by Eliza Ellis
“Okay, begin!”
Kat’s warm chocolate eyes met his, and fear struck him deep in his gut, but he moved his feet anyway. Her lips parted into a pleased grin. “Very good.”
“It’s not hard,” he said smoothly. Inside his stomach was a swarm of butterflies. He didn’t want her to see him as a screwup.
She laughed softly. “I know that look in your eyes. The same one you got when we walked all the way out onto that thin branch over the lake. Remember the one? Before we jumped in?”
“Wow. Your memory is impressive. I’d forgotten about that.”
She nodded. “You were afraid the branch would break, and then it took you a while to leap.”
“You were taunting me. I’ll admit going after you was intimidating. You walked all the way out there and then flipped off. It was incredible.” His eyes bore into hers. “You are incredible,” he breathed.
He watched her chest hitch.
“Drew…”
He cleared his throat and looked away. “I know. Sorry.” This wasn’t going to get any easier if he didn’t stop thinking about Kat and how amazing she was. He had to remember he had an incredible fiancée…who was hundreds of miles away.
They continued in silence, Drew focusing on the music and marveling at how he hadn’t stepped on her toes yet. In truth, it was nothing to lead Kat. She hadn’t once made him feel inadequate. The perfect dance partner.
“Parker and I had a good talk yesterday. I’m happy the two of you worked things out,” she said.
He stole at glance at her, but she wasn’t looking up. She was lying, which she didn’t ever do, but there was a noticeable lack of acceptance in her voice.
“So am I,” he lied right back. Her eyes came up then, and he let them search his own. If they couldn’t be on the same page vocally, then maybe they could at least acknowledge it in silence.
“Are you…excited about your move to London?”
“Getting there.”
“What about your house here?”
“Still going to build. Everything is going through. I have the permits, and I’ll break ground next week.”
“How does Parker feel about that?”
“She’s okay with it, for now. I’m sure that’ll change once we’re in London.”
“She seemed eager to work things out.”
He snorted. “I don’t know why.”
Her look turned incredulous. “Don’t you want to work things out?”
Irritation settled into his stomach, giving him a nauseated feeling. Why did they have to talk about Parker? Ever since Kat lied about being happy for him and Parker, he had this feeling of confinement, and he was desperate to get out of it. Maybe he’d been too hasty at patching things up with Parker. His impending marriage shouldn’t feel like a prison sentence.
“Ow!”
Drew stopped. “Katrina! I’m so sorry.” He bent down, in part to check on her foot—which he just stomped on—and to hide his face from the massive embarrassment he felt.
She tugged at his arms. “It’s okay. Let’s keep dancing.”
He slowly stood. She offered a pained smile. “If that happens at the wedding, just dance through it so nobody thinks anything’s wrong.”
“You think Parker’s going to let me? She’ll probably shout I stepped on her foot.”
Kat looked sheepish. “Sorry. I could’ve been quieter, but it was such a shock. It was going really well.”
“I have two left feet.”
She squeezed his bicep. “No, you don’t. You’re just a beginner. After the first few tries, you began flipping into the water too, remember?”
He smiled. He did remember. And Kat had encouraged him then too. “Is there a time you were ever mean to me?”
“Oh, all the time. Definitely when you were dancing.” She winked, her grin teasing.
“Right. I remember.” He chuckled. “You’re a terrible friend.”
“Hey! I’m here getting battle-scarred for you. That should count for something.”
He tugged her in closer. “It counts for a lot,” he whispered, his eyes never leaving hers. “And I won’t forget it.”
She swallowed. “Drew, I’m not—”
“I know.” He wouldn’t let her finish what she was going to say so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed about it later and wish to take it back. He knew she wasn’t happy for him and Parker. He knew she wanted him to kiss her. But he’d made a promise to Parker, and he had to be a man of his word if nothing else.
He couldn’t treat Kat any worse than Marcus did.
“Thank you for being our wedding planner—again.”
The knowing look in her eyes followed by the appreciative smile settled Drew’s raging stomach. They were on the same page without words.
“I’ll have the cakes ready for you to taste tomorrow. I think you’ll have a hard time deciding which flavor to choose.”
“Maybe we can have all of them?”
She raised her brows. “If you’d like. Susie is charging the platinum package amount, so that probably means multiple flavors.”
Drew laughed softly. “I guess we deserve that after coming in at the last minute and then making a scene yesterday.”
“Eh, it was more the last-minute thing.”
Drew’s smile widened the longer he stared into her eyes. “You’re kind. And tell Susie we appreciate you accommodating us.”
“She needs the business. She’s trying to expand to the empty space next door.”
“Really? I figured with how well you bake, business would be booming for your shop.”
Kat nodded. “It is, and so are the rent prices. It’s been hard for her to keep kids employed because they’re just unreliable these days. So a lot of the time I have to help out front, and that keeps me from baking.”
“And it’s just you back there creating.”
“Exactly.”
Drew let out a breath. “Well, I certainly get it.”
“Thanks for your standing order. Susie told me you’ll need it for your workers. That’s very sweet of you. How did you grow your company? I’m assuming you have a lot of people.”
