Kiss Me in the Summer - Barbara Dunlop Page 0,16

question; I didn’t know how I’d missed it. “It all looks great. Everyone’s working so hard, and they seem so talented.” I did another scan of the hardworking townspeople—moms, dads, kids, dogs.

Wait. My breath stopped short. There was a dog running loose. It was a big dog. And it was bounding my way.

I reflexively stepped sideways. Like the coward I was, I put Josh between me and the animal. My heart started drumming in my ear.

“Laila?” Josh looked puzzled by my sudden move. His voice sounded very far away.

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t have answered. My vocal cords had frozen stiff. The dog was getting closer, running faster. It was going to be on me any minute.

“Is something wrong?” Josh asked, leaning in to peer at my face.

Then a whistle sounded. The dog stopped on a dime. It turned back and sprinted to a man who was partway across the park.

I expelled a breath, hugely relieved when the man clipped on a leash.

“Laila?” Josh asked again. His voice sounded normal this time, and he gave a puzzled glance over his shoulder.

I quickly refocused my attention on him. “Yes?”

He looked back at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Uh . . . what were you saying?”

“I was saying the weather’s been on our side. Sometimes we get thunderstorms midsummer, and it can be hard on the flowers. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine. Perfect.” At least I was now. I bought myself another minute by looking up at the vivid blue sky. “That color is so impressive. There’s not a single cloud today, and I love that you can smell the salt tang.”

He wrinkled his nose. “I don’t even notice it.”

I made a show of drawing a breath as my fear faded completely. “I swear, my lungs don’t know what to do with all the pure oxygen. They’re used to working a whole lot harder than this.”

Josh smiled at my joke. “It’s definitely a perk of Rutter’s Point.”

“I’m going to enjoy it while I can.”

“Have you heard from Gerry then?”

I shook my head. “Nothing yet.”

“Good.” He paused. “I mean, not good. That’s too bad. But does it mean you’ll be able to help out tomorrow?”

I nodded, mustering my determination. I didn’t want Josh to think I was a soft, spoiled big-city woman—even if I was.

He took in my outfit. “I hope you have something a little more practical to wear?”

“Sure,” I said, mentally cataloging my wardrobe.

“Jeans and a T-shirt maybe?”

I hadn’t brought any jeans. I had some navy dress pants in my suitcase. They weren’t denim, more of a polyester blend.

He looked at my feet. “And something without heels? Sneakers maybe?”

“I packed fast,” I said. “I didn’t think to bring jeans.”

He arched a brow at my blouse and blazer. “What exactly were you planning to do on your vacation?”

“I’m not exactly on vacation.” I couldn’t remember what I’d been thinking when I threw my clothes into the suitcase. I’d done it in a pretty big hurry. “I have a pair of blue jeans at home.”

“I know,” he said.

“That I have blue jeans at home?”

“That you’re not exactly on vacation.”

I tried to decipher the remark.

“Becky sent me the video.”

There was only one video in my life right now. And I had a feeling it was going to follow me for months, maybe years. “Then I bet you had a good laugh.”

“I laughed at the dog,” he said. “It was a cute little guy. Needs some training, obviously. I didn’t laugh at you.”

“Everyone else did.”

“I don’t know why.”

I gave him a look. “Because it was a messy catastrophe, and I was right in the middle of it.”

He shrugged. “Animals are unpredictable. Stuff happens. It did make me wonder if you liked your job.”

“I liked my job a lot.” It was a steppingstone, sure. But it was good for now.

“You looked a bit tense in the video.”

“That’s because a dog was running wild. Everyone was tense.”

“I mean, before the dog. You didn’t look like you were having much fun.”

“It was an important presentation.” It wasn’t supposed to be fun.

“I happen to think work should be fun.”

Well, who would argue with that? “Sure,” I said. “But fun’s not the primary objective.”

“What’s the primary objective?” He looked like he genuinely wanted to know.

“Success.”

He seemed to think about that for a moment. “And I guess there’s no better place than New York City to be successful.”

“Now you’re getting it.”

“But I don’t know how you stand the noise.”

There was no denying there was a certain clamor to