“I always have a part in the event, Dad.”
“I’d like you to be even more involved this year.”
Sebastian crooked his head. “Did Sky put you up to this?” He wondered if she was messing with him over the whole Kurtis thing.
Dad looked completely serious. “Nobody put me up to this. I think stepping away from some of your regular duties and helping the new coordinator will get you focused on something good and meaningful. I don’t want you to end up married to your job, Sebastian.”
This wasn’t at all what he was expecting when he’d sat down with his father, and it gave him a feeling of panic. He’d known he would be taking on extra work by helping Genevieve, but the thought of getting behind in his regular work made him uneasy. “Who’s going to keep up with everything if I’m not there?”
“Augustus and Skylar can pick up the slack.”
Sebastian snorted. “Skylar, yes. But Gus? He’s in the office maybe once a week at best.”
“I’ll handle your brother.” Dad gave him a pointed stare as he took another puff of his pipe. “Will you do this for me? And for yourself?”
“Of course.” He didn’t mention that he already planned to help Genevieve or that he was happier about that than any of the work he’d done lately.
A smile spread across Dad’s face. “You’ve made me very proud.”
“For agreeing to help with the fundraiser?”
“Not only that. I’m proud of who you are, of the man you’ve become.”
The guilty feeling was back. If Dad knew he had pretended to be someone other than a Schultz, he wouldn’t be so proud.
“I see great things in your future, my boy.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Dad smiled and went back to his pipe.
“When you met Mom in college, did you know right away that she was the one you wanted to spend your life with?” Sebastian asked.
Dad’s eyebrows raised at this line of questioning. “Actually, we hated each other at first.”
Sebastian was taken aback. “You never told me that. I thought you met her and were crazy about her from the start.”
Dad shook his head.
“But you always said she was yours from the moment she tasted Granny’s truffles.”
A little chuckle was his father’s response. “It took me months to get her to even try one.” He turned his eyes to the sky outside and looked as if he was reliving a memory. “At first, I didn’t want her anywhere near me.” He looked at Sebastian again. “She gave me attitude for the longest time because I set up my truffle cart near her dorm at the same time she was coming back from class every day. There was always a long line blocking the door, and she hated all the commotion I caused.”
Sebastian laughed. “Did you set it up there because of her?”
“Not at first. But once I knew it bothered her, I kept coming back for more. And then I realized that I looked forward to that adorable scowl on her face every day. Took me a while after that to get her to actually try a truffle, but like I said, after that, she was mine.” Dad winked.
“I love that.” Sebastian took a breath in and let it out again. “I met someone today.”
Dad set his pipe down and rested his elbow on the arm of the chair and his chin on his fist. “Oh?”
Sebastian rested his head back against the cool leather. “She’s amazing. So smart and funny. And she’s so beautiful, but I don’t think she even realizes it.” He shook his head and looked at Dad again. “I feel like she’s different. Special. But I’m so afraid she’ll turn out to be like the others and only want me for what I can give her.”
“Go with your gut.”
“That’s the thing. I don’t trust my gut anymore.”
“If she’s as special as you think, then she’ll see you for you. All you can do is be yourself.”
An uneasiness settled in the pit of his stomach then. Be himself? Who was he? Sebastian Schultz or Kurtis from PR?
“Your mother and I have prayed for you since before you were born, and even though we don’t know her yet, we’ve prayed for your future wife.”
“You have?”
Dad nodded. “Yes, especially after all the hurtful people you’ve encountered. Wealth is a blessing, but it can also be a curse at times. You’ve dealt with your share of parasites over the years, and we want better for you. We’ve prayed for someone special who would love our Sebastian, even if he didn’t have a penny to his name.”
“That means a lot,” Sebastian said.
“We love you, son. Your happiness is our greatest desire.” Dad reached over and patted him on the shoulder.
“Thanks, Dad.”
As they emerged from the study and rejoined the ladies, Sebastian thought of Genevieve again. If she could get to know him as a regular guy, then maybe finding out he had billions of dollars wouldn’t make a difference to her, because she’d know and love him for who he was.
