by Judy Corry
Her mom smiled. "Would you two mind carrying these boxes upstairs? Your dad can't lift much after his hernia surgery, and I'm just not up to going up and down the stairs so much today."
"Where would you like us to put them?" Drew asked.
"Oh, just set them on my bed. I can manage them from there," Mrs. Dawson said with the wave of a hand.
Kate didn't know whether to be grateful for the distraction or not, but she grabbed a box and led Drew up the gray carpeted staircase. Kate dropped one on the bed then told Drew she'd just meet him downstairs after a quick trip to the bathroom. But when she came out, she noticed Aiden's door had been opened. She peeked inside her older brother's room and found Drew standing with his back to her, looking at the collage of photos Aiden had stuck to his wall.
"It hasn't changed a bit since that night, has it?" Drew shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced back at her.
Kate went to stand beside him to look at the pictures.
"No." She sighed. "I don't know whether a psychologist would say it's healthy or not, but none of us can bring ourselves to box anything up." It would be like desecrating sacred ground. Walking into this room was like walking into the past.
"Do you remember that night?" Drew pointed at a photo of the three of them at a bonfire on the beach. It was the summer before Aiden died. Drew's hair was just shaggy enough that it curled around his ears, and he had a scruffy beard that had changed Kate’s opinion on facial hair. Her heart still beat like crazy every time she looked at that picture.
"That's the night Aiden tried jumping over the fire and ended up dropping his flip-flops in the flames."
"He was lucky only his flip-flops got burned."
"And lucky you were there to throw him in the ocean to stop him from trying it again."
"I don't recall him using the word lucky that night." Drew winked.
"Yeah, and you got stuck driving his little sister home, so she wouldn’t be late for curfew."
Drew peeked at Kate and set his arm around her. "I'm pretty sure I felt pretty lucky that night as well."
"I always worried I was such a burden when you could have been flirting with all the other girls there."
Drew squeezed her closer to his side. "I didn't care about any other girls. I was too enchanted by you to see anyone else."
Kate stilled. "Really?"
Drew turned so they were facing each other. "I almost kissed you that night, too." He pushed some hair that had come out of her ponytail behind her ear then slowly traced his fingers along her jaw. "I was just counting down the days until you graduated, so I could ask you out."
Nerve endings she'd forgotten about buzzed with electricity as his fingers traced along her ear. He moved closer, and all her thoughts fled as he leaned his forehead against hers, sending more tingles through her. His hands found their way to the back of her neck and gently moved up and down the base of her scalp, tremors of pleasure rocketing through her. He breathed in a slow, shaky breath. This was affecting him, too.
She was falling so hard for this wonderful man. Falling for him more every day.
Kate tilted her head up to close the distance between their lips.
Her mom's voice cut through the silence, "Is everything okay up there?"
They broke apart, and Kate's face flamed. Drew's eyes narrowed into focus as if he’d been coming back from a daze. He staggered backward, bumping into Aiden's desk.
Kate cleared her throat. "Yeah, we're just fine." She wiped her hands on her jeans and tried not to let her disappointment cripple her as she left the room. She forced a happy tone into her voice. "Are the brownies done?"
"The timer just went off. I can pull them out if you want."
Why hadn't she just done that in the first place instead of ruining her and Drew's moment?
"I can do it. You go back to your book."
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Dawson eyed Kate, and then Drew who was right behind her. If she noticed how frazzled they both were, she didn't say anything.
"Yes, go ahead," Drew said.
Her mom took a step back toward the living room. And when Drew wasn't looking, her mom mouthed "sorry" to Kate.
So her mom had noticed something was going on.
After pulling out the brownies, Kate and Drew went to work hulling and slicing the strawberries. Though they didn't say anything about what had almost happened, they did bump into each other a few times, their arms brushing against one another as well. Kate almost cut her finger off when Drew's shoulder grazed hers.
Something was happening between them. Things were changing quickly. And with each stolen touch, the charge went up. Kate could only imagine that when they finally did kiss again, there might be an explosion.
The electricity stayed all through dinner. Drew's chair was right next to Kate, and every now and then his knee bumped against hers. Kate tried to avoid looking at him every time it happened. Finally, after the third time, she kept her knee there and let it rest against his. She glanced at him to gauge his reaction, and the corner of his lip quirked up as he listened to her father talk about the cruise he and her mom were planning to take in March.
Feeling encouraged, Kate decided to have a little fun. She knew the sides of his leg were super ticklish, so she reached over and tickled it for a second. She felt his hamstring flex, as if he was fighting the sensation. So, of course, she did it again, this time watching his face. His lips pulled into a tight smile that told her he was totally fighting it.
She was about to try again when suddenly he grabbed her hand and held it hostage in his.
His grip felt secured, reassuring, and she didn’t want to let go. She loved the warmth of his touch, their fingers intertwining together. She could feel calluses on his skin—proof that his money hadn’t kept him from honest labor.
Kate fought off the goofy, happy smile she was feeling inside, not wanting to give herself and Drew away to her parents. Drew gave her a little squeeze, and she reveled in the fact that his hands fit perfectly with hers.