“There’s about a dozen of us core guys, and we’re all over the country. Basically, we asked people we knew to invest. Usually family members. Parker has invested a lot. Now with her new promotion, she’s offered to invest a chunk more.” He saw her lips slant down to one side. “The projects that have been on the back burner for a while can get done. It’s going to be great.”
“I see.”
She didn’t meet his gaze, her mouth still in a slight frown.
“What, Kat. What aren’t you saying?”
She looked up and gave a quick shake of her head. “Nothing. It sounds like you’re really going to help a lot of people. That’s fantastic, Drew, really. Find people to give you money. That’s a smart idea.”
He cocked his head to one side. “No, that’s not it at all. What don’t you like about Parker giving me money? What’s wrong with it?”
She shrugged. “You don’t find it…muddies the water a bit? You know, like you kind of owe her because she’s invested so much?”
“Owe her?” he said a little sharply.
She jerked back.
“Hey, you two!” the instructor called out.
Drew and Kat looked around and caught the instructor clapping her hands at them to get their attention.
“This isn’t some movie where you dance under the moonlight with no music. This is a class. The music has stopped, and so can you.”
The other couples shared a laugh. Drew quickly released Kat and stepped away. Kat caught her hands behind her back and kept her gaze averted from Drew.
“You two don’t have to act like you don’t know each other,” the instructor harped while laughing. “Just recognize when the music stops. I’d like to teach you and the rest of the class another step. Would you care to join us?”
Drew and Kat nodded, and Drew stepped toward Kat. “Sorry,” h
e whispered.
“No worries. I wasn’t paying attention either.”
After the instructor showed them how to do the foxtrot, Drew fumbled around with Kat for a little bit until he was able to smooth out his strides.
“What do you mean ‘owe her’?” he asked again.
“Hmm?”
“You said I owe my fiancée.”
“I just meant that…you may feel obligated, that’s all.”
“Obligated to do what?”
Kat met his gaze and slowly answered, “Stay with her?”
He didn’t respond right away, the truth of her words piercing to a tender spot in his heart he hadn’t felt in a long time. Certainly not one he’d allowed anyone to touch. Maybe he did need to see a therapist again. Seeing one had been helpful after Zache’s death when guilt had overwhelmed him.
Is that why he agreed to continue his relationship with Parker? Knowing he would have to move to London? When she inevitably earned the position of CEO, would that mean another move back to Boston and staying for good? What if she were recruited by another company? They would move elsewhere, and he’d never see the home he had wanted to build in a small town.
Maybe he was being unrealistic. This was 2018. Women had high-demanding careers, and children were raised by nannies all the time. He would be home; he could raise the kids and work on his business at the same time. Not all family values had to line up for a marriage to work, right? Nor did they have to be a priority for them to raise kids.
Did he believe any of that?
“You think that’s why I’m staying? I owe her this because of what she’s been able to do with my company?”
“Is that what she said?”
“No,” he hissed. “Because she’s not like that. She cares about my career just like I care about hers.”
Kat sucked in her lips and nodded. “Sorry I mentioned it then.”
“Besides you don’t know me—not anymore. You don’t know what I’ve been through.”
Her hand tightened around his own. “Tell me. What have you been through?” Her eyes entreated him. “Make me understand why you look so…torn and less than the happiest man on earth.”
His eyes searched her face. Is that what she saw when she looked at him? Did Parker see the same? If Parker did, she had never said.
Drew closed his eyes. “Kat,” he said in a frustrated breath and then stepped on her toes. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He tried to let go of her, but she held fast to his hand and her arm gripped his bicep.
“Don’t let me go. I want to be here. Keep going. I’m right there with you.” She closed the gap and urged him on with a squeeze of her hands.
Drew took a deep breath, internally counted the beats to the music, and started again.
After a few rotations, he felt calmer. “Parker was there when no one else was. She was there when I…”
“When you what?”
“A friend of mine—in Afghanistan—took my place on a mission and died because of it.”
Kat inhaled sharply. Her eyes closed, and she shook her head. “Oh, Drew…”
“The first year afterwards was hard for me. I don’t think I would be here today if it wasn’t for her. I was in a really dark hole, Kat. I couldn’t see my way out of it. Zache and I had grown up together in Guam and Germany. He didn’t get to live his life because…” His therapist had told him to stop finishing that sentence. If he’d kept blaming himself, he would’ve never have gotten out of the hole—and he didn’t want to go back in.
She nodded. “I understand,” she said softly. She gazed up at him, moisture filling her eyes.
“I don’t want your pity.”
“I don’t. I don’t pity you.” Again her hands squeezed him, and she came in closer. “I’m proud of you. I’m proud you fought through those feelings. I’m proud you chose to stay. Grateful I got to see you again,” she ended in a whisper.
He looked away, his own eyes burning with tears behind them. He cleared his throat and continued. “Her generosity has really helped the company. We were able to get other investors, and now we’re self-sufficient.”
“Okay. You don’t feel obligated. You don’t owe her anything.”
“Yeah, well, I kind of do.”
Her brows made a V shape. “What do you owe her?”
