by Eliza Ellis
HERS TO MARRY
SISTERS OF SPRINGFIELD 2
ELIZA ELLIS
CONTENTS
Website
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Hers to Love Chapter 1
HERS TO MARRY
Eliza Ellis
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*Previously published as My Best Friend’s Fiancé
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. The reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, without the express written consent of the author constitutes a copyright violation.
HERS TO MARRY
SISTERS OF SPRINGFIELD 2
Copyright © 2019 Eliza Ellis
Cover Art Designed by Mayhem Cover Creations
Created with Vellum
Chapter 1
“K atrina!” Susie burst through the kitchen doors, out of breath. “Katrina! Someone wants to meet you. Finally!” She lifted her hands to the sky. “You don’t know how long I’ve been praying for this moment.”
“What?” Katrina Kaye smoothed the final layer of her signature buttercream icing over the top of the birthday cake. It looked absolutely perfect, even though it still needed flowers, a border, and the happy birthday message.
Katrina put down the flower dispenser. “What are you talking about? Praying? Susie—”
“Yes, praying! A man. A real man is outside and wants to see you. Marcus who?” She laughed at the mention of Kat’s ex.
After Marcus broke up with her, Kat put all her energy into baking. It was the perfect way to get over stress. She eyed the letter from the bank she saw on the small table across the kitchen. She let out a breath and refocused on her cake. Cake was wonderful. It never made a snarky comment, nor reminded you of your failures, nor demanded you empty your already zero-balance bank account to pay for a loan you stupidly took out because you trusted an ex.
Cake made everything better.
“He’s eating one of your cupcakes,” Susie continued. “Says it’s wonderful. Wants to meet the baker.” She twirled like a little girl, which she hadn’t been in decades. “And he’s gorgeous,” her voice plummeted to a low, dramatic tone.
“Oh.” Kat rolled her eyes and chuckled. “He’s just being appreciative, that’s all.”
Using the turntable, she slowly inspected the cake for any areas where the icing seemed thin. People loved her cakes, but raved about her homemade icing, a proprietary recipe that could only be enjoyed with the proper amount—which was a lot.
It would be worth the extra pounds, or minutes sweating it out in the gym, and definitely the coma this cake would put anyone in. Time and time again, people returned to the bakeshop for more. It wasn’t just the flavor of the icing and the richness of the thick cake beneath it. It was the care and the love she had put into each cake—no, each dessert—she created.
Satisfied with the layer, she stepped back and sighed with a smile. She grabbed the dispenser with purple icing and got to work on the flowers.
Susie ran around the island and started undoing the bow that tied Kat’s apron. “Take this off. For goodness’ sake, lose the hairnet too and fluff up your hair. Gimme this.” She snatched the dispenser from Kat’s hand and slammed it decidedly on the island out of arm’s reach.
Kat twisted away and swatted Susie’s hands. “Get back, crazy woman! What would it look like if I came out of the kitchen with my hair all out and no apron on?”
Susie put her hands on her hips. “Like his dream!”
“Like a health code violation,” Kat countered.
“Like he’d want to take a bite out of you instead of all the desserts we sell.”
“No! I’m keeping everything on.” Kat retied her apron. “It’s very nice of him to say thanks, but that’s all it’s going to be, and then I’ll be right back in here to finish the Johnsons’ cake.”
Susie waved a dismissive hand. “Who cares about the cake when you have a gorgeous man out front asking for you?” she cried.
Kat grunted. “Gorgeous, right. And one of us should care about our bottom line. The Johnsons paid for this cake.”
“I’m going to make you pay for it if you don’t get out there and lock this man down.”
“Lock him down? Really, Susie.”
From behind, Susie shoved Kat toward the kitchen door. “Just get out there! You’ll see that I’m right. And for goodness’ sake, Kat, don’t mess this up. Smile, say nice things, giggle. Do whatever you have to do to get a date, or you’re fired. Do you hear me?”
“Susie!” Kat felt her cheeks heat.
She did…okay, so she didn’t really date. She’d spent all her time here in the kitchen not meeting anyone. In the last year, she had tried online dating but got too many messages asking if she was overweight because she was a baker and around cakes all day. Apparently, her job could filter through the shallow guys—which were all of them.
Meeting a nice guy who wanted to get to know the real Kat—not the baker—had been difficult. Her sister Keighly begged her to move out of Springfield, but Kat enjoyed home. Their quaint spot of the city had a small-town feel, and everyone knew her.
Plus, Mother was still here. Father had died months before, and her mother still needed help adjusting to life without a domineering husband. Kat couldn’t abandon her now. Both her sisters had left town as soon as they had graduated. Kat wouldn’t have minded going, but her mother had suffered emotional abuse too. It didn’t seem right to Kat to let their mother fend for herself.
And Kat enjoyed her job and working for Susie. Nowhere would she find a more understanding, caring boss who allowed her creative flexibility that made their menu famous for the best cake and icing flavors in all of Springfield. Where else could she go and savor that freedom?
