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Then she realized her response to Robert had been slightly less than sensitive "Oh, wait I didn’t eo I’ in the streets?"
"There was a parade last week"
"Sorry I o It seems there are a lot of parades in Fool’s Gold"
"Festivals," he corrected "It’s our thing There’s one nearly every s in tourists and the locals seem to love them Is this your first se suburbs, which isn’t the sae"
"Just be aware that everyone knows everything about everyone There aren’t any secrets But I grew up in a place like this I wouldn’t want to be in the big city" He leaned toward her "We should grab lunch sometime I could fill you in on sht, looking into his dark eyes Sood sense of huht whisper of anticipation, a quiver or a hint of physical reaction Soh, refusing to think about her aar thing Or too h sleep Robert was a better choice by far
She was about to excuse herself when her gaze fell on a plastic toy on Robert’s desk It was a bobblehead and the oversized head looked oddly familiar
"Is that…"
"Josh Golden," Robert told her "Have you met him?"
"Um, yes" The man had his own bobbleheads?
"What did you think?" Robert’s voice was casual but she thought she saw a flash of soaze
"I didn’t have ti herself it was nearly the truth Not being able to breathebrain cells
"He’s pretty famous A cyclist Tour de France, and all that"
"I’m not much of a sports fan," she ad?"
"He retired a while ago All the wo so of a ladies man You’ll probably fall for him"
Charity stared at Robert "Excuse me?"
"It’s inevitable No woe, she thought, a little annoyed "There must be at least one who’s said no"
"I haven’t heard of her But Josh isn’t in it for anything but the thrill of the chase"
Some of her pleasure at the conversation faded "Is that a warning?"
"No I’d, ah…" He glanced at her "I’d really like you to be different, Charity"
His gaze arm, which was nice She sroupie type"
"Good"
She stood "I need to get back to work It was nice to meet you"
He rose as well "The pleasure is all ht as she left On the surface, everything she was looking for Of course the handful of other men who had been in her life could have fit that description, as well But they had all been disasters
She hadn’t come to Fool’s Gold to fall in love, she reminded herself She’d co in love with the right guy and gettinga family had always been part of her dreaht as she ht not o into arrhythmia, but that could be for the best She’d learned her lesson several ti to be completely sensible when it came to her personal life Sensible and cal else would just blow up in her face--she was sure of it
THE REST OF CHARITY’S eek passed quickly She met more of the city councildevelopment projects Sheryl left at four-thirty nearly every day, but Charity worked later On Thursday, she stayed until nearly seven, when her stolanced out herand was surprised to see that it was dark
After shutting down her shiny new co, a briefcase filled with files she would review after she had dinner, and left
The building was quiet and a little spooky She walked quickly out onto the street where a cool breeze htly thicker coat The coldest day of winter in Henderson, a suburb of Las Vegas, had been war in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada
Fortunately, the hotel was only a couple of blocks away Charity hurried along the sidewalk When she reached the corner, she saw an oldthe front steps of the bookshop she’d already visited at lunch He nodded at her, then paused
"Now, I don’t know you," he said, squinting at her in the light from the streetlamp "Do I?"
His tone was friendly She smiled
"I’m Charity Jones, the new city planner"
"Are you now? You’re a pretty little thing, aren’t you? All young ladies are pretty, even the ones that aren’t" He chuckled then gave a wheezy cough "I’an This is my bookstore"
"Oh It’s wonderful I’ve already shopped here twice"
"I must have missed you Next time we’ll talk You tell me what you like to read and I’ll make sure it’s in stock"
Talk about shted "Thank you That’s very nice"
"My pleasure You know your way hoe"
"That’s just doo blocks I’ll stand here and ive me a hen you reach the steps"