Every Glance (Every Life #3) (17 page)

“The broccoli is delicious. And a little spicy. Is that some kind of Cajun seasoning?

“Yeah, but it’s not too spicy, is it? I can steam some more without it.” I hold my hand out to take her plate.

“Oh, no. I love spicy food.” She smiles. “It’s really is good.”

Beer
and
spicy food. Nice.

Eating our dinner in front of the TV reminds me of last weekend when she and Simon were here. I glance down to the floor where he had sat, and I kind of wish the little guy was here with us. Every time he giggled at the cartoon, I’d smile.

And having Devyn here alone is really screwing with my head. She hasn’t announced the real reason why she came—I have a feeling it wasn’t only to return the jacket—but I’m not at all upset that she’s here. I’m just waiting for her to drop whatever bomb it is.

It could be that Kyler told her what happened last night, and she wants to lay into me on how I acted toward her. She could’ve finally realized who I am. Or maybe she’s thought about everything and doesn’t want me to hang out with Simon anymore. I don’t know what brought her here, but I hope that’s not it.

“You’re not eating,” Devyn says before taking a long pull of her beer.

“Oh, uh, I already ate quite a bit before you got here. I’m pretty full.”

She sets her nearly empty bottle down and turns to face me. “I’m guessing you’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

Here we go. “I’m glad you came, but yes, I am curious.”

“Well…” She looks up at me through a thick fringe of dark lashes. “I’ve changed my mind.”

Shit. The one thing I feared the most. I hate that she’s going to do this to me, but I hate it even more that she’s doing this to Simon. “You don’t have to do this, Devyn. I wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Simon.”

“Oh, no,” she gasps, reaching out to put her hand on my thigh. “That’s not what I meant. I mean that I’ve changed my mind…about going on a date with you.”

I can’t decide if it’s the beer or her words that kick the room into a tailspin, but it takes me a second to right my equilibrium again. “For real?”

“Yeah. That is,
if
you’re serious about not wanting to see Kyler anymore, and we’ll need to keep it quiet until we decide whether we work or not. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, especially Simon. I haven’t dated anyone since Carter and I split, so I don’t want to do the whole rebound thing and end up screwing him up even more than he already is. He likes you a lot, so I don’t want to screw that up for him either. He may not like the idea of us dating.”

“Actually,” I begin, lifting her hand from my thigh and pressing her palm to mine, “he already brought it up the other day in the car. He caught me watching you in the rearview mirror and accused me of liking you and wanting to be your boyfriend. I was afraid he was worried about it, so I told him that you and I were friends and that I didn’t want to be anybody’s boyfriend, hoping it would make him feel at ease. But he was pissed. He started pitching the sale like a veteran car salesman, saying that you’re nice and make good chocolate cake.”

She smacks her free hand over her face. “He didn’t.”

“Oh, but he did. It was pretty funny. He wants to see you happy, Devyn.”

“Yeah,” she sighs, dropping her hand from her face and bringing her gaze to me. “I’ve thought a lot about what you said Sunday, and you’re right. I want to find a little piece of happiness, too, so I can be a better mom, not a bitter mom. I realize now that helping Simon to find some peace will require me finding it, too. So I’m taking a leap, no matter how much it scares me. And don’t take what I’ve said the wrong way…I don’t mean to sound like I’m using you. I feel a connection with you that I’d like to explore a little further. I’m comfortable with you as if we’ve always been great friends, as cliché as it sounds.”

Not even a little bit cliché. “I feel the same way, and I’ll do whatever I can to help you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

Her mouth pulls up at both corners. “So you still want to date me?”

“Hell, yeah, I do. And it starts tonight.” I jump up from the couch and tug on her hand to pull her up from the couch.

“Where are we going? I
know
you’re not driving anywhere after having three beers, and I like to wait a while, even after only one.”

“We’re not leaving. Just going to the back porch.” Ever since imagining Devyn and I curled up under the stars in front of the flickering fire pit, I’ve told myself that, if ever given the opportunity, it was going to happen. I’m glad it didn’t take too long.

