by Judy Corry
Drew smiled. These boys were adorable. "Pancakes sound like a great choice." He turned his gaze to Decklan. "What about you?"
Decklan pushed out his lips and tapped his chin as he thought about it.
Tayden started wiggling in his spot, becoming impatient for his brother's answer. "Hurry up, Deckwan. I hungry."
"Okay, can I have pancakes, too?"
"Of course." Then Drew smoothed his expression into a more serious one and raised an eyebrow. "Can you two do something for me though?"
Both boys nodded their heads vigorously.
"Can you look at books or play quietly in your room while I go out to get your breakfast? Your mommy and daddy and Aunt Kate are really tired, and we want to let them sleep while I go on my secret mission to find breakfast."
"A secret mission?" Decklan asked, his voice full of wonder and awe at the thought.
"Yes, a secret breakfast mission. We want to surprise them."
"I can read to Tayden in our room. I already know how to read."
Drew stood and ruffled his hands through the boys’ hair. "Okay, you grab some books and go to your room. I'll be back soon."
The two scampered away. Drew turned around to find Kate sitting up on the couch and quietly watching his exchange with the boys.
He felt his cheeks heat. "Um, I guess I can take your order too, since you're awake."
She smiled back at him. Could she possibly like guys who made super-secret McDonald’s runs for little boys?
He hoped so.
"Just grab me a Sausage Egg McMuffin and orange juice," she said.
He nodded, trying not to notice how beautiful she looked first thing in the morning. He certainly wouldn't mind waking up to that sight every day.
"Okay. I'll be right back." And he hurried out the door before he could entertain any more crazy thoughts of him and Kate having more mornings like that in the future.
About twenty minutes later, Drew was back at the house carrying four bags with a variety of breakfast foods in them. He had no idea what Jonas and Lana would want, so he'd just grabbed a little of everything.
Drew dropped the food onto the kitchen table.
Kate came to help him. "Thanks for doing this. You didn't have to."
He shrugged. "It was fun. I love kids."
"And I'm pretty sure my nephews are going to love you after they see this." Kate smiled as she dug into a bag and pulled out her breakfast.
Drew handed her the orange juice, his fingers warming as they brushed in the exchange.
Their gazes locked for a moment before Kate checked the time on the clock. "I'm supposed to be at work in an hour. Would you mind taking me home to shower first?"
Drew swallowed, his face heating up.
Kate's eyes widened with shock. "I mean, so I can shower first. Not you and me. Not…together." She covered her eyes with her hand. "Ah, this is embarrassing."
Drew laughed, loving how flustered she was. "I do need a shower." He winked.
She smacked his arm. "Not funny."
He rubbed the spot where she'd hit him. "It kind of was, though. You should have seen how dark your cheeks got. Red is definitely your color."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
He cleared his throat, having had his fun. "Showering aside, I can take you home. Do you think the boys will be fine?"
"I called my mom while you were gone. She should be here soon." The flush seemed to be leaving Kate's cheeks, which was too bad. The blush really did look beautiful on her.
They got the boys settled at the table with their pancakes and orange juice. After Drew and Kate breakfasted themselves, and once Kate's mom arrived, they left.
"Thank you so much for everything you did last night and this morning," Kate said when they pulled up to her apartment complex. "I can't believe we fell asleep."
Drew felt his heart pulse at her mention of falling asleep, which brought up the memory of the dream from last night and the way they'd been cuddled up with each other this morning. Did Kate even know they'd been spooning?
And if she did, what did she think of it?
He decided not to say anything about it, just in case it made her feel awkward. He'd been the one dreaming about that kiss after all, not her.
"We were understandably tired. But I'm glad I could be there for you guys. My sister moved to Arizona a few years ago, so I've missed being around little kids so much. They have a magic that you can't find around adults."
Kate unbuckled her seatbelt. "They're pretty fun. That Tayden though, he'll give you a run for your money."
After they said their goodbyes, Drew drove home, thinking about how differently his night had gone from what he'd expected.
Taking care of those little boys with Kate had almost been like living in a different kind of reality. It was the kind of night he'd been hoping to have soon, if everything had turned out the way he wanted in his dating life. He was twenty-eight, almost twenty-nine. He had wanted to be married by that age. Yes, he knew he was still young and that so many people were much older before they wanted a wife and kids. But Drew was different. He'd wanted those things for a few years, actually. He'd just never been able to move on from a certain little sister of his best friend.
As Drew steered down the private drive to his home, his mind started formulating a plan for how to get Kate to see him differently. For the past eighteen years, she'd only ever seen him as her older brother's best friend. It was finally time for Drew to stop holding back, worried about what everyone would think. Scared of what Aiden would say if he was around. It was time for him to finally get what he wanted and live life more boldly.
Step one of Drew's plan was to get Kate to be open to the idea of dating and falling in love again. If she wasn't ready to put herself out there, there was no way he'd convince her to go on a date with anyone, let alone him.
The next day, following step one of his plan, Drew sent flowers to Kate at work. The flowers would appear to be from her secret admirer. He used one of the prepaid credit cards he'd gotten at the grocery store a while back, so no one could trace it back to him, since he was supposed to be engaged, as far as everyone out in the world was concerned.
