Page 12 of The Art Of Starting Over

He didn’t. He wanted to, though.

“Do you need a ride?” He motioned toward the parking lot.

“I think I’m okay,” she said as she leaned forward and looked toward the sky.

“It’s not supposed to stop for a couple of hours.” He could wait, and then it would be time to pick Conor up, which would probably ease the anxiety Hayden felt about his son starting at a new school today. “I’m going to run over to my truck. I’ll drive up. If you want a ride, you’ll get in. If not ...” Hayden shrugged and took off sprinting toward his truck.He dodged puddles and kept his head down to avoid getting pelted in the face with rain. Inside his cab, he turned on the truck, blasted the heat, and turned the wipers on.

He did as he’d said and pulled up to where Devorah stood. Hayden leaned over the seat, opened the door, and waited. Between the sound of the truck and the rain, he didn’t even try to yell because she wouldn’t have been able to hear him.

It took her a handful of seconds before she darted for the truck, hopped in, and pulled the door shut. “Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do,” he said as he put the truck into drive. “I wouldn’t want you to melt.” When he was one of those annoying prepubescent boys, he did what any normal tween did—cracked jokes about her to get her attention. When she finally gave him the attention he wanted, he was afraid her brother would never approve, which meant Hayden was never truly himself with Devy. By the time he graduated from high school, he was in love with her, and he was certain she loved him right back. When Hayden finally found the courage to come clean about his feelings, he was a bit too late. A trip home from college changed everything. In a way, Devorah had broken his heart, and he’d never truly gotten over it.

“Funny.”

“Yeah, that’s me, the funny guy.”

“Who are you staring at?” Colt elbowed Hayden in the bicep. He was thankful his friend didn’t see him flinch or Colt would’ve razzed him relentlessly for being soft. Hayden was far from weak, but an elbow to the tender part of his arm was never fun.

Hayden cleared his throat and shook his head for good measure. “Uh, no one.”

Except she was someone. She was his best friend’s sister, and completely off limits.

Hayden couldn’t pinpoint what had changed in him, but for the past two or three weeks, Devorah Crowley had been living rent-free in his mind. His infatuation had started when Hayden spent the night at her house ... well, stayed with her brother, and they’d run into each other in the bathroom.

She’d smiled at Hayden. It wasn’t one of those “Hey, how’s it going?” types of smiles. It was flirtatious, with fluttering eyelashes and a soft, sexy voice as she said “Excuse me” and tilted her head. But it was when she bit her lower lip and pulled her long braid over her shoulder that Hayden felt a stirring. He wanted to follow her into her room but froze.

What would he even do in there?

Hayden cleared his thoughts and brought himself back to the here and now.

The cafeteria was busy and noisy, with students and teachers moving in all directions. Devorah sat next to Laila Dixon. They were best friends, and Laila was often at the Crowleys’ when Hayden was there. Sometimes the four of them hung out, but Colt hated spending time with his sister and her annoying friend.

Hayden definitely didn’t mind.

After a few minutes, Devorah grabbed her things, waved, and left the cafeteria. Hayden did the same, telling Colt he needed to go to the nurse. The boys were always going to the nurse with some stomach bug because she was young and very pretty.

He made his way over to Laila, hoping Colt wasn’t watching.

“Hey, Laila.”

Her eyes sparkled when he said her name. “Hi, Hayden.”

He sat next to her, and she tried to flutter her eyelashes, but she didn’t do it as sexily as Devorah had. But maybe he was biased. Laila was pretty, but she wasn’t Dev.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes,” she said excitedly.

“Does Devorah like me?”

Laila’s face fell, and Hayden regretted the way he’d approached her with his question. But he had to know, and there was only one person who could tell him.

“I’ll ask,” she said pointedly and went back to chatting with the others at the table, making Hayden feel like an intruder.

Hayden had no choice but to get up and leave. He headed to his locker. From there, he could see Devorah’s. He’d lost count over the past couple of weeks of how many times he’d stood there, watching her throw her head back in laughter, wishing he’d been the one to elicit that response from her. He hoped she was there because then maybe he could smile at her, and she’d want to talk.

Before the bell rang to send everyone back to class, Laila came toward Hayden. She sauntered over and had a look on her face like she had juicy gossip to share. His heart rate spiked. The anticipation of finding out was enough to actually send him to see the nurse.

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