"Well, here you are," Kate said as she pulled into the studio's parking lot where Drew had left his truck on Friday.
"Yeah, here we are," Drew echoed. The air had been just as charged on the drive as it had been at her parent's house. It was dark now, and the moon glowed full in the sky. "I guess I'll need to grab my bag out of the trunk." He put his hand on the door handle but hesitated.
"Yeah, I guess so." Kate tried to keep her disappointment out of her voice. She'd really been hoping tonight would end with a kiss. But she popped the trunk with a push of a button.
Drew waited a moment longer before climbing out. He ducked his head back in Kate’s car. "Thanks for the ride. And for everything." He gave her a meaningful look before shutting the door and going to retrieve his bag from the back of her car.
Kate let out a disappointed sigh, hating the thought that she'd missed another chance. Would they ever have another day like that? Everything had been so perfect between them. Her heart fissured at the thought that the perfect night wouldn't end as she'd hoped.
The trunk of her car shut with a thud, and she saw him throw his duffel bag into the back of his truck.
And then Drew grew motionless by the door of his truck, his back to her and his hand resting on the handle.
Why was he just standing there?
She watched him carefully from the darkness of her car, her heart pounding as she thought of reasons why he wasn't already driving away.
Drew turned his head from side to side, as if checking the parking lot for something or someone. Then, he turned and walked back to talk to her.
"You still interested in taking a drive in the Aston Martin?" he asked, his face serious.
She didn't have to think about it. "Yes."
"Follow me back to my house. Just make sure no one is tailing you."
She gulped and nodded. "I'll meet you there."
She didn't drive straight to Drew's house. Instead, she took a few wrong turns, just to mak
e sure the paparazzi weren’t following her as Drew feared. But when she'd gone down a few random blocks and didn't see the same cars turning with her, she decided it was safe to drive the rest of the way to his house.
The garage was open, and Drew was waiting inside. She got out of her car, and Drew hit the button to close the doors.
Confused, Kate watched the descending door before turning to Drew. "I thought we were going for a drive."
His eyes were dark and the way he looked at her made the knots in her stomach twist up so tight she didn't think they'd ever come undone. "That was just my excuse to get you away from prying eyes." He closed the distance between them in three long strides. "I didn't get to finish what I started in Aiden's room."
And before Kate's mind could catch on to what was happening, Drew had one hand cradling her neck, the other wrapped around her waist. And then, he was kissing her.
Her heart banged against her ribs as his lips coaxed hers into a long, deep exchange. Instantly, their kiss exploded with passion. Years of misunderstandings, unwanted separation, and regret detonated and began to burn out of control. They weren't acting like Treven and Misty this time. They were Kate and Drew. And they wanted this.
Kate let her fingers become lost in the softness of his hair. His knees seemed to buckle, and a moan escaped him as he pulled her against his Escalade. "You have no idea how good that feels," he mumbled against her lips.
"This?" She combed her fingers through his hair again.
"That." He moaned again, and she knew she had better be careful. At this late hour, the staff had already gone home, which meant they were alone. There would be no one there to stop them. So she forced her hands to travel away from his hair, and rubbed them along his strong, muscular shoulders, reveling in the way they felt.
Growing up, she'd always dreamed Drew Burrows would be the man she married, the one she'd give her entire self to. And she knew in this moment that she still wanted it to happen. She had never stopped wanting him, not really. She'd simply buried her dreams and covered them with other relationships for years. But no one could ever have the hold on her heart that Drew did.
His hands were at her waist, gripping her shoulders then pulling the elastic from her hair and getting tangled in it. He gently kissed her cheek, and then trailed kisses down her neck.
"Run away with me, Kate," he whispered, before his lips found hers again. "We can take my private jet anywhere in the world, wherever you want to go, and get away from everything."
Her mind was so fuzzy she didn't know if she heard him right.
"What?" she said. "But I…" Another kiss. "What about the show?"
"I don't care about that anymore. I just want to be with you." He pulled away, caressing her cheek with his fingertips. "I want to hold your hand in public. Take you on a proper date. Give you the world…" His eyes were so sincere that her heart swelled in her chest. He wanted her, and not just in the way a guy wants a girl. He truly wanted her, even though he could have anyone else in the world. He leaned his forehead against hers. "Please say yes." His voice was low and husky, which caused a stirring sensation low in her belly.
"Yes," she whispered. She'd just have to take Dion and Gwen's secret footage to Alexis in the morning, and then she would run away with Drew.
29
Drew
Alexis: You made the front page of Celebrity this morning. And it's not good.
Drew pulled the browser up on his phone and typed in his name to see what Alexis was talking about. It only took a second for images and dozens of new stories from that morning to pop up.
SAINT DREW: COMFORTING OR CANOODLING, the headline read. Below it was an image of him and Kate embracing.
What? Drew's eyebrows stitched together as he pressed on the link to see what the article was about. Where had they gotten a picture of him and Kate hugging?