He knew it was corny, but he hoped the flowers would help brighten her day at least. He had to go into the studio to meet with Alexis before she left on her quick trip to Colorado, so he made a point to walk past Kate's desk. Front and center were a dozen roses with a card leaning against the vase.
Who are the flowers from? Drew practiced saying in his head. He knew his acting skills were crap, so he'd actually been practicing this conversation all morning…hoping he'd come off as nonchalant.
He cleared his throat and approached her desk. "Are those your flowers?" he asked, cringing when he realized he hadn't even said his own practiced lines. Did he even have a chance at making it through this conversation without blowing his cover?
Probably not.
He should just run away now.
"I guess so. They have my name on them anyway." Kate's grin was brilliant. His insides warmed at the thought that he had helped put that big smile on her face. "Are you surprised I got flowers?"
"Of course not. You probably always get them." Was that too obvious?
"Actually, not really," she said with a sigh.
"Who are they from?" he asked, silently dying inside.
But the question was totally worth it when he was rewarded with the sight of her beaming face. "I'm not sure. Apparently, I have a secret admirer."
Drew raised his eyebrows, hoping to look surprised. "Really? I wonder who it could be."
"I have no idea." Then alarm suddenly clouded her expression. "I hope it's not someone creepy."
Oh no. Please don't go there.
"What does the card say? Does it sound creepy?" He thought for sure the florist had it down right when she read it back to him.
Kate grabbed the card, opened it, and read, "Kate, I hope these flowers bring a smile to your face as much
as you bring a smile to mine."
"That doesn't sound creepy at all," Drew hurried to say before her mind could start to twist it into anything stalker-esque. The last thing he needed was for her to have anxiety over the flowers he sent her. "Do you have any idea of who your secret admirer might be?"
She pursed her lips in a thoughtful way and glanced around the room at the various people. "Do you think someone figured out I'm not really married? I still haven't told anyone. My family and co-workers are the only people who know I work here."
Oops. He hadn't thought about that.
And the fact that she didn't seem to think it was him wasn't a very reassuring thought, either. Who did she want the flowers to be from?
"You haven't been wearing your ring to work. So maybe they all know now and just didn't say anything."
She shrugged. "Well, if that's the case, I guess I won't have to worry about Alexis firing me for being a single girl working with her newly single bachelor."
Yeah, they probably shouldn't mention that to her right about now. Alexis would totally pick up on his feelings for Kate if she knew Kate was single and available to be on his radar.
Drew looked around the room to get the focus off himself. "What about Oliver? When we were doing pickups the other day he commented on how nice you looked with glasses."
She blushed. "He did?"
Oh crap! He thought Oliver would be a good choice since he had about zero creep factor, but he hadn't considered the fact that Oliver was actually really cool and would probably be someone Kate would like.
He searched for someone else in the room who might deflect her interest from Oliver. "Or it could be Joe. He's cool, and you've spent some time together, too."
She seemed to study Joe for a moment, looking thoughtful. "Joe's cool. But I think I remember him saying something about his girlfriend. I doubt it was him, at least I hope not. I'd hate to be the person on the other end of someone else's breakup."
Maybe sending flowers hadn't been such a great idea.
Kate set the card back against the vase and smiled. "Whoever it was though, it was nice. I haven't gotten flowers since who knows when. I've been worried I might never get asked out again once everyone finds out that my marriage failed in just one month."
Drew shook his head. "That's simply not possible. I'm pretty sure that if anyone ever hesitated asking you out, it was only because they worried they would never be good enough for you. Maybe that's why Anonymous Flower Guy decided to stay anonymous for now."
She gave a noncommittal shrug. "Maybe."
22
Kate
Kate couldn’t tell if Drew was reacting oddly to the flowers on her desk. He didn't seem quite his normal self, that was for sure. Could he possibly be jealous that someone had sent her flowers? The thought that he would care made her chest swell. Drew being jealous of something like that would kind of be a dream come true.
Though the flower guy probably wouldn't like it.
Kate checked the time on the wall. It was almost time for her to get Alexis her lunch.
She'd been avoiding Alexis all day, worried she might have already started reading her screenplay and hated it. But she couldn't avoid her any longer. So Kate gathered all her courage and messaged Alexis about what she wanted for lunch.
Then she cowered and waited, hoping Alexis wasn't about to respond with, I'd love a club sandwich from the bistro next door, and also, I read your screenplay and you should never write anything ever again.
Alexis didn’t respond right away, so Kate tried to find something else to occupy her mind and convince her pulse to go back down to normal. She was in the middle of a breathing exercise when Dion stopped by her desk, wearing a light blue button-up with a plaid blue tie. Kate hoped to keep her disdain from showing on her face. How could he have messed with Drew’s life like that? It was wrong on so many levels. Drew had been serious about finding his future wife on the show, and Dion and Gwen had totally ruined it because of their greed.
So much for her calming technique. Kate’s pulse was pounding with anger now.
"How can I help you?" she asked.