I drag a bench over in front of the fire pit, so Devyn can sit while I get a fire built. After grabbing an armload of wood from the stack next to the shed, I strategically stack it over the pile of pine kindling after I get it lit. It doesn’t take long before the fire is crackling and emanating a nice, bone-deep heat.

Before I sit down, I run back inside to grab a blanket and both of us another beer. That’ll be my insurance that Devyn will stay a few hours so we can talk. I set the bottles on the end of the bench and unfold the blanket, sitting down and covering both of our laps in one motion. Then, I twist the caps off both bottles and hand her one.

“I’m keeping you a while.”

She smirks and takes it, clinking the neck to mine before taking a drink. “So this is our first date. I like it a lot.”

“Actually, we could count it as our second. We just had dinner and a movie on Sunday.”

Her laughter echoes out into the inky black surrounding us. “That was pizza and a cartoon with my son in the room.”

“So.” I shrug. “I’m counting it. I held your hand that day, and you let me.”

She’s silent for a beat. “But you aren’t right now.”

“Well, we can remedy that.” Damn, she’s killing me.

I take two long drinks and set the bottle in the grass before I wrap my arm around her shoulders and drag her closer to me. I rest my other hand in my lap, palm facing up, and wait for her to take it, which she does immediately.

“Better?” Now, when I turn to talk to her, I’m close enough that her hair tickles my cheek.

And when she turns to answer, our faces are mere inches from touching. “Much better,” she says. Her breath feathers across my jaw, causing me to swallow hard.

We sit in silence for a while, but eventually, we get to talking about Simon and her pregnancy with him and what he was like as a baby. Normally, I’d be bored stupid with this conversation, but it’s fun to hear about the funny things Simon used to say when he first started talking and how amazing it was when she got to look into his eyes for the first time.

After a while, she curls up to me with her head on my shoulder and her forehead buried into my neck. I have the desire to pinch myself every few minutes to make sure that this isn’t a dream. That Devyn really is here with me.

I’d love to tell Sawyer all about it, but he’d never understand. Never. He wouldn’t believe for a minute that she’s different, and he’d be even more worried about where my head is at than ever. Once I tell her who I am, we’ll be able to get past the past and prove to everyone that this can work, regardless of what happened over ten years ago.

“Do you have to work tomorrow?” she asks, glancing at her silver watch.

Resting my cheek on the top of her head, I nod. “I do. Why?”

“It’s almost ten. I figured you’d need to go to bed soon.”

I squeeze her tighter. “Stay. One more hour.”

“Okay,” she giggles. “Just so you know, I really like this…being here with you. It’s sad that I’ve never really done anything like this before. Carter…oh, sorry, I shouldn’t talk about him to you.”

“I’m not the jealous type, Devyn. Just say it.” I notice the fire is getting low again, but I don’t want to let her go long enough to get more wood. If she’s leaving in an hour anyway, it can just go out.

“Well, Carter and I started dating in high school, and he wasn’t really the romantic type. As a matter of fact, he didn’t ever even ask me out on dates. He’d just
tell
me we were going out, and it was always with a group of his friends. The only time we were ever alone was when he wanted to…you know. Our marriage was the same way, really. There wasn’t a proposal. He told me that we were going to get married that summer after high school. And once we were, I think he only wanted me around for domestic purposes—cleaning the house, cooking, and other wifely duties—even though I had a longer day of classes in college. Even after I had Simon, it was still up to me to take care of everything
and
finish college. When we graduated and he was being groomed to take over his father’s firm, he brought me in to work for him, so not only was I his slave at home, I was at work, too. The only time we went out together was for business dinners, and we never went on a vacation during the time we were married. It only got worse as Simon got a little older. We were his family on paper, nothing more.”

“I’m sorry, Devyn.” I run my fingers through her hair. “He doesn’t sound like a real husband or father at all. Not that I had the best role models in my own parents, but there’s a lot more to a marriage than that. Honestly, I never really thought much about having a family until recently, but if I ever do, I want the whole package, you know? I would want every day with my wife to feel like our honeymoon. I would want my kids to wake up on Saturday mornings, excited to see what fun is planned for them. I would want to live every day looking forward to the next and not regretting a single moment. Otherwise, what’s the point? Don’t give up until you have that, Devyn. You and Simon deserve it.”

