Hers to Marry: Sisters of Springfield 2

by Ellis, Eliza

  “Sorry, Susie.” Kat bit her lip to keep from grinning.

  “Uh-huh. You won’t remember that when you’re on his million-dollar, I’ve-got-a-full-kitchen-on-my-plane plane.”

  Kat laughed, her heart light. Her life was changing, like she had felt, but it was in a good way. Her moment.

  Just like Drew had said.

  She hugged Susie, squeezing her so tight the woman protested. “Thank you, Susie. I owe everything to you.”

  Susie’s arms went around Kat’s back. “My dear girl, no one I know deserves it more. Now, let go so we can get started on some of these orders.”

  Kat complied and she rushed to the kitchen to get Susie ahead of as many of the orders as she could before leaving for New York.

  New York!

  She was finally free. Free to leave Springfield, free of financial burden, free to live her dream without compromise. And she couldn’t wait to start the next chapter of her life.

  In a way, LeBleu’s offer might just make up for the fact that Drew wouldn’t be in her life anymore.

  Chapter 18

  When he stepped into the bakery, Drew caught Susie’s eye and smiled. He loved coming into this place, mainly because of the chef in the kitchen. But Susie’s bakery felt so homey, and he knew when Kat had her own bakery, it would be just the same.

  He’d spent nearly all day yesterday ironing out a deal with Kat’s ex, Marcus. The man was not only the most selfish person Drew had ever met, he was also difficult to deal with in a business-like fashion. It was a wonder Kat went into business with him in the first place.

  He wanted a lot of money.

  A lot.

  More than Drew had wanted to give, but not outside what he had expected from a guy like Marcus. Fortunately, Drew never went over his limit, and he was able to snag the real estate Marcus had bought to spite Kat.

  At triple the market value. Simultaneously the best and worst deal he’d ever made.

  It meant putting his personal home project on hold, but that didn’t matter since the likelihood of him living there grew ever more slim the more Parker talked about her position.

  She had Skyped with him yesterday and gushed about all she was going to do as the new president of the international division. A lot of travel, a lot of meetings, a lot of bossing other people around—which admittedly was one of her most favorite things to do in the world. If all went well, she would be able to extend for another year or two, if the CEO decided he wasn’t going to step down. His decision was still up in the air and likely would be until the merger was officially complete about a year from now.

  That meant in a year he could be looking at another year or two in London.

  He mentioned being based in the US for some of that time, and Parker seemed only too eager to allow him that flexibility. In fact, she had said he didn’t have to come out to London right away. If he wanted, he could go on their honeymoon, and she’d take her own vacation after things settled down, in about three or four months. The merger was happening so quickly that she didn’t have time to take a vacation now.

  Who goes on their honeymoon while their spouse is away at work?

  Drew had stared at his wedding band for the rest of the night. Was he being selfish in keeping Parker in the relationship? They had different dreams, different life goals. She was on the move, and he was slowing down. She was at the precipice of her career shooting through the stratosphere, and he was creating strategic partnerships in a city he wanted to be home forever. He believed she loved him or at least loved being with him. But she loved her work so much that she had to be married to it for her to be satisfied—at least for the time being. And the present time might not include him. He would mention that to her this evening.

  His grandmother was right. Break up when the person was overseas. It would make things easier. Except it made his stomach sick to think about it ending this way. Getting up the nerve was the hard part.

  “Is Kat in the back?”

  Susie looked at him in a strange way. “She is. Go on back.”

  “Thanks. And don’t worry, I’ll have another order for you soon,” he said over his shoulder. Susie only responded with a small smile and a nod. Strange.

  He looked inside the kitchen and saw Kat bent over a cake with a tube of icing in her hand, carefully applying the icing to the cake. He smiled as he watched her work. She was so different from Parker. Really the opposite. Parker preferred being around people and in command of a hundred details at a time, where Kat always intently focused on getting that one thing right. She was incredibly artistic. Two equally important qualities, but vastly different. It was no wonder he was in love with both of them.

