Page 15 of Hers to Marry
Chapter 5
It was stupid of Kat to mention the house she and an eight-year-old Drew had promised to build together. Drew had gone quiet the rest of the time they were out there. Soon after, he’d made an excuse about having to get his grandmother into bed, even though it was barely eight p.m. He’d said she was old and old people always went to bed early.
Her attempts at small talk on the way back to her mother’s home were met with grunts and nods. Now it was going to be awkward between them. If his grandmother’s advice wasn’t enough, her bringing up their past didn’t help either.
She was really making the stupidest decisions lately. It was a good thing he was marrying Parker. She was a smart, capable businesswoman, and Kat was failing all over again.
When she saw the spot he was going to build his forever home, it had stirred something in her memory. It wasn’t until she’d seen the tree that she had remembered the promise they’d made to each other when they had ran away. They would leave both sets of parents behind—because they had hated them at that point—and live forever in their own house. They’d swim in the lake, run through the woods all day long if they wanted to, and would only go to school if they were absolutely bored or missed their teachers.
Did Drew remember? He had stared at the tree like it had been a bad dream. It’s not like their initials were inside a carved heart. It was just two kids wanting something different for their lives.
Kat sighed and slumped her chin in her hand. She glanced at the time on her phone. Parker was fifteen minutes late and not answering texts. Kat had fifteen minutes left on her own lunch break and hadn’t ordered.
Her stomach protested loudly each time Kat watched waiters passed by her table with sizzling burgers, piles of rosemary fries, and tall shakes. Kat could smell the strawberries in those shakes. Kat stared at the menu on the table and contemplated just ordering a meal to go. She had to eat and could do so at the bakery.
“Kat! Sorry I’m late.” Parker came up to the fence separating the outdoor seating area from the sidewalk. “Don’t tell Drew I’m doing this.” She lifted one pantsuit-clad leg over the short black, ornate fence and then the other.
Kat laughed. “That was classic you. You’ll break down any door or climb any fence to get to where you want to be.”
“True, but I’m always telling him how to behave in public.”
Kat angled her head away. “You tell him how to behave?” Then Kat recalled Parker’s behavior at the bakery and how disapproving she was of her hot fiancé’s body. He could eat every cupcake for all Kat cared.
“Uh-huh.” Parker looked at Kat like she was crazy. “You know guys. If they could, they’d act five years old all the time.”
“Um, okay.” That hadn’t entirely been true of her ex, but it seemed far less likely with Drew. He was more…composed than she remembered, and that was likely due to his time in the military.
“What’s good here? I only have a few minutes.”
“Same here,” Kat said. “Probably should order soup and a sandwich.”
“Salad. Trying to steer clear of carbs until after the wedding. Ugh, this wedding.” Her mascara-heavy lashes flipped up and she rolled her eyes. “Honestly, I love Drew, but planning this thing is really getting on my nerves. It’s too much. Too much! And I don’t know why he’s in such a rush to get married. It’s like he has nothing better to do.”
“He told me he flips homes and does investments.”
The waiter came by and took their orders for drinks, soup, and salad. Kat was determined to order rosemary fries to go—after saying goodbye to Parker.
Parker nodded. “He does. He’s made a lot of money from it too. Everywhere he’s lived for the military, he’s been able to flip a few houses and make a crazy return. He’s also part of an investment company that buys businesses and helps charities or whatever.”
“He works remotely?”
Parker harrumphed. “Yes, he does.”
“What’s wrong with that? Don’t you want to spend more time with him?”
“I do,” she whined. “But—”
“Don’t you work remotely?”
“Actually, my firm has an office here in Springfield, so I’ll be there most of the time we’re here. And I can, but I prefer to work at the office. I need face time with my employees and…I dunno. I’ve always kind of…how do I say it?”
“Look down on people who work from home?” Kat said bluntly. “Like it’s not a real job.”
“But I know it is. That’s what’s so crazy! I don’t know why I feel like there’s less accountability.”
None of what she said made sense, but that was Parker. She hung out on the dramatic side of the spectrum.
“Well, what do you mean, ‘while you’re here’? I thought you two were moving back.”
