How Sweet It Is Read online

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Dylan Newton

  Cover design and illustration by Sandra Chiu. Cover copyright © 2021 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  Hachette Book Group supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Forever

  Hachette Book Group

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  First Edition: July 2021

  Forever is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing. The Forever name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  Print book interior design by Tom Louie.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Newton, Dylan, author.

  Title: How sweet it is / Dylan Newton.

  Description: First edition. | New York : Forever, 2021. | Summary: “Kate Sweet is famous for creating the perfect happily-ever-after moment for her clients’ dream weddings. So how is it that her best friend has roped her into planning a bestselling horror writer’s book launch? Drake Matthews is tired of the spotlight, tired of his reputation as the King of Nightmares. He’s really a nice guy! More than anything, the next book he wants to write is a romance based on his grandparents. But to get that chance, this event has to be successful. And the reticent writer will have to work with the adorably bubbly Kate Sweet. But just as the two are learning to trust each other, secrets come out that could take down the launch, their relationship, and both their careers. Can Kate find a way to save their jobs and their chance at true love?”— Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2021006601 | ISBN 9781538754405 (trade paperback) | ISBN

  9781538754412 (ebook)

  Subjects: GSAFD: Love stories.

  Classification: LCC PS3614.E74 H69 2021 | DDC 813/.6--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021006601

  ISBNs: 978-1-5387-5440-5 (trade paperback), 978-1-5387-5441-2 (ebook)

  E3-20210616-DA-NF-ORI

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Discover More

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  To my mom, who introduced me to the delicious thrill of a Stephen King novel.

  And to Mike, who is my proof that happily ever afters do exist.

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  Chapter 1

  Kate Sweet touched her earpiece, activating the microphone. “Carl? You and the pumpkin are in position?”

  “Roger that, Kate.”

  “Perfect! The newlyweds are coming. Cue the bubbles.”

  Kate shivered in the September air. It was the first day of fall, and if this weather presaged the winter to come, she figured she’d better break out the wool outfits now. The upside of the colder-than-average temps was the stunning fall foliage—a priceless backdrop to today’s afternoon wedding. Luckily, the outside portion of the reception was almost over. Just one more special touch.

  An errant lock slipped out of her chignon, and she tucked it behind her ear as she fast-walked around the hillside estate in her stilettos—shoes that were made for anything except fast-walking around rocky, grassy grounds. Or fast-walking in general. But a full suit, complete with killer heels, was her trademark uniform as the owner of Sweet Events. She’d patterned the style, as well as much of her fledgling business, after an internship with her mentor, the late Maya Evert herself.

  “Take it from me, people don’t respect a five-foot-one woman in flats,” Maya had said in her blunt way. “You want to be the boss? Dress like one. Use fashion to your advantage.”

  Maya wasn’t wrong. It made a difference when you didn’t have to crane your neck during every conversation. Kate had eventually grown accustomed to working in tall heels and now considered them, along with her project plan spreadsheets, essential armor against chaos and one of the keys to her success.

  Her personal phone buzzed, and she tugged it out. Fumbling with cold fingers to activate the readout, she skimmed a text message from her mom.

  Mom: Was hoping to chat with you about the Sweet Surgery Center’s grand opening. Both your dad and I are in surgery now, but can we talk later? After your party?

  “It’s not a party, it’s an event,” Kate muttered to herself, her breath fogging the air as she groaned and dropped her cell back into her pocket. She wouldn’t bother texting back. No emoji in the world was going to facilitate the message that she still wasn’t interested in joining the family medical legacy. Never had been. But the famous Sweet surgeons were nothing if not persistent. Kate shook her head, willing the thoughts of her family’s infinite disappointment in her career out of her head.

  She had a happily-ever-after moment to deliver.

  “Bubbles are on,” came her assistant’s voice in her ear. Kate rounded the corner to the flagstone patio of the ritzy Connecticut estate where the couple had chosen to have their special day, miles from New York City’s hustle. The bubble machines hidden in the bushes hummed to life as the couple and their well-wishers spilled out through the bank of French doors to the gorgeous autumnal vista.

  “Oh!” the bride gasped, finally noticing that the air sparkled with a million tiny bubbles floating in the cool breeze. Everyone laughed, playfully swatting at the bubbles as the bride and groom posed for pictures amid the cascade, giggling and holding their arms outstretched, the chilly weather momentarily forgotten.

  It didn’t matter how old you were, bubbles made everything fun.

  “And now…for the ‘Aww!’ moment,” Kate murmured to herself, smiling in anticipation. This was her favorite part of the wedding—the tiny but impactful detail that turned the event from wonderful to blissful. She’d originally dubbed it the “Happily-Ever-After Moment” in her promotional materials, but her clients had described it as the “Aww!” moment, and that’s what stuck.

