Page 44 (1/2)

Prologue

Kamryn

September 2, 2014

THE SOUND OF three fahs stopped my retreat to my room, and I quietly tiptoed back toward the study What are Charles and his dad doing here? I peeked through the door they had left cracked and was thankful for the darkened hallway I knew from experience they wouldn’t see , and since all of them were huddled around a far table with drinks in their hands, I figured I was fine

I pulled lanced at the tiain Charles wasn’t supposed to pick me up for another four hours, and we’d just had brunch with his fao away for a while?

Charles Good God, what had he even changed into? He had brown loafers—no socks—khaki shorts, and a dark pink polo on And yeah, the collar was popped His dark blond hair had that “I just got out of bed” look, but I’d had the unfortunate pleasure of watching him spend twenty-five , so it had lost its appeal

I’d been dating Charles York since our junior year of high school, and it was safe to say that over the last six yearsI’d really come to loathe him His clothes, his too-perfect bleached sh that had to be louder than everyone else’s in the roonature silver BMW he upgraded for the newer version every two years like it was a cell phone or so And this was probably the worst part of all—he was so close withdrinks with him on his own time

I’irls dreamed of a man their parents would absolutely adore, but iven me a choice when it came to Charles I had to date him It was a match made in “Kentucky Derby Heaven,” asBoth our fahborhood in Lexington, and every year for the last fifteen years either Charles’s family or my family has had a horse win the Kentucky Derby Our parents were always talking about co to think I’d already been sold off to the York family to make this happen

Why not just break up with him and tell my parents to shove it? Uh, yeahnot so easy inworld, ere pretty much royalty My parents were Bruce and Charlotte, and as the only daughter of the perfect power couple, I was expected to be perfect as well Perfect hair, perfect clothes, and a perfectly planned life That perfectly planned life includedup with Charles didn’t justthe plans both our fa world Mom’s words, not mine—she’s a little dramatic

It hadn’t always been aith hi as I could re, and we’d been friends our entire lives When I say entire, Ius together ere babies Charles had always been funny, incredibly sood, because, unfortunately, he kne good he looked It wasn’t until after we began dating that he started turning into the guy I couldn’t stand to be aroundorhow rown up in That world was full of people with toorelationships were the norossiping or slandering someone, and where friends and enemies were one and the same Yeahnow that I think back on it, Charles hadn’t changed at all e started dating, it was just that it also happened about the saet away fro I’d ever known

I started pulling away from him as e and thankfully I only had to see him about two days out of the raduated and ca anything that wasn’t on my parents’ planned-out path wasn’t an option I’d found that out the hard way one night whenine how she would have reacted if she’d known I’d planned to take a very different path from the one she’d made for me

The only thing I’d ever done for o to culinary and then pastry school, and that had been a huge to-do in our house The only people who had supported ly, Charles I’d been so taken aback and grateful—Charles’s support had gotten ree to it—that it’d been the only ti that I’d ever called him by his preferred name, Chad He hated the name Charles, and I think that is why I refused to call hi else

Charles said my name, and I leaned closer to the door in ti

“You’re sure she’ll say yes? I don’t knohat’s going on with that girl of yours, Bruce, but she’s seemed ratherhesitant lately”

Say yes to what?

“I’m sure of it, she knows her place She kno ier is”

“I don’t know” Chuck, Charles’s father, began

“Dad, stop She’ll marry me Like Bruce said, she knows her place, and thank God for that The sooner she gets off this pipe drea a bakery the better”

Dad’s eyebrows shot up “That’s surprising, seeing as you’re the only one who encouraged Kao to those food schools”

Charles laughed and took a sip of his drink “No offense to your home and wife, Bruce, but I want a ho knows her place in my home as well as by my side”

> Chuck and Dad both snickered I continued to stand there with my jaw on the floor

“Don’t get reat for business and public outings, but that woman couldn’t cook if her life depended on—”

Dad cut him off “Which, of course, means Kamryn couldn’t cook before she went to those schools”