by Eliza Ellis
“I really like that color. Not the traditional black, but Parker’s not traditional.”
Drew snorted. “She’ll probably walk down the aisle in a pantsuit holding a phone to her ear.” He wished he could take back the bitterness in his tone, but he spoke the truth.
“Parker told me that she has a dress, don’t worry.” She came behind him and cupped the back of his right arm. “I can’t wait to see the rest. You’ll look incredible.” She smiled up at him, and for a second, he saw the little girl he knew and had trusted like no one else.
“Thanks,” he said in a croaky whisper.
“Now get out of that. I’ve already made an appointment with a caterer who can fit us in today because they had a cancellation. Don’t know what the menu is, but I’m sure it’ll be amazing. This person did a wedding I was at recently, and hands down, the number one compliment was about the food.”
“Sounds great.”
After paying for the tux and being told it’d be ready the day before the wedding next week, Drew followed Kat out of the shop. “My car is parked down the street.”
“Wouldn’t you rather walk? It’s a nice day.”
“It’s June.”
Kat laughed and tugged his hand. “It’s not far. Think cool thoughts. Come on. We have a few minutes to kill anyway. I want to show you something.”
“Sure.”
Chapter 7
Drew quickly put on his sunglasses and stuck his tongue out at Kat for making them leave his car behind. She walked with her nose high in the air.
“Thank you for setting me straight earlier,” she said after a few moments of silence. “With Marcus, I mean. He just makes me so angry! I was so confused throughout our whole relationship. I wasn’t even sure we were in one at one point, until he said so. But I’d always had the feeling that he wasn’t being completely honest with me, you know?”
Kat put a hand up to her forehead to block the blaring sun. Her sunglasses weren’t enough. Maybe they should’ve taken his car.
“Yeah, I get it. You think someone is telling you the truth because of what they mean to you, and then when you find out it’s been a lie…” his voice trailed off.
Kat cast a glance at him, but he appeared to be lost in his own thoughts. Maybe he was thinking of Parker. Her agreeing to have the wedding in his hometown was just to placate him. Sure, she wanted to marry him, but Parker had no intention of ever staying here. How much did Drew really know about Parker’s intentions? Kat bit the inside of her mouth to keep herself out of it. She was supposed to plan their wedding, not be the cause of their breakup.
Her eyes spotted her new favorite place in the whole world, and her mood brightened. “Here it is!” She spread her arms wide in front of a window that had a for sale sign on it.
“Is this the place you lost?”
She shook her head. “This is the place I want. It’s in the perfect location, look.” She pointed around and across the street. “Lots of restaurants and high-end retailers. I could do a lot of business here.”
He followed her finger. “You’re right, you could.”
“Sometimes I dream I could do it all again and I think about this place.” Her expression soured, and her gaze faltered. “If I’d made the right choice in investors, I could be here now.”
“Why don’t you talk to the bank? See if you can restructure your loan payments or the loan itself. Maybe you can get another one for this place.” He put his hand on the window and looked in. “Doesn’t look too bad on the inside. You might not have to do too much to remodel.”
Kat appreciated his encouragement. “No, I wouldn’t have to do much. Update the bathroom and the front of the store. The back has plenty of space for a kitchen.”
Drew’s eyes brightened. “Then?”
“Then I talked to the bank, and they told me they wouldn’t touch me with a ten-foot-pole.” Kat sighed and continued walking.
“Ten feet, huh?”
She chuckled. “Yeah. I was stupid though. I shouldn’t have signed the lease until I had the funds in my literal hands.” She held hers up.
“You trusted your boyfriend. You can’t blame yourself.”
“Well, I do. I had put my house up for collateral. So if I don’t pay the loan off—”
“You lose your house. Katrina…” he said disapprovingly.
“I know, I know. You know me. When I do stupid, I go all out. But things are looking up.”
“Explain?”
She glanced at him with a grin. “I might be getting a job as a chef on retainer for a large corporate firm. I’ll get to travel and bake what I want.”
Drew offered a small smile. “That sounds great. That would mean you’d be leaving here, right?”
Kat nodded. That was the only downside. “It does. Maybe I could be based here, but I doubt it. I’d have to get that all worked out. My mom still needs me, even though she’ll say differently. But I don’t want to leave until she’s completely healed.”
“You’re kind to do that. I was under the impression you and your parents didn’t get along very well.”
“Maybe not with our father, but my mom and I have gotten close since he’s passed away. Understanding her better has made things easier.”
“I wish my grandmother and parents could come to some sort of understanding.”
“Your parents arrive next week, right?”
“Yup. And Grandma’s not looking forward to it.”
“How long has it been since they tried to work things out?
“Since we left Springfield. My grandmother knows how to hold a grudge, and her son is just like her.” Drew chuckled. “My father still won’t talk about what the last straw was, but somebody said something and, next thing you know, we’re off to Guam.”
“You have any idea what the argument was about?”
Drew frowned. “I’m sure it had to do with my mother, like they always did.”