That had been his initial thought when he’d started all this, and Dad’s words had taken away the doubt and solidified it for him. Although, if Dad knew what he’d done, he surely would’ve tried to talk him out of it.
But he was in it now.
Sky was popping a truffle into her mouth when they entered the kitchen. She picked up another and tossed it at him. “Think fast!”
He grabbed it with lightning reflexes and tossed it into his mouth, cracking the chocolate coating with his teeth, letting the smooth center melt on his tongue. “So good.”
After an evening of laughter, good conversation, and plenty of reminiscing about Granny Schultz, Sebastian and Skylar said goodnight to their parents and walked out together.
“So, you’re really going through with all this Kurtis business?” Sky asked as they stopped by her car.
“Please don’t give me a hard time about this. I just want her to know me when she thinks I don’t have a penny to my name.” He thought of what his dad had told him earlier.
Skylar patted his arm. “Well, let’s hope she still likes you when she finds out you have a lot of pennies.”
TEN
No matter how much slow, meditative breathing Genevieve did, her excitement could not be controlled. She’d settled into her office and attempted to work, all the while knowing that at eleven o’clock, Kurtis would be meeting her for their trip to the yacht club. She rubbed her hands down her pencil skirt, not quite believing her palms were actually sweating. Had she ever been this anxious to see a guy before? She couldn’t remember ever reacting this way.
After one too many cups of coffee, she was more jittery than when she’d arrived. She needed to remain professional. He was a coworker. An acquaintance, really. They barely knew each other. And though she thought he was a very handsome man and felt something more than just attraction for him, she didn’t believe in the whole love at first sight thing. She couldn’t possibly fall in love with a man after knowing him for a day. Could she?
At eleven on the nose, her office phone rang, and she nearly jumped out of her chair.
“Genevieve Willis,” she answered.
“Hey, it’s, uh … Kurtis. I’m downstairs whenever you’re ready.”
“I’ll be right there.” He’d stumbled a little when he spoke. Could he be nervous to see her too?
They hung up, and she grabbed her things and was on her way. As she walked through the lobby, she could see him standing out front, looking around and waiting. He looked heartachingly good standing there in a pale blue button-down shirt and light khaki chinos.
His face lit up when she pushed through the front door. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” She tried not to grin like the Cheshire cat at him.
“Is it okay if we take your car?” he asked. “Mine’s in the shop.”
“Sure. What’s wrong with it?” she asked as they walked to her car.
His eyebrows pinched together momentarily. “Brakes needed replaced.”
“That probably set you back a pretty pe
nny.”
“Yeah.” As they arrived at her car, he hustled ahead of her and opened the driver side door.
“Thank you.” She loved that he was such a gentleman.
Kurtis moved to the other side and climbed in, putting on his seatbelt as she started the car. His eyes widened at the music playing on the radio. “Country music, huh?”
She looked at him curiously. “Not a fan?”
He chuckled. “Not particularly. Twang is not my thing.”
“Country music these days is much different than it used to be. It’s changed a lot, even in the past ten years. It’s much more modern, but with the same themes.”
“Women, drinking, and heartbreak?” He raised an eyebrow.
She started laughing as she drove out of the parking lot. “All right. Maybe it’s not that much different when it comes to the content of the songs. But the music itself has evolved.”
At that moment, the radio station chose to play “Boot Scootin’ Boogie”, the 1992 hit by Brooks & Dunn.
“Uhhh …” Genevieve looked over at Kurtis, who simply shook his head.
“I rest my case.”
“This is an oldie but goodie,” she said through her laughter.
“If you say so,” he said with a grin.
“I do.” She teasingly stuck her nose in the air. “This is the music of my childhood, and I love it. I won’t apologize for that.”
“Wouldn’t want you to.” He turned the radio up, which earned him a smile.
Genevieve happily sang along while tapping her hand on the steering wheel and dancing in her seat. She could feel him watching her, and she lowered the volume a little and gave him a smile.
