The Billionaire's Jackpot: Betting on You Series: Book Four (17 page)

Thankfully, she had to wait for the dress to be delivered. It would be nice to have some time to herself. Outside of work, she and Blossom normally were alone. She had adapted quite well to sharing a bed with Drew.
Too well.

She didn’t know what she was going to need for this Rhode Island adventure. She knew there was a rehearsal dinner tonight with Lizette’s parents and Jon’s mother, and tomorrow night was the wedding.
Sounds simple enough.
Then what was she nervous about it? It was one thing going as his date. No pressure, not the center of attention. It’s hard to screw up on a date. But as a bridesmaid, the pressure was on.
Thanks Jill for all those, not so helpful hints.

KJ had a list of all the things she needed to remember to do, including a toast to the happy couple. With Jill as the maid-of-honor and she the only bridesmaid, it made it impossible stay out of the spotlight.
Oh yes, this was about to get real
.

Drew returned just as she finished packing. He took her hands in his, and she looked at him, puzzled by his actions.

He brushed away some stray hair, which had fallen across her face and tucked it behind her ear. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

His simple words sent shivers throughout her body. “I thought we were leaving.” Her voice trembled with excitement.

“We are meeting at Jon and Lizette’s in an hour, then we will all leave from there,” he said while his thumb traced her lips.

“We . . . you . . . we shouldn’t start . . .”

Drew cut her sentence off as he claimed her lips, kissing her gently as though brushed with a feather. “They’ll wait,” he said and scooped her into his arms, carrying her to bed.

She wanted to protest, tell him it was rude to make everyone late, but at that moment she was defenseless as the flames of passion ignited between them. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she placed a kiss on his collarbone, enjoying his sweet and salty taste.
They can wait.

Two hours later
they arrived at Jon and Lizette’s. There were some looks but only one comment. “I hope we didn’t ruin your afternoon,” Jill teased.

Katherine blushed and Drew wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Not at all. So are we ready to go?”

“Now you’re ready? We were just about to have a drink. You might as well make yourself comfortable, and I’ll have your bags taken to the helipad,” Jon said.

Drew didn’t care if he made them wait the entire day. He and Katherine had had enough interruptions lately, and the weekend was going to be filled with more of the same.

He looked around and saw others missing. “Are Trent and Elaine coming?”

Ross answered, “Not tonight. They’ll meet us there for the wedding.”

“Is everything okay?” Drew asked.

Katherine touched his shoulder and said, “I guess they haven’t had much experience with newborns.” She shook her head. “You guys never cease to amaze me. But wait until it’s your turn.” Smiling, she turned and joined Jill and Lizette on the couch.

The three men looked at each other with a combined look of fear and shock. Drew wasn’t sure about his friends, but he had never thought being a father was in his future. What had his father said?
You can’t live without them but you better always use protection or you’ll find yourself trapped like me.
Trapped. My father hadn’t wanted to be a father either.
Am I the same as my father?

His life had always been all about him, and a wife and child would change that drastically.

Seeing Katherine out of the corner of his eye, he couldn’t help but think how stunning she was: her eyes were so blue, her smile could light up a room, and her laughter was contagious. She looked his way with a questioning look in her eyes. He winked and blew her a kiss from across the room. She blushed slightly then turned back to her friends. He could look at her forever and never tired of it.

“So, the infamous Drew Navarro has finally found his match,” Ross joked.

Drew snapped his head back. Both men were standing there, arms crossed in front of them. Obviously they had been watching him watch her.
I won’t live this down.
He was known for a lot of things, but sweet and romantic weren’t one of them. “I enjoy her company.”

Jon added, “I can’t wait until we can sit back and watch you fall.”

He was glad they thought this was funny, but there wasn’t anything humorous about this situation. Drew had said the three words he’d sworn he’d never say. It hadn’t been a mistake or a slip of the tongue. It was worse; he meant them. Katherine had captured his heart, and he had no idea what to do about it. Forever wasn’t something he believed in. Acting on his feelings meant changing everything, not just for him, but for her as well. She didn’t belong in the city. When she took Blossom outside, you could tell she was a woman who enjoyed a neighborhood, green trees, grass, and children playing. He had lived in Manhattan since college. When he wanted to get away for peace and quiet he went to the island. It couldn’t get quieter than that with no electricity or running water. When things became too stressful here, he enjoyed disappearing there, sometimes for weeks on end. He’d often offered his friends to go if they wanted, yet none were interested in roughing it.

He could picture one person who would enjoy it. She’d spent twelve years in the Marines, for God’s sake. Yes, her place in Napa was homey and had that feminine touch, but she knew how to rough it. Knew how to survive the elements without what everyone else would call necessities. Why had he taken her to New York when they could have spent the two weeks secluded on the island?
Maybe after the wedding.
Thinking about being there with Katherine sounded like heaven to him. He’d never needed someone there with him before. But, she . . . fit somehow. No disruptions whatsoever. He could make love to her on the beach in the daylight or moonlight without a care in the world.
I definitely need to rethink plans for next week.

Katherine walked over to the fireplace, eyeing pictures scattered along the mantle. Drew joined her. She was holding a picture of Jon and Lizette. “That was at their engagement party.”

He must have startled her as he noticed her jump slightly. “They look so happy.” Placing the photo back on the mantle, she moved to the next one.

“That’s Jon’s mother.” Before she could ask he added, “His father died when he was very young.”

