Page 31 of Not the Billionaire

“Yeah.” She wondered how old Kurtis was, but she didn’t ask. She assumed early thirties, like her. “So, you spend a lot of time at the lake?”

“Not as much as I used to. My parents have … had a cottage there.”

“That must have been nice. My sister and I used to go to the beach here in Holland or up to Grand Haven quite often when we were in high school.”

“Is your sister younger or older?”

“Rhonda’s older by three years.”

“Are you close?” he asked.

“Very. She’s more than my sister. She’s my best friend. I tell her everything.” She glanced over and saw him looking out the window, and her gaze dropped to his shirt, taking in the width of his chest and the way the sleeves hugged what she could only assume were very nice muscles beneath. She couldn’t help remembering Rhonda’s comments about guys with muscles, and she looked away quickly as a blush colored her cheeks. “How about you? Any siblings?”

He stayed silent for several long moments, as if he was deep in thought, and she noticed his mouth opened a couple times as if he was going to say something but didn’t. She wondered if she’d pried or touched on a sensitive subject. Maybe his sibling had died. Or maybe they’d had a falling out.

“I have a brother and a sister,” he finally answered.

“Older or younger?”

“Both younger.”

“Are you close?”

“Yeah.”

She wondered if there was something he wasn’t telling her, because he didn’t seem comfortable sharing about his family. Maybe that would come as they got to know each other better. This wasn’t a date, but simply talking to him made her happier than she’d been in a long time.

They soon turned into the yacht club in Holland, and Kurtis beat her out of the car and raced around to open the door for her. He extended his hand, which she happily took, and tingles made their way up her arm on contact.

“Thanks.” She smiled up at him at the moment his hand rested against her lower back. Every nerve in her body focused on the point of contact, and she involuntarily shivered as his hand slid up a little. She hoped he hadn’t noticed. Her body’s reaction to his touch was on a whole different spectrum of feeling and emotion than when Sebastian had touched the same spot yesterday.

They were closer than they’d ever been before, and she could feel the heat radiating off of him and smell the musky scent of his cologne or aftershave. It was intoxicating, and she started walking toward the yacht club entrance just so she could escape it and keep herself from leaning further into him and embarrassing herself.

“Ready?” he asked as he held the door for her.

“As I’ll ever be.”

ELEVEN

Sebastian wanted more. He loved getting to know little things about Genevieve, but he wanted to know everything. He wanted to know all about her childhood, her parents and sister, how she came to work at Schultz Chocolate, what led her to work for non-profits and coordinate events. He’d already been certain that there was a connection between them, and as their time together went on, it became a truth he could not deny. She was wonderful, and he liked her. Even more than he’d anticipated.

There was just one huge problem … Kurtis. He was really beginning to hate his new identity. He hated that he couldn’t share openly about Gus and Sky, and that he’d given her short responses. He hated that he couldn’t take her to the beach house on Lake Michigan. He worried she wouldn’t be able to get to know him like he wanted. But he had to be sure about her. He had to know she truly cared about him. And he had to know she wasn’t like the others.

They walked into the yacht club office to meet with Barbara, head of events, and Sebastian listened while Genevieve went over her plan for the regatta. It would take a lot to spread the word about this event in six week’s time, but she was confident it could be done, and come the end of July, they’d have an excellent turnout. Listening to her talk about it, she had him convinced as well.

Sebastian enjoyed all facets of business—marketing being one of the focuses of his college education—and he enjoyed spending time with Genevieve. So working together to come up with a plan to publicize this event was a giant win-win situation.

Barbara led them through the building to the half indoor/half outdoor event space—the possible location for the gala.

“It’s perfect,” Genevieve gushed.

“We host several regattas through the yacht club each summer,” Barbara told them. “People from the community enjoy coming out to watch, and your ideas to get them involved with activities for them and their children will make this a wonderful event.”

Genevieve’s smile said it all. “I believe it will be.”

“Well, let’s get the paperwork sorted out and talk payment.”

After all of the details were in order, Sebastian opened the door for Genevieve, laying his hand on her lower back again. He thought he felt her wince like she had earlier and nearly removed his hand, but then she leaned into him more as they walked.

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