“So, you said yesterday that you grew up on a farm, and now I find out you love country music. Were you in the rodeo too?”
“As a matter of fact, I was.”
He laughed again. “I was kidding, but really? Tell me more about that.”
“I grew up on a farm about an hour south of here, and I competed in barrel racing with my horse, Charisma.”
“Charisma. That’s a great name.”
“She’s the best, but she’s getting up there in age now.” Her heart ached a little thinking about Charisma being taken care of by Luna and not her.
“Sorry to hear that.”
She suddenly felt something brush the side of her thigh. It was so slight and quick that she wasn’t sure it had happened at all. But when she glanced down, he was moving his hand to rest on his own knee, and from the way he was looking out the window with his bottom lip between his teeth, she knew he’d reached out and touched her leg, as if he was trying to comfort her over Charisma.
Did she make him as nervous as he made her? It appeared so, and she liked knowing that.
“How long have you worked at Schultz Chocolate?” she asked.
“Seems like forever.”
“Did you start out in the gift shop and work your way up? Because you seemed to know your way around the place.”
He laughed a little. “That’s just because I go in there every morning after the gym for a truffle.”
“You eat a truffle after working out? Doesn’t that sort of defeat the purpose?”
He shook his head. “Granny’s Truffles are good for you. You should eat at least one a day.”
“I’m sure they’re completely fat-free, sugar-free, gluten-free, and calorie-free, right?”
“Absolutely.”
They laughed together, and it felt so nice. It had been a few years since she’d been on a date. She mentally slapped herself. This isn’t a date.
“Are you allergic to gluten?” he asked. “You mentioned gluten-free.”
“No, but my mom would tell me that I should eat like I am. She wants me to stop eating just about any food that isn’t chicken, fish, or vegetable.”
His brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Because I need to watch my weight.”
His mouth fell open then. “Is that a joke?”
“No.” She blushed a little and hoped he wouldn’t notice.
“If your mother says you should lose weight, she’s crazy.”
“That is the consensus most days.”
“But you don’t believe her, right? You don’t actually think you need to lose weight.”
She wasn’t sure how she let the topic of conversation veer in this direction. Her mother had contributed to her negative body image when she was younger, and while she had gotten past a lot of that, some days she still felt like being more on the petite side with ample curves meant she needed to watch what she ate.
“Genevieve.”
She looked over at him and found a seriousness in his expression.
“There isn’t a single thing about you that isn’t perfect.” His sincerity was sweet. “You’re stunning just as you are.”
Her cheeks were on fire now, and she tried to focus on the highway ahead and not the incredibly endearing man sitting beside her.
After several minutes of silence, she gave him a quick glance. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” he replied.
“Are you involved with Skylar Schultz?”
His sudden and maniacal laughter had her thinking she was insane for asking.
“Is that a no?”
“That’s a gigantic no,” he responded, still fighting back laughter.
“Is something wrong with her? Because from where I was sitting, she’s a beautiful, intelligent woman that any man would find attractive.”
He coughed as he stopped laughing, then nodded. “She is all of those things. Of course.”
“Because … I saw you hug her yesterday.”
“She’s … the boss’s daughter. I’ve known her for a long time, and we’re friends.”
Friends. Oh, how she hoped that was true.
“Why do you ask?”
His eyes were on her again. She could feel it as if he was actually touching her in some way. “Just curious.” She attempted to sound nonchalant. “Figuring out the relationships in the office. You know, so I have something to talk about at the water cooler.”
That got her a chuckle. “Right.”
They traveled along without conversation for a few minutes until Genevieve took the exit toward Holland.
“It’s been so long since I’ve been to Lake Michigan.” She broke the silence.
“That’s a shame. It’s one of the best things about living here.”
“I know. And every summer I say I’m going to make the time to get to the beach, but then I let other stuff get in the way.”
“Isn’t that the way it goes as we get older? Darn responsibilities.”
“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.
Not The Billionaire Page 6
