Page 68 of Not the Billionaire

The clock ticked on her kitchen wall, and she continuously peeked out the window to see if he had arrived yet. He was running a little late—minutes only, really—but she just wanted him to get there already.

Genevieve was surprised to see Kurtis pull up in Skylar’s convertible. She hadn’t expected him to borrow it tonight, but knowing he’d done it for her filled her heart with joy.

She quickly closed the curtain before he spotted her spying and waited for him to come to her door. When he knocked, she waited a good ten seconds before opening it.

“Hi.” She tried to say it as sweetly as possible, hoping to convey how happy she was to see him.

“Hi.” His smile told her he felt the same way. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“You should grab a jacket or sweater. The air by the lake is cooler than it is here.”

“We’re going to the lake?” she asked, suddenly more excited than before.

“Yes. Is that okay?”

“Absolutely.” She grabbed her sweater from the hook by the door and followed him down the sidewalk to Skylar’s car. “I didn’t know you were in the habit of borrowing the boss’s car so often.”

“I owe her a favor now, apparently.”

She laughed at that.

He drove them toward the lake. The top of the car was up this time. The air the past couple days had been significantly cooler than the sticky days of last week.

Genevieve stole glances at Kurtis every so often. He wore a faded red T-shirt, which fit just right across his wide chest and showed off the muscular arms she’d only imagined, khaki shorts, and white slip-on Vans. His deep brown hair was loose and wavy rather than combed back neatly like he wore it for work, and his cheeks had a hint of five o’clock shadow.

“Like what you see?” He interrupted her perusal.

Her cheeks warmed, and she quickly returned her attention to the view outside.

They headed on toward Holland, and he parked at the State Park just as they had the last time they were there. People had already begun gathering on the beach, waiting for the sun to go down and the fireworks to begin.

Kurtis opened the trunk and removed a couple blankets and a small cooler, locked the vehicle, and started walking down toward the water.

“Do you want me to carry something?” Genevieve asked.

He tossed one of the blankets over her head. “You can carry this.”

She giggled as she pulled the blanket down and wrapped it around herself, while he wrapped the other around his own shoulders.

The wind off the water definitely gave a little chill to the air. But when he wound his fingers through hers, she didn’t feel the least bit cold.

Kurtis continued walking past the edge of the park beach.

“Where are we going?”

He nodded ahead. “Just a little ways down. More private.”

She squeezed his hand. “I like private.” Her voice came out deeper and a little more sultry than she meant it to.

Kurtis stumbled a bit, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Genevieve admired each beach house they passed along their walk. When they were quite a ways off from the public beach, Kurtis finally stopped and lay his blanket out on the sand. He sat down and patted the spot next to him as he opened the cooler and handed her a bottled water.

She sat down beside him and took the bottle as she gazed up at the bluff above to a beautiful cottage overlooking the lake. “Whose place is that?”

“It’s the Schultz family cottage.”

---