Page 38 of Falling For The Enemy (The Gilbert Curse)

“But I also won because I got Con back here to break the curse.”

Kit wasn’t too sure the curse had been lifted. There was still too much unresolved with his family. No matter that the Gilberts might have been the cause of the curse on the town, he knew his family had a part in it, too.

Conrad leaned over and whispered something in Indy’s ear, which made her blush and kiss him. Kit looked over at Rory, who watched the other couple and then turned to him and smiled. “They are so cute.”

“Yeah, cute,” Kit muttered.

The conversation changed to Gilbert Corners and he was surprised to learn that Conrad and Indy were doing a lot of work around town. He had heard of her television show and knew she’d been filming but hadn’t realized that she was redoing more than homes.

“My company is developing property as well,” Kit said. “I’m interested in getting the old factory space renovated.”

Once he’d started helping with the civic center with Rory he’d realized there were more places and projects around Gilbert Corners that could use his expertise. He might have wanted to be the CEO of a global conglomerate but he was damned good at it. And he wanted...needed...to put some good into Gilbert Corners. Not just for Rory but also for himself and his deceased brother and father.

“We are, too,” Conrad said. “So far we have used part of the space as a film studio for our shows and I’m working on a test/teaching kitchen in another part of the space. What does you company do?”

“We develop run-down areas with an eye not toward gentrification but toward making spaces that serve the community already living and working there. I know that sounds vague but it really depends on what each town needs. I’ve been looking around GC and I think we need shared office spaces so that we can encourage people to stay here instead of moving away for work.”

Conrad finished his chili and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “I agree. We don’t have to bring everything here, but with the new hybrid working environment we need to have structure in place to make it doable. Dash and I have been working with the town council to bring the fiber and broadband up so it’s the best available.”

“That’s a good start,” Kit said.

“Yeah. We’re meeting next week to go over the details and could use some more local partners. Want to join us?” Conrad asked.

“Yes, that would be great,” Kit said.

As he answered, his pulse started racing. He knew this plan to collaborate with the Gilberts would be hard to explain to his board and to Aunt Mal. He’d been focused on trying to take business from Gilbert International for so long, and if he suddenly partnered with them...well, it would take some explaining. But this was something he couldn’t say no to. He wanted to get to know these Gilbert men better, not just to answer his own questions but also for Rory. He wanted to find a way where he could tell her who he was and keep her in his life, and right now, it seemed this was the only viable way to move forward.

“Great. I’ll text you the details,” Conrad offered.

They finished their meal and said goodbye. Walking Rory back to her place, he noticed that she was quiet. “You okay?”

“Yes. Are you?”

He nodded but inside he wasn’t sure. He wouldn’t be until he found a way to keep Rory in his life.

It was the Saturday before Halloween and Rory was excited about hosting the get-together for her family and friends. Well, she and Kit were hosting. She’d told him to invite his friends along, too, but he’d told her that he didn’t have many outside of work. Rory’s house was coming along and Kit had started spending most evenings with her working on home improvement projects.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked, coming out of her bedroom in the Rick costume that went with her Evie getup. She loved the slim-fitting shirt and the balloon-sleeve blouse she was wearing.

Kit looked dashing with the suspenders on, shirt open at the collar and his holster for his fake gun.

“Yes. We look good, don’t we?”

“We do,” he said, coming up behind her and putting his arms around her waist.

She looked at the two of them in the mirror and her heart beat a little bit faster. It was getting harder to deny she was falling for him. Not that she wanted to deny it. But she also wasn’t sure where this was going in his mind.

“We never talk about your family,” she remarked.

“I only have my aunt left. My parents and brother are dead,” he said.

She turned in his arms, hugging him to her. “I’m sorry about that. I’d love to meet your aunt.” She left it at that, knowing all too well how difficult it was to talk about grief.

He squeezed her close for a second and then dropped his arms and walked away to get the gun to go in his holster. “Yeah, we’ll have to figure that out.”

“Are you two close?” she asked because he sounded like he wasn’t sure that he wanted them to meet.

“We are, actually,” he said.

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