Dion pushed his phone in his back pocket. He was probably texting Gwen about the dream house they were going to buy in the Bahamas.
"I just found out from Alexis that she wants Drew and Gwen to have a weekend getaway this week, but I don't have time to book Gwen's flight. Could you get that taken care of?"
"Sure." Kate grabbed a pen and pad to jot down the information. "What airport does she usually fly out of?"
"Detroit Metropolitan."
Kate scribbled the name down.
"Okay, sounds good." She clicked the lid of her pen. "Is there anything else?"
Dion pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. "That should be it. Just pick a flight that lands in LAX sometime that afternoon. I should be able to pick her up any time after two."
"Will do." And I'll make sure to get her a seat right by the restroom. This trip was about revenge after all.
He turned and left just as Kate's computer pinged with a message.
Alexis: I'd like my usual from Chick-fil-A. But first I need to talk to you in my office.
Kate's throat constricted when she read the message. What did she need to talk about? Please let it be about work and not about the email.
Kate told Alexis she'd be there in a minute, finished purchasing Gwen's plane ticket, and took some more deep breaths.
"Please shut the door," Alexis told Kate when she stepped into her office.
Kate shut it with sweaty hands and took the chair closest to the door in case she needed to make a swift exit. Alexis finished typing a few notes on her laptop before talking.
Just do it quickly, Kate thought, mentally preparing herself for the blow.
"I have a secret mission for you," Alexis said in a low voice, a smirk on her face. "I thought I'd have time to run over to this week's safe house before Friday, but my schedule is packed."
Kate nodded, realizing Alexis hadn't called her in to talk about her screenplay after all.
"I grabbed a few hidden cameras out of the equipment area." She gestured to the different objects on the table: a Dodgers baseball cap, a smoke detector, and a plant.
"Those are cameras? They looked like regular things you'd find in a house."
"That’s the idea. The cameras are hidden in them." She picked up the plant and separated a few of the leaves to show the tiny camera lens secured inside. "Anyway, what I need you to do is to go over to the house today and put these in places where you think we’ll be able to get the most footage that we need…don't go into the bedroom. I refuse to be that show and invade their privacy to that degree." She pulled a Ziploc bag with a few tiny electronic-type things out of her purse. "These are the bugs. Put one on the couch, another under the table, and the other wherever it looks like it would catch the most action."
Kate took the bag from Alexis, a nervous ball clenching in her stomach.
"Do you want me to do that now? Or would you like me to grab your lunch first?"
She waved her hand. "I'll just grab myself a salad today. Don't worry about me. In fact, just head over there now. Call me before you leave the house, so I can check everything, and then you can take the rest of the day and tomorrow off since you'll need to work this weekend."
Kate gathered the rest of the things from Alexis's desk, putting them in the fabric shopping bag on the floor. "I'll get this done right away." Who knew detective work was in her job description?
Kate stood and said goodbye to Alexis. Before she was out the door, however, Alexis spoke.
"Oh, and I got your email. I downloaded it to my phone and I’m excited to go over it on Friday."
Kate turned back, feeling flushed. "I hope you enjoy it."
"Me too. It sounds like it’s right up my alley."
Kate guarded the bag the whole time she walked out of the studio, worried someone would see what was inside and figure out w
hat she was up to.
She climbed into her car, setting the bag very carefully on the floor of the passenger side, and then called Drew.
"What's up?" Drew's voice came through her earpiece.
"I'm heading over to the safe house to hide all the hidden cameras and bugs. Can you tell me where a good place would be to put a baseball cap?"
Drew chuckled. "How about I just tag along and help you out?"
"You don't have to work today?"
"Nope. Since taking those months off to film the show, I've been able to delegate a lot better. My schedule is free this afternoon."
Kate sighed with relief. "That would be awesome. I'm way out of my element here."
"You mean you don't usually break into people's houses and place strange objects around it to spy on them? I thought you were a part of the CIA."
"Remember how you already debunked that claim? Clearly this is my first time. Are you home?"
"Yeah, wanna pick me up on your way?"
"See you in fifteen minutes."
Kate grabbed her lunch out of her messenger bag and ate her sandwich while she drove to Drew's, her navigation app angry at each wrong turn since she was deviating from the route to the new safe house. She punched in the code to his gate and drove in. He must have been watching from the window, because as soon as she pulled up, he came jogging out with his hoodie and sunglasses.
"Here, put these on." Drew handed her a pair of sunglasses and placed a baseball cap on her head.
"Is that really necessary?" she asked.
"Yes. The paparazzi somehow found out where I live, and they've been camping at my house all day. It's ridiculous."
Kate made it out of the gate, darting her gaze around to see if she noticed anyone with a camera. Her eyes landed on a middle-aged guy with curly gray hair and a beard. He was hiding behind a bush in front of the house next door.
"Hurry, before he snaps a pic." Drew hunched over, as if trying to fold himself in half.
As they pulled onto the road, Kate noticed a silver car that had been parked outside Drew's place. It was now in the lane right behind them.
"Is it just me, or is that car following us?" Kate asked, watching the vehicle in the rear-view mirror.