Moonstone by Jaime Clevenger Page B

her neck and cheeks. Kelsey had a way of looking directly at her that made everything in the periphery blur. They could have been sitting at the only table in an empty room. Joy cleared her throat. “I want some time to think about everything. And I need to get approved for a loan first, of course.”
    “Of course. And there’s one other thing I should probably mention.”
    “There’s a catch.”
    “Not exactly a catch.” Kelsey took a sip of her water. “You’re stuck with me for the on-site training—not that you’ll need much help figuring out the program, it’s pretty self explanatory—and I double as tech support as well. In our bigger sales areas, we have the luxury of reps focusing on sales and techies for the on-site work. But here in Raceda, I have someone who comes in to help with the initial setup, but after that, you’ll be dealing with me. At the moment, I’m the sum total of our North Coast department.”
    Tech support and training. She wondered if she could get used to working with Kelsey again. Joy did have an advantage this time. She was the one in charge. They’d also be wearing more than bathing suits. Unfortunately, Kelsey’s smile still threw her off balance. Joy pushed away the memories that sprang up and glanced at her watch. She still had an hour before she needed to get back to work, but Kelsey didn’t know this. She was torn between wanting to ask Kelsey about the last time they’d been together as well as everything that had happened since and wanting to make a beeline for the exit. Maybe Kelsey sensed this. She folded her napkin and set it on the table, took another sip of water and then motioned to the waiter for the check.
    As they stood to leave, Kelsey said, “I’m not a pushy sales rep. There’s no special deal if you sign up today. You can think about things as long as you like. I’ll print out everything we talked about and drop it off at your office. Look it over on your own timeframe.”
    “Sounds good.”
    “Mind if I drop it by next week?”
    Joy hesitated. Kelsey’s tone made Joy wonder if she was hoping for an excuse to see her again. She decided to make it clear that on her end this was strictly business. There was nothing personal between them anyway, Joy reminded herself, not anymore. It was hard to say if there ever had been or if she’d only imagined it all. Joy cleared her throat. Kelsey was only being a competent sales rep.
    “Drop it off whenever. Leave it with Helen and she’ll make sure I get it.” She wasn’t going to come across as an eager buyer anymore than Kelsey wanted to be a pushy salesperson.
    They stepped outside the restaurant and Kelsey motioned to her car. She was parked in a choice spot directly across the street. Her car was a silver Audi that gleamed like new and Joy wondered how she could afford it on a sales rep’s salary. Maybe Alpine paid well. Or maybe a rich boyfriend footed the bill.
    “Thank you for lunch,” Joy said. “I’ll let you know what I decide.”
    “I’ll look forward to hearing from you.” Kelsey stuck out her hand to shake again.
    Joy felt her pulse quicken. For a brief moment, she doubted whether she should be making big money decisions when the person she was trying to do business with sent a warm surge through her with only casual contact. Too much time had passed since they’d last held hands. Too much time to admit to what had happened—or what hadn’t. Eighteen years ago was a different life.
    Joy didn’t watch Kelsey climb into her Audi. She waited until Kelsey was safely to the other side of the street and then headed to her own parking spot two blocks away. The old feelings that had come without warning would lessen with time. Joy was certain it was only memories from the past and old emotions throwing curve balls now. Maybe she shouldn’t shake hands with her again, however. She wasn’t a delirious teenager anymore, but she didn’t need thoughts of what-ifs clouding her mind. Kelsey