, 'When will you stop being stubborn and quit playing with that little company, Kathryn?'" The siblings laughed at Kat's mimicry of their mother's precise articulation and austere posture. Dark skies cleared.

"What do you know about this guy, Kat?" He brushed her cheek tenderly. "I've talked to Cassie." Kat's green eyes turned fierce at the betrayal. "And I've Googled him. You have to know our family is going to have all kinds of ammunition to shoot him down with, right?"

Kat's shoulders sank a bit. "You can't believe everything you read, Kyle."

"He said the same thing."

"He told me he talked to you this morning."

"Did he now? What exactly did he say about our conversation?"

Kat warily eyed her brother. "He said he already knew he liked you. Why?"

"Just wondered." Kyle picked up his iced tea, took a sip, then returned it to the coaster. He relaxed back against the sofa. "Why isn't he here tonight? I thought I'd get to meet him before the big reveal this week." He poked her ribs and she slapped his hand away.

"I told him I wanted time alone with you. You were gone far too long on this last trip. I missed you."

Kyle looked doubtful. "You didn't seem to miss me last night when you were doing the nasty up against the door."

Kat's mouth fell open, and she smacked his arm. "Kyle James!" He held up a pillow to thwart another attack. "A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. In the future, call first." Her giggle ruined the imperious tone she'd aimed for.

"You really like this one? More than the Grant guy I heard about?"

"I really do. I know we're different, and I'm sure you got a flavor of that just talking to him on the phone. Maybe I like him because he's different. I don't know. I'm just going with it. See what happens. You know how unlike me that is."

Kyle grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. "That's what love does to you, Kat."

"What! No, no, no. It's waaaay too early for that," she said, shaking her head resolutely.

Kyle watched her with evident skepticism and then smiled knowingly. "Yeah, right. Whatever you want to believe, kitten."

She hit him with the pillow.

The multimillion-dollar penthouse stationed above Central Park-the lion's den-materialized front and center in Kat's mind. Eight thousand square feet of grandiose space echoing with the lack of domestic warmth to ever qualify as a home. The event tonight, a family dinner, had crowded her thoughts all day.

Family. A collection of people she barely knew, with the one lucky exception of Kyle. And once he relocated, what then? Why continue the charade, the familial obligation, without him? She'd grown weary and impatient over the years with the chill from her mother and Parker, with Charlie's callous indifference toward her, and with her father's confusing ambivalence that kept her hooked, hoping.

She rested against the window casement in her living room, drew back the sheer fabric for a clear view of the street below and Tucker's impending arrival. Her mother had already made her haughty opinion known about Kat's plus-one. The lengthy, tense discussion about Tucker had taken a nosedive, as per usual. Without doubt, she'd foiled her mother's plans to foist yet another man on her. Kat had always shot down any man handpicked for her. Would the woman ever wise up?

She placed her head against the molding with a tired sigh. Prior to Grant Collins, she had a difficult time remembering the last occasion she'd brought a man home to endure the harsh judgment of the James dynasty. Dan didn't count, even though he'd accompanied her many times over the years and had admirably held his own against cutting remarks; her family had apparently understood he wasn't a serious threat. But Dan's presence had always managed to piss off her mother, a plus in Kat's book.

Finding a man, a husband, had never been a priority. If the right kind of man came along, fine. If he didn't, fine. Kat had never needed a man in order to feel complete. Although, as time raced by, the idea of a partner, a man happy to share her life and take her as is, held some appeal. But that fairy tale would take a special kind of man, and she didn't have the time to find him-he'd have to find her.

What if he already had?

What if he wore cowboy boots and chewed on toothpicks?

She let the curtain drop back against the pane, pressed her fingertips to her forehead, and closed her eyes. Tonight would be brutal. She could count on Kyle's support, but he would be it. Her brow furrowed in thought. Maybe Father? He'd always been a distant man, except for the one thing, which seemed to hint at a special connection with her: he'd always called her Katie. A name only he used. A name that when spoken seemed to soften the sharp corners of Henry James's veneer while at the same time making her mother's already stiff posture turn to cool steel.

