"Is there something going on between you and Kate?" Alexis asked Drew when she dropped by his home that evening. She had just marched right in as soon as Carmella opened the door, causing him to almost choke on his chicken.

He took a swig of water to wash his dinner down. "What do you mean?"

She set her hands on her hips. "Is Kate the real reason I won't have the finale I want? Are you and Kate having some sort of affair that you decided to pawn off on Dion and Gwen?"

Drew gulped. She must have noticed something going on between them this afternoon over the hidden cameras. He should have been more careful, but he'd been too caught up with the fact that Kate was in his arms and smiling at him. It was something he'd wished would happen for years. And the way she fit in his arms so perfectly made him believe she was meant to be there.

He'd been totally oblivious to the fact that Alexis would not be happy about it.

This wasn't good.

"Nothing's going on between Kate and me."

Could she sue him for never getting over a girl from his past? It's not like he knew about Kate’s divorce when he went on the show. He’d been trying to move on, to get over the girl he never should have wanted in the first place. It wasn't his fault the show hadn't worked for him or that Kate had magically ended up back in his life. Back as a possibility. A possibility that he very much wanted to become a reality.

He took a deep breath and faced Alexis. "It’s true that I have feelings for Kate, but nothing has happened. I really did catch Gwen and Dion at the safe house last week."

"Okay, fine." Alexis sucked in a quick breath and released it loudly. "But that doesn't change the fact that you have feelings for a married woman."

Drew led Alexis to the living area and sat on the couch. He looked down at his hands, knowing he had to tell Kate's secret in order to save both of their reputations. "I recently found out that Kate isn't married anymore. Her husband cheated on her and they got divorced a few months ago."

"Doesn't help that she lied about it."

Drew shook his head. "It's my fault, really. Please don't get mad at Kate. She's had a hard-enough time as it is."

Alexis tapped her foot on the marble floor. "I don't know what to believe anymore. All I know is that I have a whole nation watching a season that’s turning out to be even more of a train wreck than I thought."

Drew sighed and leaned into the couch. "I'm sorry. I didn't plan for this to happen. Yes, I've had feelings for Kate for years. But she got married. So, I said yes to the show because I needed to be over her and move on with my life. Find my own soulmate." He ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago that she was single again."

"And how does she feel about you?"

"I don't know. I never dared try too hard to figure that out. We have a complicated past."

She let out a loud breath. "Well, your complicated past is starting to darken my show's future. If my ratings tank, ANB will drop the show. And that means a lot of people will be out of jobs. You don't want to see Oliver, or Joe, or me without jobs, do you? What about Derek? He has three little kids."

Drew’s stomach twisted. Alexis really knew how to pile on the guilt. Suddenly, him having feelings for Kate was putting people out of jobs?

"I know you're this billionaire and you don't have to worry about money…but a lot of people do. Just think about that before you act rashly."

Drew straightened and shook his head. "I think you're forgetting that I haven't actually done anything wrong here."

She pointed a finger. "You weren't emotionally available to get engaged to Gwen."

"Since she was all in it for the right reasons," Drew said sarcastically.

Alexis crossed her arms. "Fine. But you're still thinking about throwing caution to the wind and going after Kate, when we still need to lay the trap. If Dion catches any wind of you and Kate secretly dating, all our plans are in jeopardy. He and Gwen will know something is up, and we won't have a way to catch them in their scam."

Drew pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. I get it. Dion and Gwen need to believe I'm in love with her."

"Yes. Which means…" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Which means, no pining after Kate when anyone can see."

"Yes," she said, though she still didn't seem like she liked the idea of him pining after Kate in private either.

Alexis stood and made ready to leave. But just before she did, she turned back to him. "And just remember this, Kate also works for the show. And even though I try to keep personal feelings out of my business ventures, it might be hard to keep her on board or take an honest look at her screenplay, if I'm worried about her presence tanking everything I hold dear."

Drew swallowed thickly. He'd never forgive himself if he took away Kate's chance at her dreams finally coming true. They'd already lost something dear to both of them the last time he'd acted hastily.

"I understand. I'll try to keep my feelings to myself." He shrugged as if it was nothing at all. "I mean, I've waited seven years. What's a few weeks more?"

Alexis's phone buzzed. "Looks like I better get going. Evan needs me to pick up the kids from daycare."

After Alexis left, Drew stayed on the couch, remembering Gwen had texted him earlier and he still needed to respond.

He read her text.

I can't wait to see you this weekend.

More like you can't wait to see Dion in the in-betweens.

Drew shook his phone in his hand, debating how to respond to her text. He really wasn't looking forward to this weekend at all. More like, looking forward for it to be over. Along with the next and the next until the season had finished airing, and Alexis had given him the go ahead to stop faking the relationship.

Not that Gwen would believe he still wanted her after spending time with him. After all, he'd never been very good at hiding his real feelings.