  His heart hitched.

  He was in love with both women. There were qualities he admired in both of them, but they had each captured his heart in a different way. The whole reason why he had sought out Marcus is because he didn’t want Kat’s ex to win. He wanted to provide for Kat.

  He had wanted to provide for Parker too, but she seemed less and less willing to accept his provision. Both women were doing well on their own. Neither of them needed him.

  That made him feel worse than ending things with Parker. How could he possibly make either of them happy if neither of them needed him in any way? And he couldn’t be certain if either of them actually wanted him anymore.

  “If you think I don’t know you’re standing there”—Kat looked up with a smile—“then you’d be wrong.”

  Drew fully entered the room. “How did you know?”

  “Susie has been watching me for years now. I always feel like eyes are on me.”

  “Creepy.”

  Kat chuckled. “Not really. I know she’s eager to try what I have. It’s the hands I have to watch out for.” She launched and slapped his before he was able to grab a mini dessert.

  “Ow!” He rubbed the top of his hand, feigning pain.

  “I need those.”

  “Well, I need them too.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Okay, you can have one.”

  “I’m wearing you down. I’ll get more out of you.” He grinned and popped one in his mouth. “Uhh, Kat…” His head tilted back, and he moaned. “You have to marry me. I can’t let you…” His head jerked back forward. What had just come out of his mouth?

  Kat looked away quickly. “That good?”

  “Mmm-hmm.” Crap. Why couldn’t he have kept his mouth shut? Or better yet, why did he keep eating her sweets? He wasn’t going to fit into his tux…if he was still going to wear it.

  He cleared his throat. “I, uh, actually wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “Good.” She picked the tube up and continued icing. “I wanted to talk to you, too. I’ve just been really busy trying to finish up a few orders here.”

  “Yeah, I know this wedding has put you guys in a bind.”

  Her smile was small. “Nothing we can’t handle. What’s up?”

  He didn’t like the atmosphere of the room. It felt…off somehow. Warm from the ovens, and it smelled amazing, but Kat… He scratched his stubble and pushed through. “You know the bakery your ex bought?”

  “Uh-huh.” She didn’t look up.

  “Well, he no longer owns it.”

  Her eyes met his. “What? How do you know?”

  “He sold it. Got a deal he really couldn’t say no to.” Drew reached behind him and pulled out a stack of folded papers from his back pocket. “He sold it to me.”

  Kat dropped the icing tube. “He sold it to…”

  Drew grinned sheepishly and offered her the documents. “I told him I had to have it. Wasn’t going to leave the table until he accepted my offer.”

  “You didn’t let him—”

  “Take me to the cleaners? Not exactly. But I won’t be working on my home for a little while, that’s for sure.”

  Kat covered her face with her hands and shook her head. “No! Why did you do that?” Her eyes welled with tears when she finally met his gaze. “Y
our home! You and…”

  He shook his head. “Yeah. Parker and I are…” He swallowed the thickness in his throat. “Moving to London. The way things look, she might be there for a while. Not sure when I’ll be able to move back.”

  A tear slipped down her cheek. If there was a chance her heart was breaking over the news, then he knew exactly how she felt. He didn’t want to leave either. Didn’t want this image to be one of the last he would see of Kat. The first one almost broke him. To see her standing on the sidewalk again would devastate him. Who knew when he’d ever be back? As beautiful and talented as she was? She’d be married in no time.

  “Andrew…” She took the papers from him and slowly unfolded them.

  “I’m putting it in your name. You just have to sign. I…I know we haven’t been friends in a long time and probably won’t be for many years to come. But I wanted you to have your own bakery since we won’t be working on it together.”

  She smiled as more tears traced paths down her cheeks. “I don’t know if anyone has ever done something so…” She frowned then and looked up. “I can’t be your wedding planner anymore,” she said quickly. “The cake will still be done, don’t worry. Susie is going to handle that.”

