by Eliza Ellis
“Don’t worry. I’m only here to pick up my order. I’ll be gone in a minute.” True to his word, Marcus picked up his order and left with a mocking grin and wave.
Kat had taken a seat in Drew’s chair, her face in her hands. Drew squatted and gently moved her hair out from around her face. “Kat? Look at me.”
Kat’s hands fell away, her face marred with tears.
His heart shuddered. He hated how defeated she looked. “Oh, Kat…”
“He’s such a liar,” she whispered. “He’s the one who left the deal and…and the relationship, and I owe the bank all that money.”
“Forget about him.”
“It’s hard to when every month you get a letter from the bank reminding you of your stupid mistake. I trusted him.” Her eyes bored into Drew’s. “It’s feels impossible to get over that. To trust again.”
He nodded. “To forgive yourself for making a mistake,” he added softly. He knew exactly how she felt. Not about getting dumped, but about choices that end up affecting others in ways you couldn’t imagine.
Sometimes permanent ways.
“You’ve got your job at Susie’s.”
She nodded. “Susie’s been good to me. She’s really helped me.” Fresh tears filled her eyes. “But I still feel like such an idiot and a failure. There were so many dreams I had had for that place and…” She grinned and blinked the remaining tears out of her eyes. “New doors open, right? New dreams…”
Drew squeezed her shoulder and then caught a tear with his finger. “It’s not the end of the world. I can help find you another place, if you want. I do flips—and I don’t lose money. You can have your bakery.”
She shook her head quickly. “No. No, it’s okay. Dreams change, that’s all. I want to focus on paying off the debt so I can get loans in the future, if I need them.” She used her hands and wiped the remaining moisture off her face. “I’m sorry.” She stood abruptly. “We’re supposed to be here shopping for you. Why don’t we get started?”
She moved to a sales associate and began chatting with him, pointing at Drew, who hung back near the chair and stared at his childhood friend. She had changed. Not only was she more fearful, she was easily deterred. He’d never known her to be a quitter before today. He didn’t like this version of Kat. He’d take the old one in a heartbeat.
Kat beckoned him over, and for the next thirty minutes, Drew endured being poked and tugged and hands moving around his end seam. He had hoped to spend this time with his actual fiancée and discuss plans for their honeymoon and then their life in town. He had plans he wanted to share. It never seemed to be a good time for her to listen anymore. Strange, because she used to be so good at it.
His eyes found Kat, who stared at him with large, round, questioning brown eyes. “What? I look ridiculous, right?”
She lifted her gaze to his and smiled. “No. You look very handsome, Drew.”
He shrugged until the coat fit and turned around to look at himself in the mirror. He liked the fit and the charcoal color. Even without the pants and a proper shirt and tie, Kat saw something that he didn’t. He needed the whole outfit to claim he looked handsome. What was she looking at?
“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.” Gravity pulled at her cheeks, 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 all that 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. Add my own special touches. The back has plenty of space for a kitchen and even a small break room for employees.”
Drew’s eyes brightened. “Then?”
The vision of her scampering around her new, large kitchen faded as a real memory took hold. “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? Is that all?”
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.
His eyes sparked of subdued anger. “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.”
“I would’ve hoped you’d grown out of that.”
“Apparently not. 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, averting her eyes again. 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 my 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. Kat had since forgiven her mother. Her 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.”
“I hope your parents can heal the rift with your grandmother. I hear…I hear she’s not well.”
Drew disentangled himself. “What do you mean, ‘not well’?”
“Oh…” Kat nervously dragged her hair behind her ears. “Um…Parker said you told her she was…” Kat wouldn’t say the word ‘terminal,’ although Parker had implied it.
Drew moved in front of her and she halted. He stared her down, but Kat sensed he wasn’t angry with her. “Was what?” he seethed.
Kat frowned. “Drew, I’m sorry. Maybe I misunderstood.”
Her attempt to side-stepped him was blocked his massive arm. He gently moved her until they were face to face again. “What was the context?”
Kat bit her lip, unwillingly to look away from her friend’s probing gaze. She hadn’t meant to come between Drew and Parker, yet here she was. And she had a feeling Drew wasn’t going to let her escape until he knew everything.
Sweat beads trickled down the side of her face. Why hadn’t they taken his car? At least she wouldn’t have to face both the sweltering heat and Drew’s intense gaze.
“She thinks you used your grandmother to get her to marry you here,” she admittedly softly.
“Of course she did,” he growled and about-faced.
“Drew!”
“You know,” he continued without slowing down, “part of me is beginning to think this is a mistake.”
Kat’s heart took flight until Drew’s next words.
“I mean, I love her and everything, but…”
“But?”
His sculpted jaw shifted from side to side. “I owe her.”
Kat took his arm again, forcing him to look at her. “You owe her? What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing,” his voice clipped. “Forget I said anything.”
Kat smiled up at him and then stopped them from continuing. “Here we are!”
Thank goodness. Although she wanted to know what he meant, she wouldn’t pry. She’d done enough damage already. She would do what she promised, which was plan their wedding.
Then, it would be off to London.
Or maybe not.
She detached herself from him and rubbed at her irritated arms. The thought of being around her friends during the honeymoon phase made her itch uncomfortably.
“This place any good?” Drew asked, his eyes scanning the front of the restaurant. Tinted windows and silver lettering of the name gave the restaurant an expensive vibe.
“The Yelp reviews are great.”
“Good. I’m hungry.”
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.”
“It’s probably a little late for that. The wedding is next week,” Drew said. “I’m sure whatever you bring us will be excellent.”
Within minutes, soups, chicken, beef ribs, stuffed pasta, and an array of rolls were presented. Kat and Drew looked wide-eyed at the 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 remodeling. 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?”