Page 22 of Hers to Marry
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 Iwant. 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.”