How did Alexis even expect this to work? She of all people knew he couldn't act to save his life.

At least texting didn't give away anything. So he sent Gwen exactly what she'd want to hear.

I'm excited for this weekend too. We need it.

Then he decided to go for a run to get his mind off everything.

* * *

Drew woke up the next morning, anxious to see Kate again. His conversation with Alexis was still fresh on his mind, but that didn't keep his heart from pounding like a jackhammer every time he thought about having Kate all to himself for the day. As he picked out his clothes, he tried not to remember the fact that she'd always told him he looked good in blue growing up, or that she'd liked his cologne from back in the day.

Instead, he concentrated on the innocent fact that he was just going to be helping his old friend with her screenplay. He wasn't doing anything wrong. What would be wrong would be to cancel on her last minute, just because Alexis didn't want him to date her.

This wasn't a date. It was an act of service.

At least that's what he kept telling himself while he made sure every hair on his head was in the perfect spot.

"Sorry I'm so late," Drew said once Kate opened the door to her apartment. "I had to lose the paparazzi."

He took the hoodie off his head once she shut the door behind him. His pulse thrummed with adrenaline after the drive he'd had to take to keep his "service" off the radar of nosy people with cameras. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to give it some semblance of what it had been like before he'd had to hide under his hoodie.

"Did they follow you all the way?" she asked, seeming to take in his appearance.

He shook his head. "I lost them a few blocks over."

"Wow, they really want to catch you doing something. Do you think they know something is off between you and your final pick?"

"I don't know. Maybe someone from the show leaked some spoilers. There are websites that have week-by-week spoilers up already. Some even say that they know for sure who I picked in the end." He sighed. "I just can't wait for this whole thing to be over with, so I can slip back into my quiet life where no one cares who I may or may not be dating."

"Not a fame whore then?" Kate smiled and led the way into her dining area.

"I'd like to think that I'm not." Drew took the chair at the table beside the seat where her laptop sat. "But who knows, maybe Freud would have something to say about that, since I did go on the show in the first place."

"What made you do it anyway?" Kate asked as she went to grab him a drink. "I never pegged you for the type to do something like this in the first place. In fact, I pretty much went into shock when I saw the announcement that you were the new Bachelor."

So she wanted to know the truth? Drew scratched the back of his head, not wanting to tell her that it was because of her, but also not wanting to lie. "I don't know. It was a lot of things, I guess. They'd been after me for years, so when I was still single at twenty-eight, I decided I might as well give it a shot."

Kate set a glass of water in front of him. "So after having gone through the whole experience, how do you feel about it? Do you wish you'd never done it?"

Drew thought about it. Yes, it seemed like a failure when he looked at how it had turned out, but he didn't really feel as bad about it as he should have. After all, if he hadn't gone on the show, he wouldn't have had a reason to reconnect with Kate, or a way to give her a job in the industry.

So he drew in a deep breath and told her the truth. "If I had to do it all over again, I probably would."

She scrunched up her face in disbelief. "But why? Nothing turned out the way you wanted."

He nodded, forcing himself to keep eye contact. "Yes, but I also wouldn't have reconnected with you and your family. And that has been worth everything to me." He only added the family part because he knew Alexis would sue him if he revealed too much and she just happened to want him back. But if she did happen to share his feelings, there was no amount of court fees that would keep him from going after her.

He watched Kate for her reaction, his heart racing out of his chest. He hadn't revealed all his feelings, but he kind of felt like he had.

She was quiet for a moment, her eyes shifting back and forth between his own as if trying to decipher his true meaning. "I'm glad we reconnected, too. We've missed you all these years."

Encouraged by her words, he cleared his throat and said, "I wish I hadn't thrown myself so deeply into my work after Aiden died." He studied her eyes, needing to read exactly how she reacted to what he was confessing. "I missed out on so much."

So much time wasted. So many regrets where Kate was concerned. Where would they be now if he hadn't cut himself off from her? Would she have married him instead of Nolan?

She stared at the table for a moment before peering back up at him. "What made you leave us, anyway? We felt like we lost two family members instead of one."

Drew shook his head, his throat growing thick. "I-it was my fault that he died. If I hadn't made Aiden so mad that night, he never would have gotten into that car in the first place."

Kate’s eyes narrowed. "But it wasn't your fault, Drew."

He looked away. He couldn't watch her be so kind and forgiving of him. He didn't deserve it.

She scooted closer, leaning over so her face was inches from his. "Look at me."

He couldn't.

She inched even closer and placed both of her hands on his cheeks, forcing his gaze to meet hers. "Listen to me carefully, because you need to hear this. It’s not your fault that Aiden died that night. He was hit by a drunk driver who had no business being on the road. Yes, he had just driven you home, but you didn't give that driver the alcohol. You didn't set him behind the wheel and tell him to chase my brother off a cliff. It was an accident. A terrible, horrific accident that stole my brother's life way too early." She sighed, and then pressed her lips together for a moment before continuing. "But it was not your fault."