His question was answered as soon as the photo was enlarged. Trees and headstones were in the background. It was from Aiden's birthday memorial, when she'd told him about her divorce.
But he hadn't done anything wrong then. It was an innocent hug.
He had still been committed to his relationship with Gwen at the time…as crazy as that sounded now after everything that had happened.
Drew scrolled down to see if there were any other photos. He was greeted with an image of him and Kate driving somewhere in the company car. Kate was visible in the driver seat. There was another photo of them at the grocery store, him in his holy-man costume, her in her sweats. The caption to that one read, MIDNIGHT RENDEZVOUS?
How had they gotten these pictures?
Oh, that's right. People posted everything online these days. Those sorority girls had probably posted that pic to social media, and then the paparazzi had most likely supplied the rest.
His neck grew hot as he read the article from the beginning.
Finding Your Soulmate's bachelor, Drew Burrows, has been spotted several times over the last few weeks with a beautiful blonde woman—one he did not meet on the reality dating show this past fall. Who is this girl, many ask? None other than a childhood friend, Kate Dawson. The two have been seen together numerous times, seeming not to care who catches them together. An insider spoke to us and assured our sources that Drew and Kate seem to have a relationship much different from what you'd expect a celebrity and his childhood friend to have. There have been late nights away from the show, trips to the cemetery, and secret meetings at his house.
Didn't they know that she worked for the show?
Drew read on, not believing what he was reading. His heart stuttered when he got to the last paragraph.
A close friend told our source that Kate has been after fame and fortune for years. This recent attempt at Drew is only the last in a string of other attempts. Last summer she was married to socialite, Nolan Prosser, son of Armand Prosser the founder of the outdoor sports empire, O.R.A. The insider told Celebrity it was a quick marriage and that once Kate discovered she was not named in Armand's will after his death, she had the marriage dissolved.
Could good guy Drew Burrows have fallen into her next trap?
Drew's stomach twisted and curdled. This couldn't be true, could it? He didn't want to believe that she had only been after him for his money, but the tiny insecure voice in the back of his mind whispered to him that it might be true. She had married a rich man before. Maybe she had changed more than he thought in the past seven years and was just using her film experience to put on the show of a lifetime.
His heart told him she hadn't, but he'd been tricked before. He needed to talk to her. He needed to make sure she hadn't been pretending the whole time.
Drew texted his personal assistant and told him to cancel his flight and send his pilot home. He had been so excited to escape from the drama of his real life, to fly away to a part of the world where he wouldn't be recognized. But instead, here he was, in the biggest mess he'd ever been in.
Drew drove straight to the studio after throwing on jeans and a t-shirt. Alexis wanted to see him in her office, but he knew Kate had planned to take Alexis her computer before they jetted off. He needed to talk to her and make sure the gossip magazine was just doing their job: spreading rumors without an ounce of truth.
Kate wasn't at her desk when Drew arrived, so he went to Alexis's office. He knocked on the closed door and waited. A moment later, Alexis came out to see who it was before inviting him in.
Once inside, he was greeted with an image that broke his heart. Kate was sitting in one of the chairs, her eyes red with tears. She sniffed when he took the seat next to her but didn't look at him. Instead, she stared straight ahead of her, her expression stoic.
Drew's mind whirled a hundred miles an hour as he tried to figure out all the reasons for Kate's tears. Had Alexis made good on her threat and fired Kate for secretly dating Drew? Or was she crying because her and Nolan's very private divorce had been splattered all over the Internet? Or was it because she’d been caught in her scheme to get h
is money?
"Thanks for coming so quickly,” Alexis said to Drew as she resumed her seat, her face all business. "I've been going over everything with Kate, and we've decided on a plan of action from here on out."
"What do you mean?" Drew scooted forward in his chair.
"For the sake of the show, you and Kate will no longer be working together."
"You can't fire her!" Drew nearly shouted, his urge to protect Kate despite his doubts surprising him.
Alexis closed her eyes briefly. "I'm not firing her."
"Then what are you talking about?" Drew asked. He couldn't help but notice how quiet Kate was, sitting beside him but feeling worlds away. Was she quitting, giving up on her dreams because his fame and fortune had raked her name through the mud?
"Kate will be assisting me with other things now. I know none of those stories are true, Kate confirmed it, but I can't have you two spotted together anymore."
So Kate hadn't told Alexis about their kiss last night.
That was probably a good thing considering everything.
Alexis continued, "Normally, I wouldn't be worried about these kinds of stories since they're actually great for ratings. But since you're no longer with Gwen, this won't help us out at all. Everyone will feel cheated when we get to the finale and you aren't with Gwen."
Drew leaned back in his chair. Kate would still be working there.
"I also need to make the request that you two no longer see each other outside of work, either." She looked more sternly at Drew. "I know you're friends, but until this all blows away and the season finale has aired, I can't take any more chances."
"We didn't do anything wrong," Drew insisted. He hadn't broken any laws by having feelings for Kate. Heck, he hadn't even kissed her until things were over with Gwen.
"When you're the Bachelor, everything besides a happily ever after is considered a criminal offense. Welcome to showbiz."