by Judy Corry
Drew gave Kate's hand a quick squeeze, hoping to get her to look at him so she could see he was sincere. Her wedding ring poked his palm and took away any warm sensation he might have felt at touching her skin. "I think that's actually really cool. Maybe I should start on that bet again. My mom probably wouldn't mind."
She gasped. "What? Saint Drew has a potty mouth?"
Drew rolled his eyes. "Sorry to disappoint. I just can't live up to that nickname, I guess."
Kate laughed. "It's okay. I've been pretty close a few times myself."
Kate's phone rang. She answered it and spoke to someone for a minute before hanging up.
"We're supposed to stop at the gas station after the next stop light," she told Drew. "Once it gets closer to show time, we'll pop on over to the viewing party."
11
Kate
Drew was a star. Every single woman at this party was absolutely in love with him, Kate mused to herself, as she watched a twenty-something woman slip her phone number into Drew’s shirt pocket as she talked to him. It was hilarious to watch even the married women go gaga over him. Kate had thought she was a big fan of the show, but she had no idea what a super-fan was actually like.
"If it doesn't work out between you and your fiancée…" The brunette patted his chest where she hid her number and winked. "Don't hesitate to call me."
Drew just smiled at the girl and thanked her but didn't really give away as to whether he would ever take her up on that offer or not. It was no surprise that Drew, the boy she'd watched grow into a man over the last seventeen years, was every woman's dream come true.
"How many numbers did you get?" Kate asked once they were outside and walking back to the company car. She was determined to keep the conversation after the parties much lighter than it had been on the way there. She didn't know if she could handle any more revelations. Not only had Drew admitted wanting to kiss her back when she was still in high school, but he'd also said that Aiden knew and was giving him a hard time because of it.
But she couldn't reconcile that with the fact that he'd deserted her after they finally kissed. If he had really like her, wouldn't that be worth sticking around for during the dark moments after Aiden's accident?
"I didn't keep track of all the numbers." Drew shook his head, as if he still couldn’t believe this was his life now.
Kate forced a smile, pushing away the thoughts of the past. "You should probably watch out for Darla. I totally don't think she was trying to date you for the right reasons." She emphasized the last four words, which were practically the show’s trademark. Everyone was always talking about whether a certain contestant was really there to find love. Many of the girls were there for that reason, or at least they were open to the idea of finding it with the star. But then there were those who were clearly there to either promote themselves and their business, or to attempt to become famous.
"Thanks for the warning." Drew unlocked the car and opened the passenger door for her. Kate's chest warmed at the gentlemanly gesture. No guy had done that for her in years.
Drew climbed in on his side a moment later and buckled in. "Have you had a chance to talk to Alexis about your screenplays?"
Kate sighed. "Not yet. Don't you think I should wait until she knows me better?"
"Why wait? If she's interested, it's because of your writing, not because of how well she knows you. You might as well just take that jump."
"I just feel so awkward doing it. I'm totally no good at selling my own stuff." If she had to sell someone else's material, she could. But there was something so personal about her own screenplays that she was never able to give them the right spotlight she thought they deserved.
"Well, which one would you be shopping?"
Kate thought it over for a second but didn't know which one would suit Alexis's taste.
"What kind of stuff does Alexis even like?"
Drew pulled onto the road to drive them back to Burbank. "Pretty much anything with romance, as you may have guessed, considering that she created this show. She also loves mystery and a little suspense. Do you have anything like that?"
Kate went through the list of screenplays she'd written that she thought might be ready. There were only two…so it didn't take very long. The Visitor did have a healthy dose of mystery along with a love story. Maybe Alexis could read it.
"I might have one she could be interested in," Kate said.
"Well, then let's go talk to her about it tonight."
"Tonight?" Kate's voice raised an octave. "I-I'm not ready tonight. I have to think of a good pitch. I need to make sure it's all formatted right. I'm not ready."
Drew chuckled. "I was kidding. She's not in this late. Sure, she's a workaholic, but she does go home to sleep now and again."
Kate pushed out the breath she'd been holding. "Give me a heart attack, why don't ya?"
"So you said you needed to work on your pitch. Is that something you need help with? I'd be happy to work on it with you, if you want."
Kate smiled. "Actually, that would be great. As long as you promise not to make fun of it. Despite your time on the show, I seem to remember you not loving chick flicks."
"Hey, give me some credit. I have matured a little over the past few years. I mean, how else do you think I learned all those smooth moves to wind up as the bachelor?"
"Really? You studied chick flicks for that?" Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. Saint Drew had turned into a ladies’ man?
"Hey, don't knock it. My mom always told me a guy could learn a lot by reading and watching what his female counterparts liked. I mean, girls are trained for romance and to expect all this lovey-dovey stuff. How's a guy supposed to know how to woo a girl if he doesn't study up on the art of romance?"
"You surprise me, Drew Burrows. And might I say, I've never been prouder."
"I'm glad I could finally impress you." He turned to wink at her.
Kate laughed. "I think I like this new confident Casanova."
