Page 4 of Hers to Marry
Chapter 2
Yeah… He had planned to break that news more slowly.
Hearing his fiancée say it out loud had sent a shiver of fear up and back down his spine. Drew couldn’t understand it. He’d been engaged for a few months. He should be used to it by now. But every time…
He had watched Kat’s expression play out in slow motion. She’d gone from utter shock at seeing Parker to her warm mocha skin lightening to a deathly pallor. He’d felt himself go pale as a chill had spread through his body. What was Kat thinking? Feeling? He worried about her.
He loved his fiancée. Really. She had brought him through some of the darkest moments of his life. Without her support, he’d still be slipping slowly down the cavern of depression, without any way of digging himself out. He owed her his life, and marrying her was such a small price to pay—not a price, but he looked forward to spending the rest of his life thanking her.
Kat fiddled with her necklace. His lips parted. A tiny, half-of- a-heart hung on a gold chain. She was still wearing it? After all these years?
He’d spent years growing up in Missouri, and Kat had been his best friend. They had gone to school together, got in trouble together, and explored the haunts of their neighborhood together. They loved each other in a childlike way that he could only describe as ride or die. They had each other’s back to the point they’d argue whose fault it was when one of them got in trouble.
So they both took the blame.
And enjoyed timeout together.
When the military ordered his father and family to Guam, it had been the worst moment of their young lives. Drew and Kat ran away the week before. They got about two miles away to a fort they’d built in a nearby wooded area next to a lake. It all lasted about two hours. They were found by two sets of angry parents and ripped from each other’s arms. Then they were forbidden to see each other and Drew nearly lost his mind. Both his parents and hers had considered their attachment unhealthy. They were just children who would grow up and make new friends. They didn’t really love each other. How could they? They were only eight. What did they know of love?
So Kat had stayed away until the last second when Drew’s family loaded the final suitcase into the cab taking them to the airport. Drew had never been happier to see her in his life. He gave her one half of a heart necklace his mother had given him to remind him of their friendship. His last image of Kat was of a girl sobbing on the sidewalk holding half of his heart.
She wasn’t crying now, but she held the necklace.
“Aren’t you going to congratulate us, Kat?” Parker asked in a whiny tone.
Kat blinked a few times, shook her head, and smiled. “Of course. I’m sorry, I was just…so shocked. Why didn’t you tell me?” Kat came around the counter and reached out to give Parker a hug.
Parker backed up. “Sorry, sweetie, but you’re a mess. I can’t get icing and flour on this suit. I only trust my dry cleaners. You understand, right?”
Kat stood there with arms outstretched, looking utterly confused. Drew stepped into the waiting embrace and firmly wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you, Kat,” he whispered into her ear. She smelled like sweet cake and warm bread. Her arms came around him, her hands splaying across his back.
She fit snug against him, as she had when they’d said their final goodbye. Only this time, he was holding a woman with all the developed attributes a man could admire. And as a full grown man, he responded accordingly, with a tightening of his thighs.
“Drew! Your clothes!”
“I don’t care,” he answered curtly, still holding onto Kat, who squeezed him closer.
“I’m so happy you’re home,” she whispered.
“Me, too.”
“Um…” Parker nervously chuckled. “Are you trying to steal my man, Kat? That’ll be a first.”
Drew released her and stepped back. “Kat and I go way back,” he explained. He sent Kat an encouraging smile. “She and I were thick as thieves growing up.”
Parker’s brows came together. “What? You knew Drew? When? I thought you and I were besties.”
“We met later that summer. Right after he left,” Kat said quietly.
“Just missed meeting my future husband?” Parker took his arm again. “That’s crazy. Don’t you think that’s crazy, Drew? If we’d met then, we’d probably already be married.”
Kat met Drew’s gaze the same moment he looked at her. For the briefest moment, Drew saw it before Kat forced a smile that only made it as far as her cheeks. There was no way he would’ve married Parker. Not with Kat in the picture.
“It’s definitely crazy, Parker,” Kat said. They both shared a laugh, and it was strange to know that they were both faking it.
Kat looked at him again, the revelation gone.
That look in Kat’s eyes had scared Drew speechless. What would they’ve all been to each other? It was starting to feel like a weird threesome with one of them being the definite third wheel.
