Humiliation washed over her. Lindsay was right.
“Darn it,” Kaitlin hissed under her breath. “He was faking?”
Lindsay patted her arm in sympathy, her tone going gentle. “That’d be my guess.”
Kaitlin scrunched her eyes shut.
“I’ll take this one,” Lindsay told the clerk. Then she wrapped a bracing arm around Kaitlin’s shoulders. “Seriously, Katie. I hate to be the one to say this. But what are the odds he’s falling for you?”
Lindsay was right. She was so, so right. Kaitlin had been taken in by a smooth-talking man with an agenda. He didn’t want her. He wanted her architectural designs, so he could shoot holes in them, talk her out of them, save himself a bundle of money. His interests were definitely not Kaitlin’s interests.
How could she have been so naive?
She clamped her jaw and took a bracing breath.
Then she opened her eyes. “You’re right.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’m fine,” Kaitlin huffed. She caught a glimpse of the hefty price tag on the coin and seized the opportunity to turn the attention from herself. “You know that’s two thousand dollars?”
“It’s a bargain,” said the clerk, punching keys on the cash register.
But Lindsay wasn’t so easily distracted. “I think he’s trapped. I think he’s panicking. And I think he thinks you’ll be more malleable if you fall for him.”
“How long have you been interested in antique coins?” Kaitlin repeated. Notwithstanding her desire to change the subject, it really was a lot of money.
“I’m not interested in coins,” Lindsay replied. “I’m interested in pirates.”
Oh, this was priceless. “You’re fixating on Dylan Gilby?”
“Wrong. I’m fixating on Caldwell Gilby. I’m proving that smug, superior Dylan does, indeed, owe his wealth to the ill-gotten gains of his pirate ancestor.”
“The Blue Glacier was sunk by pirates,” the clerk offered as she accepted Lindsay’s credit card to pay for the purchase.
“By the Black Fern,” Lindsay confirmed in a knowledgeable and meaningful tone. “Captained by dear ol’ Caldwell Gilby.”
The clerk carefully slid the coin in a velvet pouch embossed with the store’s logo. “The captain of the Blue Glacier tried to scuttle the ship against a reef rather than give up his cargo. But the pirates got most of it anyway. A few of the coins were recovered from the wreck in 1976.” The clerk handed Lindsay the pouch. “You’ve made a good purchase.”
As they turned for the door to exit the pretty little shop, Lindsay held up the pouch in front of Kaitlin’s face. “Exhibit A.”
Kaitlin searched her friend’s expression. “You have got to get back in the courtroom.”
“Weren’t we talking about you?” asked Lindsay. “Kissing your husband?”
“I don’t think so.” Kaitlin was going to wallow through that one in private.
Lindsay dropped the coin into her purse and sobered. “I don’t want you getting hurt in all this.”
Kaitlin refused to accept that. “I’m not about to get hurt. I kissed him. Nothing more.” That was, of course, the understatement of the century.
Still, they’d come to their senses before anything serious had happened. Or maybe Kaitlin was the one who’d come to her senses. Zach hadn’t been emotionally involved on any level. Even now, he was probably biding his time, waiting for the next opportunity to manipulate her all over again.
“He’s only after one thing,” Lindsay declared with authority.
Kaitlin struggled to find the black humor. “And it’s not even the usual thing.”
Lindsay gave Kaitlin’s shoulder another squeeze. “Just don’t let your heart get caught in the crossfire.”
“My heart is perfectly safe. I’m fighting for my career.” Kaitlin wouldn’t get tripped up again. She couldn’t afford it. She was fighting against someone who was even less principled than she’d ever imagined.
Dylan showed his disagreement, backing away from Zach’s office desk. “I am not stealing corporate secrets for you.”
Zach exhaled his frustration. “They’re my corporate secrets. You’re not stealing them, because I own them.”
“That’s the Harper family style,” Dylan sniffed in disdain. “Not the Gilbys’.”
“Will you get off your moral high horse.” It was all well and good for Dylan to protect his family name, but it had gotten completely out of hand the past few weeks.
“I have principles. So, sue me.”