She nodded and moved to the next one. She slowly picked it up. It was the picture of the five friends in college. The last one they had taken of them all together. He waited for her to ask, but she said nothing. She stood there, holding the picture, frozen. Her expression was difficult to read.

“You know most of us in there, but the one in the middle was our friend Brad,” he explained.

She never turned to him, only continued to stare at the picture as though in deep thought. Her voice had echoed his softly, “Brad.”

“That’s who Trent named the baby after. Bradford Anderson.”

Was it his imagination or were her hands trembling? Had Jill already told her about Brad and his accident? Something seemed off, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
Why do I find her so hard to read?

“Will he be at the wedding?” Katherine asked quietly.

That answers my question. She has no idea.
That meant he would have to tell her. He wanted to wait until after the wedding, but there was no way to get around it now. “No. He was killed in a car accident almost six years ago.”

She gasped and looked shocked. The picture frame dropped from her hands and went crashing to the floor. She turned to him, her eyes filled with tears. He reached out for her, but she put up her hand to stop him and ran out of the room.

He went to follow her, and Jill called out, “What did you say to her?”

“I told her about Brad,” he answered, leaving the room as well. When he found her she was sobbing in front of the kitchen sink.
Her sister.
She was still dealing with her own loss, and he was sure mentioning a friend who had passed away wasn’t helping.

He took her in his arms, and she buried her tear-stained face in his shirt.
She’s such a gentle soul, and I’m such an ass.
Drew should’ve eased her into the story. He never thought she would react this way for someone she’d never met before, but everyone dealt with death differently. And as a trauma nurse, she’d surely seen her share of it. Drew stroked her hair as she cried. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here. I’ve got you.”

They stood there, holding each other and not speaking. When her sobs stopped, she stepped back and looked him in the eye. Her eyes were filled with such pain. He wished they had never left his house today. Everything earlier had been perfect; now, not so much.

“Drew, maybe I shouldn’t go.”

Stunned by her comment he said, “I know this was a shock. During special events like this wedding, we really feel the loss too. You might not believe me, but you being there is going to make it easier for everyone,” touching her cheek he added, “especially for me.”

He would never admit it to the others, but he hadn’t been looking forward to attending the wedding alone. It would have given him too much time to reminisce about the old days. Those things were best shared with friends. Drew had never included any woman to one of their events. No other woman had ever meant anything more to him than a means to satisfy his sexual appetite. Inviting Katherine was a statement in itself. Not only did he want her there, he needed her there. Not for Lizette or anyone else for the matter.
This is for me.

“There’s so much I want to tell you—need to tell you—but not right now.” Kissing her gently, he said, “I’m not asking you to do this for anyone else. I’m asking you to come along for me.”

She nodded. Even with red, pained eyes, she was beautiful.

Jill came into the kitchen, looking at them both with concern in her eyes. In a serious tone she asked, “Is everything okay?”

“We’re good.”
Or at least I hope so.

Jill turned her attention to Katherine, who forced a smile to confirm his words and Jill relaxed. “The helicopter is ready when you two are,” Jill said before leaving the room again.

“Are you ready to do this?” he asked, unsure of what her answer may be.

“I think so,” Katherine answered her voice still shaky.

Taking her hand in his, they left the kitchen to join the others on the roof helipad. He didn’t know what this weekend was to bring, but they would face it together.

‡

T
hankfully no one
had mentioned anything about her earlier emotional breakdown. It couldn’t be helped. When she saw that picture on the mantle it was like traveling back in time. KJ wasn’t sure if Drew had said anything more after he told her Brad had been killed in a car accident.
Brad was dead.
Her mind went blank, unable to process any details. She couldn’t believe it.
He’s gone too
.

All she had wanted to do was hide and mourn the loss of her dear friend, but there was no time, and she wasn’t alone. KJ was torn between being grateful Drew was there offering comfort and feeling angry he was the one telling her the news. It wasn’t his fault. Apparently none of them realized she had dated Brad eight years ago.
And I’m not about to tell them.

It had been a young innocent love, based on mutual respect for each other’s path in life. They met up a few times when she had assisted as part of the natural disaster relief team. Both of them had shared a passion for giving back, but when it came to their personal lives, the passion hadn’t been there. That was when they realized their love was special, but only as friends.
He’d been such a good friend to me. Someone I could rely on to cheer me up when times had been hard.

They had continued to email each other about their future dreams. Brad had huge plans, and she’d known he would fulfill them because he’d never let anything stop him from helping others.

Over the years she’d thought about him less and less, but a vivid picture of him finding his soulmate—someone willing to work by his side and have the several children he’d always wanted—had often been her hope. One day the emails abruptly stopped. She had told herself there was nothing to worry about at that time. His last email had provided the hope she’d wanted. He had told her never to let go of her dreams and how he wished she would one day find true happiness as he had. When she never heard from him again, she took it as a good sign.
How wrong I was.

He had never mentioned his friends back home by name. She had assumed they were people he had met during his travels. Had she asked, maybe this wouldn’t be so damn awkward now. But then again, she wouldn’t be with Drew now either. Maybe it was better this way. What would telling him do? It’s not like she and Brad had been lovers. In the environment they were in when they met, it would have been impossible, even if they had wanted to be lovers. No, she shouldn’t feel guilty keeping this to herself. It was for the best—for her, for Drew, and for the others. The past was where it should be, and she wasn’t about to bring it up now. Secrets weren’t the best way to start a relationship. As long as he didn’t ask, she saw no reason to divulge the information.
If only it could be that simple.