  Right on time, the carriage pulled around the bend, making its grand entrance. The driver, dressed in white livery, had the reins of two gorgeous white horses in hand. The animals pranced up the lane, as if they knew this was their big moment. Guests lined up on the manicured lawn, cheering at the sight.

  Kate grinned as the couple spotted the pumpkin-shaped carriage she’d rented. The bride squealed, po
inting at the white wrought-iron frame, painstakingly wrapped in fall foliage and glimmering with thousands of twinkle lights. The woman gazed adoringly at her husband. Kate was too far away to read their lips, but it looked like she’d asked if he’d planned this. The groom nodded, and Kate saw his face turn red with embarrassed pleasure as his wife flung herself at him, hugging him fiercely around the neck.

  “Bingo,” Kate whispered to herself.

  The groom located Kate in the crowd and gave her a delighted thumbs-up. He’d been the one to secretly ask for a grand exit, wanting to surprise his wife. He’d left the details to Kate, though, knowing her fame for that “Aww!” moment.

  Kate flashed a thumbs-up in return, and then the couple dashed over and closed themselves inside the intricate vehicle. Nothing said a Cinderella wedding like a nod to the classic fairy-tale carriage.

  It wasn’t until the couple left the grounds, waving madly to the crowd, that Kate let out a huge sigh. She switched on her com.

  “And…they are off the grounds and heading to the honeymoon suite. All set, Carl. We can start the tear-down of the outdoor chapel. Send the caterer and DJ my way for the checks. Great work!” Kate listened to her assistant’s congratulations, checking off the last of the events in the day’s agenda and closing up her Sweet Events planner with a satisfying snap. Just as the prancing horses carried the newlyweds toward their honeymoon cabin, her phone buzzed with an incoming call.

  “They’re relentless,” Kate muttered, grabbing her phone. Her grimace relaxed into a smile as she read the phone’s readout, and she clicked to accept the call.

  “Congratulations on another postcard-perfect wedding,” her best friend singsonged, not waiting for a greeting.

  “Imani!” Kate laughed, picking her way around the last of the guests to enter the warmth of the estate house. She snuck to the back of the reception hall to snag a piece of wedding cake and a seat at an empty table next to an older couple. Pushing aside the table confetti—Shakespearean quotes about love printed on the back of paper designed to look like fall leaves—she dug into what would have to be her late lunch. “How’d you know it was perfect? Better yet, how’d you know I was done? You weren’t even here.”

  “The itinerary you sent me said the couple would be leaving at three p.m., and it’s 3:02. Everyone knows that you always run on time and on budget. I’m really sorry I couldn’t be there to be an extra set of hands for you, Katie,” Imani said, using the nickname only she was allowed to get away with, having been best friends with Kate since grade school. “I know those massive weddings leave you running ragged, and I love any excuse to watch the Queen of Happily Ever Afters in action.”

  “Carl and I managed just fine. The real reason I wanted you up here was to get you out of the city for a hot minute. I miss my old roomie and our girl talks. You know, the wild ones where you’d decorate my planner with inspirational quotes while I built a spreadsheet for your next career goal?”

  “I’m still pissed you abandoned me. I mean, what’s a brand-new apartment complex on Long Island’s Gold Coast have compared to my tiny lofted box in Queens? You had the world’s lumpiest pull-out couch all to yourself, as well as my collection of gel pens, arranged for you in Roy G Biv order, and you up and left.” Imani paused her teasing, her voice wistful. “I miss Margarita Mondays.”

  “Me too. My planner pages are deadly dull without you,” Kate said, dragging the tines of her fork through the cake’s icing, making a basket-weave pattern of eternal tic-tac-toe game boards.

  “It figures. The one weekend you have a free Saturday night, I’m at an author event in LA.”

  Kate quit mauling the cake and took a bite, closing her eyes to savor it. “Mmm. You’re missing out. The bride chose your favorite—a ginger spice cake.”

  “No! Damn. Does it have buttercream frosting?” Imani groaned at the sound of Kate’s muffled assent. “Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with writers who have egos as big as their book contracts, there’s almost always a crisis on the weekend…which is sort of why I’m calling. I—I need some help.”

  Although her best friend was thousands of miles away in California, Kate heard the hesitant dip in Imani’s voice. The last time Kate recalled her friend asking for help in that tone was six years ago when she’d had appendicitis and had to go to the ER for emergency surgery. The time before that was way back in high school when Imani had asked Kate if she could stay with her after Imani had lost her house—and her mother—in a tragic fire. Her best friend wasn’t a casual “ask a favor” type of gal.

  Kate frowned, putting down her fork. She gripped the phone with one hand while flipping open her planner and readying to write with the other hand, her heart galloping with a sudden nervous shot of adrenaline. “Of course. Anything. Are you okay?”

  “Oh, it’s not an emergency with me. Promise,” Imani said. “It’s work related.”

