Page 4 of Just One Kiss

The world turned to slow motion as anxiety clenched Carly’s heart like a vise. She sprung forward into the street and followed Grady around to the other side of the float, where Jaden lay on the ground, motionless.

“What happened?”

Grady knelt at Jaden’s side. He glanced up at Carly and shook his head. “I don’t know.” Then out to the crowd he yelled, “Someone call 9-1-1.”

Carly knelt down on the opposite side of her son. Grady had pulled the ski goggles off him, and his cheeks were red. She smacked her hand against his cheeks, shaking him and praying that he would open his eyes, that this was all just a big joke they would laugh about later.

But none of those things happened. He lay there, unmoving, unresponsive, a crowd of people closing in as the sirens from an ambulance wailed in the distance.

And all she could think wasGod, please protect my baby.

2

The sun shimmered on Lake Michigan as Josh Dixon stared out over the city from the thirty-second floor of a high-rise. Who would’ve ever thought he’d end up here? Certainly not Josh.

Once upon a time, it had seemed unlikely that he’d be successful at anything, but software development? Something about that didn’t fit and he knew it.

Nobody back home would’ve ever believed his little side hobby of developing mobile video games would lead to this kind of success. Owning his own business that developed apps for other companies had never been a goal or a dream, but here he was.

He was his hardest-working employee, and he didn’t see that changing anytime soon. It didn’t matter that one app had been monstrously successful—that kind of popularity was fleeting.

So, he worked on the next thing. Always the next thing.

But it didn’t hurt to enjoy where he was in the moment every once in a while, and, well, frankly his office had a stellar view of the lake.

Odd how that same body of water looked and felt so different back home. In Chicago, the lake took on a shiny, silvery, sleek look—the perfect backdrop to all the city promised.

But back home, Lake Michigan was all peace, quiet and one giant exhale.

Not that he would call Harbor Pointe “home” anymore—he’d been away too many years.

He balled up a blank sheet of paper and tossed it into the garbage can.

Rebecca appeared in the doorway. “That’s productive.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked his assistant-turned-partner. “It’s Saturday.”

“If you’re not taking the day off, I’m not taking the day off,” she said. “Though I’m really not sure what to do with myself. It’s a holiday weekend.”

“You should go home.” He left the window and sat behind his desk. “Or better yet, get out of the city for a few days. We can afford to take some time off now.”

He’d brought Rebecca on after his first solo-designed app had a modicum of success, but neither of them could’ve predicted what the second one would do. The free video game with in-app purchases and strategically placed ads had caught on like wildfire among the middle and high school crowd, making Josh Dixon, royal screw-up, royally rich.

And other businesses had come knocking. Everyone, it seemed, wanted Josh and his team to develop their apps. Never mind that “his team” had been only himself and Rebecca until very recently.

Hiring a few other employees had given Josh and Rebecca the breathing room they both needed, but they were still swamped.

He couldn’t complain. He’d take this over an open calendar any day.

“Are you going to take some time off?” Rebecca asked.

He leaned back in his chair. “Maybe?”

She shook her head. “I can hear the question in your voice, which means you absolutely aren’t, so neither am I. I don’t want you dreaming up the next big thing while I’m not here.”

“Really, Becks,” he said, “go home. I promise I’m not going to do much today. Just came in to grab a few things.”And I couldn’t stand that apartment for one more second.

Her eyebrows drew down in a tightV. “You sure?”

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