Page 54 of The Art Of Starting Over

Devorah laughed and then caught herself. She had every intention of going back to Chicago, back to the life she had in the city, volunteering for the PTA, and running the little company she’d founded. Since being back in Oyster Bay, she hadn’t even opened her email to see if anyone had tried to hire her.

Hayden met her confused gaze and shrugged. “I know you haven’t made a decision on whether you’re staying or not, but for what it’s worth, I’d like you to stay.”

Devorah nodded and made her way over to the dining room table, where all the things she’d gathered sat in a pile. Thankfully, Hayden was behind her, so he couldn’t see her face. She wasn’t sure what he’d see, other than confusion, curiosity, and maybe even the teenage longing that used to be there. She could easily give in to Hayden’s charm. Part of her wanted to, but she was proof that high school romances didn’t last, and she couldn’t put her heart through any more pain. Although Hayden hadn’t exactly hurt her. He’d just never fully given himself to her, despite her wanting him.

She cleared her thoughts. They were going to the movies. As friends. Right now, she needed all the friends she could get. Even the unbelievably sexy, caring, and downright untouchable kind.

“I put some things together, but then I realized you’d probably bring stuff, so I sort of just stopped.” She pointed at the pile. “Except this stuff. I plan to bring it.”

“Do you think it’s going to snow?”

She looked at the clothes in her arms and shook her head. “I don’t like being cold.”

“You lived in Chicago and don’t like being cold?”

Devy shrugged. “We had heat.”

This time Hayden laughed.

“And it’s not like I was out in the cold doing things. When I had to go someplace, I would use the auto-start on my car so it would be warm when I got in. I don’t ski or anything, and honestly, I hate the snow. And now that I’m thinking about it, I hated Chicago.” Those words took her by surprise.

“You hated Chicago?”

“Yes,” she said, nodding. “The more I think about my life here and then there, the more I’ve concluded that Chad has made all my decisions for me. I didn’t want to go to Northwestern, but he did, and he made me think it’s where I wanted to go. Does that make sense?”

“It’s how manipulation works.”

“Huh, well, there ya go.”

“Does that mean you’re staying in OB?”

“It’s not just about me. I have Maren to think about. Divorces are messy, and who knows what kind of visitation Chad will end up with? I definitely can’t afford to fly her back and forth ...” Devorah paused and looked at her pile. “Anyway, I hate being cold.”

“Well, good. I’m glad we got that out in the open. I have an electric blanket for the back, and I put the air mattress back there to give us some cushion to sit on.”

“Oh, well, that sounds lovely.”

Hayden chuckled. “It will be,” he said as he took the things from her arms. He held up a sweatshirt and Crow’s jacket and told her to pick.

She chose Crow’s jacket.

As he’d done in the past, he held the door for her and then jogged around the front. She couldn’t take her eyes off his backside, even as her mind reminded her of what he looked like with his shirt off. Time had been good to Hayden.

“You know,” he said as he pulled onto the street, “I haven’t been to the drive-in since I was seventeen.”

“Same,” she said. “I guess no one really goes when they’re in college because who the hell has a car to take everyone, and Chad hated them, so we never took Maren.”

“We’ll have to take the kids one weekend. They’d have a blast.”

“They would. Speaking of ...” She looked over at Hayden. “Crow would like to speak with Conor about the incident. He’s not in trouble or anything. It’s just Crow’s way of making sure the kids in town know right from wrong.”

“Sure, I can bring him by tomorrow.” Hayden pulled up behind the last car in line and waited. “What happened with Noble’s kid?”

“Crow talked to him, told him to knock it off or he wouldn’t be allowed to play baseball this year.”

“I’m sure that went over well with Dalton.”

“I’m afraid there will be some type of retaliation. I don’t know. Right now, I feel like an outsider, watching as everyone talks about me in front of me and not behind my back. I see the stares and people whispering.”

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