Katherine followed Alistair out of the hotel lobby and onto the street.

"Why are we out here?" Katherine asked, rubbing her arms. It was fall, and the weather was turning colder. She hadn't anticipated spending much time outside, so her dress was sleeveless.

Alistair pulled her off to the side of the building and took off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders. It enveloped Katherine in his smell and warmth, and she couldn't help the deep breath she took, inhaling his scent.

"Being in a hotel lobby with you is too tempting, and I don't want the distraction while we talk, especially looking as beautiful as you do now." Alistair rubbed her arms to warm her up. "I'm sorry, Katherine" He came directly to the point.

Katherine took a moment to take in his blue eyes and cleanly shaven jaw, noticing that his hair was longer than usual and it curled temptingly around his collar. She liked it when it grew a little long. It was easier to run her fingers through.

She gave herself a mental shake and tried to recall the accusations he had thrown at her the last time they met.

"You need a haircut!" she exclaimed. He didn't, but she felt a criticism might keep her grounded and make it appear that she was apathetic to his apology at best.

He smiled, which was not the result she had intended.

"Why are you sorry, and is that why you bid on my package?" She crossed her arms and gave her most stern expression.

His grin grew. "It's a good thing Uncle Mason or my cousin Agatha aren't here right now. They could do so much with that statement."

"Alistair!" she warned.

"I'm sorry I accused you of having another lover, bringing another man to make me jealous, and using your innocence to get me to agree to film at my house. I know none of those things are true." His voice was low and urgent.

"The lover and jealous part I get and can forgive, and it's a little more than me using my innocence to get you to agree to the house. It's the fact that you didn't believe me! What have I ever lied to you about!" She heard her voice rising and took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. "Let's go back and look at the angle you just used, that I was using my innocence. The last time you proposed, I told you I wouldn't use you in any way. If I were a user, I definitely would have used you then!" She felt the tears of frustration building.

"Fine, Katherine! If you want to get mad, then I can get mad too!" He crossed his arms. "I was jealous. I have never seen you with another man in a social setting, and yes, it upset me, but that's not the worst. The worst is that you always tell me, no, and it's always for a different reason! Forgive me if I do feel used. I love you, and I made that point very clear early on, but it was never enough!"

"You will never get it because you come from a loving family!" Katherine shook her head. "The only love I have ever known is motherly love. I never even saw love between my parents, so forgive me if I don't trust you or myself when it comes to love. I am only starting to learn about sisterly love because my father did his best to keep us separated our whole lives, which I am beginning to discover was another way to isolate me."

Alistair's phone started a constant dinging, but to his credit, he ignored it as he listened to her.

"Why did you bid on me? Was it so we could have this conversation, which is going nowhere?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you and get you to forgive me, and I didn't want anyone else to win you." His phone was still going crazy.

"Maybe you should check that?" Katherine said.

"Not until you agree that I was stupid and promise to think about forgiving me!" He reached for her arms again and pulled her close.

Katherine caved and let him pull her against him.

"I can be stupid sometimes. I was also mad at myself that I didn't realize that you were so innocent the first time we made love. It was a chance that I lost. If I had known, maybe I could have made it more special or something!" His eyes looked longingly into hers. "It wasn't fair that you kept that experience from me."

Katherine felt tears building. "I'm sorry. I never thought of it that way. I was embarrassed that I was still a virgin. I didn't want you to know for fear that you might change your mind or think differently of me."

"Katherine, I wanted you from the moment I met you, and nothing could ever change that. You're my weakness. My pride should have kicked in when I thought you had another lover, but it didn't. All I could think of was getting you away from him."

"But it kicked in when you thought I was lying about my innocence," she pointed out in a soft voice.

"Of course, it did! My mind immediately thought about if I was good enough our first time. If I had taken my time and done it right." He sounded angry again, and it made Katherine laugh.

"If you hadn't done it right, there never would have been a second time," she reassured him.

"Do you forgive me?" he asked.