“Her cooking again?” Kat remembered Drew’s mother being the sweetest woman, so loving and caring. Kat wished her mother had shown the same love and care and had fought against her husband, and the emotional abuse of his daughters, when he was alive, but Kat had since forgiven her mother. Her mother’s meek personality was no match for her husband’s domineering one.
“Grandma didn’t want him to marry her.”
Kat gasped. “Are you serious? Your mom is wonderful!”
“And Grandma is the matriarch of the family. What she says goes, until that. For ten years, they had argued and fought, even after my sister and I were born. Then Dad joined the military to get away from her.”
“A little drastic, don’t you think?”
“Maybe, but they needed the money. He’d been laid off the month before, and they were desperate.”
She placed a hand on his arm. “Drew, I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t know that’s what you were facing.”
“I didn’t know either. Mom and Dad kept that part private until recently when they heard I wanted to come back here and get married.”
Kat’s eyes widened. “They’re against you marrying here?”
Drew let out a loud groan. “Kat…there are so many things wrong with this wedding. I don’t know how it’s going to come together.”
Kat looped her arm through his and gently squeezed. “Drew, whatever I can do to help. You know that, right?”
His other hand came up and cradled her face; he placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “I know, Katrina. Thank you.”
Kat smiled up at him and then stopped them from continuing. “Here we are!”
Kat and Drew walked into the restaurant and were greeted by an event organizer who seated them in a small VIP room at the back.
“We have everything ready. Thank you for being so flexible. If you’d like to change the menu, we’d be happy to accommodate and give you another testing, if you’d like.”
Within minutes, soups, chicken, beef ribs, stuffed pasta, and an array of rolls were presented. Kat and Drew looked wide-eyed at th
e food. Kat heard Drew’s stomach growl. She giggled.
“Yeah, I’m hungry,” he said with a laugh.
They eagerly tried everything in front of them, appreciating the amount, which more than made up for lunch.
“Kat,” Drew started, patting his lips with a napkin, “would you reconsider your dream of a bakery if…you found a new investor?”
“What do you mean?” Drew stared at her, and realization dawned on her. “You mean…you?”
He cocked a brow. “Yes, silly, me. Give me your business plan and let me see what I can do.”
“But, Drew—”
“Look, I know you already said no, but I really think you should reconsider. This wouldn’t be the same situation. There would be a company that’ll control the funds and the build and it’d be all above board.”
He was right. Having a company handle the financial and logistical transactions wouldn’t be the same as trusting a slimy ex. It would leave her free to concentrate on remolding. Kat’s lower jaw slacked. “Drew?”
He rested an elbow on the table and leaned in close. “Yes, Katrina?”
His nearness caused her heart to skip a beat. But she composed herself. He was marrying her friend. Out of bounds. “What do you do, actually?”
His mouth spread into a grin that stopped her heart. She had to hurry up and get him married to Parker, or she was going to be in serious trouble.
“I work for a small investment firm. We are involved in building better communities, working with veterans to get them into homes better equipped to handle their disabilities, and helping people like you”—he tapped her on the tip of her nose—“realize their dream of opening a business.”
Not only did her heart stop, she’d lost the ability to both breathe and speak. She cleared her throat, sipped some fantastically bold red wine that was paired with the pasta, and said, “You mean, you’d help me open a bakery?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
“Because if the bank won’t—”
“Stop. My company’s the bank.”
“Your company?” She remembered Parker mentioned something about him being involved in an investment firm, but it was his company? “You just said—”
“I know. I don’t go around talking about being the owner of a business.”
“Why not? Aren’t you proud to do that?”
“Absolutely. But I feel it’s more of a collaboration and not me…you know, controlling everybody.”
“I get that.”
“So, you want to work together?”
Kat bit her lip. She thought about Parker’s offer to travel the world, make more money, and live wherever she wanted if she was going to be on retainer with the company. That was important if Drew and Parker were going to move back into town. She’d run into Drew everywhere, and the way her erratic heart was beating, if she didn’t find a new boyfriend fast, being near him wasn’t going to work.
And her heart was still too tender for her to trust anyone with it. She had made such a colossal mistake with Marcus that it was more than just an emotional cost.
She stared at the leftover creamy tomato and mushroom pasta sauce that lingered on her plate. She read honesty in Drew’s eyes, but she had trusted Marcus as well. Maybe he wouldn’t intentionally hurt her, but even now Kat felt like she had when they were children—that he could devastate her. “I don’t know,” she whispered.
“Kat, it’s a no-brainer!”
Her eyes snapped up. “Is it?”
He sputtered. “Compared to what you’ve got going on with Susie? I’d think so. When did you get like this?”
He slammed back into his seat, jabbed one of the last stuffed pasta shells with a fork, and shoved it into his mouth.
Kat’s back stiffened. “Like what?”
“Like…spineless.”
“Excuse me?” she hissed, the passion she used to feel when they argued as kids stirred from deep within. “You come back here after I don’t know how many years and tell me that I’m spineless?”
He held her gaze. “You’re just a lot different than what I remembered. The girl who would jump from tree to tree with no fear and you let a jerk like Marcus stop you from realizing your dream?”
