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“Well, I’m sorry you didn’t get the job you really wanted.” That wasn’t the whole truth. He was thankful she’d walked into the gift shop that morning and called him a cold fish. If she’d gone to Montana to work for the horse rescue, they probably never would have met. He couldn’t even imagine that.
“I’m happy to be at Schultz. It’s a far cry better than my last job.”
“What was your last job?”
“I worked for another non-profit, raising money for breast cancer research—or so they said. I don’t doubt that some of the money actually went to a good cause, but they were not transparent with their budget and there was a lot of misuse of funds going on there. I could not in good conscience work for them anymore once I knew that.”
“That’s awful,” he said.
“Yeah, they were dishonest. And I have no respect for people who don’t tell the truth.”
His heart nearly stopped beating, and a strong sense of guilt washed over him.
“I looked up the horse rescue on a whim one day when I was sick and tired of my job, and I saw they were taking applications. I sent my résumé off to them and handed in my letter of resignation the same day. Then when my friend told me she heard The Schultz Foundation was in need of a new event coordinator, I decided not to put all my eggs in one basket, so I applied there too, but I didn’t think I had a chance of getting it.”
“Why didn’t you have a chance?”
“For one, I figured my previous employer wouldn’t give me a good reference because we did not part on good terms.”
“I see.”
“But I got called for an interview, then they called me back for a second interview, and they offered me the position.”
“Good.”
“I almost didn’t take it. I was still kind of holding out hope for Montana.”
He realized his hand was still on hers, and she hadn’t moved hers either, so he gave it a squeeze. “I’m glad you took it.”
“So am I.”
The sun had dipped even lower in the sky by the time they reached the Schultz parking lot. Sebastian parked, opened the door for her, and walked her to her car. He was surprised when she slid her hand into his palm, but he wasn’t complaining, and he wasn’t going to miss out on this opportunity to hold her hand again. The feel of her smooth, warm skin against his palm had his body buzzing. He only wished he’d parked farther away from her car.
They each let go when she reached into her bag for the keys. She pressed the button on the key fob to unlock the doors and turned to him before climbing in.
“I had fun tonight,” she told him.
“So did I—”
She leaned closer and lifted up on her tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his cheek.
“Hey, what are you doing for the Fourth?” His words came out deeper and more raspy than his normal voice, and by the little curve of the corner of her mouth, he was sure she knew that little impromptu kiss had affected him.
“No plans. I thought about calling Rhonda and going downtown to watch the fireworks along the river.” She gazed up at him. “Do you have a better offer?”
His heart rate was chugging along at an increased rate ever since her soft lips had met his cheek, and the sweet way she was looking up at him at the moment made him want to take her in his arms and make his fantasy of pressing his lips to hers a reality. But he kept himself in check and instead asked, “Will you watch fireworks with me?”
She had the most beautiful smile on her face. “I’d love to.”
TWENTY
The Fourth of July fell in the middle of the following week, and Genevieve could barely concentrate on her work, thinking about spending the evening with Kurtis. She had thought for sure he was going to kiss her on Friday night after the time at her parents’ farm, and she was disappointed that he hadn’t. But now she was looking forward with anticipation to their time together, whatever it might hold.
It had been a long time since she’d been this excited about going on a date. She’d spent extra time in front of the mirror curling her long blonde locks, only to smooth them out again with her straightening iron. She’d never been one to worry about her looks, but something about tonight felt important. Special. She wanted it to go well, and she was hoping it would be the beginning of something amazing.
Kurtis was amazing. It was so easy to talk to him, to open up. She loved that about their … friendship. After tonight, she hoped she could consider what they had as more than that. But she wouldn’t be pushy about it. She wanted it to happen naturally. And so far everything seemed to be progressing in that way.
She only hoped he’d really open up to her, so she could stop feeling like there was something he was hiding from her. She hated that feeling and wasn’t sure where it was coming from, but it was there. Just under the surface. This niggling doubt. She wanted it gone.