“Oh, I'm sure.”
Was that sarcasm?
He continued. “But there's more to life than money, right?”
Kate knew success wasn't only about money. It was about your hard work being appreciated, about climbing the next rung on the ladder. “Why not just do
an interview, explore the opportunity—”
“Look, Kate, I don't want to be a jerk about this, but can we change the subject?”
Had she hacked him off? This ground was beginning to seem all-too-
familiar. Geez, she sounded almost like her parents. His career was none of her
business.
She checked her watch. “Oh, look, a message from my office. I'd better check it. I'm sure you've got work to do, too. Papers to grade or something…”
As she stood, so did he.
He stepped closer. “Oh, hey, so…you seemed like you wanted to ask me
some stuff earlier. About your proposal?”
She waved her hand. “Oh, no worries, it's fine.” She'd been so busy chatting
she'd tabled her chemistry questions for the time being.
He put his hand on her arm. She shivered, but it wasn't from the cold night
air. “Okay, well, if you do need any help just let me know, okay?”
They were only a few inches apart now. When did that happen?
She instantly felt like a girl on her first date, standing on her porch, waiting
to see what the guy was going to do. She could feel the pulse pounding in her ears, the heat from his hand.
What should she do? What did she want him to do? Her voice was almost a
whisper. “Thanks. I will.”
His hand lingered on her arm for what seemed like an hour. She could barely
see his face in the glancing light of the street lamps. Just the outline of his tousled hair, his glasses. She realized she hadn't kissed anyone with glasses since…
“Okay, then, I guess I'll see you?”
Her thoughts broke, the buzzing in her ears stopped. It was just her and Peter
and the crickets again.
“Sure,” she said, as his hand left her arm. She took a breath. This wasn't why she was here. This was just a distraction. She took a step back.
Peter had begun walking back towards his house, then turned, looking back
over his shoulder. “Good night, Kate.” His shadow continued towards his house.
She watched him go, wondering why she was still just standing there, feeling
as if some huge, important moment had just floated by and disappeared.
Chapter Eleven
“Well, you're up early, Katie.” Carol entered the dining room. She was still in her flannel pajamas, pink with tiny roses.
“Just trying to stay on top of things.” Kate heaved a sigh, happy to take a break from her computer screen. At the end of another frustrating week in her office, she had decided she might as well be frustrated close to her project. She'd called Carol late on Friday and asked if she'd mind having her as a guest again.
Three weekends in a row.
Carol disappeared into the kitchen and returned in a few seconds carrying two cups of steaming coffee. Kate accepted hers gratefully and took a long sip of
the much-needed caffeine. She didn't want to confess how badly she had slept after her drive. Then some dumb cardinal began singing its head off in the spruce
tree outside her window at five thirty. She was too restless to sleep after that.
It had nothing to do with Peter, well, aside from the fact that she'd lost the