  “Wait…” He struggled to comprehend her last few statements. He was still thinking about her bakery. “What did you say?”

  “I… This has been too difficult for me.”

  He took her elbows in his hands. “Look, it’s all my fault. I’ve been pushing in because I’ve missed you and…and I don’t know how I’m feeling—everything is so confused. Please don’t back out now. Parker is counting on you.”

  “Everything will be perfect for your day, don’t worry. I have a friend at the hotel who owes me a favor. She’ll contact you. They will make sure everything gets delivered and set up just the way you want it. Parker won’t have to lift a finger, I promise.”

  No. This was all wrong. She was supposed to fling herself into his arms and let him hold her like he did the other day. She was going to say how much she loved him for buying her the bakery and that she’d hate it if he left.

  She said and did none of that.

  “I still don’t understand…”

  She looked everywhere before finally finding his eyes. “I’m leaving town.”

  His chest collapsed, crushing his lungs. “Leaving town?” he croaked. “When?”

  “Tomorrow. I’ve been offered an apprenticeship with a famous chef, and I’ll be gone at least six weeks, and…and then I just might stay.”

  Leaving town… Her voice sounded like he was hearing it from a conch shell—echoey and not very clear. “Where?”

  “New York City. I’ve never been out of town, so this is a really good opportunity for me. Great, actually. The best ever.”

  “Of course it is,” he said quickly. “NYC… It’ll be really different from here. Really busy…crowded.”

  Kat smiled easily and the tears on her cheeks continued drying. “I can’t wait. To learn from this chef is a dream come true. It’ll open doors for me.”

  Drew didn’t doubt it. He wanted to hear all about how it came about, but if she was leaving tomorrow, she didn’t have time to spend talking to him. If she wasn’t coming back, then… “The bakery…”

  She stood on the tips of her toes and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “I’ll love you forever for doing that,” she whispered into his ear. “I’m going to open it one day. I promise. Susie will look after it for me, I’m sure. We could probably start designing the remodel while I’m gone.”

  His arms went around her waist, and he held her to him. She rested her cheek on his chest. “Katrina.”

  She extricated herself from his arms, leaving his insides caving in from the hole she left.

  She wiped underneath her eyes, leaving streaks of icing across her face. He smiled at how adorable she looked. He could see her in the kitchen of her own bakery, but maybe giving orders to other junior bakers and keeping the flour out of her wild and fluffy hair that he’d loved since they were kids.

  She chuckled. “Thank you, Drew. I’m going to miss you.”

  “I don’t want to lose you,” he said urgently, his gaze clinging to hers.

  “You’ll never lose me. I’ll always be your friend.”

  He nodded. That’s all he could ask for while still engaged to Parker.

  “Thank you, again. I…I will treasure this always.” She clutched the papers to her chest.

  “I’ll have my attorney get in touch with you to finalize everything and give Susie the keys.” She nodded. “Promise you’ll name a dessert after me?” he asked with raised brows.

  She laughed. “Of course I will. I’ve already started thinking about it.”

  “Can’t wait to try it.” And when would that happen? In a few short days, he would be on a honeymoon alone. And then, London. He felt sick again. This wasn’t good for his health.

  “Goodbye, Drew,” Kat said softly.

  He couldn’t say the words. He just gave a nod and left the kitchen.

  Chapter 19

  Six Months Later

  New York City

  Kat walked out of the network studios and shivered at the onslaught of the brisk January air, but she wasn’t cold. Underneath her ankle-length, coupe-colored down winter jacket, she was as warm as the bakery’s kitchen back home. Today had gone incredibly well for her first on-camera experience. So much so that the executive producers couldn’t wait to get her back to Springfield to start filming her cooking segment.

  Her very own cooking show!

  She thought she would’ve been more nervous, but as soon as she picked up her custom wooden spoon, engraved with her name and title “Chef,” all the lights and people and cameras faded, and she just imagined the viewers who couldn’t wait to try one of her desserts.