And even beyond the nickname, Kat swore there'd been times when she'd glimpsed a shine of pride in her father's eyes when she talked about her company, her accomplishments. Or when she rebuffed the men her mother pushed on her. But Henry James was not a man for whom compliments or kind words flowed often. Kat had taken those bits of fleeting warmth, possible acceptance, and had tucked them away.

A grin skipped across her lips. True to form, Tucker didn't show any signs of concern about meeting her family. Maybe he'd masked his apprehension to put her at ease? Not possible. That man did not hide his feelings. He'd come right out and tell her if he had reservations. Instead, he seemed anxious to go, eager to prove to them all he wasn't going away.

Her body flushed with heat at the thought of him staying. She liked having him here. He'd spent every night at her place, then in the morning he'd head back to his hotel when she went to work. Her only complaint so far-a lack of sleep, but she wasn't complaining about why, because she thoroughly enjoyed paying the price. She snickered out loud at their naked escapades, eyes skipping around to various dirty-deed locations in the room. The man was the embodiment of no-holds-barred fun.

The decisive knock at her door pulled her back into the present. She stepped away from her living room window and moved to open the front door. She gasped in genuine appreciation at the mountain of a man standing before her.

"My, my, my." She ogled him from head to toe with open lust and admiration. He wore dark gray dress pants with a matching suit coat, a fitted black shirt, and his blond hair knotted tightly at his neck, mischief sparkling in his eyes. "You really didn't need to dress up. I want you to be yourself tonight."

"I only get one chance to make a first impression with your family, Kat. I want it to be a good one."

She pulled him close. "Well, you've already made a good impression on me." Her fingers danced along his chest. "You look good enough to eat, Tucker Williams."

"Oh, don't even get me started, sweetheart. The cabbie's downstairs with the meter runnin'." He seized her backside with both hands, pulling her up on tiptoes to give him a soft kiss.

"Please don't take anything personally tonight. Okay? They can be a tough crowd."

He lifted her chin. "Hey, I'm a big boy. I've had to handle plenty of tough crowds. This'll hardly be my first rodeo." He stroked her cheek. "Don't you worry about me."

Given his history, she understood the truth in his statement, but apprehension still nibbled around the edges. Her real concern had less to do with Tucker and more to do with the uneasy certainty her family would disappoint her tonight.

The private elevator opened to the spacious penthouse foyer with its Italian marble floor, gold leaf moldings, Renaissance art, and glimmering crystal chandelier. Kat's throat tightened. A museum, not a home.

Tucker bent down. "Sure I'm dressed okay?"

"Absolutely." She smoothed his jacket front. "You look terrific-very handsome." She kissed his cheek, then wiped away the smudge of lipstick. "If anything, you're overdressed. I told you before, it's always business casual for family-only dinners."

"Ms. James, may I take your coat and purse?"

"Hi, Stewart. Yes, thank you," she said, as Tucker helped her shrug out of her coat. "Is anyone else here yet?"

"You're the last to arrive. Everyone is gathered in the main dining hall, Ms. James." He answered the question on her face. "They all arrived a bit earlier than usual." Kat's heart ticked up a few beats.

"And you, sir? May I take your jacket?"

Tucker held his hand up. "I'm just fine, thanks."

Stewart gave a curt nod, then turned on his heel.

A familiar laugh and voice echoed in the distance, causing a dart of disquiet in Kat's chest. Why would he be here? As she and Tucker made their way deeper through the old world decor, Sarah James stepped into the hallway, her hand draped comfortably inside Grant Collins's bent elbow. Kat stopped dead in her tracks; Tucker stiffened beside her, his hand moving to rest at her lower back. Sarah James didn't miss a beat, not the least bit ruffled. Kat's stomach sank. This had already started off worse than she'd expected.

