Kiss Me in the Summer - Barbara Dunlop Page 0,49

so that he was across the counter from me. “I’m glad.”

I set aside the papers and leaned on the counter. “I do like it here. I like Becky and Madeline and Victoria and you.”

“That’s good.” He paused. “I wanted to tell you . . . I think you should know there was a girl in my past, Rosalind.”

“Madeline told me.”

He looked surprised.

“It was a one-off comment. She mentioned Rosalind’s name and said you’d dodged a bullet.”

“That’s one way to put it. It was a long time ago.”

“You don’t have to—”

“It started in high school. We both went to UMA. She studied business, while I got my veterinary degree. Then I bought her a ring. Our future was golden. We came back to Rutter’s Point and started planning the wedding.” He drummed his fingers on the countertop. “She wanted a church with a big dance hall and a band. I wanted to do it on the beach.”

“You broke up over the wedding plans?” That wasn’t what I’d expected.

“No. We compromised on that.” He gave a self-deprecating smile. “We agreed on a church with a big dance hall and a band.”

I couldn’t help but smile along with him.

“It wasn’t quite so funny at the time.”

“Sorry.” I straightened my expression.

He shook his head. “Don’t worry. We picked the flowers, the catering, the invitations, the date, the time. She spent I don’t know how much on a dress. And then she sprang it on me. She wanted to leave Rutter’s Point and live in Boston, or Chicago, or maybe New York City. She was flexible, she said, on where. I could tell she was stunned when I said no, and kept saying no, and when I made it a very hard no. I’d compromised on a whole lot of things to that point in our relationship. I mean, we’d been together for years.”

“But you were never leaving Rutter’s Point,” I said. I knew that about him after only a few days.

“She knew that all along. I was opening a practice here. She was going to be a business consultant, specializing in the tourism sector. We were both going to help the town grow.”

“But she changed her mind.”

He shook his head. “That was the thing. She’d planned it all along. She’d gotten her way with me for so many years, it never occurred to her that she might not be able to talk me into leaving. Looking back, I knew I’d missed the signs.”

“Do you know what happened to her?”

He shrugged. “Through the grapevine. She’s got a high-powered career going, married a banker, and is apparently considering going into politics. No plans for kids.”

“So, you did dodge a bullet,” I ventured.

“That makes it sound like it was a close call. There was never any chance I’d leave. And it turns out there was never any chance she’d stay.” Josh shifted around the counter, coming to the same side as me. “You’re going to be gone before I know it.”

“I am.”

“And yet . . .” He reached out and gently touched his fingertips to my hand. “Here I am, not learning any lessons from the past.”

“We’re not engaged.”

“That’s true.”

“I won’t pretend.” My hand warmed as our fingertips pulsed in unison.

“I know.”

“We should ignore it,” I said.

He glanced down at our fingers. Somehow they’d twined together. “Okay.”

“Josh.”

“What?”

“I really like you.”

“I really like you too.” He shifted closer, and his body heat radiated around me.

“It can just be liking,” I said. “So nobody gets hurt. We can be friends. You can help me with the dog fear. I can help Madeline and Becky with their legal work. We can get ready for the summer festival and just be friends.”

“Right,” he said again, leaning slightly forward.

“Are you agreeing, or is that sarcasm?” I couldn’t tell.

“I’m agreeing with the concept. I’m a little worried about the execution.”

“We can execute it fine,” I said with confidence I wasn’t feeling. I didn’t want to be friends with Josh. I wanted to touch him, to hold him, to feel his arms wrapped around me and taste his tender kiss.

I swallowed, worried, my expression was revealing my thoughts.

The office door clattered and swung open, and we both jumped back.

It was Madeline breezing in. “I hear the cat dilemma has been solved.”

I cleared my throat. “Yes. Solved.” I nodded. “Two weeks on, two weeks off.”

“Joint custody,” Madeline said. “You think they could have agreed on that before all the fuss and bother.”

I forced my brain back into work mode. “They seemed surprised that we’d be