“You think it’s that easy? That a man I trusted—who I thought I loved—betrayed me and I should just shake it off?”
Drew’s gaze dropped and was silent for a minute. Kat set her fork down and looked around for the waiter. They were done.
“I know what it’s like to be depressed,” Drew said, lifting his gaze. “I know what it’s like to have your situation dictate your outlook on life. I don’t want the same for you.” He leaned forward, his eyes earnest. “Opportunities still exist. It may take a while to find them, but they’re out there.”
“You’re offering me one.”
“Exactly!”
“No, thank you,” Kat said stiffly. She offered an apologetic smile. “If you remember the girl, then you know I want to do this on my own. That I need to do this alone. I have to pick myself up and move on. That’s how I’m going to win.”
Drew shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt to accept help.”
“Parker helped you? When you were depressed?”
“She did. She was there to listen and offer a supportive shoulder. I don’t know how I kept her, because I must’ve sounded half-crazy to her, but it’s why I love her. She stuck it out. She didn’t give up on me.”
Kat sucked in her lips and said nothing more. To hear Drew’s characterization of Parker was touching. Did her friend know how well he thought of her?
“Anyway. Sorry to be such a downer.” Drew sighed and looked around the table. “I like everything here. I’m not sure what to pick.”
“You want to have a meatless option for any vegetarians, and not everyone likes pasta…”
Drew laughed. “All three, then?”
Kat smiled. “Parker is going to kill you. It’ll be expensive.”
“Nah. We’re having a very small wedding. Intimate. You’re invited, by the way.”
Kat forced her smile to remain, but she didn’t believe for a second that she’d attend beyond delivering the cake and passing on her wedding planner details to whoever the bridesmaids were.
Bridesmaids! Who were they? When would they be in town?
Parker hadn’t chosen them, or she hadn’t told Kat who they were. They were best friends, but Kat had been so out of the loop since Parker had been busy with work that Kat wasn’t even sure she was still in the running to be maid of honor until Parker had mentioned it at lunch.
“Do you know who your groomsmen will be?”
He nodded. “They’re flying in next week. Only three of them. Not sure if Parker has chosen her bridesmaids yet.”
“I’ll ask.”
“You’re the maid of honor though, right?”
“As far as I know. And the baker slash wedding planner.”
Drew had a thoughtful look on his face but didn’t say anything.
Kat cleared her throat. She loved that they were friends again, but their interactions were still sort of awkward. She knew how to deal with that. “How about we stop by the bakery for something sweet. We’ll taste the different cakes tomorrow.”
The corners of Drew’s eyes crinkled with his smile. “Sounds great. Can’t wait for tomorrow.”
They stood, made the order for the food, and left the restaurant.
“I’ve set an appointment for dance lessons too,” Kat added.
Drew’s smile disappeared. “Absolutely not.”
Chapter 8
Drew and Kat reached the bakery and sat toward the back near the kitchen. Susie offered them a selection of some of Kat’s creations left over from the early morning rush and the lunch stragglers. Kat tried in vain to convince Drew to dance, but he was adamant that with two left feet, he didn’t want to embarrass Parker.
“That’s why you learn,” Kat insisted. “So you won’t embarrass her.”
“Emba
rrass who? Me?”
They looked up with cake in their mouths at Parker, who grinned. “Eating more cake, I see.”
“Just dessert. You missed the food tasting,” Kat said while Drew continued to chew.
“Oh, well. I hope the two of you picked out some good meals. The food is the most important part. If we get that wrong, people will talk about how terrible the food was at our wedding, and nothing else will matter.”
“We picked some great selections. Even a vegetarian option.”
“Good, because I don’t want any meat.”
Drew’s brows slammed together. “Since when?”
“You never told me you don’t eat meat,” Kat said.
“Since you proposed, Andrew. How else am I supposed to fit into my dress?”
Drew and Kat shared a look after studying Parker’s perfectly slim form. Drew stood and planted a swift kiss on her cheek. “You look amazing, as always.”
She grinned lovingly up at him. “I know I do,” she said with a laugh. “All because I don’t eat meat or all this cake.” She looked at Kat. “We’re still on for cake testing tomorrow, right?”
Kat nodded.
“Good. I’ll do that, but no more.”
“Parker, who are your bridesmaids?” Drew asked. “Kat needs to get in touch with them.”
Parker eyed Kat. “Why?”
“Your bridal shower?” Kat quickly asked. “To make sure they know what’s happening on the big day.”
Parker blinked. “Oh, right. I’ll let you know.” She turned to Drew and tugged on his arm. “Can we go now, please?”
“Sure. I want to stop by the bank first.”
Drew waved goodbye to Kat and stepped out of the shop with Parker fussing behind him. “I’d really like to get back to the hotel now.”
“It shouldn’t take that long. I’ve had this appointment for a few days now.”
She let out an annoyed breath. “What’s it about again?”
“You know I’m setting up a few projects here, and I want to make sure all the funding is going through. Plus, I have an extra one to work on.”
“Another one? What is it this time? Drew, this is going to set us back—”