"Kathryn, darling, look who stopped by to say hello." The words dripped like syrupy-sweet honey off her deceitful red lips, her adoration directed at Grant. Kat shifted blame between her mother and her visibly uneasy ex. However, she quickly surmised one thing: Grant had had no part in this setup, the apology evident in his eyes. He'd probably been trying to make a quick exit once he got wind of the grand scheme. Grant stole a quick glimpse of Tucker, and then offered a tight smile to Kat.

"I really must be going, Sarah," Grant said. He did his best to break away from her clutches.

"Oh, Grant, I really wish you would stay. It's been too long, and I have so enjoyed catching up with you." He shook his head, the discomfort growing on his handsome face. "Well, all right, then. If you must," she said, her dramatic disappointment worthy of Broadway. "I'll see you out." Sarah escorted Grant down the hall without acknowledging or speaking to Tucker.

Kat found the air difficult to breathe as anger and disappointment expanded in her chest.

Tucker's warm hand slid around hers. "It's okay."

Her mother brushed past them.

"Mother!"

Sarah halted but did not turn around. Kat released Tucker's hand and stomped up behind her. "How could you be so rude? This isn't the way to start things off, Mother. He's a guest. My guest."

Sarah faced her daughter. "This is my home. I will set whatever tone I wish, with whomever I wish." The insult was loud enough for Tucker to hear. Then she turned and continued her determined stride down the hall. Kat gawked after her in disbelief, watching the flouncing chiffon as her mother retreated around the corner.

Sarah James wanted to play hardball tonight, huh? Ordinarily, Kat would be game, meet them all head-on, but with Tucker in tow she wasn't sure that was a good idea.

He deserved better.

She startled from Tucker's gentle caress at her shoulder. "We're not going in there. We're leaving."

As she attempted to make her exit, Tucker pulled her to face him. "Don't give them what they want, Kat. It's way too early to fold."

"I'm not going to subject either one of us to whatever rudeness my mother, or anyone else, has planned."

Tucker's focus skipped past Kat and he chuckled as he seemed to replay the past in his head. Then he brought his wise eyes back to hers, looking more determined than ever.

"They're not gonna throw anything at me I haven't already dealt with; trust me. This'll be a walk in the park compared to movin' into John Diamond's house when I was a boy. Or the media frenzy his kids stirred up these past few years." As he stroked her face, his features softened. "You're strong, and they know it. Don't let 'em break you, Kat." She wrapped her arms around him, squeezed his body to hers. "I'm the only one who gets to do that."

His husky words sent a tickle up her spine.

She pulled away, her expression shrewd. "Temporarily, of course."

The inside joke made them smile.

"Wouldn't want it any other way, sweetheart."

His words, his support, brought unexpected relief. Relief that, for the first time, someone would be at her side when she confronted her family. Someone as strong as she was, experienced in blocking cutting words meant to tear a person down, cause self-doubts. She knew then and there: he was worth whatever hostilities awaited them next.

She only hoped he'd feel the same about her after tonight.

A crystal chandelier splashed its muted glow around the lavish dining room, casting long shadows across marble sculptures, rare paintings, and designer topiaries. The James clan chatted on the other side of the room as a server offered hors d'oeuvres. The room fell silent as all attention, and judgment, landed on Kat and Tucker. Kyle stood off to one side sporting an encouraging grin. He nodded his head in tacit support, urging her on.

"Good evening, everyone." She made deliberate eye contact with each family member-except her mother. "I'd like to introduce Tucker Williams." She squeezed his hand tight, smiled up at him, then returned her attention back to the unfriendly group. "The new man in my life."

Huffs, sideways glances, and muffled comments greeted them. Not outstretched hands, friendly smiles, or even the charade of manners.

Still holding Tucker's hand, Kat introduced her father and two oldest brothers along with their high-maintenance wives. Before she could even utter Kyle's name, he'd bounded around the table to shake Tucker's hand and slap a hearty pat on his back.