"So when do you want to go over it? You have Wednesday off, right?" he asked. Then, as if realizing something, he hurried to say, "Unless of course you'd rather work on it with Nolan. I don't want to overstep my bounds or anything here."
"Actually, he's not really very supportive of my writing." Especially since he's living in Seattle with his girlfriend. "He thinks movies are a waste of people's time and money."
"Wow. That's too bad." Drew's shoulders went rigid, his jaw tense.
She shrugged. "It's really fine." She actually couldn’t care less now. If things went her way, she'd never see him again.
She really needed to tell Drew about the divorce. He was going to find out from her family at the end of the week, anyway.
But how does one go about telling their friend that they've only been pretending to be married for the last two weeks, wearing a fake ring and all?
Kate didn't know. And before she could think of a way to say it, they had arrived at the studio.
"Let me know when you want to get together on Wednesday," Drew said before climbing into his truck. "My schedule is pretty open after three.
"Okay. I'll text you."
Drew ended up being called in for business meetings all day Wednesday and had to reschedule their pitching hangout for another day. So Kate had dug into her scripts herself and tried to make sense of them all. It was amazing how many times she could go through something, and then still find ways to change it and make it better. She figured the only time one of her screenplays would seem fully finished would be when it was actually on the big screen.
On Sunday evening, Drew picked up Kate from her apartment, which was only a few blocks from his home, so they could head to her parents’ house together.
"Are you ready for this next week?" Kate asked as she climbed in his Lamborghini. She'd never been in such an expensive car and wondered if she’d actually dare sit inside. It was so nice.
"Yeah, I'm excited to get a break from interviews, pickups, or party c
rashing. I can actually focus on my business," Drew said. "Do you have a lot of work at the studio?"
"Alexis wanted me to help her with a few things, so it should be a full week for me."
"I still feel bad about ditching you on your pitch session. Did you get much done?"
"Not really. I did a little, but I definitely need to have someone go over it before I dare approach Alexis or any other producer with it."
"Well, let's schedule something after lunch," Drew said, parking at the curb in front of the Dawson's house.
As soon as they stepped through the door, one of the boys, Tayden, tackled Kate.
“Kate! Kate!” he said, hugging her knees. Then he pulled back and looked up at Drew with furrowed eyebrows. "Are you Kate's new boyfriend?"
Kate's stomach dropped and her face burned. "Oh, no. This is Drew. He was Uncle Aiden's best friend," she hurried to say. She didn't dare glance at Drew to see his reaction. Yeah, he was totally going to find out she'd been lying about Nolan this whole time.
"Well, then when is you going to get a new boyfriend? Mommy says you spend the night at Gramma's because you is lonely."
Kate's face burned even hotter. She wanted to clamp a hand over Tayden's mouth and run out the door with him before he could say even more.
Kate lifted her eyes to Drew's and saw a very confused expression stuck to his face. But before she could explain, her mom poked her head around the corner.
"Oh, good you're here,” her mom said. “Could you give us a hand, Kate?"
Thank you! Kate sighed her relief.
Her mom's gaze went to Drew next. "And Drew, it's so nice to see you again. I'd come give you a hug, but I'm still covered in flour." She lifted her white-dusted hands to show them. "We're a little slow at getting the pizzas in the oven, but lunch should be ready in about twenty minutes. Just make yourself at home."
Kate dashed to the kitchen, glad for the escape from Drew and the answers she'd have to give him.
She managed to stay busy in the kitchen clear until lunch was ready, just overhearing snippets of her father and Cason's conversation with Drew. Thankfully, she didn't hear her name mentioned. Could it be possible that Drew hadn't thought anything of Tayden's innocent assumptions?
Yeah, probably not.
She needed to come up with a good reason for lying to him in the past two weeks.
Once lunch was on the table, Drew sat in the guest-of-honor seat next to Mrs. Dawson. And Kate purposely sat on the opposite end of the table so he couldn't whisper questions to her. She also made sure to keep her left hand in her lap. Earlier, she had gone back and forth over whether to wear her fake wedding ring to her parents’ house that afternoon but had decided against it since her family surely would have asked questions—Lana, for instance, noticed everything. And she knew that if Drew had connected any dots between what Tayden had said, he'd probably be looking at her hand for confirmation as well.
"We're so glad you could come, Drew," Mrs. Dawson said after everyone had settled in. "It's been way too long since you've been over here."
Drew scooted his chair closer to the table. "Yeah, it's been a crazy few years for me."
"I can imagine. Gallivanting around the old neighborhood isn't very convenient when you're building a huge business and flying around the world hoping to find love."
Everyone chuckled.
"And how did that go?" Kate's dad asked, looking over the rim of his glasses as he grabbed a piece of barbecue chicken pizza from the middle of the table. "I assume you're engaged. At least that's how I'm told these shows work."
"That's certainly what the producers hope for," Drew said, giving nothing away.
Kate's mom poked her salad with her fork. "What kind of answer is that? Can't you give us a little information on how everything turned out? We're practically family, you know. Just one little hint?"
