Page 5 of Hers to Marry
And Drew felt it might’ve been him.
If Drew’s family had stayed and Parker and Kat became friends, then he would’ve been forgotten about. The sexes always shared a stronger bond when banded together.
That’s what happened when he landed on Guam. He’d met Zache, and they became buddies. As time passed, Drew had forgotten all about his bond with Kat. Zache became his best friend—until his death in Afghanistan last year.
“Drew? Where are you right now? We’re having a conversation, and you’re just daydreaming,” Parker said in her pleasantly annoyed voice.
Drew smiled apologetically. “Sorry, sweetheart. It’s a little overwhelming, being back at home and seeing people you haven’t seen in years. Eating the best cupcakes. You should try one.”
Parker wrinkled her nose. “You know I would, Kat, right? If I wasn’t trying to stay flat for my wedding dress—and night.” Her lashes lowered at Drew, her mouth curving into a seductive grin. Drew’s cheeks flamed. Kat averted her eyes.
“Well, I want a dozen,” Drew said.
“Here they are!” Susie said, pushing a box across the counter.
“A dozen?” Parker nearly yelled. “Drew, you’re not going to fit into your tux. I thought we agreed we’d stay a certain size because that’s what we’re attracted to.” She squeezed his arm. “You better be in the gym if you’re going to eat all of that. I’m not going to help you.”
He shrugged off her arm and moved to the cash register. Susie had stepped aside and motioned Kat to take her place. Kat moved around the counter.
“Um, we’re having a special,” Kat whispered. “That’ll be six dollars.”
Drew eyed her. “Something tells me I’m getting a deep discount,” he whispered back.
Her eyes smiled. “No, you’re not. Everyone gets treated the same here.”
Drew grinned. “Thank you.” He pulled out six dollars and handed the bills to Kat. His gaze shot to Susie, who peered over Kat’s shoulder and then grinned. Drew looked away.
“Please come back,” Kat said softly.
He heard the sincerity in her voice. “I plan to.”
“Wait, Kat, do you make wedding cakes?” Parker asked as she stared at the blackboard on the wall that displayed their daily cake flavors, pastries, and desserts.
Kat nodded. “Yes, of course. Do you”—her eyes vaulted between Drew’s and Parker’s—“need a cake? When’s the wedding?”
“In two weeks, but yes, we’ll need one,” Parker said. “I’ll try samples, if you have any.” She craned her neck and peered through the display case.
Kat gave a patient smile. “We don’t have samples on display. You can make an appointment, and I’ll prepare samples in cupcake form for you to taste. You’ll be able to look through our design portfolio for ideas. We also custom bake, if you want something different and unique.”
“That’ll be perfect, Kat,” Drew said quickly. “Let’s go ahead and make an appointment for tomorrow. Or is that too soon?”
“Tomorrow?” Parker laughed. “Are you in a rush to get fat?” She swatted him on the stomach. He’d have to talk to her later about embarrassing him like that. She always did capitalize on every opportunity. He could only half-blame her. Parker was a high-level businesswoman. With that came certain…idiosyncrasies.
“I can do tomorrow, that’s fine,” Kat said with a nod. She opened a book near the cash register. “Let me write it down—”
“Tomorrow’s not going to work for me, sweetie,” Parker said with a sharp emphasis on the word “sweetie.” “I have that conference call that I can’t miss.”
“Oh…right,” Drew said, not knowing what in the world she was talking about.
She was always on a call, or at a meeting, or flying to a meeting. He was impressed that he got her to come all the way to Missouri to meet his grandmother and have the wedding. Parker had put it off for so long that he was afraid his entire plan would fall apart. He had to get Parker to fall in love with this place so she’d consider leaving the city for her work’s satellite office here.
“We’ll set it up for later in the week. Kat, you put something down and text it to me. I’ll fit it in, don’t worry. I just can’t have it conflict with major meetings, you understand, right? Oh, it’s so good to see you! We should definitely have lunch…” She looked down at her phone and scrolled. “How about tomorrow? I have fifteen minutes between one thirty and two.”
“Fifteen minutes? Come on, Parker, that’s—”
“It’s okay, Drew.” Kat weakly smiled at him. “I can do fifteen minutes. Tomorrow will be a busy day for me anyway with planning the samples I’ll do for you two. I’ll need the time in the kitchen.”
“You sure?” Drew asked, skeptical. Kat wasn’t usually so placating. She would stand her ground on any subject. “And less than two weeks to bake a cake?”