"I do, but it doesn't solve the bigger problem." Katherine took off her jacket and handed it back to him, preparing to end the conversation.

"What's the bigger problem, Katherine? Tell me so I can fix it, and we can get on with it. I miss you." He took his jacket and draped it over his arm as his phone started again.

"You had better deal with that," Katherine said, realizing it was important.

"Not until you tell me the bigger problem," he insisted.

"There you are!" Bryce said as he exited the hotel behind them as a car pulled up to the curb. "We have to go now!"

Grace followed behind him with tears streaming down her cheeks as she typed a message on her phone.

"Oh, Alistair!" Grace cried when she saw him. "It's Mave! She's been attacked!"

"Attacked?" Alistair asked with a frown.

"She was kidnapped, held at knife point, and attacked by a crazed fan!" Grace reached out and pulled her son close in a hug.

Bryce opened the car door and helped his wife into the car before following her. "Make your goodbyes quick. The plane is waiting," he said before he closed the door to give them some privacy.

Katherine looked at Alistair, who had gone very pale, and went up on tiptoe, placing a quick kiss on his cheek. "I love you, go." She whispered as she held him tight against her for a moment.

Alistair looked shell-shocked as he nodded and walked toward the car when she released him.

"I'll see you soon?" he asked, looking over his shoulder.

"Sure," she agreed with a sad smile that wasn't very convincing. "I still owe you a home-cooked meal." It seemed to be what he wanted to hear because he nodded and climbed into the car.

Katherine watched it drive away, hoping that Mave was all right. Unlike Katherine, she was a natural fighter, so she would be fine, especially with her family to back her up.

Suddenly feeling the chill, she turned and returned to the hotel to rejoin her sisters.

*******

Alistair pulled out his phone and started scrolling through the missed messages. It wasn't pretty. Mave was in the intensive care unit at a hospital in Los Angeles. Nothing was clear except that she had been taken, attacked, and somehow had gotten away.

"Did you and Katherine work everything out?" Grace asked, looking over at her son with worried concern.

"Not really. I need a plan and her and we need to be together in one place for longer than a day." He frowned at what he was reading.

"You could let them film at the house," Grace suggested. They knew she was trying to change the subject to keep from thinking the worst, and Alistair and Bryce were willing to play along.

"Would you and Dad be all right with that?" Alistair asked, looking at his father, who was typing into his phone.

"With the right contract, yes," he agreed.

It was always about the deal with his father.

"Oh!" Grace cried, unable to hold back the tears any longer, "what if Mave's not all right!"

Bryce pulled her close, unable to speak.

"Then we'll deal with it as a family like we always do," Alistair said, finally understanding what Katherine had meant. She was all alone and had been most of her life. She didn't know how not to be. It was something that he and his family took for granted.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Alistair asked when she had calmed a bit.

"Yes, love." Grace nodded.

"Was it hard to accept or understand that you were part of a close family and weren't alone anymore when you married Dad?"

"Maybe a little, but your grandmother was there, pulling me in, making me feel loved, wanted, and included. Her acceptance and warmth surrounded me, and that helped." Grace lifted her head from Bryce's shoulder.

"Is that what is going on with Katherine?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes, she had a rotten childhood and doesn't know how to be..." he shook his head, unable to explain.

"She doesn't know how to let herself be accepted and loved for who she is, not whom she thinks she should be." Grace understood better than he had hoped.

"I think this calls for a family intervention." Grace nodded, then thought of Mave and started to cry again. "It will have to wait, though."

"It's waited nine years. It can wait a little longer," Alistair admitted.

"Nine years!" Grace exclaimed. "My poor boy!" she reached out and touched his cheek. "Poor Katherine. To deny herself love for that long. We'll fix it," she promised.

Bryce lifted his head from his phone and looked at his son. "You're in it now."

Their phones all went off simultaneously, and that ended the conversation.

They were rushing Mave into surgery for internal bleeding.