Page 43 of Hers to Marry
Chapter 13
Drew sat with his ankles and arms crossed, watching a few pairs of dancers twirl around the floor. Parker didn’t know how to dance. And she wasn’t going to learn now that she was in London.
He really was happy for her. Parker was a goal-oriented, driven individual, and he respected those qualities a lot. Their goals might not line up perfectly, but if she thought they could work on that, then the least he could do was give their relationship his maximum effort.
She was on her hands and knees yesterday looking for her ring and found it underneath the bed while he ordered them expensive steak dinners. They’d spent the rest of the evening in her room celebrating her promotion and talking about what that would mean for her professionally and for them relationally. She showed him all the locations they could visit while in London and Europe. He’d been overseas plenty of times, having grown up in Guam and Germany as a military brat, but there were a few places he hadn’t been like Sardinia and Iceland. They would make great vacation spots.
The perks of Parker’s job had to be considered. As the president of the international division, she would be given a penthouse suite in an extremely nice building, rent-free. She’d have a car and driver available at all times and free plane tickets for her and her spouse to any place she had to do business. The company would pay for airline tickets and lodging for pre-approved vacations, and her salary would triple.
As she was a silent investor in his firm, the potential for his business to surge was high. She had talked about investing twice the amount she had already contributed. Drew hated to see the world through dollar signs, but there were projects on the back burner and the gas suddenly flamed on. The people he could help and the communities that would be influenced couldn’t be easily ignored.
He suspected her offer was to placate him on moving to London. He liked to be hands-on in his work, and he’d have to do a lot of traveling if they did more projects. He wouldn’t mind that, but the one project he wanted to work on the most would inevitably be delayed: building his forever home, the lake house in Springfield.
He emailed Parker the updated plans for the home, including the designs provided by the interior decorator. If Parker could see herself in the home, then maybe she would reconsider the length of stay in London. Right now, her tour would be at least a year. If she succeeded in becoming president of the entire company, then she’d be back in Boston and having a second home in Missouri wouldn’t be a stretch.
The more he considered his plans, the less he felt they were attainable, but he would give Parker the benefit of the doubt. She said she wanted to work on their relationship, and that meant making compromises. Once she saw the designs, he figured she’d be willing to compromise a little on her professional goals.
At least where they would live…he hoped.
The door to the studio burst open, and Kat practically fell in. Her eyes frantically searched the room. When they landed on him, her expression relaxed. Drew smiled. He remembered her being slightly clumsy. He wondered where that girl had gone.
Drew stood when she was near. “Hi. Thanks for coming.”
“I’d forgotten about this appointment. When what happened yesterday”—she visibly swallowed—“happened, this was the furthest thing from my mind.”
Drew’s own throat constricted as his thoughts traveled back to the moment his fiancée had interrupted what had been brewing between himself and Kat for far longer than he had realized. His gaze traveled to her slender throat. There his necklace still hung. His heart thumped strangely, but he ignored it. He was marrying Parker. A childhood promise meant nothing.
“Okay, dancers! Come out onto the floor. It’s time to start!” A woman clapped and hollered at the rest of the couples who hadn’t been brave enough to dance in front of everyone else. Kat tossed her purse onto Drew’s seat and took his offered hand.
Her warm hand felt delicate and tender tucked into his own. He forced himself to let go once they’d found a spot on the floor. After a quick lesson on how to stand and where to place hands, the instructor teased them with some music. They really had to do this.
“The waltz is a dance everyone should know. This piece,The Emperor’s Waltz, is perfect to practice to. You’ve probably heard this all of your life. Well, now you’re going to dance to it. Grab your partners!”
Both Drew and Kat let out a breath at exactly the same moment, and then they chuckled. Drew held out his hand for Kat’s, and she slipped hers in. His other hand fingered the curve of her shoulder blade until he found the spot just beneath it. He nudged her a couple of inches closer than what was taught.
Kat kept her gaze lowered, and he could almost swear the light rose color on her caramel cheeks was an actual blush. Heat rose in his own neck. He leaned in closer, drawn in by the floral scent of her hair.You smell amazing.
Was that out loud? He stiffened his back and concentrated on the beat of the music. He didn’t want to screw this up. Kat already knew how to dance the waltz.Gotta impress Parker.
“Okay, begin!”
Kat’s warm chocolate eyes met his, and fear struck him deep in his gut, but he moved his feet anyway. Her lips parted into a pleased grin. “Very good.”
“It’s not hard,” he said smoothly. Inside his stomach was a swarm of butterflies. He didn’t want her to see him as a screwup.
She laughed softly. “I know that look in your eyes. The same one you got when we walked all the way out onto that thin branch over the lake. Remember the one? Before we jumped in?”
“Wow. Your memory is impressive. I’d forgotten about that.”
She nodded. “You were afraid the branch would break, and then it took you a while to leap.”
“You were taunting me. I’ll admit going after you was intimidating. You had no trouble going to the end and flipping off. It was incredible.” His eyes bore into hers. “You are incredible,” he breathed.
He watched her chest hitch.
“Drew…”
He cleared his throat and looked away. “I know. Sorry.”
