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The next morning,Kitty stopped off at the river on the way to Small Oaks. She wasn’t sure what she hoped to find there, but as she plunged into the cool green waters where she and Josh had swum together, a strange comfort filled her.

She missed him desperately and thought of him constantly, but she couldn’t and shouldn’t rely on him to make her happy. She had to make a life for herself.

Later that day, huddled around a laptop, Kitty walked Thea through the business plan details. She talked her through the intricacies of an annual calendar of fundraising activities, a social media strategy, animal sponsorship programs, local corporate sponsorship initiatives, and even an educational partnership program to run with local schools.

“With the income we generate, you can afford to build the new cat adoption centre,” Kitty said.

An adoption centre for cats and kittens had been Phil’s dream.

“This is incredible!” said Thea, scanning the details on the screen. “You’re amazing, Kitty. I could never have done this on my own.”

Thea leaned over and gave her a massive hug. It felt so good to be held by another person. Maybe the ice queen had melted.

Kitty swallowed, nervous about her final proposal for Thea.

“There’s one more thing,” she said. “I want to be your Development Manager.”

Kitty bit her bottom lip as she scanned Thea’s face, waiting for a reaction. She was either going to love or hate the idea. The sanctuary had been Thea’s personal project—and Phil’s. She jealously guarded his memory and what they’d achieved together. Was she ready to take a chance on a failed corporate lawyer who’d got mixed up with her brother?

Thea sat still in her chair, blinking rapidly.

“You don’t need to pay me a massive salary,” continued Kitty. “Just enough so I can pay Julia some rent and support my Snickers habit.”

The corners of Thea’s lips twitched.

“I’d still do all the practical stuff for the animals, but I’ll make sure everything else stays on the rails. You can even promote me to chief poo shoveler. I don’t mind.”

Thea’s face cracked, and she dissolved in a fit of giggles.

Kitty’s shoulders relaxed.“I promise you, I can turn Small Oaks around.”

“But what about your real job? Aren’t you due to chain yourself to a desk any day now?”

“I turned it down,” Kitty said. The gravity of what she’d done finally hit her, and Thea’s mouth gaped open. “If you’re worried, this has nothing to do with Josh. I love working withyou. I love all the animals, and I want to help them. I really think we can make Small Oaks a huge success. And if, as a side effect, Josh wants to be friends again one day, then I’ll take that as a bonus.”

Thea ran her fingers through her hair. It was one of Josh’s mannerisms too. Could she honestly say her feelings toward him had no bearing on her decision? Thea leaned back and twisted her office chair from side to side.

“You say this has nothing to do with Josh, but I’m not sure I believe that.”

Busted.Kitty looked down at her hands as they lay in her lap.

Thea continued. “This is his home too. But at least he’d be happy that there was a plan for us—for Ammy and me. He’s been worried about us for so long. If you can keep whatever is going on with you and Josh separate, I say yes. I’d love you to work with me.”

A warm glow spread in Kitty’s chest, and she reached out and hugged Thea.

“Bloody hell! I’m so excited! Kitty, we’re going to make a great team,” Thea said, wiping tears from her eyes.

“Thank goodness for that,” Kitty said. “We have an appointment with the bank on Friday.”

56

JOSH

Josh was ridingMadonna across the fields when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He’d worked the whole weekend, not even seeing Thea, and was now taking some time off from trying not to think about Kitty. He’d promised himself he could obsess about her for the entirety of his ride, but after that, he’d go back to pretending there wasn’t a gaping hole in his heart.

He’d only spoken to her once last week, but it’d been enough to send him into a tailspin. He’d been such an idiot, accusing her of kissing Daniel. He’d analysed every millisecond of that painful memory. He couldn’t honestly tell if she’d kissed him back, but that hadn’t stopped his insecure rant in the middle of the lane.

Josh pulled up under the shade of a tree and pulled out his phone. The text message was from Thea.