Making things work with her? Being as supportive as he could of her career goals—and he had always been. “She’s been really stressed lately, and I want to be there for her.”
“You are. You’re taking dance lessons.”
He smirked. “I’m going to murder her feet.”
“No, you won’t. Just don’t talk any heavy subjects when she’s in your arms.”
“Done. Thanks for the advice.”
She smiled tenderly. “I’m really happy for you, Drew. I’m glad your business is thriving and that…that you’re back and you’re going to live here. Even though I’m sure we won’t see each other very much.”
“You planning on going anywhere?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. I lost the space. The one I showed you the other day? Marcus bought it.”
Drew shook his head. “That guy… He’s like a piranha.”
“I might try going elsewhere… Maybe find an apprenticeship somewhere and increase my skills.”
“What about Parker’s offer to work for her?”
Her face shadowed in pain. “After what happened yesterday, I figured it’s probably best that I not hang around after the wedding.”
His heart went cold inside his chest. He understood why she’d feel that way. It hadn’t been easy patching things up with Parker, although getting the news about the promotion did a lot to save their engagement. She’d gone from mad to elated. If she hadn’t received the notice right then, Drew was certain he wouldn’t be dancing with Kat now.
His gaze drifted to her neckline. He felt that she actually did have half his heart, and Parker the other half.
He tried to stop the rush of the chill from traveling down his spine. The feeling was uncomfortable, seeping into his stomach and causing it to clench uncontrollably. She was right: she shouldn’t be around Parker or him after the wedding. He’d never strayed before, and he didn’t want to start now.
Chapter 14
Kat checked her phone for messages and got a terse one from Susie. Kat cringed as she read it.
I’m not sure why I had to hear from him that you hadn’t submitted anything to the state judges. Are you trying not to bring in business? So I took care of it for you.
Kat put a hand over her eyes and sighed.
“What is it, Kat?” her mother asked from behind the wheel.
Mary had roped Kat into helping the reenactment society today. Something about reliving the battle of Wilson Creek from the Civil War. Kat didn’t have to be a soldier, but she did have to play the part of a bride for a short reenactment ceremony of an 1860s-style wedding. Apparently, the bride had come down with something at the last minute, and Mary offered Kat as a substitute.
“How would that work, seeing how I’m not exactly white?” Kat had asked her mother with a raised brow.
Mary had waved a dismissive hand. “Nobody will care about that. Muriel is in charge of that part of the reenactment, and she asked for you specifically.”
“Oh, boy. What is she up to?”
“Who says she’s up to anything?”
Kat had laughed at her mother’s terrible display of false innocence. “Muriel is exactly the mastermind type. She’s always scheming about something.”
“Well, this time she’s scheming to get someone to replace the bride because she had to eat some bad sushi the night before a major reenactment ceremony. How inconsiderate.”
Kat couldn’t get anything else out of her mother for the rest of the night. Even now, her mother wouldn’t explain. Kat locked her phone. “Oh, nothing. Susie’s mad I forgot to enter the statewide baking competition.”
“Is that the one where that famous chef tries a select few
recipes and then the winner gets to—what, be on his show?”
Kat nodded. “That’s the one.”
“Wouldn’t you want to be on his show?”
Kat bit her lip and considered. Her plans of getting her own bakery were denied at every turn. Perhaps she should try other means of being recognized. Maybe that type of publicity would bring in more business and allow her to branch out.
“I guess so. I’ve been…preoccupied.”
“Drew, isn’t it?” Her mother glanced at her. “I understand. To have him show up and then be engaged to Parker. How are you handling it?”
Kat sat up straighter. “There’s nothing to handle. I’m happy for them both. They’re both my friends.”
“Hmm…”
“What? What’s that ‘hmm’ for? Shouldn’t I be happy for my friends?”
“Sure. You should also go after what you want. I know I didn’t teach you girls to do that so it probably doesn’t come naturally, but you’re young and talented.”
Kat squeezed her mom’s arm. “Thanks, Mom. That means a lot to me.”
“You were always the sweetest and most sensitive of my girls. You’re not like Keke or Kori, but that’s okay. You don’t have to be like either of them to get what you want. You just do it your way.”
Kat nodded and wiped at the tears in her eyes. She had wrestled with her own self-worth compared to her sisters. She still wasn’t completely sure, but both her mother and Susie couldn’t be wrong.
“Also, you shouldn’t forget to enter contests, and you…you shouldn’t let your friend have the man you want.”
Kat gasped. “Mom! I’d be a homewrecker. Is that what you want me to do? To be a homewrecker? Would you be one?”
She harrumphed. “You’re not a homewrecker until there’s an actual home. Doesn’t sound like Drew and Parker are getting to the altar any time soon.”
Kat bit her lip so she wouldn’t laugh. No, her mother wouldn’t want her to be a homewrecker, although she would’ve had a good reason to be one herself. Her recently deceased husband hadn’t been the kindest man to her or Kat and her sisters. His death had unfortunately been a relief to all three and most of all to his wife.
“But…if I had the chance to do it all again…” Her mom sighed, and a ghost of a smile appeared. “I’d take the chance. I’d go after Steven and not let Elnora have him.”
