Page 73

“Sure.”
“No! You just got here!” Gus patted the seat next to him. “Don’t go yet. Celebrate with me. It’s Independence Day. Let’s toast to our independence.” He held his beer bottle in the air.
Sebastian wanted to get Genevieve out of there as quickly as he could. “Uh, you seem like you’ve done a little celebrating already … Sebastian. I’m going to get Genevieve home now.”
“Oh, right … Sebastian. That’s me. Sebastian. I’m the president of Schultz Chocolate. The head honcho. The big boss.” Gus looked over at Genevieve. “Why would you go for a guy like Kurtis here, who makes little more than minimum wage, instead of someone like … well, me.”
She walked over and sat down beside him. “Are you all right, Sebastian?”
“I’m great. How’s your sister?”
“She’s fine.” Genevieve looked over at Sebastian and gave him a concerned look before turning back to Gus. “Can I get you something? Water? Coffee?”
“I don’t need a nurse or a waitress.” Gus’s gaze moved from her face to her chest and back as he slid closer and leaned toward her, eyeing her mouth. “But you do have what I need.”
“Hey! Knock it off!” Sebastian cried out.
Genevieve backed away and quickly scrambled to stand. “I’d like to go now.”
Sebastian took her hand in his. “Okay.”
She walked quickly toward the door, her hand slipping from his as she exited the house before him.
Just before he stepped out, he turned back to his brother, lowering his voice. “Get it together, Gus.”
Genevieve was halfway down the steps before he even reached the top. When he joined her at the bottom, he drew her into a hug. “I’m so sorry about that. He gets like that sometimes.”
“I had no idea. He seemed so put together the day I met him.”
“Are you okay? He should not have treated you like that.”
“I’m fine. Just surprised is all. I guess you never know what’s really going on in someone’s life. They can seem like they have it all when everything is falling apart. I’m going to pray for him.”
“He could use it.” That was the first time he’d heard her speak of faith in any way. As they walked along the beach holding hands, he felt the need to ask, “So, you believe in God.”
“I do,” she declared. “I was practically raised in the small Bible church in my hometown. Do you go to church?”
“Occasionally with my family.”
He loved that she was a woman of faith. It’s what he’d always hoped to find in the woman he fell in love with. His brain stuttered at that thought. Was he falling in love with her? There was so much about her to like. Not only her physical appearance, but the woman she was. Her thoughts and feelings. Her enthusiasm over her work and her love for horses. And now to learn that she loved God and trusted Him to hear her prayers. She was the whole package. And he had no doubt that his deep like for her was morphing into much more.
“I’m starting to freak out a little over the regatta,” Genevieve admitted as they stood in front of her apartment door.
“Why?” he asked.
“It’s just, there’s still so much to do. What if I’ve taken on more than I can handle?”
His hand moved to her cheek, and it felt natural, as if it was something he did all the time. “Hey, that’s why you have me. I’ll help with anything you need. You can do this.”
“You’ve never seen me in action before. How do you know I’m not just full of it? How do you know I can really pull this off?” she asked, teasingly.
“I believe in you.”
“You do?” The teasing look in her eyes was gone, now replaced with a rapt expression.
He gave her a nod, and the corners of his mouth turned upward.
She lay her hand on his chest. “Thank you. You don’t know what it means to have someone who supports me like this. I’ve never really had …” A few beats of silence passed. “I’ve never had a serious relationship before.”