"But if I hadn't kissed you…" Tears stung his eyes. He blinked them away. "If I'd done as he asked…"

She shook her head, her eyes growing softer. "That was Aiden's choice to get mad. And if that has anything to do with it, then it's just as much my fault as yours. I'm the one who cuddled up to you. I'm the one who practically begged you to kiss me. If anyone is guilty of making Aiden mad, it's me. I knew he'd told you to stay away from me. He'd told me himself plenty of times. But I still did it. It wasn't any of his business in the first place."

Drew sighed, his shoulders heavy with all the guilt he'd carried through the years.

"I never blamed you for Aiden's death. No one in my family did. It's time for you to stop blaming yourself, too."

He nodded, though his heart still didn't know if it could trust her to be so forgiving. But when he looked at her, he didn't see any doubt or forced kindness. Maybe it really was possible that he'd been punishing himself for years when he hadn't needed to.

"Just think about what I said, okay? You deserve to move past this hurt and pain. I have. Yes, I miss my brother like crazy and think about him every day. But that's what loving someone will do for you. Aiden wouldn't want you to carry this guilt around. He'd want you to be happy."

"Thanks," Drew said, feeling a little lighter after everything she'd said. "I'll try to remember that."

"Good." She took a few sips from her water before turning back to him with a smile. "Now, are you okay to move on to something a little less serious?"

"Yes, please."

Kate put her hands on her laptop. "Okay, but I have to warn you, this is a super rough draft. Like, I haven't even finished a full draft. So, don't judge it too harshly."

"I'm sure it's great." Drew pushed one of her hands aside so he could see the screen. "What's this one about again?"

"It's about a girl who gets kidnapped by a guy and ends up falling for him. I think I told you about it before."

Drew nodded slowly. "Ah, yes. You did always love the forbidden romance stories, didn't you?"

Kate bit her lip like she was trying to stop an embarrassed smile from taking shape on her lips. It was adorable how bashful she was talking about this. "They're kind of a guilty pleasure of mine."

And Drew would have to agree with the merits of forbidden love. It was addicting. He was pretty sure that would be the exact label Alexis would put on his growing feelings for Kate.

"Anyway, they fall in love, or at least they fall in like, and then they come up with a plan to escape."

"So what part are we working on today?" He wouldn't mind working on a kissing scene.

Kate shrugged, scrolling through her script. Drew noticed there were highlighted parts here and there.

"It's all kind of a mess right now." She stopped at a spot that had a lot of highlights and red font. Drew started reading the words before him.

"Hey, that part looked interesting," Drew complained when Kate scrolled past the page before he could read any further.

She looked at him, her face flushed. "That was when they realized they have feelings for each other. Wouldn't it be weird to work on that together?"

Drew gave her a half smile. "You never seemed to mind my help with those kinds of scenes before."

She scrunched her nose, probably remembering how flirtatious she'd been when they were younger. "That was years ago. I try not to be so out there anymore."

He shrugged, hoping he'd come off as indifferent. "Well, you can pick a different section if you want. It's your script…but just remember, I'm pretty much a professional at the love thing now… I mean, I did go on a dating show and ended up alone."

His self-deprecation seemed to work because she smiled. "Looks like I'm in good company then."

"You are. So let's figure this part out. It should be fun." At least, it should help him cut away at the barrier they had between them.

"If you're sure you don't mind." She inspected his face, as if guessing whether he was in earnest or not.

He'd never been more earnest about something in a long time.

"Let's go for it."

"Okay." Kate scrolled back to the section. "I want this to be a super emotionally charged scene. When I watch movies, I go into them hoping to be moved. So, I want the viewers to feel the tension between these two characters, be worried about how they'll overcome their obstacles, and then cheer when they finally make it through."

"By make it through, you mean…?" Drew asked, though he was pretty sure of the answer.

Her blush deepened. "They're supposed to kiss."

Drew loved how shy she was about saying that last word. Such a contrast to seven years earlier when she'd told him flat out to kiss her. Yikes, he got sweaty palms just remembering it.

"So this is going to end in a kiss?"

"That's the plan anyway," she said.

"It's a good thing I brushed my teeth before coming over then, huh?"

Her jaw dropped, her eyes widening. "That's not what I meant!" She slapped his shoulder.

He laughed. Okay, he'd been nervous to say that last line, but man, those ten seconds of courage had been worth it. Maybe he should try things like that more often.

When she continued to smack him, he locked his hands around her wrists to stop her from making his arm go numb. "I just wanted to see you blush. Stop trying to beat me up."

"And why would you want to see me blush? You like it when my face gets all tight and overheated-looking?"

"Yep. It's pretty much my favorite."

Kate rolled her eyes and turned back to her screen. "You're ridiculous."

"Yeah, well. You haven't seen anything yet."