  “You scared the crap out of me,” Kate hissed, releasing the breath she’d been holding. “Okay. What’s going on at work?”

  “You know how you mentioned last week that a cancellation had freed up a huge chunk of time on your calendar? You’re clear until when, exactly?”

  “Until mid-November. After months of planning and thousands prepaid in deposits, the Montagues decided to call off the wedding.”

  “Yes!” Imani’s exclamation was so jubilant, Kate could imagine her fist-pumping on the other end of the line.

  “Wow. You get promoted to top publicist working mostly with romance authors, and you’re suddenly jaded about love and marriage. What happened to my romantic BFF?”

  “Who has time to be romantic anymore? Last time I checked, you barely had time to go speed dating with me.”

  “What?” Kate snagged another bite of cake, laughing. “I stayed the whole time. Participated, just like I promised.”

  “I call bullshit on that. You asked each guy exactly one question, and when he couldn’t give you the answer you wanted, you tuned out until it was time to switch.”

  “Why waste time? I asked each of them if they could handle a woman with a rising career who wouldn’t be available most weekends or holidays for the foreseeable future. None of them had a good answer.” Kate grimaced at the memory. She’d been in a mood that night, and while drowning her anger in tequila had seemed like a good coping mechanism at the time, spending the next day cuddled up to Imani’s toilet bowl had not been fun. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts of her nonexistent love life, Kate refocused on the conversation. “Why is my lack of a client a good thing, and how does it relate to your work emergency? You don’t have a writer who needs a quickie wedding planned, do you? Because even I’d struggle to create a happily-ever-after moment in only a few weeks.”

  “It’s not a wedding. It’s a book launch,” Imani said, and Kate’s eyebrows rose. She put down the fork to listen more carefully as her best friend continued. “Okay, hear me out. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime book launch, but our marketing point person for this had a family emergency and had to pull out. We’re crazy busy, and we need someone to step in and coordinate the event for us, like a contractor. Naturally, I thought of you!”

  “A book launch?” Kate tilted her head, watching the reception crowd gather their coats and purses as she considered the idea. Romance authors wrote books that would draw fans—and potential clients—who’d appreciate a happily-ever-after sort of event. “Maybe that could work.”

  Imani’s voice raced with enthusiasm. “You’ve been saying how you’ll need to branch out to win that event planning award—what’s it called?”

  “The EVPLEX,” Kate supplied, intrigued. “But I don’t think a book launch will attract the attention of Evan Everstone and his committee any more than my weddings. Last year’s overall EVPLEX winner was the Met Gala.”

  “That’s just it, it won’t be just a book launch! We’ve got carte blanche from our marketing partner to pull out all the stops with this event, because it’ll be in conjunction with the movie stu
dio that recently optioned the author’s project. I mean, it’s a jaw-dropping, huge-budget, Evan Everstone and his EVPLEX–type of book launch. I just need a person to take the baton the rest of the way to the finish line.”

  “When?” Kate’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. This was sounding too good to be true, which, in her experience, usually meant that it was.

  “Um, well, it’s on Halloween.”

  “Halloween? That’s only five weeks away!”

  “Which is why we need you to step in. You are the Queen of Happily Ever Afters.” Imani’s tone was saccharine as she added, “If you can’t make this writer’s launch magical, nobody can.”

  Kate had the feeling she was being oversold. But ideas of various love-in-autumn-themed launch events had already started filling her head. Given her experience, it would be a slam dunk, not to mention the fact that working during this unexpected lull in her planner would pay more bills than spending the time networking and passing out business cards at the area country clubs. If the launch tied in a movie deal based on the novel…this could only mean great exposure for her business. If she was ever going to expand beyond Carl and herself, she needed more clients and a broader portfolio of high-profile events.

  Plus, Imani wouldn’t throw her under a bus. She was her best friend—one who never asked a favor lightly.

  Thoughts of that gorgeous gold EVPLEX award on her shelf and gleaming forever on her website’s home page danced in her mind like the leftover bubbles on the breeze outside.

  “You’ve got yourself an event planner.”

  “Thank God!” Imani squealed. “You won’t regret it, especially after I tell you who you’ll be working with. Take a guess!”

  Kate pondered, spearing one last bite of the dessert as she went through her mental bookshelf of the romance authors Imani represented. “Is it Leann Bellamy? I love her books.”

  “No, better. It’s Drake Matthews!”

  “Drake Matthews?” Kate sputtered cake onto the table, her tone loud enough to draw looks from the older couple still sitting at the adjacent table. She stood, dropping her cake plate onto the nearest server’s tray, and moved to an empty corner to hiss into the phone. “You’re putting me—the Queen of Happily Ever Afters—in charge of a book launch for the Knight of Nightmares himself? Are you nuts? Doesn’t he eat his meat raw and sleep in a coffin?”