“Hurry up! This is just who you need to get over that lying ex-boyfriend of yours.”
“Thanks for the reminder,” Kat said dryly.
Susie’s strength added velocity to Kat, who burst through the doors as though the kitchen was on fire. Startled patrons snapped their heads in her direction, and all eyes were on her.
But the only eyes she saw were the gray-green ones of Andrew Callaghan.
“Drew…” she whispered.
She dug in her heels as her heart skidded to a halt.
Susie tried to conspicuously push her forward, but Kat didn’t budge. Susie eventually gave up that approach and took Kat’s hand, tugging her forward. Kat reluctantly allowed herself to be led closer and closer to Drew.
Who was every bit as gorgeous as Susie implied.
God-like gorgeous—if such a thing existed.
Reddish-brown hair and a ma
tching five o’clock shadow; intense, stormy eyes; and a smile that hinted of…recognition?
Did he truly remember her? It had been…um, math was too hard at this moment. Kat recalled the skinny eight-year-old boy, but the man before her filled out the untucked, button-down shirt that hung nicely over a pair of dark jeans fitted firmly around muscled legs.
“Amazing…” Kat whispered.
“Okay, stop acting crazy,” Susie hissed. She cleared her throat. “Ah, this is our baker—”
“Kat,” Drew said smoothly. “I thought it was you. You look…”
His eyes strayed from her hairnet—which she wished now she had followed Susie’s advice and removed—down to her flour and icing-covered apron.
A mess. She looked a mess. If he just said it, it’d be over and she could start dealing with the aftermath. Why hadn’t she ditched the apron, at least? She wasn’t overweight, but at least she could’ve shown off her legs in the slimming yoga pants she wore.
Susie interrupted. “Oh, she doesn’t normally look like this. The hairnet and apron are really deceptive, believe me.” Susie laughed awkwardly, pinning wide, accusatory eyes on Kat.
Kat wanted to drown in a vat of her own icing. At least she’d be smiling when she took her last breath.
Drew laughed. “You look amazing, Kat. I remember you had knobby knees and your mouth was too big for your face.” He wagged his brows.
Kat ducked her head. Her legs happened to be one of her best features. The Kaye sisters all had long, dancer legs, although Keke was the dancer of the trio. Their height was one thing they could thank their father for inheriting.
The only thing.
As for her mouth? Kat pinned her bottom lip beneath her top teeth. She had full, round lips, the kind models used fillers to recreate, and she kept telling herself one day they would be kissed in a way that would truly make her swoon.
“But now…” Drew’s voice faded as his eyes settled in on her face. Kat couldn’t read them, but she liked how they were looking at her.
Drew’s smile turned shaky. “Uh…” He held up a half-eaten cupcake. “Incredible. You made this?”
Kat nodded. “It’s one of my newest flavors. Has a touch of elderberry in it.”
“Wow. Yeah, it’s really, really good. I ordered a dozen of them.” He looked down at the display case. “If everything in here tastes as good as this, then I would order everything, but then I’d never leave the gym.” A hand went to his stomach, and he laughed.
From what Kat could see, his shirt hung smoothly over his abs. They were probably just as muscular as his arms, which bulged and strained the fabric. Kat’s eyes scanned the expanse of his chest. He definitely spent a lot of hours in the gym—time well spent.
“I wouldn’t mind it,” Susie spoke. “Cake and gym seems like an excellent combination. Kat doesn’t eat all day, contrary to popular belief. She works out regularly too.”
Okay, she would definitely choke on icing and cake.
Kat didn’t know where to look, so she hopelessly stared at Drew, who winked.
“I’m surprised Kat even bakes. I remember she burned our mud pies.”
Susie laughed heartily while Kat smirked. “Those weren’t edible anyway.”
Drew took another bite of the cupcake, leaving a trace of icing on his top lip. The image of Kat licking it off flashed in front of her, and she lost her breath. Where did that come from?
“Well, I could never work in a bakery,” Drew said, his tongue sweeping the icing off his lip. “Nothing would make it to the front counter.”
“It’s a good thing Kat has strong willpower. Everything she creates should win an award,” Susie said with a bright smile. She side-hugged Kat and then was called away to serve another customer.
Kat sighed.
Drew laughed. “She’s just showing you off. You’re an amazing baker.”
“Still doesn’t lessen the embarrassment.”
Drew’s smile lingered. He shook his head. “Wow, Kat. How many years has it been?”
“Um…nearly twenty?”
Drew blinked. “That long?”
Suddenly nervous again, she rubbed her arms. “I’m surprised you still recognize me.”
He popped the rest of the cupcake in his mouth and groaned in delight. Kat giggled. “Thank you. That’s actually the best compliment.”
“You’re welcome. Thank you for making me spend an extra hour in the gym tonight,” he said playfully.
