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Her eyes met his, and she watched as he took her in, his gaze moving over every part of her face until it settled on her lips. She tried to hide the fact that her breathing had picked up and that her chest was rising and falling a little quicker than it had been before, but she was sure he noticed, because his seemed to be doing the same.
He dipped his head a little, moving closer, still eyeing her lips. She returned the favor and stared right at his mouth, which was parted just enough that his perfectly straight row of bottom teeth was peeking out. He reached up ever so slowly and brushed the edge of her mouth with his thumb, wiping away a little chocolate syrup that had settled there.
She smiled up at him shyly, her skin tingling from his touch, expecting him to move away, but he didn’t. Never in her life had she wanted so badly for a man to kiss her. And the way he was leaning in had her eyelids drooping until they were nearly closed.
His breath fell on her mouth then, and she licked her lips in preparation, which caused him to let out a whisper of a groan. Her stomach clenched at that sound, and she longed to find a way to get him to make it again. He was moving so slowly, she was tempted to lean in and put them both out of their misery, but the elevator doors opened again.
“Oh! I didn’t know anyone was up here.”
Disappointment overcame Genevieve as Kurtis pulled away. She spotted Skylar walking toward them and tried to steady her rapid breathing.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” she told them as she eyed Kurtis.
“Not at all.” He gave Genevieve a look that made her insides turn to mush.
She wondered if they would get into any trouble for being up here. He had acted like it was okay, but now that one of the owners was standing before them, she braced herself to get a talking to.
But all Skylar said was, “Ice cream? I’m jealous.” Then she turned her attention to Kurtis. “Now that I find you here, can we have a word for a minute?”
He nodded and stood. “Of course.”
“I’ll have him back to you in a few minutes. Enjoy your ice cream.”
The two of them walked to the other end of the roof, and Genevieve couldn’t help but look their way, worried he might be getting reprimanded for bringing her there. But instead, they seemed to be in a deep conversation, and even though he said there was nothing going on between them, she noticed him squeeze Skylar’s hand at one point.
A few minutes later, Kurtis rejoined her while Skylar took a seat on the far end in a little private garden area. She looked deep in thought as she stared out across the tops of the downtown buildings.
“Is she okay?” Genevieve asked, genuinely concerned.
“She likes to come up here during the work day when she needs to clear her head.”
Genevieve took another bite of her delicious ice cream. “It’s a perfect place for that.”
“Yeah.”
“Are we in trouble for being up here?” she asked quietly.
“What? No. We’re fine. It wasn’t about that. It was about an employee who’s in a little trouble with the law.”
“Is it her brother, Gus?”
His brow furrowed. “Why would you ask that?”
“I heard some ladies at lunch yesterday saying that Gus got into some trouble at a bar the other day.”
Kurtis let out a deep breath, seeming annoyed. “Gossips.”
“Did he? Get into trouble?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s too bad.” She felt awful for whatever was happening with Gus. “I’m sure that’s so hard for Skylar and Sebastian.”
“I’m sure.”
He grew quiet after that, just eating the rest of his ice cream. When he finished, he stood and took their trash to dispose of it. “I have to get downstairs and work on a couple things, so I’m going to call it a day on the regatta. But you feel free to stay up here as long as you like and keep working.”
She was disappointed that he was departing so soon. “Okay. Will I see you tomorrow?”