  And breakfasts, lunches, and a few dinners too.

  Her six-week apprenticeship had propelled her past desserts and sweets into other meals, and it had opened up a level of creativity Kat never knew existed. The apprenticeship turned into months, and she took the time to learn from Chef LeBleu, perfect her craft, and gain new experiences.

  And Susie had been right.

  Her agent pulled her aside this morning and dropped the words “three-book deal” for cookbooks that Kat could now fill with more than just desserts. Not only would she have a television show, she could write cookbooks, and with the bakery Drew had bought her—

  Drew…

  She had tried to forget him. LeBleu had kept her so busy that her heart had finally begun to heal, and she felt confident she was in a place where she could return home and start fresh. Susie had said the wedding had broken down at the last minute, but Drew had moved to London within days after Kat had flown to New York. Kat hadn’t heard back from Parker regarding their wedding, and it was probably for the best. Kat wished them well.

  Her car’s driver tipped his hat to her and opened the door to the second seat. Kat was really going to miss LeBleu’s standard of living, but her agent claimed she could get the network to pay for a chauffeured car to drive Kat to and from the network in Springfield. Kat thought she’d feel a little bit snobbish after all this luxury, but it hadn’t settled in yet.

  “Kat!”

  Kat about-faced, and her jaw dropped. “Parker?”

  Parker’s driver closed her door, and Parker came forward with her arms outstretched. She engulfed Kat in a fierce hug. “I can’t believe it! What are the odds?”

  “What are you doing here?” Kat breathed. She wouldn’t look around for Drew. It would be too soon to see her friend’s husband. She didn’t want to experience any negative emotions after being on such a high.

  And the guilt would eat at her. Thankfully, Susie kept an eye on the place, and they had been discussing renovation ideas and authoring a plan for when Kat did return to town.

  Instead, she focused on her friend’s perfectly done up face, her stylish ruby-colored hooded jacket and the black-heele
d boots Kat was sure she saw in the window at Sachs for a thousand dollars. Parker looked every bit a vice president of a prestigious company.

  “I’m here for a quick meeting with one of our satellite offices,” Parker said. “Since the merger, we’ve considered moving our Boston offices to New York and making this satellite office the new headquarters.”

  “How long are you in town for?”

  “A few days. Do you have time to catch up?” She looked at the black town car and her eyes widened. “Is this yours? What were you doing at the network?”

  Kat grinned from ear to ear. “I’m getting my own cooking show, and I was meeting with a few of the producers to go over notes.”

  With the dropping of Parker’s jaw came her entire head. “How…in…the…”

  Kat laughed. “Susie. My boss at the bakery? She reached out to Chef LeBleu on Instagram.

  “The dessert guy? I love his Insta.”

  “That’s him. He came to town, liked my desserts, and I’ve been here for the last six months doing an apprenticeship with him. He had a deal set up with the network to bring in a new chef for a show in Springfield. He hopes that market will take over the Midwest.”

  Parker shook her head. “Wow. Just…wow, girl. That is amazing. I am really stunned right now. So that’s what happened to you. Drew said you left the bakery and wouldn’t do our wedding.”

  Kat gave her an apologetic smile. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I…I tried to reach you to explain—”

  “He might’ve mentioned that, I can’t remember. Oh, I’ve been super busy with this merger. I haven’t had a chance to do anything, trust me. Not even get married.” She laughed heartily.

  Kat’s eyes shot to her friend’s left hand that was covered with a glove. Parker saw the move and took her glove off.

  No wedding band.

  No engagement ring either.

  Parker shrugged. “We called it off at the last minute. Literally. After you left, Drew flew out to London, and we had a long talk.” Parker smiled. “I…I thought I loved him, but truth is”—she giggled—“I loved my work more. Poor guy couldn’t compete. I mean, I tried to make it work, because we invested so much, but it just didn’t happen.”