“You don’t need it, but you’re welcome.”
His eyes flashed a knowing look, and his lips curved up to one side. Admitting her approval of his body, Kat suddenly felt self-conscious, and moved a hand to brush her hair back, but her fingers got caught in the hairnet instead. She yanked her hand down and clasped her hands firmly behind her back.
She never thought she’d say that to him. After all, they’d been eight years old when his family had moved away. She cried a lot that summer. Her heart hadn’t been the same since.
Her childhood best friend. Gone. Forever.
Until today.
He leaned in over the counter and whispered, “Not to knock Susie or anything, but you should open your own place.”
She wished she could have the same enthusiasm she saw in his confident grin. Unfortunately, she had tried that route.
And failed.
Big time.
Opening her own place would never happen again. That dream was long dead. She had learned to be content as a boutique baker.
“Katrina!”
Katrina’s eyes spotted her second-ever best friend in the world, and her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. “Parker? What in the world are you doing here?”
Parker laughed loudly and ran forward, her left hand outstretched. “Getting married, silly!”
“Getting married? You’re engaged?” When had that happened? “Since when? You’ve said nothing for months! I didn’t—”
Parker looped an arm through Drew’s. Katrina’s breath caught in her throat. If she closed her eyes, she wouldn’t see it. But it couldn’t be unseen.
Her heartbeat thumped loudly in her ears, its rapid pace slowing as the seconds ticked by. She had to breathe, or she’d actually die.
Her gaze slowly rose to Drew’s. His skin had paled, making his reddish-brown hair look more red, and revealing a splatter of light brown freckles across the bridge of his nose.
Parker hopped up and down like a giddy kid in a bakeshop. Her hand roamed slowly down Drew’s thick bicep. “Have you met my fiancé, Drew?” She looked up at him with love. “Oh, you have a little bit of icing just…here…” She kissed the corner of Drew’s mouth.
Ugh. That didn’t look as good as Katrina’s daydream at all.
Chapter 2
Yeah… He had planned to break that news more slowly.
Hearing his fiancée say it out loud had sent a shiver of fear up and back down his spine. Drew couldn’t understand it. He’d been engaged for a few months. He should be used to it by now. But every time…
He had watched Kat’s expression play out in slow motion. She’d gone from utter shock at seeing Parker to her warm mocha skin lightening to a deathly pallor. He’d felt himself go pale as a chill had spread through his body. What was Kat thinking? Feeling? He worried about her.
He loved his fiancée. Really. She had brought him through some of the darkest moments of his life. Without her support, he’d still be slipping slowly down the cavern of depression, without any way of digging himself out. He owed her his life, and marrying her was such a small price to pay—not a price, but he looked forward to spending the rest of his life thanking her.
Kat fiddled with her necklace. His lips parted. A tiny, half-of- a-heart hung on a gold chain. She was still wearing it? After all these years?
He’d spent years growing up in Missouri, and Kat had been his best friend. They had gone to school together, got in trouble together, and explored the haunts of their neighborhood together. They loved each
other in a childlike way that he could only describe as ride or die. They had each other’s back to the point they’d argue whose fault it was when one of them got in trouble.
So they both took the blame.
And enjoyed timeout together.
When the military ordered his father and family to Guam, it had been the worst moment of their young lives. Drew and Kat ran away the week before. They got about two miles away to a fort they’d built in a nearby wooded area next to a lake. It all lasted about two hours. They were found by two sets of angry parents and ripped from each other’s arms. Then they were forbidden to see each other and Drew nearly lost his mind. Both his parents and hers had considered their attachment unhealthy. They were just children who would grow up and make new friends. They didn’t really love each other. How could they? They were only eight. What did they know of love?
So Kat had stayed away until the last second when Drew’s family loaded the final suitcase into the cab taking them to the airport. Drew had never been happier to see her in his life. He gave her one half of a heart necklace his mother had given him to remind him of their friendship. His last image of Kat was of a girl sobbing on the sidewalk holding half of his heart.
She wasn’t crying now, but she held the necklace.
“Aren’t you going to congratulate us, Kat?” Parker asked in a whiny tone.
Kat blinked a few times, shook her head, and smiled. “Of course. I’m sorry, I was just…so shocked. Why didn’t you tell me?” Kat came around the counter and reached out to give Parker a hug.
Parker backed up. “Sorry, sweetie, but you’re a mess. I can’t get icing and flour on this suit. I only trust my dry cleaners. You understand, right?”
Kat stood there with arms outstretched, looking utterly confused. Drew stepped into the waiting embrace and firmly wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you, Kat,” he whispered into her ear. She smelled like sweet cake and warm bread. Her arms came around him, her hands splaying across his back.
She fit snug against him, as she had when they’d said their final goodbye. Only this time, he was holding a woman with all the developed attributes a man could admire. And as a full grown man, he responded accordingly, with a tightening of his thighs.