It did, for a moment. “Well, I'm very happy for you, Peter. Let me be the first

to welcome you to the wonderful world of love.”

Peter put up his hands. “Whoa, whoa. Slow down. No one's saying anything

about love.” It was just one kiss, right? Or was it three? Technically probably five…

Lucius spread his own fingers in apology. “Sorry. Didn't mean to step on your intellectual toes, Dr. Clark.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Just don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he

wanted. He lived happily ever after.”

Peter snorted. “Really? You're quoting Willy Wonka at me?”

Lucius shrugged. “I'm running out of material with you.” He grabbed his jacket. “See you at lunch. Tuesday is tater tot casserole day.”

“Lovely.”

Peter sat back in his chair. Happily ever after? That wasn't possible. And wasn't that just for fairy tales? He'd enjoyed spending time with Kate, of course, but that wouldn't last much longer. The reality of that had hit him harder in the

morning. He lived here, Kate lived in Chicago. She worked for a prestigious

company in downtown Chicago. He worked—he looked around at his cramped office and sighed—in a box in Golden Grove.

The Dixon job? He almost hoped they wouldn't call. That would save him from having to make a decision. Because he wasn't sure what he would say. Take

a job mostly to be near Kate?

He couldn't deny his feelings for her, even if he joked they were just chemicals shooting around his brain, playing pinball with his synapses. But he knew it was more than that. It always had been.

He closed his eyes and pressed a hand to his temple.

All he saw was her golden, fresh smiling face.

* * *

Kate had finally made it through all the suggestions from the home office she'd

gotten this morning. Most were just tweaks to her proposal, but she was still worried. She'd been on this project for what? Almost four weeks? By this time

she'd usually have had everything put to bed, or at least close enough to hand it

off to subordinates to finish up. But this Nitrovex project had been a thorn from

the start.

There had been distractions, certainly. But she should be able to handle work

and a kiss-worthy chemistry teacher, shouldn't she?

She heard the stairs creak. Carol came through the door moments later,

looking worried. “All set for the meeting? You've been at it all morning.”

“I didn't get as much time to go over everything last night as I'd hoped.”

“Oh. You got distracted?”

“You might say that.”

Carol nodded. “Hmm. It's been a long time since I've been distracted.” She

padded to the kitchen.

“Really? You should try it sometime,” Kate called out. “Maybe with

Lucius,” she added.

A cup clattered in the sink in the kitchen. That got her.

Carol came back a few moments later carrying two cups of coffee and sat down next to Kate.

“Here's the weekly paper.” She dropped the Town Crier onto Kate's laptop.

There was a photo on the front of John Wells shaking a smiling girl's hand

and giving her the Scholarship Fair plaque. Stacy. Kate waited for the stab of bitterness she used to feel whenever she remembered the fair, but instead she found herself smiling too. Good for her. Beneath Stacy's picture were photos of

the carnival. One was Peter in mid-plunge in the dunk tank. The smile grew on her face. Nice.

She opened the paper, knocking the crease in the middle so it would lay flat.

Obituaries. Mabel Webster, 96. Whoa. Birth announcements. A Tucker, a Carter,

a Harper, a Hayden—she wasn't sure if that was a boy or a girl—and two Jayden's. Engagements and weddings…

More photos from the carnival. Uh, oh, one of her doing her face painting.

Chicago marketing executive Kate Brady returns to her hometown, paints abutterfly on third-grader Abby Grossman's cheek. Thanks for helping, Kate!

Chicago executive? Wow. Was that how they saw her in Golden Grove? Was

that how Peter saw her?

It made sense. She'd gotten into this business for the design work, turning a