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“Oreo.”
“Oreo?” She rolled the name around in her mind.
“Sure. You love the cookies, and you love the kitty. So it makes sense.”
She wanted to argue with his logic, but she couldn’t. She looked at Oreo. With his black and white features, the name fit. “Oreo it is.”
“Did you hear that, Oreo? You now have a name.” Kent fussed over the cat before turning to her. “I really do need to go. It’s getting late. Thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome.”
He turned for the door. She knew by the quickness of his steps that it was too much to hope for a kiss goodnight. She followed him to the doorway. When he paused and looked back at her, she uttered, “Yes, you should have.”
He sent her a puzzled look. She regretted her spontaneous utterance. What had she been thinking? The truth was she hadn’t been thinking; she’d been acting on her heightened emotions—a hangover from their kiss.
His eyes widened. His brows rose. It was as though he finally realized she’d been referring to the kiss. Her heart pounded as she waited for his reaction. Had her admission been a mistake?
Her body tensed as time felt as though it were suspended. Part of her wanted to go back and never issue the dinner invitation. And the other part didn’t regret a single moment of their evening together. But as things stood, it came down to how Kent felt about them—about the kiss.
And then a smile lifted the corners of his lips. It was a slight smile at first, but then it grew. It eased the stress lines on his face and made him look irresistibly handsome.
“Goodnight.” He leaned toward her.
Her heart launched into her throat. She didn’t move. She was unsure what he was going to do.
Her eyes closed as the anticipation rose. And then his lips touched her cheek. Before she could respond in any way, he pulled away. The kiss was so brief and a whisper of a touch that she had to wonder if she’d imagined it.
Without another word, he turned and headed down the steps. She stood on the landing, watching as he faded away into the shadows of the night. A dreamy sigh escaped her lips as her fingers pressed to her cheek where his lips had just been a few moments ago.
To say she was confused was an understatement. She had no idea where this left them. She had a feeling she wouldn’t get much sleep that night.
Chapter Thirteen
Whathadhebeenthinking?
It was the question Kent had asked himself the rest of the night and into the next day. Not able to sleep, he’d trolled the internet searching for a job that would take him away from Bluestar Island. He didn’t have any right to get involved with Sara.
Sometime in the twilight hours, he’d come to the conclusion that if he stopped this thing with Sara—whatever you wanted to call it—then there would be no harm, no foul. It was a spontaneous kiss after a lovely dinner.
Surely Sara could understand that, especially if it didn’t happen again. They would remain friends—nothing more.
After getting a few hours of restless sleep, he was up extra early. He’d checked his computer and dealt with his emails. So far he’d had two thanks-but-no-thanks responses to his applications for various financial positions in Boston.
Intent on not letting his life go back to the same routine he had at the furniture store, he searched outside of Boston until he found two more potential positions, and then he applied. That made a total of five applications he had out in the world. Surely he’d hear a positive response from at least one of them.
In the meantime, he had to hold Sara at arm’s length. He knew it wouldn’t be easy—perhaps not for either one of them. But the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her.
With some time before the furniture was to be delivered, he formulated a plan—something to help Sara. When he arrived at the inn mid-morning—much later than he normally started working—he didn’t go straight to the lobby. Instead, he went in search of Sara, who was just finishing speaking with some guests.
When her gaze landed on him, her whole face lit up. He basked in her sunny glow. It made his heart beat quickly. He chose to ignore the reason for his reaction.
He made his way to her. “Good morning.”
“Good morning to you too. Are you just getting here?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” He chose not to expand upon his reason for starting work late. “Can you take a break?”
“I, uh…” She glanced down at the digital notebook in her hand. She tapped on the screen, bringing it to life. After a quick glance, she looked up at him. “I have a little time. What do you have in mind?”