"Mom!" Kate interrupted. "You already know he can't tell you. Don't pull the practically family card."
Mrs. Dawson grinned, showing her teeth. "I'm joking. Don't get yourself all worked up."
Drew cleared his throat. "Kate's right that I can't tell you exactly how the show ended, but I can say it was a great experience and I learned a lot."
They continued to catch up for the next twenty minutes or so and she noticed Drew watching her hand as she ate.
He was looking for her ring.
12
Drew
Kate was barely looking at Drew as they ate lunch. Could that possibly have anything to do with what her cute nephew had said when they'd walked through the door?
Why would Tayden assume Drew was her new boyfriend? Why would he assume she'd have a new boyfriend at all? She had just married Nolan last summer. They were still married, right? Didn’t she say he was out of town? Plus, Drew specifically remembered seeing that huge rock on her finger multiple times. Felt it dig into his hand when he'd touched it just last week.
He glanced at her across the table, hoping to catch a glimpse of her left hand, but it was still hiding from his view. Was she doing that on purpose?
The lunch conversation drifted from the laid-back catching-up type of talk to memories of Aiden. Had it really been seven years since they'd hung out? Seven years since he'd stepped inside this house? It was crazy how long it had been—and yet, it still didn't feel real that he wouldn't see Aiden again in this life.
Drew still remembered the day it hit him. Because of the condition of Aiden’s body after the accident, there had been no viewing. No viewing meant no closure…not really. Was Aiden really, really dead? The truth wouldn’t cement itself in his mind. Because one day, they were hanging out—Aiden talking about how things were going with his new girlfriend, Drew complaining about his professor, and both of them going home for the weekend to hang out with family and friends in Burbank. And then the next day, his mom was telling him that Aiden had died. He'd been hit by a drunk driver.
And even though Drew had gone home after the funeral, to the apartment that he and Aiden had shared, he kept hoping and waiting for his friend to come through the door and tell him how he'd just been on the best date of his life. But it never happened. Months passed, and Drew moved out of that apartment and started working on his app. And finally, when he was driving his truck home from the store one summer evening, it hit him. It finally hit him. Aiden really was gone. He hadn't just moved away, like most of their other high school friends. He wouldn't be seeing Aiden at their five-year high school reunion. He wouldn't go to another Dawson family barbecue and have Aiden suddenly show up with his wife and kids. Aiden would never have those things. He never got the chance. Drew would get married, and not have Aiden there as his best man. He would tell his children stories from when he was in high school, and his kids would never actually get to meet the guy with whom he shared all of those memories. Aiden was really gone.
"I still remember the time he plotted to take over the world with all his little nine-year-old friends in the hut out back," Lana's voice cut into his thoughts. Apparently, sharing memories of Aiden was something his family did every year when they celebrated his birthday. Drew's turn was next, and he needed to think of something. But should he share a memory that was one of his favorites, or one that the family would cherish forever? In his mind, he went through dozens of experiences they'd had together. When you're best friends for a decade, you go through a lot of things together. He thought of the time they rigged the kitchen faucet to spray out instead of down on April Fool’s Day. The time they accidentally set the fire alarm off in Chemistry. And the time they dressed up like girls for Halloween, and people had no idea Aiden was really a guy because he hit his growth spurt late in high school. All the campouts. The late nights.
So many good memories, yet still not enough.
And his biggest regret was that their last interaction hadn't been a good one. Why did a stupid argument have to be the exclamation point at the end of their friendship? If Drew had just waited a little longer to kiss Kate, would his fri
end still be with them today?
"What about you, Drew? Do you have a memory you'd like to share? I'm sure you have all kinds of good ones we never heard of."
Like how I'm the reason he drove off so angrily that night?
He swallowed, his heart racing. He had thought that he could do this. He thought he would be able to come back to Aiden's home and have dinner with his family. But it wasn't right. He shouldn't be the guest of honor on Aiden's birthday.
Aiden should be sitting at his family's table.
Not him.
He cleared his throat and scooted away from the table, feeling a panic attack start to hit.
"If you'll excuse me…" He didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he stood and rushed out the front door.
The January air was crisp when he stepped outside. He gripped the porch railing and leaned over it, urging his pounding heart to return to its normal rate.
What was he doing here?
Would it be such a terrible thing if he jumped in his car and never came back—never faced Aiden's family again? He'd stayed away for seven years. He could do it again.
Except he didn't want that. Stepping inside the Dawson's living room had been like coming home.
The door opened behind him. He quickly stood straighter.
"Is everything okay?" Kate asked in a quiet voice as she stepped timidly onto the porch.
Drew cleared his throat and pulled a smile onto his face. "Yeah, sorry about that. I, uh…" He looked around, trying to come up with something that would explain his strange behavior. But nothing came to him. "I just needed some air."
She nodded. "Today's a weird day."
Drew sighed. "Yes. It is."
"I guess this is probably the first time you've been here in a long time."
"Almost seven years."