Page 41 of The Art Of Starting Over

They continued to walk, enjoying the cool, spring air. The night was calm, and she could barely hear the water sloshing against the rocks. Footsteps caught her attention before she saw who they belonged to. When she finally noticed, she swallowed hard and stood still.

Hayden ran toward her. His shirt was tucked into the back of his shorts, blowing in the breeze created by his stride.

“Shit,” she muttered when reality smacked her in the face—he was shirtless. “Shit, shit, shit.” She didn’t need this.

Wanted it, maybe.

But definitely didn’t need it.

In the few days she’d been back, Hayden had clouded her vision. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him, because she definitely had at one point in her life; it was that he confused her, and she wasn’t sure she could trust him or even herself where he was concerned.

Hayden McKenna had a vibe about him. Sexy and cool. Suave and sweet. He was easy on the eyes and hard on her thoughts. They’d been more than friends but never what she wanted them to be. Right now, friendship was the only thing she could afford with him.

He stopped in front of her, panting, and bent at his waist for a second before righting himself. He put his hands behind his head and attempted to smile at her.

His chest glistened. Sweat trailed down the contours of his muscles, around his nipples, and through the smattering of hair leading into his shorts. Devorah swallowed hard and looked at the ground, back to him, and at the ground again and then swore under her breath.

Cordelia whined.

“Hey, girl.” Hayden crouched and patted the dog, who lapped at him.

“Sorry, she can’t hold her licker.”

“I don’t mind. Conor wants a dog, but he has to wait.”

Hayden stood, his chest at Dev’s eye level. Teenage Devorah wanted to do naughty things to him. She blushed at the thought of touching him, like she had years ago.

“You good?”

She nodded. “Just out walking Cordelia. You?”

“Trying to burn off some pent-up energy.”

She could understand.

“How about I walk you back home?”

Was she done with her walk? She could be, but she also felt like she needed to be alone more. “I’m going to walk for a bit more,” she told him. “Thanks, though.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s a nice night.”

Gorgeous, half-naked Hayden stepped forward. He touched her hip with his fingers, sending a spark of desire and longing through her. He leaned down and brushed his lips right below her ear. “See you in the morning, Devorah.”

Hayden began jogging again, and Dev turned to watch him. Wishing all the same that she hadn’t. Why did he have to come into her life when it was such a mess?

Twelve

Hayden

People in New England had an old saying ... if you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes and it’ll change. Hayden waited. He stood in the front room window, drinking coffee from a mug declaring him theWorld’s Best Grandpa. Cars drove along the road, tires hitting puddles and splashing water and road grime onto yards and parked cars. Hayden glanced at the watch on his wrist and then leaned forward to peer out the window and up at the sky, forgetting that the roof of the porch would hinder his view.

The showers had come out of nowhere and, as of the night before, hadn’t been on the radar. The random burst hovered over Oyster Bay, threatening baseball tryouts. Hayden set his coffee down and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen to bring it alive and then clicked on the weather app, scrolling until he found the video of the rain showers.

“It should be clear in a minute,” Darcy said from behind him.

Hayden let out one of thosehumphsounds, neither believing nor disbelieving his mom.

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