She lifts her head and looks at me. “You’re right. We do.”

“You deserve to be given everything you want in life, even if it’s something as unreachable as the stars. The right person will do whatever it takes for you to have them.” I rub the back of my knuckles along her jaw, feeling her throat struggle to swallow. Her eyes are locked onto mine, and I feel myself drowning in the depths of them. I’m consumed by them, and I never want to break free.

I feel myself leaning forward, craning my head down to her level. I have to kiss her. I have to taste the perfection of her, of this moment. I can’t take another breath without her lips against mine.

As I close in, her eyes widen, and I worry for a second that she’s going to push me away. But my worry is gone when she tilts her head back a little more and her cool fingers touch my cheek, inviting me in closer.

My eyes fall closed just as my lips brush hers. Once, twice, and once more before I press my mouth against hers. Her smooth lips part as soon as I pull back the slightest bit, and I dive in for more, gently pulling her lips between mine and grazing them with my tongue.

Her mouth is sweet and soft, and I swear that I could kiss her for hours.

“Devyn?”

I jerk myself upright and turn around in the seat. Kyler is storming across the yard to where we’re sitting.

Devyn jumps up, nearly throwing the blanket into the coals of the waning fire. “Kyler? What are you doing here?”

Damn it. This is probably going to get ugly. So much keeping this a secret for a while.

“Me?” Kyler pokes herself in the chest. “What are
you
doing here? You and Carter won’t ever get back together if you’re screwing around behind his back. And with the guy
I’m
dating? That’s low. Even for you.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I have to butt in. “Kyler, we’re not dating.”

Devyn places a hand on my chest to keep me from taking another step and turns to Kyler. “Listen, just meet me at my house in a few minutes, and we’ll talk. I have a lot to explain.”

“Fine. But so does he,” she yells, pointing a finger at me before stomping back around the house.

“Devyn, I’m sorry. I had no idea she was going to show up here.” I notice a flash of headlights moving through the trees as Kyler backs onto the street.

She shakes her head. “It’ll be fine. I told you that some of my family doesn’t know that Carter and I have already divorced, and that’s because Kyler doesn’t know. If she did, everyone else would. I made Simon swear he wouldn’t tell her, and even Carter knows that she doesn’t know. But now I have to tell her. I have to break it to my parents.”

“I feel like this is all my fault. You wanted to keep this a secret for a while, and because of me dragging you out here and making you stay longer, she found out.”

Devyn places both palms on my chest and slides them up and around my neck in a hug. “I don’t care anymore.”

I wrap both of my arms around her waist and press her to me as hard as I can. “You don’t?”

She lets go of my neck and leans back slightly, taking my face between her hands. “Not even a little bit,” she whispers just before crushing her mouth against mine.

This kiss isn’t as lazy and sweet. It’s a slow, building burn. Her soft tongue plays with mine and she draws my lips between hers with a gentle suction. Her fingers lightly tug on my hair as she tries to bring me even closer. It’s so easy to get lost in her kiss, to forget about everything around us. There’s no one else on this planet. It’s just us and the stars.

“I really need to go,” she murmurs softly, finally coming up for air.

I bury my face in her neck, and take a deep breath, smelling her hair. “One more hour.”

She laughs. “You said that an hour ago.”

“I know,” I sigh. “Do I need to come with you to talk to Kyler?”

“No, I’ll be fine. I should’ve done this a long time ago.” She takes a step back. “Can I call you in a day or two?”

“Of course, but you don’t have to wait that long. Let me know when you get home, so I know you made it okay. And I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She grins wide and takes another step back as I try to go in for another kiss. “Oh, no. If you kiss me again, I won’t ever leave.”

“That’s my plan.”

Devyn kisses two fingers and presses them to my lips. “Goodnight, Dalton. I’ll call you in a few minutes.”

For the second time this week, I stand in place where she left me, watching her leave until she’s gone from sight.

But this time, she leaves a promise of more.

She leaves with a renewed sense of hope.

And I’ll be damned if I don’t feel it, too.