“I like the sound of that!”After showering, getting dressed, and cleaning the island…twice…we sat down on the back porch and ate while Duke and Belle played in the backyard.
“I put in for leave starting next week.”
“You did?” I asked, feeling a bubble of happiness spring up inside of me. “How long will you be off?”
“Two weeks.”
“That’s wonderful, Nolan!”
He chewed and looked away. He had something on his mind, and I knew he was trying to find a way to bring it up.
“What is it you’re struggling to say?”
Turning back to me, he let out a soft laugh and shook his head. “You always did know when I was debating something internally.”
My only reply was a soft smile.
“You mentioned about looking for a house. It’s just, you actually lived at the ranch house when we had the accident.”
“I did?”
He nodded. “Yes. You were originally going to move in with me after we got married, but you moved into the ranch house and lived there after we got engaged.”
I felt myself frown. “I can’t believe being in the house didn’t bring back any memories.”
A pained expression washed over his face, but he didn’t say anything.
“How long were we engaged?”
“I asked you to marry me when we turned twenty.”
My eyes widened. “That long?”
Nolan looked like he was about to say something when my cell phone rang with a number from Boerne I didn’t recognize. “I should get this.”
I slid my finger across the phone and answered. “Hello?”
“Yes, is this Ms. Cunningham?”
I sat up straight. “Yes.”
“Hello, this is Katherine Boone.”
Oh. My. Word.
“Ms. Boone, yes, it’s a pleasure.”
Nolan looked over at me.
“I received your email the other day, and I know you said you would be traveling from France back to Texas, so I wanted to give you some time.”
“Yes. Thank you, I’m back in the States now.”
“Wonderful. Well, as you know, I own my own company and employ four art brokers. We’ve got a rather large client base, and I’m looking to bring in another art broker. You come highly recommended, and I must say, you’ve gathered a rather impressive resume.”
I looked at Nolan who smiled at me, unsure who was on the other end of the call. “Thank you, I appreciate your kind words.”
“All true. Now, I’m looking to bring another person on part time, and you would mostly be working from home. Although, twice a month I do require that the team all get together in Austin and we meet and plan things out. There is some travel involved, obviously. Some of my clients are rather…private…so there will need to be discretion, as well. Especially when we’re attempting to track down pieces in certain collections.”
“Of course.”
“I would really love to have you come in for an interview, but let me be frank, Ms. Cunningham, it would really be more of a meet the team because of your past work history.”
My mouth fell open. “Oh, um, does that mean…well…” I let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “Ms. Boone, are you offering me the job without even meeting me?”
“I met your resume, Ms. Cunningham. I want you before someone else decides they have to have you. And yes, that means I am offering you the job. I’m currently in London for the next two weeks, so it would be at least two-and-a-half weeks before we could get you into the office and get everything rolling.”
“That’s perfect, I’m actually out of town right now myself.”
“Good. I’ll have my assistant email you a day and time, and if it works for you, then we shall put it on the calendar.”
“Wonderful!” I said with a little bit too much excitement. “I look forward to meeting you, Ms. Boone.”
“As do I, Ms. Cunningham. As do I.”
The line went dead, and I sat there, stunned into silence.
“Linz? What was that all about? What job?”
I slowly shook my head. “Um…when I put in my notice at the museum in Paris, my boss told me about a friend of his who owned an art consulting firm in Austin. She was looking for an art broker. That was her.”
“I take it she wants to hire you?”
I lifted my eyes and met his gaze. He wore such a warm, sweet smile. I still couldn’t fathom that my mind would ever allow me to forget this man.
“Yes! Nolan, she just offered me the job. Part time; I’d be working from home, some travel. Oh my gosh. This is my dream job. This is…this is…”
He stood and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to stand in front of him. “This is amazing. Let’s go celebrate after dinner.”
I nodded and then threw my arms around him. “I’ve never been so happy in my entire life!”
Even though I knew Nolan didn’t mean to do it, I felt him stiffen for only the briefest moment before he held onto me a bit tighter. I somehow knew I’d said those very same words to him many years ago.